# Any Truth to Hollow Earth Theory?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-truth-to-hollow-earth-theory/219278
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [December 16, 2003, 7:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-truth-to-hollow-earth-theory/219278 "2003-12-16T07:03:44Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@excaudate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/excaudate)
#### Post date: [December 16, 2003, 7:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-truth-to-hollow-earth-theory/219278/1 "2003-12-16T07:03:44Z")
^^
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### Author:  [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)
#### Post date: [December 16, 2003, 7:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-truth-to-hollow-earth-theory/219278/2 "2003-12-16T07:06:04Z")
No.
The Earth is packed full of solid stuff. Most of it is socks.
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### Author:  [@Desmostylus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Desmostylus)
#### Post date: [December 16, 2003, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-truth-to-hollow-earth-theory/219278/3 "2003-12-16T07:07:01Z")
And underpants. Don’t forget the underpants.
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### Author:  [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)
#### Post date: [December 16, 2003, 7:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-truth-to-hollow-earth-theory/219278/4 "2003-12-16T07:30:19Z")
I always forget the underpants.
I’ve been told it’s my fatal flaw.
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### Author:  [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)
#### Post date: [December 16, 2003, 7:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-truth-to-hollow-earth-theory/219278/5 "2003-12-16T07:40:16Z")
Except for the cosmic pendulum tube running from the North Pole to the South Pole, it’s solid, baby.
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### Author:  [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)
#### Post date: [December 16, 2003, 7:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-truth-to-hollow-earth-theory/219278/6 "2003-12-16T07:46:37Z")
No. The Earth is hollow and we live on the inside. Know the stars? Cities on the other side of the sphereoid. The sun is a giant UFO that passes around the inside, and the sky is its cloaking field. The illusion of a convex Earth can be attributed to this field.
Oh, and we never made it to the Moon. We were simply walking around on the outside. That is, until Jesus got his shotgun and told us to get off his dirt farm.
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### Author:  [@Blake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blake)
#### Post date: [December 16, 2003, 7:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-truth-to-hollow-earth-theory/219278/7 "2003-12-16T07:54:11Z")
Come one people. This is funny and all but look at the post count. When a newbie comes in and asks a question couldn’t we try for at least one sensible answer before we get to the ‘1920s style death ray’ posts?
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### Author:  [@t-keela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/t-keela)
#### Post date: [December 16, 2003, 8:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-truth-to-hollow-earth-theory/219278/8 "2003-12-16T08:02:35Z")
Which “Hollow Earth” theory are you referring to? How hollow do you mean?
Is there a big empty at the earth’s center vs. are there thousands of miles of caverns, rivers, lakes and huge hollow chambers beneath the earth’s surface?
Hopefully you are referring to the latter example with a scientific approach and not some idea of a secret subterranean civilization living beneath the surface.
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### Author:  [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)
#### Post date: [December 16, 2003, 8:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-truth-to-hollow-earth-theory/219278/9 "2003-12-16T08:03:44Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Blake \*
> \*\*Come one people. This is funny and all but look at the post count. When a newbie comes in and asks a question couldn’t we try for at least one sensible answer before we get to the ‘1920s style death ray’ posts? \*\*
Humorous answers to a blatantly obvious question is my motto.
OK, I’ll be serious: The Earth is solid. It is full of molten rock, mostly, with a core of extremely hot iron at pressures so intense it’s a solid, even though on the surface it would doubtless be in gaseous form. The idea of a hollow Earth is so amazingly stupid it’s difficult to imagine anyone holding it in modern times, although certain members of the Nazi party appeared to.
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### Author:  [@Blake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blake)
#### Post date: [December 16, 2003, 8:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-truth-to-hollow-earth-theory/219278/10 "2003-12-16T08:08:46Z")
> [@](#):
>
> Humorous answers to a blatantly obvious question is my motto.
Obvious to you and me. To many people on this planet I am sure that it’s not so obvious. Fighting ignorance and all that.
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### Author:  [@Desmostylus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Desmostylus)
#### Post date: [December 16, 2003, 8:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-truth-to-hollow-earth-theory/219278/11 "2003-12-16T08:51:46Z")
Well how’s about you follow your own advice, **Blake** , and maybe attempt an answer? 🙂
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### Author:  [@HPL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HPL)
#### Post date: [December 16, 2003, 8:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-truth-to-hollow-earth-theory/219278/12 "2003-12-16T08:55:08Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Desmostylus \*
> \*\*And underpants. Don’t forget the underpants. \*\*
You mean because the gnomes have been stealing them and putting them down there?
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### Author:  [@HPL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HPL)
#### Post date: [December 16, 2003, 8:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-truth-to-hollow-earth-theory/219278/13 "2003-12-16T08:57:16Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Derleth \*
> \*\*Humorous answers to a blatantly obvious question is my motto.
>
> OK, I’ll be serious: The Earth is solid. It is full of molten rock, mostly, with a core of extremely hot iron at pressures so intense it’s a solid, even though on the surface it would doubtless be in gaseous form. The idea of a hollow Earth is so amazingly stupid it’s difficult to imagine anyone holding it in modern times, although certain members of the Nazi party appeared to. \*\*
For some reason, it was a rather popular theory during the 19th century, but then again, so for theosphy. Poe used it in a couple of his stories
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### Author:  [@HPL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HPL)
#### Post date: [December 16, 2003, 8:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-truth-to-hollow-earth-theory/219278/14 "2003-12-16T08:57:28Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Derleth \*
> \*\*Humorous answers to a blatantly obvious question is my motto.
>
> OK, I’ll be serious: The Earth is solid. It is full of molten rock, mostly, with a core of extremely hot iron at pressures so intense it’s a solid, even though on the surface it would doubtless be in gaseous form. The idea of a hollow Earth is so amazingly stupid it’s difficult to imagine anyone holding it in modern times, although certain members of the Nazi party appeared to. \*\*
For some reason, it was a rather popular theory during the 19th century, but then again, so for theosphy. Poe used it in a couple of his stories, but I don’t know if he believed in it.
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### Author:  [@notquitekarpov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notquitekarpov)
#### Post date: [December 16, 2003, 9:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-truth-to-hollow-earth-theory/219278/15 "2003-12-16T09:20:49Z")
If nothing else, all seismic studies support a solid earth hypothesis. Seismics work on the basis of shock waves travelling a different speeds through different densities of materials, there are recording stations all around the world picking up on earthquake actvity.
If there were even any significant open spaces, let alone a hollow earth, down there then we would know about it.
By solid, do not assume solid rock as in unbending - think more in terms of plastic rock, bending and flowing under extremes of temperature and pressure.
Of course we could all be being “whooshed” here…
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### Author:  [@Blake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blake)
#### Post date: [December 16, 2003, 9:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-truth-to-hollow-earth-theory/219278/16 "2003-12-16T09:26:04Z")
> [@](#):
>
> Well how’s about you follow your own advice, Blake, and maybe attempt an answer?
I prefer to leave answers to those who know more of what the are talking about. While I know that the Earthis hollow and genal structure of crust, matle core etc I don’t know details and I don’t know exactly how we determined these things.
IOW I could answer with “No” but very little else.
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### Author:  [@spingears](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spingears)
#### Post date: [December 16, 2003, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-truth-to-hollow-earth-theory/219278/17 "2003-12-16T12:48:09Z")
Of course it’s hollow, every body with a hollow head KNOWS the earth is a hollow shell of its’ former self.
* * *
“Beware of the Cog”
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### Author:  [@spingears](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spingears)
#### Post date: [December 16, 2003, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-truth-to-hollow-earth-theory/219278/18 "2003-12-16T12:52:17Z")
2 Timothy 2:23 But foolish and unlearned questions avoid…
* * *
“Beware of the Cog”
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### Author:  [@RadioOrange](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RadioOrange)
#### Post date: [December 16, 2003, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-truth-to-hollow-earth-theory/219278/19 "2003-12-16T13:12:44Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by HPL \*
> \*\*You mean because the gnomes have been stealing them and putting them down there? \*\*
Damn, I Knew it!
The Earth can’t be hollow, otherwise we wouldn’t be able to bury our dead. They’d just float on down to China.
Seriously, everything I’ve read has had something in the center there.
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### Author:  [@MC\_Master\_of\_Ceremonies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MC_Master_of_Ceremonies)
#### Post date: [December 16, 2003, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-truth-to-hollow-earth-theory/219278/20 "2003-12-16T14:13:51Z")
Yes, as a matter of fact there is.
If you take a theory simlair to Cyrus Teed’s hollow Earth theory, [described here along with other hollow Earth theories](http://www.unmuseum.org/hollow.htm) , modify it and use a certain geometry you could come up with exactly the same results as the standard model of the universe.
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