Reality of what would happen if Earth suddenly stopped spinning is leaving people horrified

Have you ever wondered what would happen if the Earth just stopped spinning? No? Well I'm going to tell you anyway, because it would be horrifying.

But if by some unforeseen phenomenon the Earth suddenly stopped spinning on its axis, the destruction would be unprecedented.

As we orbit the Sun on Earth, the planet also rotates on its axis creating day and night as whichever side you're on faces the Sun or the inky darkness of space.

The Earth spins at a mind-boggling rate. (Buena Vista Images / Getty)

It might not feel like we're moving at all, but we are in fact rotating at a whopping 1,038 miles per hour.

So bearing that in mind how would the Earth suddenly stopping affect us all?

Short term effects

Imagine for a second that you are on a merry-go-round at a fair that's going very fast.

If you were to suddenly stop that ride, everyone riding it would be thrown forward as the carousel stops, but they keep on moving.

Even the avalanche of lawsuits resulting from this would pale in significance to the destruction caused by Earth stopping.

That's because if the Earth suddenly stopped spinning, everything else on would keep moving at 1,038mph.

This includes all the objects, including every human who would be thrown eastwards at more than 1,000mph, according to a video by Insider Tech.

Honestly you'd better hope that kills you, because what comes next is worse.

Let's just say if the Earth stopped spinning it wouldn't end well. (Roberto Machado Noa / Getty)

We're talking a planetary level here, so the things that keep moving would include the oceans and the atmosphere.

There would be winds four times stronger than the strongest wind ever recorded, which was 253mph.

Then there are the tsunamis, which would make the largest recorded look like ripples in a pond as entire oceans moved and engulfed the continents.

And while this would be worse the closer you were to the equator, being at the poles wouldn't save you either.

Long term effects

The shape of the Earth would mean that water would be concentrated towards the poles, so expect a complete realignment of the planet's continental layout.

And even if you got through all that, the destruction of weather patterns would mean the collapse of food chains and ability to grow food.

The Earth's magnetic field was also gradually disappear, meaning we'd have no defence against deadly cosmic radiation, making life on the planet impossible.

People were well and truly freaked out after hearing about this apocalyptic scenario, with one writing: "Well that was truly horrifying and interesting at the same time."

Another put more simply: "Well f**k."

Fortunately, while the Earth's rotation is very, very gradually slowing, this is unlikely to be something we'll have to worry about.