Californian man Mike Hughes argued that Earth is like a flat disc. He had planned to prove his point by launching himself at the height of 1800 ft with the help of a scrap metal rocket on November 25. However, due to official objection, his suicidal bid has been postponed for now.
Hughes and notable flat-earth rapper BOB have vouched about their belief in flat earth for almost two years. They are joined by thousands of people around the world, as was proved in the flat-earth conference of 2017 which was a sellout. Interestingly, the debate between flat-earthers and heliocentric model believers has been going on for ages.
Around 2000 years ago, Greek philosopher Aristotle, for the first time on record, proposed that planets are in spherical shape revolving in a circular motion around the earth. However, according to the Ancient History Encyclopedia, the philosopher got his first part right where planets including earth are round and revolve in a circular motion. But Earth is not the center of the universe or galaxy, as he believed.
However, Aristotle still managed to figure out that the earth was round in the ancient age. Another experiment conducted by the Greeks was "The Stick Shadow Experiment", which is one of the best-documented methods for the roundness of Earth.
The experiment was achieved by comparing the shadows of sticks in different locations. If the sun is overhead in one place, the stick would not have cast any shadow on the ground. This proved to be another major argument in favour of round earth. If the Earth were flat, both the sticks should have shown the same shadow.They would be positioned at the same angle towards the sun.
The ancient Greeks found the shadows were different because the earth was curved, and so the sticks were at different angles. Moreover, they managed to get within 10% of the true value.
Even the early photographs of earth taken on August 23, 1996 by the Lunar Orbiter 1 reveal half of the earth from the distance of 23,600 miles.Two years later, Apollo 8 astronauts took the first color photo of the earth from the moon.
It is, therefore, unusual for so many "not-uneducated" people vouching for the flatness of the earth. As we wait with bated breath for Mike Hughes to attempt to prove his point, this is something worth pondering.
