ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Creation of life from clay

Okay, imagine you're playing with Play-Doh. You know how you can squish it and make different shapes? Now imagine that instead of Play-Doh, we're talking about clay. Clay is a kind of dirt that can be shaped into different things too, like pots or figures.

Long ago, people believed that if you mixed enough clay with water and breathed life into it, you could make a living creature. They thought that maybe clay had some kind of magical power that could bring things to life.

But we now know that this isn't true. Clay can't create life on its own. Although, clay can be used in certain scientific processes such as creating organs for people. Scientists can use certain substances found in clay to grow cells and tissue for organs that need to be replaced in the human body.

Nowadays, we know that living things are more complicated than just mixing dirt and water. Life comes from many processes that involve cells, genetics, and a whole bunch of other things. So while it may have been a cool idea long ago, we now understand that creating life from clay is just a myth.