XPost: rec.arts.books.tolkien   
   From: invalid@microsoft.com   
      
   sean_q formulated the question :   
   > On 1/4/2012 1:01 AM, In article "Re: _The Hobbit_ - first glimpse"   
   > Troels Forchhammer enscribed in Moon-runes:   
   >   
   >  > I do think it's fairly clear that the earth is round ;)   
   >   
   > *Approximately* spherical, except that the sun and moon cause tides   
   > not only with the oceans but with the stuff of the Earth itself --   
   > apparently even the solid rock of the crust expands and compresses   
   > with the standing planetary tidal waves, while the molten core   
   > sloshes around under high pressure doing its best to escape   
   > through volcanoes such as Mt. Doom. So the Earth is actually   
   > [I dunno the scientific word for it -- a "3 dimensional oval"]   
      
   An oblate spheroid.   
      
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   Michael Cole   
      
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