The Claim
The Hollow Earth theory claims the planet is either entirely hollow or contains a vast interior space, sometimes said to house an advanced civilization, accessible through openings at the North and South Poles. American John Cleves Symmes Jr. formally proposed the idea in 1818 and even petitioned Congress to fund a polar expedition to find the entrance.
The Evidence
- Symmes' formal 1818 scientific proposal and public lecture tour advocating for it.
- Satellite photos of the poles some claim show a mysterious dark opening or gap.
- A long literary tradition, including Jules Verne's Journey to the Center of the Earth, treating it as plausible.
The Official Story
Seismological data from earthquakes, which travel through and reflect off the Earth's actual internal layers, has conclusively mapped a solid inner core, molten outer core, mantle, and crust, leaving no physical room for a hollow interior or hidden civilization. The “polar opening” in satellite images is a well-understood visual artifact of how polar orbiting satellites stitch together images near the poles, not an actual hole.
File Notes
Despite being about as thoroughly disproven as a theory can be, Hollow Earth has had an enormous afterlife in fiction, quietly inspiring everything from pulp adventure novels to modern video games and blockbuster films.