A compilation of unsettling trivia and fun facts about Earth
Earth, home to humans and countless other living things.
Like outer space, it’s still full of mysteries, and research is advancing every day.
In this article, we’ll share general trivia and fun facts about our planet.
We’ve gathered a variety of information about Earth—from its history, to slightly scary stories about the future, to astonishing phenomena.
As you learn, you may feel a little unsettled, be inspired to act more environmentally friendly, or be moved to think more deeply about our planet.
Discover Earth’s surprising facts and hidden secrets!
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A collection of unsettling Earth facts and trivia (21–30)
The temperature at the Earth’s core is about the same as the Sun’s surface temperature.
The Earth’s core is said to be about 5,700 degrees, which is roughly the same as the Sun’s surface temperature of 6,000 degrees.
The Earth’s temperature increases by 20 to 30 degrees for every kilometer of depth, and it’s said to exceed 1,000 degrees at a depth of 50 kilometers.
Since the Earth’s radius is 6,378 kilometers, the temperature becomes much higher, reaching around 5,700 degrees.
Although these are astonishingly high temperatures, the Earth’s interior is gradually cooling, and it’s thought that it may eventually cool and solidify.
If the core cools and solidifies, volcanic activity and earthquakes would become less of a concern.
However, it’s said that the environment would no longer be suitable for human habitation.
There is another large river beneath the Amazon River.
There’s probably no one who hasn’t heard of the Amazon River.
It’s the massive river that runs through the tropical rainforests around Brazil and flows into the Atlantic Ocean.
What’s less well known is that there’s another river flowing beneath it.
It’s called the Hamza River.
Because it carries a lot of sediment, its flow is slow, but in some places it’s said to be even wider than the Amazon.
There’s still a lot we don’t know about the Hamza River, but as research progresses, there’s a chance we’ll discover unknown forms of life.
It’s a little exciting to think about, isn’t it?
The distance around the Earth was first measured in the BCE era.
Can you calculate the distance around the Earth? You might think, “That’s impossible without a computer or a world map.” But in the 3rd century BCE, someone figured it out without even a calculator.
That person was Eratosthenes, an Egyptian astronomer.
Noticing that on the summer solstice there were places where sunlight shone directly and places where it didn’t, he used the distance between the two locations to calculate the Earth’s circumference and arrived at 45,000 km.
The actual distance is 40,075 km, so his result was a bit off—but still amazing, isn’t it?
The Earth could be swallowed by the Sun.
It’s a slightly shocking bit of trivia, but Earth may eventually be swallowed by the Sun.
That’s because the Sun is gradually expanding and inching closer to Earth.
Once it reaches a certain distance, it’s said that Earth’s surface will be scorched and the oceans will dry up.
It’s chilling to think about, isn’t it? And even if we could avoid that scenario, Earth still wouldn’t be saved, because the Sun is destined to burn out someday, and when it does, Earth’s plants would perish.
That said, this is still far in the future, so there’s no need to worry too much.
One circumnavigation of Earth is about 40,000 km.
The length of one circuit around the Earth is about 40,000 kilometers, which is a nice round number.
The reason is that our current standard of length was based on the Earth’s circumference.
Toward the end of the 18th century, units of length varied around the world.
It was the Age of Exploration, and distances across the globe were shrinking, but differing units among countries caused problems.
So a global standard for length was established: one meter was defined as the distance along the meridian from the equator to the North Pole divided by ten million.
Since it’s 10,000 kilometers from the pole to the equator, multiplying by four gives the circumference of the Earth.