ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Life After People

Okay kiddo, imagine that everyone in the world disappeared. No more moms, dads, or kids, no more teachers or doctors, and no more friends to play with. This is called "life after people", which means a world without humans.

At first, nothing much would happen. But after a week or two, things would start to change. Without people taking care of them, pets and farm animals would start running wild. They would look for food and shelter and maybe even form new groups.

Buildings and houses would start to fall apart without anyone fixing them. Plants would start growing through concrete and the grass would become really tall. Over time, rain and wind would wear down the roads and bridges so much that they would collapse.

Nature would start taking back the cities. Trees would grow up through buildings, animals would move into the abandoned homes, and plants would start sprouting up everywhere. The only evidence that people were ever here would be the things they built that nature couldn't tear down, like the pyramids or the Great Wall of China.

The oceans would also change without people around. Boats would sink and litter would pile up on beaches. But over many years, the ocean would clean itself up, and creatures would start to thrive in this new environment.

In the end, the world would be very different from the one we know now. But nature would keep going, and new creatures would take over the places where humans once lived.