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Amazingly, yes!

Yes, and other legends: AI Overview The Noah myth originates from ancient Mesopotamian flood traditions that predate the Hebrew Bible by over a millennium. Scholars generally agree that the biblical account in Genesis (composed c. 5th century BCE) is a theological reworking of older epics from the Tigris-Euphrates river valley. Mesopotamian Precursors The story of a divinely sent flood and a hero who survives in a vessel appears in multiple older versions: Epic of Atrahasis (c. 17th century BCE): Features the hero Atrahasis who is warned by the god Enki (Ea) to build a boat to survive a flood sent by the god Enlil to reduce human overpopulation and noise. Epic of Gilgamesh (c. 2100–1000 BCE): The eleventh tablet contains a flood narrative told by the hero Utnapishtim, which closely parallels Noah's story, including the releasing of birds (dove, swallow, and raven) to find land. Sumerian Eridu Genesis (c. 1600 BCE): The earliest written version names the hero Ziusudra, a king who builds a giant boat and is granted immortality after the deluge. Comparison of Key Figures Hero Boat Shape Motivation for Flood Biblical (Genesis) Noah Biblical (Genesis) Rectangular box Biblical (Genesis) Human wickedness Babylonian (Gilgamesh) Utnapishtim Babylonian (Gilgamesh) Cubic Babylonian (Gilgamesh) Divine caprice Akkadian (Atrahasis) Atrahasis Akkadian (Atrahasis) Circular/Round Akkadian (Atrahasis) Overpopulation/Noise Sumerian (Eridu) Ziusudra Sumerian (Eridu) Huge boat Sumerian (Eridu) Divine decree Theoretical Historical Basis While there is no geological evidence for a global deluge, several theories suggest localized catastrophes may have inspired these myths: Mesopotamian River Flooding: Archaeological evidence shows major alluvial deposits in cities like Shuruppak dating to c. 2900 BCE, likely caused by severe river flooding. Post-Glacial Sea Level Rise: The flooding of the Persian Gulf or the Black Sea Deluge hypothesis (c. 5600 BCE) are cited as potential region-wide events that survived in oral tradition. Widespread Mythological Theme: Similar stories of aquatic cataclysms exist globally, such as the Hindu legend of Manu and the Greek myth of Deucalion, suggesting the theme may reflect a universal human fear of nature's power. Note, however, that there are a large number of people (including my in-laws), who literally take the myth as fact!!

Yes, that's the Biblical narrative: all life except what was on the ark was destroyed, according to the myth. This might have been believable to people of 500 BCE, around when this was written, but we now know the idea is preposterous, for a multitude of reasons. People of those days, for instance, didn't know of other continents, with completely different species (i.e. kangaroos in Australia, howler monkeys in the New World, etc.). Wikipedia provides a quick summary of the story: "The story of the flood occurs in chapters 6–9 of the Book of Genesis, the first book of the Bible. Ten generations after the creation of Adam, God saw that the earth was corrupt and filled with violence, and that every intention of the thoughts of man's heart was only evil continually, so he decided to destroy what he had created. But God found one righteous man, Noah, and to him he confided his intention: "I am about to bring on the Flood ... to eliminate everywhere all flesh in which there is the breath of life ... ." So God instructed him to build an ark (in Hebrew, a chest or box), and Noah entered the Ark in his six hundredth year [of life], and on the 17th day of the second month of that year "the fountains of the Great Deep burst apart and the floodgates of heaven broke open" and rain fell for forty days and forty nights until the highest mountains were covered to a depth of 15 cubits, and all life perished except Noah and those with him in the Ark. After 150 days, "God remembered Noah ... and the waters subsided" until the Ark rested on the mountains of Ararat, and on the 27th day of the second month of Noah's six hundred and first year the earth was dry. Then Noah built an altar and made a sacrifice, and God made a covenant with Noah that man would be allowed to eat every living thing but not its blood, and that God would never again destroy all life by a flood."

Yes--read the AI response (although the changes in salinity would wipe out many, if not most, aquatic species). Note that the estimates don't even account for food, water, and sanitary needs, other than the "500 cruise ships" estimate. Even if it were possible to put all animals into a sort of "suspended animation" for the voyage, what would happen once the voyage was over. All terrestrial vegetation would have been wiped out. The carnivores would quickly eat the herbivores, who would have died in any case due to the lack of vegetation. Then the carnivores would die as well (and so would the humans).

AI lets one ask some interesting questions. My husband knows that I consider the story of Noah's ark to be one of the most stupid tall tales every told. Yet his parents and sister believe the story (although I doubt his brother, an intelligent veterinarian, believes the story). How many arks of the size described in the Bible would it take to hold two of every animal on Earth? To fit two of every animal species on Earth into vessels of the size described in the Bible, it would take approximately 12 to 83 Arks, depending on which species are included and how they are packed. The Biblical Ark's dimensions—300 cubits long, 50 wide, and 30 high (Genesis 6:15)—equate to roughly 1.5 million to 1.88 million cubic feet Ark Encounter +1 . Required Number of Arks Calculations vary based on whether you count broad biological "kinds" or every distinct "species" identified by modern science: By Species (7.77 Million+): To hold two of every animal species (including insects, which make up the vast majority), you would need roughly 83 Arks. This assumes an average animal volume of 1.2 cubic feet (roughly the size of a sheep) and a "compact" packing method that requires roughly 156 million cubic feet of total space SYFY . By Living Terrestrial Species (~1.5 Million): If you limit the cargo to the ~1.5 million known animal species (excluding those that live in water), it would take approximately 12 to 15 Arks to provide enough physical volume, not accounting for the massive food, water, and waste management infrastructure required for a year-long voyage SYFY +1 . By Biblical "Kinds" (~1,400 Kinds): Creationist researchers, such as those at the Ark Encounter, argue that Noah only needed to carry "kinds" (roughly equivalent to the family level in taxonomy). In this scenario, only about 7,000 individual animals would be on board, which would fit into less than 15% of a single Ark's capacity Answers in Genesis +1 . Key Constraints and Logistics While a single Ark could theoretically float with the weight of up to 70,000 animals National Post +2 , a literal "two of every species" mission faces several physical hurdles: Total Volume: A vessel large enough for all species would need to be roughly 2,100 feet long—over 500 feet longer than any ship ever built SYFY . Logistics: The space needed for food and water often exceeds the space needed for the animals themselves. Some estimates suggest that for a modern "zoo" style of care, you would need the equivalent of 500 massive cruise ships to handle the life-support systems Quora . Aquatic Life: The Bible describes the Ark as carrying land-dwelling animals and birds. Including aquariums for marine life would increase the space requirement exponentially due to the weight and volume of water Quora +3 .

It's part of the obvious sociopathy for MAGA Republicans. There's never outrage for their own behavior. Only for others'.

Well, at this point it seems pretty clear that there was infidelity and reproachable behavior. Rape remains to be proven.

My parents never said anything about Santa either way. My mother later told me "I would never lie to my children" (which she also told other parents who suggested she was depriving us of the "fun" of Santa), which for me helped me trust my parents all the more.

I agree. Just the fact that he resigned, and admitted to "using poor judgment" and having to patch things up with his wife definitely suggest that at the very least he had an extra-marital affair. I'm not sure rape was involved, but it seems as though something happened at this point.

It's clear that Trump is completely unhinged at this point. If the Republicans don't figure it out soon, it'll be their funeral.

Could be. I certainly have the highest respect for those who speak up at the time--which can help prevent further mischief. When I was molested by my gym teacher at age 12, I immediately told my mother, who had me see my physician the next day, and the vice principal as well. I found out at my 10-year high school reunion (those from our high school who came from the same junior high school often stuck together, even at the reunions) that this teacher had done this to others. If others had spoken out, hopefully I wouldn't have been in the same predicament. That's why I have greater admiration for those who speak out right after the fact, rather than when it only serves their own individual benefit/advantage.

I'm very interested by the lack of recollection of feelings. No one felt any upset with their parents' deceit? I certainly knew to keep my lips zipped at school (unless someone challenged me).

I started reading David Archuleta's book Devout: Losing my Faith to Find Myself in the ER, where I accompanied my husband, who'd injured his finger. At the start of the book, Archuleta finds similarity in abandoning his religious faith to figuring out Santa's not real. I asked my husband at what age he found out, and how he felt about it. My husband said that he was relieved to find out Santa was a myth at the age of 8, because he knew boys who were not as good as he was, yet who got better gifts. He'd always wondered why these boys got better and more gifts than he did. I have no idea what it felt like, since I never believed in Santa (obviously a preposterous notion). So were you relieved or disappointed to learn Santa wasn't real? According to AI: To visit every household in 24 hours, Santa would need to spend roughly 0.0003 to 0.0004 seconds (300-400 microseconds) at each house, assuming around 500 million to 1.6 billion homes. Including time zone advantages (32–34 hours), he must visit roughly 2,000 to 3,500 households every second. Key facts about Santa's workload: Total Stops: Estimates suggest 385 million to 500 million homes (accounting for those celebrating) or over 1.6 billion (total homes). Speed Required: Santa would have to travel at roughly 4.7 million to 7.5 million miles per hour (roughly 1% of the speed of light) to make all stops.

How dramatic! (But for the record, I have no ill feelings towards you--just your stubbornness & hot-headedness at times 😉)

As you may know, AH didn't actually win that election. But, yes, Trump does try to play by his rulebook.