Universe 25 In 1968 John Calhoun put eight mice into what was basically mouse paradise. Food and water never ran out and there were no predators. Disease was controlled. Their basic survival was handled for them. The population exploded and eventually hit around 2,200 mice. Then everything started going to shit. The social structure broke down and some males became extremely violent. Others completely withdrew. Mothers started abandoning young and sometimes attacking them. Mating dropped. Young mice stopped learning normal social behavior. Then came what Calhoun called the “beautiful ones.” They ate, slept and groomed themselves. Stayed away from conflict. Looked physically perfect. They also basically stopped mating. Eventually births stopped altogether. The population went from around 2,200 mice to zero. Every single one died. By spring 1973 Universe 25 was gone. Calhoun originally thought overcrowding was the big issue. But the animals had food and water. They were not starving. The deeper problem seemed to be what happened when normal social roles stopped working. Eventually you had animals that were alive physically but had basically checked out of being mice. Sound familiar? Calhoun literally wrote, “I shall largely speak of mice, but my thoughts are on man.” Today more than half the countries on Earth are already below replacement fertility. The WHO now says about one in six people worldwide feels lonely, and younger people are among the hardest hit. People are surrounded by other people and still isolated. We have more entertainment than any humans in history. Food delivered to the door. Porn instantly. Endless fucking shit to consume. Think about it for a bit.