In the history of the earth sciences, the constant use of theoretical cross sections of the globe - from Seventeenth and Eighteenth-Century Theories of the Earth to Nineteenth-Century geophysics until today’s textbooks and popular science publications - strongly suggests that the egg-model of the earth has been one of the most effective strategy for communicating science both within and outside the professional setting. Through an analysis of some influential cases, its evolution as a genre of visual representation will be outlined and the reasons of its persistence will be investigated.
