If everyone on earth over the age of 5 disappeared, would anyone left survive?

[ajsmith2]

Stupid thought experiment that's been buzzing around my mind: Imagine if everyone over the age of 5 on earth suddenly disappeared. Only babies and up to age 5 left. Would any of those left be self sufficient enough to survive on their own long term? If not, what do you reckon the lowest maximum age would be for a human population to survive long enough to reach adulthood and rebuild civilisation?

[Sin Agog]

Enough with the quotes from Jonathan King's diary already.

[kittens]

few of the plucky little buggers will pull through, sure. my nephew is 3 and he can talk and walk an stuff. two more years on that, who knows what he'll be doing. yeah, they'll be alright.

[grassbath]

I reckon plenty would survive, but having grown up from such a young age with little to no adult influence I doubt they would be able to get it together enough to 'rebuild civilisation' - they'd have a unique and strange survivalist mindset, with weird diets and no formalised education beyond that age.

[Urinal Cake]

There's enough canned and processed food to survive.

[idunnosomename]

down with skool

[Mr_Simnock]

No, not a chance. I can imagine some might hang on for a few months but after that...

[Sin Agog]

At least Labour would finally get in power because of the youth vote.

[gib]

No, not a chance. I can imagine some might hang on for a few months but after that...

...Prince Andrew would get 'em.

I assume space lizards are excluded from insta death in this scenario.

[Ray Travez]

I read an interview with that Spanish guy who was raised by wolves from the age of three, I think he may have been plugging his book "I was raised by wolves but I'm alright no-oooo^oooooooo_oooooooow!", anyway, got the impression that if a tolder turns up in the forest all the animals just chip in as ad hoc childminders.

[JamesTC]

At least Labour would finally get in power because of the youth vote.

The legal age to vote is 18 so Labour would still not get in for another 13 years.

[Shoulders?-Stomach!]

There's enough canned and processed food to survive.

And there is enough information stored and registered to learn from.

There would be a great many who would survive.

The issue would be the collapse of power structures, leaders and laws combined with absence of essential maintenence of existing infrastructure.

It would get a bit scary in some places. Very, very scary.

There is a minor possibility that this 'leveller' would result in a better long term outcome for the globe 40 or 50 years down the line.

[BlodwynPig]

And there is enough information stored and registered to learn from.

There would be a great many who would survive.

The issue would be the collapse of power structures, leaders and laws combined with absence of essential maintenence of existing infrastructure.

It would get a bit scary in some places. Very, very scary.

There is a minor possibility that this 'leveller' would result in a better long term outcome for the globe 40 or 50 years down the line.

Blind optimism.

Nuclear reactors would not be controlled. As Western infrastructure decays and blows up (nuclear reactors) there would be mass death. Wild animal populations would massively increase with toddlers on the menu. In the Amazon and Papua New Guinean jungles you may have the best chance.

[Urinal Cake]

Most public infrastructure would fall over but not destructively fail due to failsafes. You'd get a few kids that would continue to read and learn so that they could have a sembelence of the life they remembered and progress that further. But most would just grow, learn enough to get by and it'd be real life Fallout 76.

[BlodwynPig]

But no broadband!

[Shoulders?-Stomach!]

Nuclear reactors would not be controlled. As Western infrastructure decays and blows up (nuclear reactors) there would be mass death. Wild animal populations would massively increase with toddlers on the menu

Nearly at the vinegar strokes are we?

[Replies From View]

The good thing about this scenario is not being able to hear all the toddlers screaming out for mummy and daddy for weeks and months.

[seepage]

There's a new book out with this theme: The Supernova Era by Cixin Liu, but instead of age 5, everyone over 13 dies and there's time for adults to teach the children about stuff first.

[BlodwynPig]

Nearly at the vinegar strokes are we?

I hope we meet one last time as our particles collide at well in excess of the speed of light.

[Shaky]

This thread exists merely to get us all talking about 5 year olds having sex with each other, doesn't it? I'm reasonably determined to avoid that.

[thenoise]

The legal age to vote is 18 so Labour would still not get in for another 13 years.

Tories would probably still get in on 'Postal votes'.

[thenoise]

5 years old is young enough to open a tin and/or know where the local shop is to walk there and ransack it. With no adults about it probably won't descend into makeshift weaponry and bombs too much, but I'd imagine it will get pretty punchy.

Some 5 year olds are good enough at reading already they can work out where the DIY section of the library is, and over the next few years can work out how to do essential things before it gets too bad. Society will take a while to get 'good' but by the time the survivors are 18, it will chug along well enough with those that are left.

Fake edit: what am I talking about, fucking library. Today's 5 year olds know that the answer to anything they can't ask mummy and daddy about is 'ask google'. There is plenty googlable to rebuild society, most of it is understandable by a 5 year old (if not necessarily implementable, yet).

[JesusAndYourBush]

If The Disappearance™ happened during daylight hours then the supermarket doors would be open so some of them would wander into Lidl and realise they can get food.  Some of them would cut their fingers on the can lids and bleed to death.

But if it happened out of hours and the doors were locked then they'd be doomed.

There is plenty googlable to rebuild society.

The power stations would continue working for a small period of time, but coolant needs to be replaced etc so after an unknown period of time they'd either automatically shut down or go into meltdown.  Is there enough power from wind farms going into the national grid that it'd continue tootling along with a small amount of power? (EDIT: No, people's fridges, tv's, etc that were on when they disappeared are all still switched on so there'd not be enough power to go round.)  Even if it did, parts of the internet would disappear sooner than others.

[Norton Canes]

Hang on are we saying every child who's had their 5th birthday will disappear?

[thenoise]

I don't think it's beyond the realms of imagination that some kids will find a way into the stores. Grocers children would probably know/could easily discover where the keys are. Plenty will die though - the vast majority.

[Dr Rock]

Dogs would eat them all.

[Replies From View]

There's a new book out with this theme: The Supernova Era by Cixin Liu, but instead of age 5, everyone over 13 dies and there's time for adults to teach the children about stuff first.

Well that's rubbish in comparison.  I hope and pray to find that book remainered soon.

[Replies From View]

If The Disappearance™ happened during daylight hours then the supermarket doors would be open so some of them would wander into Lidl and realise they can get food.  Some of them would cut their fingers on the can lids and bleed to death.

But if it happened out of hours and the doors were locked then they'd be doomed.

I like the idea that they would only steal from the cheaper supermarkets.  Like in that Smith and Jones sketch where he steals something that's on offer, or was it NTNON.

(Also obviously quite delighted that those without basic can-opening prowess will succumb.)

[Replies From View]

Hang on are we saying every child who's had their 5th birthday will disappear?

6th, I think.  If you are five years old you count as being aged five.  The ones endlessly boasting about being five-and-three-quarters can go, though.  You reap what you sow, mate.

[Dex Sawash]

Quality of CaB threads would surely improve