Isabelle Johnson, age 13, of Prescott, Ariz., for her question:
WHEN WAS THE FIRST WORLD GLOBE MADE?
A globe is a map that has been pasted or printed on a hollow sphere. Globes of the earth are called terrestrial globes and they consist of a series of triangular or tapering strips of paper called gores, which have been pasted onto a sphere.
Perhaps the first terrestrial globe was made in 1492 in Nuremberg, Germany, by a man named Martin Behaim.
The first globes made in the United States appeared in 1810. A Vermont farmer and copper engraver named James Wilson made them in his workshop. He engraved his maps with such accuracy that when they were cut apart and pasted on hollow wooden spheres, they fitted perfectly. Many of the methods followed by Wilson are still used in the map making industry today.
Few globes are more than 18 inches in diameter. The Langlois Globe, produced in France in 1824, measures 128 feet in diameter and is probably the largest globe in the world.
Other large globes which measure up to 30 feet in diameter have been made for newspapers and museums. A globe this size, for example, is displayed in the Christian Science Building in Boston, Mass. Spectators stand inside the globe to see the outlines of the earth's surface.
Globes have many uses. They are used widely in the study of geography and can be found in many libraries and schools. They are also helpful in planning air and sea routes and in establishing radio communications.
Only a globe can gkve a correct picture of the earth as a whole. Because the surface of a globe is rounded like the earth's surface, a globe represents all parts of the earth's surface true to scale.
Distances, areas and directions can be observed on a globe without the distortion caused by projections used for flat maps. The proportions and positions of land features and oceans in relation to each other are seen on a globe exactly as they are on the earth.
The shortest distance between two points on the earth or a globe is called a great circle. Navigators make use of the great circle route in planning ship and air lanes. A great circle can be measured directly on a globe.
Globes may be mounted on a center axis to show how the earth rotates, or they may be placed in a cradle without attachment. With special accessories, many different relationships between the earth and the sun can be demonstrated on a globe. Such relationships include the length of daylight, time differences and satellite paths.
A globe which is a map of the heavens is called a celestial globe.
The earth itself is a great sphere and is often referred to as "the globe."
Antipodes are two places that are exactly opposite each other on the globe. The word comes from the Greek and means "foot to foot." Two persons standing at antipodes would be closest together at the soles of their feet.
The region around Australia and New Zealand is often called the Antipodes. Englishmen first used the term because these countries are almost opposite England.