"No one had any earthly idea how big this rascal could be, " Don Kidd, Carlsbad state senator and bank president, says approvingly.

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Strangers in the night dance 'til dawn in this four-acre garden of earthly delights, featuring world-class DJs, swim-up blackjack, interactive performance artists and a private island.

BBC: Daily deal: Scintillating sights in Sin City

This year, we saw the four surviving orbiters making Earthly journeys -- whether flown or towed -- to new homes at museums and similar attractions.

CNN: Danger meets discovery: Top 10 science stories of 2012

What earthly business purpose was served by chopping up the land this way?

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The monument is also a route to earthly salvation, in the form of tourist spending, for this town of about 22, 000 souls.

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They would travel together in the next world as they had in this world, their love and understanding of one another free from families and other earthly burdens.

NEWYORKER: Alone

After Dad was gone, I discovered that as an only child I inherited his house in this valley of South Carolina, in which I now lived, and all his earthly belongings, including our beloved dog, Murphy.

NPR: Excerpt: 'Between the Tides'