5 common misconceptions about the Earth

Many believe the Sahara is the largest desert in the world, the Earth is spherical, and Everest is the highest mountain on the planet, but it is not.

According to Business Insider, Earth always hides mysteries for people. Many of the "facts" about the Earth that we know are not entirely accurate.

The Sahara is the largest desert in the world

The desert is not necessarily hot and sandy but just dry and harsh. Based on the above criteria, the Sahara is not the largest desert in the world. This title belongs to Antarctica.

The climate of Antarctica is very cold with an average annual rainfall of about 50mm, making very few living creatures. The area of ​​the Antarctic is 14 million square kilometers, while the Sahara desert is only 9 million square kilometers.

Place the egg upright at the time of spring equinox

According to the concept of many Westerners, we can easily put the egg upright at the time of spring equinox (about 20 - 21/3 solar calendar) . Because spring equinox has equal length of day and night, some people believe that there is a balance of gravity between the Earth and the Sun that day. If a person can put a balanced egg in his hand, he will be lucky.

We can put balanced eggs on hand at all times of the year.(Photo: Tech Insider).

In terms of physics, any object has a focal point, if the center of gravity falls on the stand (the point of contact between the object and the plane) vertically, then the object is balanced. When using the finger to hold the egg, if you adjust the center of gravity, the egg will fall into the base, the egg will stand upright. We can do this every day of the year, just the eggshell has a firm texture and keeps the hand steady.

Mount Everest is the highest peak in the world

Mount Everest is 8,848m high, the highest peak in the world compared to sea level. But if calculating the height from the foot to the top of the mountain, Mauna Kea in Hawaii, America is the highest peak in the world, with a total height of 10,200m (the submerged part is 6,100m).

The Earth is the perfect sphere

The Earth is not a perfect sphere but has an ellipsoid shape , flattening at the poles and bulging in the equatorial area. Scientists think global warming and melting ice are making the Earth bigger and bigger.

Ancient people believe the Earth is a plane

Not most of the ancient people believed in the concept that the Earth is a plane. Pythagoras, living in the 6th century BC, was the first to claim that the Earth was spherical . In the 4th century BC, Aristotle agreed with this view. Aristotle observed that the southern constellations would be higher in the sky when a man moved south. He also emphasized that when a lunar eclipse occurs, the Earth's shadow is circular.