Despite fears in the olden days and even some modern groups dedicated to the belief, the Earth is not flat. In fact, it's an irregularly shaped ellipsoid. In other words, it's mostly round. But the website LiveScience decided to have some fun by considering what it would be like to live on a flat world, with plenty of interesting findings.
For one thing, gravity would be very different. Either we wouldn't have to deal with it at all – care to float, anyone? – or gravitational forces would pull everything and everyone toward the North Pole. In other bizarre circumstances, rain would fall sideways, the atmosphere wouldn't exist, the sky would be black because the sun's rays wouldn't disperse, and we'd only be able to breathe for a few seconds.
On the plus side, we'd no longer have to deal with hurricanes, but in exchange, we'd be bombarded by solar winds and radiation – basically, putting all of us inside a microwave. So, it's probably for the best that the Earth isn't flat.
Counting our blessings:
- Earthlings can experience solar eclipses because the moon is positioned perfectly in relation to the sun and the Earth.
- Earth is covered by 70 percent water, bringing and sustaining life.
- Earth's unique atmosphere allows us to breathe and protects us from meteors and the sun's harmful rays.