History Main / UnspecifiedApocalypse

* ''WesternAnimation/LoveDeathAndRobots: In "[[Recap/LoveDeathAndRobotsThreeRobots Three Robots]]", there are conflicting reports as to why humanity went extinct. A nuclear holocaust is proposed first, and 11-45-G's research suggests it was environmental catastrophe brought about by environmental degradation and climate change. The cats claim ''they'' did it because humanity [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness had ceased to be of any use to them once they were given thumbs]].

** The events which brought the world to this are varied and unexplained, with events like "the war", "the rains" and "the bad mumps".[[note]]The "bad mumps" is nothing more than having them as an adult, when they are almost lethal and often render males infertile, just like with Abby's husband, although she says he had them "as a boy". It's also mentioned that one catastrophe was "the Bugs," "bug" being a slang for illnesses, it's not inconceivable that some of the WMD's exchanged were biological rather than nuclear. These "bad mumps" thus might have been a version designed to affect people more that he lived through.[[/note]]

* ''Series/TheFortyFourHundred'': The exact nature of the catastrophe that causes the [[DepopulationBomb near extinction of humanity]] in the future is never revealed.

* ''Literature/TheHungerGames''. The event that caused the fall of this world and the rise of Panem is never stated. It is hinted to be some sort of environmental catastrophe though. What ever it was, for whatever reason, one consequence is that [[ArtisticLicensePhysics planes have to fly low to the ground, since the upper atmosphere is apparently non-existent.]]

** The origin of the Triffids themselves is equally unknown -- they simply started growing all over the Earth one day. The theory put forward in the book is that they were engineered by the Soviets, then spread when a plane attempting to smuggle samples to the USA disintegrated at altitude allowing the wind to spread seeds everywhere. However, this is based on the claims of a single, now dead, person and is again presented as nothing more than a best guess by the narrator.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Nine}}'': It is heavily implied some sort of war in an Alternate Earth wiped out humanity, leaving our creations to inherit the Earth.

* In ''VideoGame/{{Obduction}}'', there's a theory among some of the characters that the alien seedpods that randomly abduct people to a strange planet are doing so in order to preserve the human species against some unknown but imminent cataclysm. [[spoiler: They are correct, as seen in the bad ending (and one specific vantage point in a late-game area}: we don't know what went wrong, but it's apparent that Earth got messed up, as there are scorch marks, ruins, and massive dust clouds roaming the surface.]]

[[folder:{{Film}}]]
* The details involving the nuclear war in the 1970s ''Franchise/PlanetOfTheApes'' series are never explored. All that matters is that the apes inherited the world.
* The film ''Film/StakeLand'' involves a vampire apocalypse devastating North America (and the rest of the world including the Middle East, except apparently for the northern-most parts of Canada) and two men heading towards this "New Eden". There is never any specific information about where the vampires came from or how they came to exist.
* What caused the end in ''Film/LogansRun'' is never mentioned, in contrast to the novel, where overpopulation is stated to the cause for the dystopian society.

* ''[[WesternAnimation/{{Nine}} 9]]'': It is heavily implied some sort of war in an Alternate Earth wiped out humanity, leaving our creations to inherit the Earth.

* There are multiple reasons given for the ZombieApocalypse in ''Film/ShaunOfTheDead'', including a new super-flu, GM food, radiation from a downed satellite in reference to ''Film/NightOfTheLivingDead1968'' and it is intentionally vague to which one is the true cause. In the denouement, a news anchor starts saying that scientists have now determined the cause to be... and is cut off when someone changes the channel.
* While it's not ''completely'' unspecified (WorldWarThree erupting), there is one detail that is ''very'' specific, which various characters ask throughout the film for the sake of trying to feel better, and that it's deemed totally unimportant to the rest who have lived to see ''Film/TheDayAfter'': who fired the nukes first, the Russians or the Americans? The reason within the film why the rest don't care is because the world is devastated either way and knowing this just won't fix anything. The reason in RealLife why this goes unmentioned is because the producers wanted to showcase the horrors of nuclear warfare and having the plot pointing fingers would be counter-productive--and interestingly enough, this is the reason why the film was not BackedByThePentagon.

[[folder:{{Literature}}]]

* ''Literature/TheDayOfTheTriffids'', to some extent. The mysterious green flashes that drive nearly everyone in the world blind are alleged to be caused by a malfunctioning KillSat, but this is [[UnreliableExpositor explicitly nothing more than an educated guess on the protagonist's part]].
** The origin of the Triffids themselves is equally unknown, they simply started growing all over the Earth at the same time. The theory put forward in the book is that they were engineered by the Soviets, then spread when a plane attempting to smuggle samples to the USA disintegrated at altitude allowing the wind to spread seeds everywhere. However, this is based on the claims of a single, now dead, person and is again presented as nothing more than a best guess by the narrator.

* ''Literature/{{City of Bones|1995}}'' by Creator/MarthaWells is set a thousand years after a calamity that reduced most of the known world to a ThirstyDesert. The few remaining historic records are from the "Survivor" era when the Waste was new (and [[DeathWorld molten]]). Subverted late in the book, where a new find reveals that the Waste was a [[GodzillaThreshold side effect]] of Ancient humanity's desperate attempt to [[spoiler:hold off an invasion of malevolent spirits from AnotherDimension]].

* ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}'' used to have a lot of these, with human civilisation having collapsed several times in its history both before and after colonising the galaxy. Most of these have since been explained in various books and other bits of lore added over the years. However, in-universe they are still almost all mysteries, if people even know they happened at all.

[[folder:VideoGames]]

[[folder:VisualNovels]]

[[folder:WesternAnimation]]

* ''Disney/AtlantisTheLostEmpire'': Whatever exploded that caused the cataclysm that destroyed (most of) Atlantis and buried the part that was protected by the shield. All that is absolutely sure is that one Atlantean looks at another and yells out "YouFool! You destroyed us all!" before they both perish in the tidal wave that resulted from the explosion, but ''what'' did ''that'', it'll be forever unknown.

[[folder:{{Anime}} and {{Manga}}]]

[[folder: Comic Books]]

[[folder:LiveActionTV]]

* ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime'': The Great Mushroom war is the reason behind the formation of the Land of Ooo, but for the longest time, the end was only hinted at being some sort of war. Even now, the details-- who was fighting whom, the exact nature of the weapons used, how or whether it's connected to [[TheMagicComesBack the rise of magic]], etc.-- are sketchy or simply not revealed.

* ''ComicBook/TheWalkingDead''. A smaller example. We know that the dead walking again caused the end, but why it started happening is never really discussed. WordOfGod has even said that he has no plans to [[ShrugOfGod explore the reasons either]].

* In ''Series/{{Firefly}}'' vague allusions are made to EarthThatWas, implying that something cataclysmic happened to cause an exodus. Details are never. The most explanation we're ever given is one version of the show's opening, which simply says that Earth got "used up," and the prologue to the film ''Film/{{Serenity}}'', in which a teacher says Earth could no longer sustain its population.

* In in the first game of the ''VisualNovel/{{Danganronpa}}'' series, the last trial, the Mastermind [[spoiler:(a.k.a. Junko Enoshima)]] reveals that the reason the students weren't actually trapped, but instead choose to stay inside the school for the rest of their lives was because of "The Worst, Most Despair-inducing Event in the History of Mankind" that caused the downfall of society. However, the specifics of the Tragedy aren't shown until [[VisualNovel/SuperDanganRonpa2 the second game]].

-->'''Host:''' Multiple choice: Which of Shakesphere's three plays is now thought to be prothetic of the Event? Is it A) Paracleese, B) Symbolene, or C) Boeing-Boeing?\\

* In ''Series/{{Firefly}}'' vague allusions are made to EarthThatWas, implying that something cataclysmic happened to cause an exodus. Details were never given, so it could be anything, from destruction to simple overpopulation. The most explanation we're ever given is one version of the show's opening, which simply says that Earth got "used up."

* In ''Series/{{Firefly}}'' vague allusions are made to EarthThatWas, implying that something cataclysmic happened to cause an exodus. Details were never given, so it could be anything, from destruction to simple overpopulation.

* Played with in ''The Peripheral'' by William Gibson. One half of the story takes place in the future, after "The Jackpot" wiped out a large chunk of humanity, with the survivors — largely rich folks — rebuilding after. A character in the present asks what "The Jackpot" was, and her future contact person eventually explains that it wasn't a singular apocalyptic event so much as various trends and smaller events over the course of several decades of decline.