It is easy to see that every connected $1$-dimensional second-countable manifold (that is, what is often called just a manifold) is either homeomorphic to $\mathbb{R}$ or to $S^1$. Now let's drop the secound-countable-condition. > Is every connected $1$-dimensional manifold homeomorphic to $\mathbb{R}, S^1$, the long line, the long ray, or the long circle? A good survey about the latter spaces can be found in the [wikipedia entry][1]. Basically, a long ray is built up of $\omega_1$-many intervalls pasted together, and the the long line consists of two long rays in both directions. The long circle is constructed from the long line exactly as the circle $S^1$ is constructed from the line $\mathbb{R}$. [1]: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long_line_%2528topology%2529