OK, this seems so profoundly self-evident that it shouldn't need posting, but the utter confounding nature of religion and the irrationality that is associated with it, makes this needed unfortunately.

For those whose "faith" depends on bible stories to be interpreted literally, I will pose a question to you related to the story of Noah's Ark.

Now, those that believe in a literal 6 day creation also tend to believe that all of the bible stories literally happened (as written) and any mention of hyperbole, metaphor, myth, symbol, allegory, fable, folktales, etc, is anathema to fundamentalist Christians.

Creationists do not affirm macro-evolution, which states that new species of animals are formed from other species. Some creatonists will concede that micro-evolution (change in one species over time) does indeed operate in nature, but they are abjectly opposed to macro-evolution.

Basically, what this entails is that every single species of animal that exists on earth today must have been individually created during that initial 6 day period in Genesis. We can only have FEWER species, eradicated through extinction, but never MORE species than were originally created.

SO let's now talk about the numbers of species that exist today on the earth. There are 1, 017, 018 separate species of insects alone that have been identified and cataloged. This is just a fraction of the number of insects on the planet. There are estimates that there are well over 10 million species of insects residing on this planet.

What about all animals (including insects)? There are over 2 million separate species that have been identified and cataloged (yes, half of them insects). The National Science Foundation's Tree Of Life Project estimates that there may be 100 million species on the planet, and even this may be a conservative estimate. And yes, I am talking about unique species here- each with a particular genotype, not variations within one species. Each species is a separate animal.

So, what are the implications for this? Well, they are huge if you are a "biblical literalist." Because of the denial of macro-evolution, this then necessitates that each of the species (two creatures, unless they reproduce asexually) would have to be placed upon that big boat you call the Noah's Ark.

So, even if we were to go with incredibly low estimate of 30 million species on earth, this necessitates that you have 60+ million creatures fitting on a boat that was 450 feet long; 75 feet wide; and 45 feet high.(http://www.creationtips.com/arksize.html)

Keep in mind that some of those creatures were incredibly large- two elephants (of ever species mind you), two hippos, two rhinos, etc, etc...

Now, we haven't even gone into algae, bacteria, viruses, etc. I wonder how all those species would have been kept? Did Noah have some petri dishes made of shittim wood? And what about all of the earth's foliage. Would that not have to be completely drowned by being submerged for 40 days. There are very land plants that can survive very long being submerged in water.

So there you have it! 60+ million creatures- some of them microscopic (how would Noah even know he had them without a microscope), some of them weighing 12 tons a piece (African bush elephants)and taking up some serious floor space!

So, to all the biblical literalists who honestly believe this to be a true historical event, please answer this question- How did Noah fit a bare minimum of 60+ million creatures on a boat that was as long as 1 and a half football fields.

Wait, don't tell me- it was a miracle right?