14 Complex Science Facts People Struggle to Understand

1. Earth’s Squished Shape

Forget the perfect sphere you see in textbooks—our planet is actually an oblate spheroid, bulging at the equator and flattened at the poles due to the centrifugal force of its rotation.

This subtle distortion affects Earth’s gravity, influences ocean currents, and even impacts how satellites maintain their orbits. It’s a reminder that even the most familiar objects can hold surprising complexities.