Perhaps one of the most educational and available references of our planet is that of the globe. World globes have long been associated with knowledge and education while carrying a sense of professionalism and distinction as well. The globe has served as a tool for mankind for thousands of years, since the dawn of time when man has looked up at the stars and wondered of his own existence, the heavens, and the land and water that lied around him. History attributes the creation of the original world globe to Crates of Mallus, Greece in the 2nd century BC. A leader of the literary school, Crates was a stoic philosopher and language grammarian during the 2nd century BC. What's most important here is that the world globe Crates created serves as the first indication that the world was round, long before Pithagora in the 600's AD, Copernicus in the 1400's AD or, more commonly known, Magellan in the first sailing voyage around the world in 1519.



Modern world globes have an even more accurate representation of our planet, and continue to grow and develop as more detailed and accessible reference resources. World globes are used by those in both public and private education, as is no stranger to the professionals in research and business vocations. Parents are utilizing world globes as well. Taking a part in their child's personal education, moms and dads are increasingly applying the world globe and its wealth of information to the educational exercises of their home learning environment. Over time, the world globe has proven its worthiness as a tactile reference and learning tool, and has consistently helped our society turn out well-educated and responsible contributing citizens.

The characteristics of a world globe are just as beautiful as they are diverse. Though it is more often mounted on a single axis, the world globe can also be mounted on a dual axis. The single axis represents the line running from the North to South Pole on which the Earth realistically spins. It is 23.5 degrees, the exact tilt of the Earth in relationship to the Sun. However, this rotational angle is not always convenient and therefore the dual axis mount was created to allow world globes the ability to rotate on both an equatorial (horizontal) and polar (vertical) axis as well.

World globes also have bumped or textured surfaces, called raised relief. These surfaces of world globes highlight mountainous areas of the world with a visible and tangible raised texture. This emphasizes the height and rockiness of the mountain ranges found on the Earth. Alternatively, world globes also have indented relief. These areas of lower, depressed surface area symbolize valleys and other lower sections of the Earth, such as oceans. The raised and indented reliefs of a world globe make it all the most useful as an academic reference since it more accurately represents our planet's characteristics.