What is the highest mountain in the world!? – Myths debunked

What's the highest mountain in the world? It's an easy question, right? I mean, why bother even asking it? Everybody already knows the answer. Except, anyone who said Mount Everest is actually wrong. Everest may stand at a magnificent 8,848 meters and is summited by only 29% of those who attempt it. But in fact, if we travel nearly 12,000 kilometers from the world-famous Mount Everest in Nepal to the tiny island of Hawaii, you'll find the staggering stature of Mauna Kea. Measured from top to bottom, Mauna Kea measures a whopping 1,352 meters taller than Everest. So why have you not heard more about the world's tallest lump of rock? Well, the base of Mauna Kea goes all the way down to the ocean floor, 5,852 meters below sea level in fact. If measured from sea level, Mauna Kea only hits a modest height of 4,206 meters, which means it wouldn't even be in the top 100 highest mountains in the world. But who knows, if a meteorite hits the earth and evaporates the oceans, Mauna Kea could rightfully claim its title, although Everest would still remain as the highest point on the planet. Except that's still not true either. All those who have either summited or attempted to summit Everest in the hopes of conquering the highest mountain in the world may have done so in vain. If we travel nearly 9,000 kilometers on from Mauna Kea in Hawaii, we reach Ecuador. And here, in among the Andes, we'll find a little-known stratovolcano called Chimborazo, the one true king of mountains and the highest point on earth. The confusing thing is that when measured above sea level, Chimborazo measures 6,248 meters, which is actually 2,600 meters shorter than Everest. So how on earth can it be the highest point on earth? It's all to do with the shape of our world. Although the classic image of the earth is a perfect sphere, it's not. Our planet is slightly oval, flatter at its north and south poles, and kind of bulged along the equator. This means that mountains along the equator's fat waistline are further from the center than those in other areas, and therefore means they are technically higher. Chimborazo sits pretty much slap-bang on the equator, and measuring it from the center of the earth, Chimborazo hits a distance of 6,384 kilometers, whereas Everest sits two kilometers behind at 6,382. These two kilometers are enough to put Chimborazo at number one and completely knock Everest out of the top 20 highest mountains in the world. This also means that if you reach the top of Chimborazo, it's the closest you can be to space without leaving the ground. It's pretty cool. Everest does still, however, have the highest altitude, meaning distance from ground or sea level, which is the traditional way of measuring these sorts of things. So, the earth is oval, Everest is neither the highest nor the tallest mountain, and Chimborazo is the closest thing on earth to space. I hope you learned something new, and if you liked what you saw, then we've got plenty more in the pipeline, so subscribe and you won't miss out on those. If you have any suggestions for upcoming videos, please leave a comment as we'd love to hear them. Thanks for watching.