A few months ago, I stumbled across a screenshot of this tweet;

Granted, the actual tweet was published over a year ago, and at first, I too simply showed it to my friends and laughed. "Obviously," I thought "this is a joke. A pretty good one, but a joke nonetheless."

But then things started "changing..."

...and I began to consider if there was perhaps a bit more to this theory, so I carefully constructed a timeline of events that might finally point to some truth. But what I began to find, however, was not that the universe was falling apart, but perhaps expanding, simply past the realm as we know it. (For length's sake, I'm only going to cover events that occurred in 2016, but mark my words, I'll be able to write another article with even more proof come this time next year.)

January 10, 2016

David Bowie lost his battle with cancer and the great Ziggy Stardust departed from this earth at age 69, leaving behind a musical legacy.

February 11, 2016

Almost exactly one month after Bowie's passing, scientists prove Einstein's theory of relativity when audio of two black holes colliding a billion light- years from Earth is recorded. Could this have been the first sign of the universe responding to a David Bowie-less realm? (After all, his last album is entitled "Black Star".)

March 2, 2016

Astronauts Scott Kelly and Mikhail Kornienkoliterally fell to Earth after spending almost a year living in space. Both astronauts were originally sent as an experiment that could foreshadow a potential mission to Mars in the near future. Possibly to find out if there really is life on Mars?

April 15-16, 2016

Within hours of each other, two devastating earthquakes hit, first in Japan and then Ecuador. Natural disaster caused my shifting tectonic plates or early signs in a tear in the fabric of the universe itself? (Possibly to make room for new parts?)

May 10, 2016

NASA announces the discovery of 1,200 Earth-like planets, doubling the amount of known planets in the galaxy. Some expansion that is found conveniently after Bowie's death? That's a bit too convenient to be coincidental.

June 2016

June was certainly eventful in terms of world events. Terror attacks in France, Brexit, more terror attacks at Istanbul Ataturk Airport, humanity appears to be losing all empathy. Not only this, but Zika virus diagnoses are on the rise and heat waves and floods devastate parts of the United States. Humanity is certainly... under pressure.

July 2016

Last summer really began to heat up with the release of "Pokémon Go" but also proved to be turbulent as more terror attacks plagued Europe. Meanwhile, on July 18, 2016, the SpaceX space station in Florida launches the SpaceX Falcon 9, which will carry two tons of cargo to the International Space Station.

August 24, 2016

Scientists discover a new planet, Proxima b, named so because of its orbiting star, Proxima Centauri. This planet has the ability so sustain life and liquid water. (It's not quite Mars, but still...)

September 5, 2016

The space probe, Philae, previously thought to be lost, was able to send two dark photos to the European Space Agency (ESA) from the inside of a comet. Why reveal this type of space oddity now of all times?

October 2016

Amidst Hurricane Matthew devastating Haiti and earthquakes literally rocking Italy, the Soyuz MS-2 spaceship launched into space where a new crew planned to spend 4 months aboard the International Space Station.

November 29, 2016

Although it's not directly related to the state of the universe itself, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approves large-scale, Phase 3 clinical trials of the "party drug" Ecstasy, or MDMA, which could be used as a treatment for those who suffer from PTSD. Could this possibly be the first observable shift we see in the consciousness of western culture? Learning to incorporate recreational drugs into medical practices? Allowing our minds to expand past what we already know? (Just like a certain Ziggy Stardust transformed into the Thin White Duke to provide a new musical perspective?)

December 2016

All things considered, this month was heavy with losses for beloved actresses Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds and an earthquake in Indonesia. In fact, many people argued that 2016 was the worst year they'd ever experienced. Even if David Bowie was the glue that held this universe together and he's since passed on and everything is falling apart, fear not. Given the fact that our universe seems to be continuously expanding, I'd say there's definitely more out there for us than just this life. David Bowie's still out there somewhere, keeping us from falling apart.