# What happened before the universe was born? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 6, 2006, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-before-the-universe-was-born/383016 "2006-12-06T02:05:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 3\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Full\_Metal\_Lotus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/df705f/32.png) [@Full\_Metal\_Lotus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Full_Metal_Lotus)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2006, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-before-the-universe-was-born/383016/61 "2006-12-08T01:18:00Z")
No one here seems to have mentione S Hawking’s pithy remark “Asking what happened before the big bang is like asking what is north of the north pole.” Regards FML ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2006, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-before-the-universe-was-born/383016/62 "2006-12-08T01:30:56Z")
Whatever happened to those theories Brian Greene used to discuss where the big bang was a collision between two branes drfting “apart” and banging into each other over trillion year intervals? It was in _The Fabric of the Cosmos_ around page 410. Anything to that or was it just wild speculation? ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2006, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-before-the-universe-was-born/383016/63 "2006-12-08T04:36:31Z")
From what I’ve read, it was speculation. Wild or not, I don’t know, but it isn’t supported anymore. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-before-the-universe-was-born/383016.md?page=3)