Get excited about Earth Day with these interesting facts about the world. Traveling to new places always expands the mind, but some of these facts might not be learned on vacation. Earth Day is on April 22 and it’s a day focused on protecting our planet.
Planet earth is constantly humming. Like a never-ending song, the world constantly hums a unique melody. The world is not a sphere (don’t worry, it isn’t flat either). It’s shaped like… well, read on to find out. Get excited about Earth Day with these interesting facts about our planet.
Earth Day was celebrated by over 2 million people in 1990, the first year it was celebrated. Twenty years later it was celebrated worldwide. Today, the holiday is celebrated by a billion people each year and is now celebrated by 192 countries.
1. Over 80% of the ocean is unexplored
Under 20 percent of the ocean has been seen by human eyes. That leaves over 80 percent of the ocean unexplored. Satellites has been used to map the rest, but humans have not yet visited a majority of the earth’s ocean.
2. The Earth's gravity isn't the same everywhere
The Earth’s gravity isn’t the same everywhere. Since the earth is not a perfect sphere or uniformly dense, there are places where there is less gravity than in others. The equator is one of those places where there’s less of a gravitational pull because, as Live Science states, “While standing at the equator you are further away from the bulk of Earth’s mass than at the poles, so the planet exerts less pull on you.” So, one would weigh less at the equator than they would further away from it.
3. Ocean currents’ cycle water around the world
Ocean currents cycle water around the world. The warmest waters come from the equator and are pushed toward the two equators. The cold water from these regions collides with the warm waters from the equator and, along with the rotation of the earth, the water then swirls in specific directions.
The northern currents move clockwise and the southern currents move counter-clockwise. Wind causes the movement of the current at the surface, but the salinity and temperature of the water causes the larger, deeper currents.
4. Melting glaciers are changing the Earth's shape
Melting glaciers are changing the Earth’s shape. Just like a river, the water from glaciers create valleys and can tear down entire mountainsides. Long Island, for example, was formed by glacier deposits.
5. The lowest spot on Earth is 1,302 feet below sea level
The Dead Sea is the lowest place on earth. The shore is at 1,302 feet below sea level. Formed by a rift in the earth’s crust, “two of the earth’s tectonic plates pulled apart to create the Dead Sea: the African plate on one side, the Arabian plate on the other,” sites Inside the Travel Lab. The rift it created originally connected to the Mediterranean Sea. Eventually however, the connection dried up. The Dead Sea then became an isolated lake.
6. Earth used to be hot as h***
Over 4 billion years ago, the earth was nothing more than hot molten rocks and lava rivers. The late heavy bombardment stage was a period with no human existence. Things began to change because of the influence of the moon.
7. Only the South Pole has a marker
Only the South Pole has a marker. The North Pole is actually in the ocean and huge glaciers move too much to place an accurate location marker.
8. The World is not a sphere, it's shaped more like a watermelon
The World is not a sphere, it’s an ellipsoid. According to Earth Facts, “as the Earth spins on its axis, it flattens at the poles and widens at the equator. Sir Isaac Newton proposed the centrifugal force causes the planet to bulge at the equator and somewhat squash at the poles.”
9. The Planet is constantly humming a song
Deep sounds come from the earth constantly. Ocean waves cause the quiet hum that oscillates every six or so seconds. Storms and earthquakes change the tune and volume of the song.
10. Over 99% of living things are now extinct
There have been five mass extinctions in the world’s existence. All due to nature. Because of this, over 99 percent of all living things are now extinct. Humans are in the one percent. For now.
