Life is already hard enough, and then it throws things like spiders and killer frogs into the mix! Yes, that’s right. Killer frogs. This Quora community listed out what they believe to be the deadliest things on Earth.
Comments have been edited for clarity. The source can be found the end of the article.
Most Dangerous Weapon: Tsar Bomb. Tsar Bomb is a Russian RDS-220 Hydrogen Bomb, the most powerful bomb to have ever detonated in history. It was detonated in the year 1961, and remains the most powerful man-made explosion in history. It has a maximum yield equivalent to 100 Megatons of TNT. However, the bomb was tested for a yield equivalent to 50 Megatons of TNT, half of its Actual Capability because it would have led to too much Nuclear fall out and the plane delivering wouldn’t have escaped the explosion. What’s interesting is, The energy produced in the explosion was 1570 times, more powerful than the combined energy of the bombs dropped at Hiroshima and Nagasaki! This bomb has the power to decimate life from the whole Earth!
Debarshee Biswas
The Inland Taipan is said to be the most venomous snake in the world and it’s venom is the most toxic of any reptile on this Earth. It is estimated that one bite of this snake is lethal enough to kill 100 fully grown adults! But unlike, The Black Mamba, which is the deadliest snake, Inland Taipan is generally a shy snake and is found in parts of Australia where human habitat is too less and hence it is responsible for less no of deaths.
Debarshee Biswas
Mosquitoes are a host to some of the deadliest diseases like Malaria, Yellow Fever, dengue, Chikungunya, Filariasis, Zika Virus, West Nile Virus and few other diseases deadliest to the Mankind. It is responsible for more than 1 million deaths Annually making it the most dangerous insect on Earth!
Debarshee Biswas
Mycobacterium Tuberculosis is said to be the most deadliest bacteria on Earth. It inhabitants the spines of mammals and cause irreparable damage to the immune system. Going by the numbers, the World Health Organization has claimed that, Mycobacterium Tuberculosis has killed an unbelievable 9 million peoples across the world and majority of them in developing countries between 2006 to 2010!
Debarshee Biswas
There are Many equally deadly contenders to the most dangerous viruses ever discovered, but I would bet my Money on Marburg Virus. This Virus is considered to be extremely dangerous. The WHO rates it as a Risk Group 4 Pathogen (The highest Risk Level; Requiring a Level 4 Biosafety). In United States, The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases ranks it a Category A Priority Pathogen and The Centre for Disease Control and Prevention lists it as a Category A Bioterrorism Agent. Marburg Virus causes Marburg Virus Disease in Humans also known as Marburg hemorrhagic fever. Infected People usually have a Low Survival Rates. The Soviet Union used extensive offensive and defensive biological weapons which included MARV. What makes this Virus more deadly is the fact that, till now Medicine hasn’t been able to develop a substance to counteract this deadly virus. The untreatable nature of this virus and a potential bioterrorism Agent, is what makes it the most deadliest among all.
Debarshee Biswas
The box jellyfish is considered as the most venomous creature on Earth. The box jelly fish venom will affect the heart the nervous system. The human victims are likely to die of heart failure before reaching the shore. The box jellyfishes are named after their cube shaped body, found throughout the Indo-Pacific Ocean. They have up to 15 tentacles on each side of their body. These tentacles can reach up to a length of 10 feet and contain more than 5000 stinging cells. Its Venom causes cardiovascular collapse and death as quickly as within 2 to 5 minutes making it the most venomous creature on Earth!
Debarshee Biswas
Brazilian Wandering Spider has the most neurologically active venom of all spiders, and is regarded as the most dangerous spider in the world. Brazilian Wandering Spiders are active hunters and travel a lot. The high levels of serotonin contained in the venom will deliver a very painful bite that can result in muscle shock. Occasional deaths have occurred even after Anti-Venom Treatments. Mostly, if left untreated death can occur within minutes after injection of the venom!
Debarshee Biswas
Volcanoes. Everything else I have seen listed is something that COULD cause massive catastrophe. Volcanos HAVE caused massive, extinction-level events and they will again.
Chris Oslund
Unfortunately, humans are the most polluting species. Earth is very good at recycling waste, but people are generating far more than earth can cope with. Pollution occurs at different levels and it doesn’t just impact our planet; it impacts all species, including mankind, who dwell on it.
Over six billion people live on planet Earth. As the population grows, we are taking more and more land to live and using more of the worlds natural resources. Many human activities also produce Pollution, which is damaging the Earths environment.
So I think the most dangerous things on earth are HUMANS.
Vaibhav Pandey
A hydrogen bomb. It has the capability of killing millions. It can be miniaturized and armed on an ICBM. It’s the only thing on Earth with such a capacity for destruction.
It’s definitely the most dangerous thing on Earth. And yet, it has saved millions of lives, preventing nations from fighting out of fear of M.A.D.
Such a paradox. The most powerful weapon on Earth is also our greatest safeguard from war.
Anthony Myrlados
Clostridium Botulinum, a very special bacteria.
You might be thinking, Oh great, what a small weak little bacteria. That may be true, if you took away the fact that it produces the most powerful neurotoxin ever discovered.
The Clostridium Botulinum produces an enzyme, known as Botulinum, which brutally attacks your muscles, ultimately leaving you paralyzed.
Whats more is that a tablespoon of this rod shaped pathogen has the potency to kill 1.2 billion people, or rather, 16% of the human population!
Still a little guy, right?
Vibhor Gautam
Technically, the most dangerous thing on Earth doesnt originate from Earth. However, the radiation that comes from it blankets the Earth. This threat comes from space. It can easily destroy the Earth and everything else in the Galaxy: Its a Gamma Ray Burst(GRB). Gamma Ray Bursts from very VERY far across the universe coat our Earth with radiation everyday. Fortunately, none of these bursts were close enough at the time to hit us with anything bigger than the Earths magnetic shield could withstand. However, one can happen closer at any time. In fact, its pretty amazing the bursts that have happened havent been closer.
Michael Levy
Manchineel tree is the most dangerous tree on the earth. It is well known as little apple of death. Usually found in America and the caribbeans.
About Manchineel Tree…
- All parts of the tree contain strong toxins, some unidentifined.
- Mere contact with the tree causes hours of agony.
- The tree secretes a liquid known as sap and Standing beneath the tree during rain will cause burning of the skin from mere contact with this liquid.
- When eaten the fruit is pleasantly sweet” at first but, has a fatal impact on livings.
Symptoms if eaten..
- Rash and headache to accute dermatities
- Severe breathing problems
- Temporary blindness
- Skin burning
Kiran Jadhav
This is the humbler virus, Variola Major AKA Smallpox.
This virus, over its time in the wild, has killed about 300 million people.
300 million.
This Virus typically killed 1/3rd of whom it infected, and death by it was gruesome. In a twist of irony, its most merciful course was its most deadly. Hemorrhagic pox led to rapid shock and death. Classic pox caused blisters that forced your skin off of the underlying flesh. In extreme cases, the skin would be completely ripped off, acting more like a pressurized bag.
Lee Leavelle
It may look harmless, but they have enough toxin in them to kill 20 humans!
They have the signature stripes to warn potential predators to back off, and if they don’t they’ll die a painful death from the poison they ingest.
Its alkaloid poison prevents nerves from transmitting impulses, leaving the muscles in an inactive state of contraction. This can lead to heart failure or fibrillation
Next time you’re wandering through a jungle, be careful you don’t step on one of these. It’s mother might just come after you.
In the movie Apocalypto by Mel Gibson,The hero uses the dart frog poison with throne and using blowgun (dart gun), kills his enemy.
Ashwath Krishnan
This deadly carcinogen, and exposure to it can lead to Lung Cancer and Mesothelioma, which is a disease where your lungs slowly fill up with fluid, eventually suffocating you. And the scary thing – this substance was once used in 3,0004,000 everyday household products.
What is this deadly product? It is none other than Asbestos.
John Curry
Disease. These things kill billions. Volcanoes, earthquakes, tornadoes, nukes, all lose to diseases. How many people die every year to cancer, HIV, pneumonia and other life-threatening diseases in comparison? Diseases cause deaths of the other weapons and disasters. Nukes? Radiation causes cancer. Volcanoes? The ash can cause suffocation and lung illness. Diseases kill everything from humans to animals and plants to microbes. See the Black Death, the Typhus/Camp Fever, the Polio Epidemic, Cholera Epidemic, TB Epidemic, the Influenza Epidemic, Ebola and more. It is what eventually kills us and destroys lives after lives.
Matthew Tyrone
Clostridium Botulinum. Looks like little bacteria but it’s the most powerful neurotoxin discovered, it’s an enzyme which brutally attacks your muscles leaving you paralysed. Except that’s nothing to worry about when you’re dead!
The reason why this rod shaped pathogen is number one is that a tablespoon has the potency to kill 1.2 billion people, or rather, 20% of the human population!
Mayuri Tiwari
At first glance, the blue-ringed octopus looks perfectly innocuous. Its psychedelic coloring and pint-sized packaging make it seem more adorable than alarming. But dont let its cuddly exterior fool you: this tiny octopus can kill you. And quickly.
Native to the Pacific Ocean, the blue-ringed octopus can be found in the soft, sandy bottom of shallow tide pools and coral reefs.
When not seeking food or a mate, blue-ringed octopuses often hide in crevices, shells or marine debris. If you catch them outside of their cozy hiding spots, its easy to see how the animal gets its name: when threatened, bright blue rings appear all over its body as a warning signal to potential predators.
Although all octopuses (as well as cuttlefish and some squid) are venomous, the blue-ringed octopus is in a league of its own. Its venom is 1,000 times more powerful than cyanide, and this golf-ball sized powerhouse packs enough venom to kill 26 humans within minutes. Its no surprise that its recognized as one of the most dangerous animals in the ocean.
So, what happens if youre bitten by a blue-ringed octopus? First, the venom blocks nerve signals throughout the body, causing muscle numbness. Other symptoms include nausea, vision loss or blindness, loss of senses and loss of motor skills. Ultimately, it will cause muscle paralysis—including the muscles needed for humans to breathe, leading to respiratory arrest. There is no known antidote, but victims can be saved if artificial respiration is started immediately.
Mayuri Tiwari
Have you ever heard of Black Widow? She is so dangerous that she eats the male just after sex.
How can you recognize them?
You can find a red hour glass on their back.
If you are in North America, you can pray not to find one. This is the most venomous spider in North America.
Barun Mohanty
Danger relative to human life as a measure of lives at risk per ounce of material, nothing comes close to this, the 1918 Flu virus. It is so small and lightweight that it can hardly be measured; it is estimated at 110^17 kg, yet infected some 500,000,000 people worldwide, killing an estimated 50,000,000 of those. So forget plutonium, forget antimatter, this is it, and its not theoretical. Only about 226,000 people have been killed by nuclear weapons, and those weapons were much much larger; the lethality of the 1918 Flu virus is many orders of magnitude greater.
Aaron Jantzen
Plastic.
- It is non biodegradable.
That itself makes it a destructive element. It keeps on accumulating, never rotting.
- Plastic affects human health.
Toxic chemicals leach out of plastic and are found in the blood and tissue of nearly all of us. Exposure to them is linked to cancers, birth defects, impaired immunity, endocrine disruption and other ailments.
- Plastic spoils our groundwater.
There are thousands of landfills in the United States. Buried beneath each one of them, toxic chemicals from plastics drain out and seep into groundwater, flowing downstream into lakes and rivers.
Ajay Patil
Malaria: something like 50 billion death in the total human history (ok, it is the most extreme estimation).
Luc De Mestre
Political Correctness!
We have become so worried about being called or considered racist, sexist, ageist, or “haters” of any kind that we dance around the answer to nearly every question and don’t really give a truthful answer anymore. What will people think if I say I don’t like a black man?…Automatically racist! Regardless if that guy is a total asshole. What will people think if I don’t like this gay guy’s attitude or politics? …Automatically homophobic! Regardless if that guy is way of the rails and an asshole. God forbid I encounter an older, gay, black-Japanese-White, Jewish-Catholic woman I don’t care for! I may as well go live the life of a hermit since I am unfit for society.
J Bbee
The skin of the golden poison frog is densely coated in a toxin called batrachotoxin. The frog uses this toxin for self-defense; not for killing its prey.
A single golden poison frog has enough poison to kill ten humans or up to 10, 000 mice! The poison prevents the victims nerves from transmitting signals, which causes paralysis and heart failure.
Scientists are unsure exactly how the golden poison frog produces this incredibly potent toxin. It is thought that the ingredients for the poison come from one of the insects the frog eats.
A golden poison frog that is raised in captivity and is not fed insects from its native habitat does not develop the poison.
Anurag Uppal
You would not want to mistake it for sugar. Minimal quantities of it is enough to send you to lockers.
First, it reacts with your stomach acids converting it to hydrogen cyanide and then stops your body from using oxygen. Meaning, your cells cant respirate.
Youll die of asphyxiation very slowly and very painfully.
Ranjani Ravi
Angry Women
Don’t ever mess with them. They are scary. They are strong. They will rip you apart. Just don’t do it, whatever it is, they’re right, your wrong.
Truly the most dangerous thing in the existence of our universe.
Quintin M. Moss
The most dangerous thing on earth is money. Every crime on this planet against individuals or societies is caused directly by the desire to acquire more money. Wars are fought to profit from them, people are annihilated for money, there is no more dangerous evil than the desire for more money. The only way mankind will survive and thrive is to abolish money.
Kelly Logsdon
Time has killed every living thing there has ever been, and there is a 100% chance that time will kill you, me, and every living thing there will ever be.
Christoph Mller
Atheism
I cant give all the arguments here but here is a few:
Imagine nobody is religious, no hope at all for an afterlife, do you think the world would just go like it is or everything would be crazy and solely driven by human desires?
Actually the concept of Atheism in itself is irrelevant, so the biggest danger is more being True hopelessness than Atheism.
Muhamad AlDerweesh
Greed. This is a characteristic humans have in abundance and we have used it in good quantity over the years. The repercussions have been deep and painful, every single time this quality has come to use. This single thing has killed most living beings than any other predators, carnivores or even germs (this could be a close second or at par, which is still sad).
Mihir Godbole
Rabies. Rabies is the one disease, the only one, which is 100% fatal without treatment. If I could afflict you with one thing: car crash, volcano eruption, botulism, nuclear bomb, Ebola, the only thing I could put in your environment which is GUARANTEED to kill you, is rabies.
Jim Abraham
The answer is obvious: humanity. Humanity is the sixth extinction event. Humanity is the only thing on Earth to induce nuclear fusion to produce temperatures that are otherwise only found inside stars, and its the only thing the Earth has ever produced that was capable of leaving it and possibly propagating across the galaxy.
And were working hard on creating something even more dangerous than ourselves: machine-based super-intelligence.
Matthew Kuzma