If you thought the Earth’s molten core was something out of an Austin Powers film or your blurry Science class memories, think again.
According to The Sun, the centre of the Earth is far closer than you think, and to access it, all you have to do is open up a little rusty lid.
The Kola Superdeep Borehole, located in Russia’s Pechengsky District, stretches 12,262 metres below the Earth’s crust.
The world’s deepest hole was a project of the Soviet Union to better understand what lurks beneath the Earth’s surface. Drilling began in 1970 and by the ‘90s it became the deepest borehole in the world. It’s deeper than the deepest part of the ocean!
Apparently, scientists had to stop drilling in 1992 because temperatures were soaring to around 180 degrees Celsius – far hotter than expected.
The real question is: what did they find down the world’s deepest hole!? For starters, scientists found water 12km below the Earth’s surface which was previously thought to be impossible.
The brave researchers also discovered microscopic plankton fossils and rocks that were 2.7 BILLION years old. According to Smithsonian, another unexpected discovery was that the mud flowing out of the hole was “boiling” with hydrogen gas.
You can visit the Kola Superdeep Borehole today, and while it’s been bolted shut under a rusty-looking lid for safety, locals say it’s so deep you can hear the screams of people being tortured in hell – hence the nickname “the well to hell.”
Oh, and if you did manage to fall down the world’s deepest hole, it would take between 3.5 and 4 minutes for you to reach the bottom.
That’s a BIG OLD NOPE from me if I ever visit Russia. However, there is one slightly reassuring fun fact: if you scaled the Earth to the size of an apple, the Kola Superdeep Borehole wouldn’t even break through the skin.