5 Strange Things You (Probably) Didn't Know About Earth - Free Courses

What’s the largest living organism on Earth? If you think it’s a whale, you’d be wrong.

Find out why … and find out lots of other things you might not know from these free Alison online courses.

#1. The Gravity Glitch

Did you know there is a place on Earth that is “missing” gravity? Yes, you heard it right!

It’s a place called Hudson Bay in Canada where gravity is lower than it is in other parts of the world. The reason for this is the decreased mass in the area. Less mass means less gravity.

You should add this place to your vacation list! But before you do, learn more cool facts about gravity.

How does gravity work?

#2. The Mysteries of the Ocean

Over 90% of the world’s oceans still remains unexplored!

We have been to the moon, we know so much about other planets and the solar system, but we know so little about our oceans, which cover 70% of the Earth.

We have discovered about 230,000 sea species so far, but there could be SO MANY MORE!

While you wait, learn more about what we do know.

Get to know planet Earth!

#3. The Space Dust

About 40,000 tonnes of space dust falls on Earth annually!

Earth is covered in tonnes and tonnes of dust from meteorites, comets, and billion-year-old pieces of the solar system!

If you think about it, we breathe it every day! It’s pretty cool, isn’t it? Want to know more cool facts?

Discover the wonders of the world!

#4. The Humongous Fungus

The largest living organism on Earth is a fungus called “Armillaria Ostoyae”.

Most of us would think it’s the blue whale, but this fungus (nicknamed the Humongous Fungus) is so much bigger than a whale.

Located in Oregon, it covers 2,385 acres, which is about the size of 2000 football fields!

Interested in learning more about living beings?

Enter the Exciting World of Life Science!

#5. The Beginning

And we saved the best for last, the origin of everything – The Big Bang!

About 10 to 15 billion years ago, the solar system was formed from a cloud of stardust and gas.

It was only about 4.5 billion years ago that fragments of dust and debris clumped together to form the Earth, and it was only fully completed about 20 million years ago!