Von Ditfurth describes how the Earth periodically lost its magnetic shield during violent cosmic collisions between the earth and gigantic meteors weighing hundreds of millions of tons. Von Ditfurth also says the earth's magnetic North Pole has not always coincided with its geographical North Pole. During the past 76 million years, the earth's magnetic field has reversed its poles at least one hundred and seventy times. Certain regions of the ocean floor have been uninterruptedly emitting lava for millions of years. These areas record the history of the repeated dipolar reversals of the magnetic field.
Scientists can read the lava record like a calendar.
The author explores Continental drift and shows how it occurred on earth and how it is still going on today. The magnetic poles influenced the actual direction the contents would drift. The continents moved at the rate of several inches a year. Von Ditfurth also describes human sexuality in terms of evolution and Nature's desire to continue its species. He talks about the human internal clock and how travelers flying from the Northern Hemisphere to the Southern Hemisphere do not experience jet lag.