Amazing Facts About The Earth

1. The Earth Is Not Round     No, no – I'm not a member of the Flat Earth Society. The Earth is a sphere, but due to its gravitational forces it is not a perfect circle. In fact, there is a bulge around the equator because of this. The Earth's Polar radius is 3,949.99 miles, while its Equatorial radius is 3,963.34 miles. That's right: the Earth has love handles.   2. The Name "Earth" Comes From Anglo-Saxons     Every other planet in our solar system is named after a Greek or Roman God, except our planet. The word Earth comes from the Anglo-Saxon word Erda, which means "ground" or "soil" and is thought to be 1,000 years old. Ironically, the planet is covered by 71% water -- the only planet we know of in the entire universe to have this precious fluid in liquid form.