Appliance of Science: What would happen if the earth’s gravity suddenly disappeared?

This question is more science fiction than science, as, thankfully, we can’t just turn off gravity. But it is a question I get asked a lot, so hypothetically speaking, this is what we could expect.

WHAT WOULD HAPPEN FIRST?

If the Earth’s gravity did just suddenly disappear we would no longer have a force keeping us on the ground. The Earth would keep spinning, as it does, but we would no longer move with it; instead we would move in a straight line, upwards.