The Event that Caused the Most Damage to Humanity?

[MrFun]

Originally posted by monkspider
I agree, US declararation of Independence for me too.

As for me, I cannot settle with just one choice, so here it goes:

1) invention of nuclear weaponry

2) Inquisition (reinforced the use of religion in name of hatred)

3) American imperialism of the late 19th and early 20th centuries

4) the creation of a nation out of a huge asylum -- France

[AnnC]

Without question, it's the Toba supervolcano eruption (approximately 70,000 years ago). The worldwide human population was reduced to less than 10,000 by the eruption and the global climate change that followed.

[Demerzel]

that first monkey which thought "hmm coming down out of the tree might be a good idea"

nah seriously,

I have to say whoever created "religion", it's the root cause of more deaths than anything else put together.

Or maybe the destruction of the sophisticated underground irrigation system which crisscrossed Khwarezm and Persia. Allowing fertile fields, it had sustained a thriving culture since antiquity. Sadly the Mongols weren't too hot on infrastructure and destroyed it. Arabic scholars believe that the region's economy has yet to recover fully from the destruction.

[Az]

That was the mesopotamian irrigation system, me thinks.

[uh Clem]

The Fall, obviously. Or if you want something less metaphoric, then the near-annihilation of humans that AnnC mentioned.

Of course, I've always thought that we've been on a downward spiral ever since the World Series started to switch to night games.

[OneFootInTheGrave]

Well such thing obviously does not exist, and more likely than not further back you go more damage you make later...

But as a single event than the nuclear bomb. (and defintley its invention is a greatest threat, as we humans are inherently unstable to handle so much power at our fingertips)

[Lawrence of Arabia]

The Holocaust

[ricketyclik]

Originally posted by muxec
Creation of Islam or Chernobyl explosion.

The Crusades, as they appear to be still going...

[Boris Godunov]

Originally posted by Eli
Speaking about lots of deaths, the Black Plague also deserves a mention.

Actually, it jump started the Renaissance. Without it, world progress might have been significantly slowed.

I vote for World Wars I-II (as really a continuous war with a hiatus). Still dealing with the fallout of that debacle.

[Boris Godunov]

Originally posted by Clear Skies
The births of (variously) Adolph Hitler, Augusto Pinochet, Pol Pot, Osama Bin Laden, Joseph McCarthy...the list goes on. People with such capacity for hatred that the stomach turns.

Such people aren't born, they are made. I don't think Hitler was destined to become such a man, nor were any of the others.

[Demerzel]

Originally posted by Boris Godunov


Actually, it jump started the Renaissance. Without it, world progress might have been significantly slowed.

I vote for World Wars I-II (as really a continuous war with a hiatus). Still dealing with the fallout of that debacle.

Actually, I believe the fall of Byzantium is supposed to have jump started the Renaissance by the forced emigration of Greek scholars and technology to the west.

[Boris Godunov]

Originally posted by Demerzel


Actually, I believe the fall of Byzantium is supposed to have jump started the Renaissance by the forced emigration of people and unknown technology to the west.

The plague was the real ignition. The sudden drop in population led to a huge demand for labor. The labor demand led to increased wages, which increased the standard of living. The rise of wealth in post-plague Europe was led to the Renaissance.

[Az]

Actually, I've been pondering something. Could the use of Heroin by amongst others, pregnant women in the late 19th century be considered as a factor in the creation of the world's most evil men?

[Demerzel]

Originally posted by Boris Godunov
The plague was the real ignition. The sudden drop in population led to a huge demand for labor. The labor demand led to increased wages, which increased the standard of living. The rise of wealth in post-plague Europe was led to the Renaissance.

hmm maybe, but the influx of large numbers of influential Greek scholars and their knowledge would nevertheless be a huge part. Especially considering that the Renaissance was about the rediscovery of ancient Greek ideals and the further development of those principles. Pretty big link

[Spiffor]

Originally posted by Azazel
Actually, I've been pondering something. Could the use of Heroin by amongst others, pregnant women in the late 19th century be considered as a factor in the creation of the world's most evil men?

Impossible ! Bush's mother didn't use heroine !