Back in May, I asked a simple question: what happens if you place a few primitive organisms on a brand new planet, switch on random mutations, and let evolution run… for an entire month?
To find out, I launched a 31-day Twitch livestream using The Sapling. Starting with just a basic alga and an aquatic animal, we watched as life on planet Wright-1b unfolded in real time. Every adaptation, every extinction, and every surprising twist played out live.
Over the course of those 31 days, we saw:
Algae abandoning the seafloor to drift freely across the waves.
Dordias rising as king of the seas, with sharper eyes, stronger fins, and teeth.
The first land animals evolving legs, followed by faster descendants with long limbs, bipedal forms, and eventually protective shells.
Seeds hitchhiking to new continents by clinging to the fur of aquatic animals.
A meteor impact plunging the planet into darkness, allowing fungi to take over and fungus-eating animals to thrive.
An ice age reshaping ecosystems, with plants adapting by going dormant and animals finding new survival strategies.
To share this story beyond the livestream, I created daily shorts narrated by Leo Richards, known from Natural World Facts. Many people asked to bring everything together into one complete video, so I made an extended cut that combines the highlights with new narration and extra footage.
Watch the full 31-day recap on YouTube
This project wouldn’t have been the same without the community. You named continents, suggested disasters, and even kept a living wiki running during the stream. Thanks for being part of this journey - here’s to many more evolving worlds!
Wessel