1. World globes are available in a variety of styles to fit the needs and preferences of everyone on Earth. Classic, functional world globes are staples in the classroom to help students visualize the world, ornate Old World floor globes add refined sophistication to your home library or den, and small gemstone desk world globes symbolize the global scope of your corporate office.
2. Kids often prefer traditional world globes with realistic blue oceans and plenty of accurate details, while adults appreciate ornamental world globes with antique white or modern black oceans.
3. Physical world globes display the natural geographic features of the earth using color variations to indicate land forms, vegetation, or climate regions. Political world globes display national and state borders along with many city names. Either format can use a textured raised relief surface to simulate the elevation scale of the earth's mountain ranges and ocean trenches.
4. Use an illuminated world globe in a child's room as an educational night light or in your den to create a softly lit atmosphere. Illuminated world globes have a light bulb inside that shines through the translucent plastic sphere. These unique glowing world globes also make surface print easier to read.
5. A reproduction world globe is the perfect gift for a history buff. These antique replicas feature historic cartographic reproductions that encapsulate the geographic knowledge at a certain time in Old World history.
6. Almost 80% of all world globes sold today are 12 inches in diameter. This size is small enough to be practical but large enough to display ample details about the world. Larger educational world globes have even more space available for information, while smaller, simpler desk world globes (often less than 9 inches) are ideal as elegant decorations for your office.
7. Many desk world globes include additional functions, making these artistic items more than just worldly symbols in your office. Choose a world globe with a clock or pen-holder for convenience and style.
8. For a stunning accent piece in your erudite library, choose a floor world globe that is easy to use and coordinates with your decor. Floor stands come in a variety of styles, from ornately carved traditional wood stands to sleek, ultra-modern designs for your contemporary home. Some desk globes can even be converted to a floor world globe in a few simple steps.
9. World globes provide an extremely accurate representation of the Earth, virtually eliminating the distortion caused by projecting the planet's 3D surface onto a 2D flat map. Most world globes are mounted on a 23-degree tilted axis, just like our planet, for a more realistic model.
10. Around 250 BC, the Greek mathematician Eratosthenes deduced that the Earth was round, not flat, and in 140 BC, the first world globe was built by Greek scholar Crates of Mallus. In 1569, Flemish geographer Gerardus Mercator developed the system of latitudes and longitudes to make navigating easier.
