"[D]uring the Carboniferous Period, the atmosphere had almost twice the oxygen as today. Insects could then grow much bigger and still get enough oxygen in their bodies. That's why the dragonflies here are as big as eagles and the millipedes the size of alligators."
January 1, 1970
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Cosmos%3A_A_Spacetime_Odyssey