"Use a real life event to illustrate the effect on population and society of a single catastrophe."

Calvin frowned.

This was probably supposed to be about war or something.

Boooorring.

"The meteor hit the earth, vapourising a hole in the ground which would one day be known as the Gulf of Mexico when the rodents who went to earth made their own ascent to sentience. Meanwhile, Colonel T. S. Rex, dictator of Northern control recognised that something had to be done to preserve civilisation. He sent out orders to corral the lesser beasts, so that the ruling classes had plenty to eat, citing 'emergency measures' and 'temporary protective custody.' They would just run if left to instinct, and that would never do.

Unfortunately for Colonel Rex, his understanding of population was not advanced, and nobody dared to tell him the realities of life, a lesson the subsequent dictators amongst the small rodents never learned either, which is that being the hardest bastard on the block doesn't make you smart, and killing your underlings doesn't help.

As a consequence, with the lessers rounded up and jammed together, they all passed on each other's diseases with disastrous consequences to their numbers. And when the few carriers who were personally immune were eaten, they gave the diseases to their predators. Society broke apart and there were food riots and fighting in the streets."

oOoOo

Calvin stared in disbelief at the 'A' grade on his returned essay, and his teacher's comments.

"Whilst brevity is the soul of wit, this is rather too brief, the reason it did not earn 'A+'. An excellent satire on the general behaviour of rulers and society following serious disaster, and if a little naughty in the choice of real event, I had not specified human. You have plainly been listening."