Nobody (with the exception of scientists) has the first clue what’s in the centre of this planet we all live on. Travelling to the core has long been the subject of science fiction stories but just what would that be like if it was possible which it definitely isn’t? We’ve asked some of Britain’s favourite celebs...
WHAT'S IN THE CENTRE OF THE EARTH?
1 - MONTY DON (Gardener’s World Presenter) 64
“Well I spend a lot of time in my vegetable patch fannying about with my trowel and I’ve noticed that the main thing I seem to come across is worms. I’ve also noticed that the deeper I dig, the larger the worms seem to get which makes me wonder whether there’s one giant earthworm in the centre on the Earth’s core. My wife thinks I’m mad but I spend a lot of time fantasising about this terrestrial leviathan writhing around. I’ve even taken to worshiping the beast and performing sacrificial rituals in its honour. I don’t know though, maybe I’m being a bit daft”
“Well I spend a lot of time in my vegetable patch fannying about with my trowel and I’ve noticed that the main thing I seem to come across is worms. I’ve also noticed that the deeper I dig, the larger the worms seem to get which makes me wonder whether there’s one giant earthworm in the centre on the Earth’s core. My wife thinks I’m mad but I spend a lot of time fantasising about this terrestrial leviathan writhing around. I’ve even taken to worshiping the beast and performing sacrificial rituals in its honour. I don’t know though, maybe I’m being a bit daft”
2 - THOMAS SCHAFERNAKER (TV weatherman) 40
“As someone who occupies their time thinking about what’s going on above us rather than below I’ve never really given it much thought at all, but it stands to reason that there’s probably a race anaemic, subterranean rat people who live in a network of underground caves and have no idea that we live out here on the surface. Given that the temperature inside the Earth is the same as that on the surface of the sun they won’t have to worry about things like rain and drizzle, but when it comes to high pressure they’ll have their work cut out for them as it’ll be somewhere in the region of 360 gigapascals which makes the current pressure sweeping in on the Gulf Stream pale into insignificance”
“As someone who occupies their time thinking about what’s going on above us rather than below I’ve never really given it much thought at all, but it stands to reason that there’s probably a race anaemic, subterranean rat people who live in a network of underground caves and have no idea that we live out here on the surface. Given that the temperature inside the Earth is the same as that on the surface of the sun they won’t have to worry about things like rain and drizzle, but when it comes to high pressure they’ll have their work cut out for them as it’ll be somewhere in the region of 360 gigapascals which makes the current pressure sweeping in on the Gulf Stream pale into insignificance”
3 - JUSTIN WELBY (Archbishop of Canterbury) 63
“Well it’s certainly a hot potato and that’s why my answer is a hot potato. I once left a baked potato in the oven for three days in my Rectory and it was tough as old boots...but still edible. I sometimes think about all that molten magma down there and wonder whether it might be like God’s oven. Maybe he’s cooking a massive baked potato and when it’s ready he’ll insight the rapture and then dig it out and enjoy a well deserved snack. I’m not sure about the idea of it it being a place where demons live and prick at the damned with their pitchforks for eternity, for me that just seems a little far-fetched”
“Well it’s certainly a hot potato and that’s why my answer is a hot potato. I once left a baked potato in the oven for three days in my Rectory and it was tough as old boots...but still edible. I sometimes think about all that molten magma down there and wonder whether it might be like God’s oven. Maybe he’s cooking a massive baked potato and when it’s ready he’ll insight the rapture and then dig it out and enjoy a well deserved snack. I’m not sure about the idea of it it being a place where demons live and prick at the damned with their pitchforks for eternity, for me that just seems a little far-fetched”
4 - PROFESSOR RICHARD DAWKINS (Atheist Author) 78
According to scientists the Earth’s core is constructed from iron and nickel and lighter elements such as lead and uranium. Apparently conditions from the centre of the Earth have been constructed in a laboratory and the results, when viewed under a microscope, strongly suggest that these elements may have formed into giant crystals which run north
According to scientists the Earth’s core is constructed from iron and nickel and lighter elements such as lead and uranium. Apparently conditions from the centre of the Earth have been constructed in a laboratory and the results, when viewed under a microscope, strongly suggest that these elements may have formed into giant crystals which run north
to south which have been pumping out vast amounts of heat and radiation since the Earth was first created during the big bang.
However, I’ve noticed that when you water the garden the water disappears and doesn’t ever seem to come back out which makes me wonder whether the Earth is just full of water and could burst at any point like a giant water balloon. This idea frightens the life out of me and makes me wish that I had some kind of faith in an afterlife. I also stay up all night worrying that it’s probably full of skellington bones”
However, I’ve noticed that when you water the garden the water disappears and doesn’t ever seem to come back out which makes me wonder whether the Earth is just full of water and could burst at any point like a giant water balloon. This idea frightens the life out of me and makes me wish that I had some kind of faith in an afterlife. I also stay up all night worrying that it’s probably full of skellington bones”
5 - NADIA HUSSEIN (TV chef and Bake Off winner) 34
“Well if I was making a planet then I’d probably pipe it full of something like tomato and passionfruit jam or chocolate stout jelly. I reckon it’s nice and cool in the core of the Earth because it doesn’t get any sunlight so even if you used something like clotted cream I think it would possibly stay fresh for absolutely ages. That’s what I’d do if I was in charge but if you’re asking what I actually think is in centre of the Earth then I reckon it's just full of rocks and mud and that”
“Well if I was making a planet then I’d probably pipe it full of something like tomato and passionfruit jam or chocolate stout jelly. I reckon it’s nice and cool in the core of the Earth because it doesn’t get any sunlight so even if you used something like clotted cream I think it would possibly stay fresh for absolutely ages. That’s what I’d do if I was in charge but if you’re asking what I actually think is in centre of the Earth then I reckon it's just full of rocks and mud and that”
6 - DAPPY (Former N-Dubz rapper) 32
“I’ve always been quite interested in the Hollow Earth theory, most notably suggested by astronomer Edmond Halley in the late 17th century, even though this concept has been reduced to pseudoscience over the last 300 years I still reckon there might be something in it. As a fan of the book ‘Journey to the Centre of the Earth’ by Jules Verne, I do think it would be amazing if the Earth’s core was a vast, volcanic, landscape inhabited by prehistoric beasts and giant insects. Even if that’s just the stuff of fiction I still reckon it’s likely that Earth is hollow because that would sort of explain how it floats in space. If it was full up then I reckon it would just fall out of the sky and smash on the ground somewhere like a massive egg”
“I’ve always been quite interested in the Hollow Earth theory, most notably suggested by astronomer Edmond Halley in the late 17th century, even though this concept has been reduced to pseudoscience over the last 300 years I still reckon there might be something in it. As a fan of the book ‘Journey to the Centre of the Earth’ by Jules Verne, I do think it would be amazing if the Earth’s core was a vast, volcanic, landscape inhabited by prehistoric beasts and giant insects. Even if that’s just the stuff of fiction I still reckon it’s likely that Earth is hollow because that would sort of explain how it floats in space. If it was full up then I reckon it would just fall out of the sky and smash on the ground somewhere like a massive egg”