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Flat Earther Now Wants to Launch His Homemade Rocket Into Space (phillyvoice.com)

At a flat-earth conference in May, Mad Mike Hughes will announce details of "an Antarctic expedition with the goal of reaching the edge of the world...to prove once and for all that this Earth is flat." But before that, he's heading for outer space.

An anonymous reader quotes PhillyVoice: If you recognize the name Mad Mike Hughes, it's likely because he strapped himself into a rocket last March and traveled three-tenths of a mile into the heavens in the name of Flat Earth awareness. (See for yourself!) Well, nearly a year to the date after that momentous achievement, the limousine-driving daredevil and gubernatorial candidate has announced he's building upon the lessons learned last year and pushing the limits even further...

We caught up with him Thursday afternoon on the phone from California where he was "putting decals on the rocket right now!" Before any sort of Antarctica excursion, he's planning for a May 9 launch either in New Mexico "or the middle of the ocean if the government tries to stop me..." He hopes to reach the Kármán line, some 62.8 miles above Earth where space begins. "That way, we'll see what shape this rock really is," he said.

"More people will watch this than those who watched the fake moon landing. It will be an incredible, incredible event. People will see what I'm seeing for three hours up there and back and they'll be able to make up their own minds.... I'm the only guy capable of actually proving what shape this rock is, and that's by going up into space to do it."

The Science Channel is now filming Hughes' progress. (Here's a slick trailer for an upcoming documentary called "Rocketman".)

And Hughes says he's also claimed the legal entities that famous people are operating under, including Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, and Warren Buffett, putting these powerful people in a precarious position because now "they can't even exist..."

"I have a lot of court cases going on."

87 of 151 comments (clear)

  1. "Science Channel" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Ironic name for a channel considering they're devoted to crackpot conspiracy theories like flat Earth

    1. Re:"Science Channel" by Fly+Swatter · · Score: 2

      In this case it is more about the journey instead of the outcome, which is sort of like 'wherever you go, there you are.'

    2. Re:"Science Channel" by Chris+Mattern · · Score: 1

      In this case it is more about the journey instead of the outcome

      On the contrary, the outcome is all that matters to him and has already been determined. No matter what happens on his flight, he will proclaim that it demonstrates how the earth is flat.

    3. Re:"Science Channel" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      You have no idea what you're talking about. If he actually makes it anywhere NEAR space, he's a dead man.

    4. Re:"Science Channel" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      > the outcome is all that matters to him

      No. The only thing that matters to him is raising the money that flat earthers will send him.

      Flat earthers don't actually care about the shape of the earth, they only care that it is not some random spinning rock going around an insignificant star in the backwater of one of many galaxies, because that would prove that their god does not exist.

      They want to be in a special place, or the only place, at the center of the universe, because that will prove that their bible is true and they are god's special people. Flat earth offers that, science does not.

      If he offers to prove that science is wrong they will send him more money than he could use.

      On one hand there are scammers that use the 'flat earth' to make money using youtube or 'fund me' (and don't actually believe it), on the other are the gullible who will send money to support their anti-science religious beliefs.

  2. Except he didn't use a rocket. by dicobalt · · Score: 1

    It was a water rocket.

    1. Re: Except he didn't use a rocket. by ClickOnThis · · Score: 2

      It was a water rocket.

      And he did not even go as high as a tall building. Still, impressive, sorta like Evil Knievel.

      What impresses me most is that he didn't kill or seriously injure himself. Look, I do wish the guy well. But I'm looking forward to him coming back safely and eating crow when he admits he saw the curvature of the earth.

      And what he made is indeed a rocket. It expels propellant to go somewhere. The energy used to expel the propellant just comes from something other than a chemical reaction.

      Oh BTW, it's Evel Knieval. Not the spelling of first and last names.

      --
      If it weren't for deadlines, nothing would be late.
    2. Re: Except he didn't use a rocket. by ClickOnThis · · Score: 1

      Oh BTW, it's Evel Knieval. Not the spelling of first and last names.

      Whoops, his last name is spelled Knievel after all. Sorry. But he's Evel, not Evil.

      --
      If it weren't for deadlines, nothing would be late.
    3. Re:Except he didn't use a rocket. by Rhipf · · Score: 1

      Saying that is a water rocket isn't a rocket is a bit disingenuous. Just because it uses water as a propellant doesn't mean it isn't a rocket.

      The fact that a water rocket won't get you very high off the earth is a valid point though.

  3. best case scenario by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Best case scenario if everything goes exactly as he describes it (and the whole operation isn't a fifteen-minutes-of-fame grift, which it is), the only flat-earther whose mind will be changed is his, as all of the rest on the ground won't believe the any fake news video or pictures that he get from this.

    1. Re:best case scenario by Immerman · · Score: 1

      My money is on him heading south until the guardians of the Round Earth Conspiracy start remotely messing with his compass, causing it to spin around randomly and keep pointing at the same spot in the middle of nowhere until he finally gives up and goes home.

      --
      --- Most topics have many sides worth arguing, allow me to take one opposite you.
    2. Re:best case scenario by gtall · · Score: 1

      My money is on a Darwin award. Personally, I'm looking for a flambe soaring majestically before a final ka-boom.

    3. Re:best case scenario by _merlin · · Score: 1

      I don't think he's really a flat-earther at all. He was already doing daredevil stunts before he started talking about flat earth conspiracy theories, he just dind't get anywhere near the attention and funding. He's just pretending to be a flat-earther so other people will fund his hobby.

    4. Re:best case scenario by nukenerd · · Score: 1

      Thank you for sharing your insight. The idea would never have occurred to us otherwise.

  4. Ooooh, it is round... by Stolpskott · · Score: 4, Funny

    So, he goes up to space, sees that the edge of the world is not a straight line, and that the earth curves. So to maintain his "flat earth" delusion, he will come back and announce that the earth is actually a flat plate?
    Aside from the fact that I would *never* wish harm on another human being, I really hope that when he lands, he does not land on his head. There is probably not much inside it to be damaged, but it might leave a sizeable crater.

    1. Re:Ooooh, it is round... by fbobraga · · Score: 1

      So to maintain his "flat earth" delusion, he will come back and announce that the earth is actually a flat plate?

      I bet the crew will be silenced by other flat earthers, that will say that all was a part of a conspiracy... :P

    2. Re:Ooooh, it is round... by cdsparrow · · Score: 1

      My prediction is the rocket fails spectacularly and then he's martyred when the flat earthers decide the government had him killed.

      Maybe elon or somebody will feel sorry for him and let him ride in a real rocket, lol.

    3. Re:Ooooh, it is round... by HiThere · · Score: 2

      Judging by his last "attempt", he'll get fairly high, but not that high, in his rocket before some mechanical problem causes a spectacular failure that he survives unhurt.

      --

      I think we've pushed this "anyone can grow up to be president" thing too far.
    4. Re:Ooooh, it is round... by mark-t · · Score: 1

      Well yes.... that's what most flat earthers have always said... that the earth is round, but like a coin or plate, and not a ball. With the north pole at the center of the plate, and the area that is supposedly Antarctica being at the perimeter.

      So no... he won't have to move the goalposts of his argument at all.

      Of interest, however, is the angle at which the edge of the earth will appear relative to purely horizontal, and that to maintain the geographic distances we know can be measured, it will have to be the case that the horizon is dipping down away from the camera.

      To get the entire earth in a single field of view to see its entire shape at once, you have to be quite a bit higher than the Karman line... probably at least 5000 miles up. Of particular note at this altitude is that you only will ever see half of the earth at one time, and unless you are directly over the north pole, the image of the earth that you will see will not resemble the typical flat earth diagram in the slightest.

    5. Re:Ooooh, it is round... by dgatwood · · Score: 1

      Well yes.... that's what most flat earthers have always said... that the earth is round, but like a coin or plate, and not a ball. With the north pole at the center of the plate, and the area that is supposedly Antarctica being at the perimeter.

      Really? All you have to do to prove that theory wrong is measure the amount of time it takes for a boat or aircraft to travel from various locations to various other locations. The fact that it does not take a hundred times longer to sail between the tip of Africa and the tip of South America (~6743 km) than between Maine and Sicily (6691 km) proves beyond any reasonable doubt that their theory is absurd....

      Then again, the fact that you can fly either direction between those locations, over entirely different parts of the world, proves that their theory is absurd, too, so I guess I shouldn't be surprised....

      --

      Check out my sci-fi/humor trilogy at PatriotsBooks.

    6. Re:Ooooh, it is round... by youngone · · Score: 1

      Have flat-earth people never been in an aeroplane?
      I have, and I could see the curve of the Earth for myself. Maybe they should just go on a plane trip somewhere.

    7. Re:Ooooh, it is round... by Chewbacon · · Score: 1

      Despite you refraining from wishing harm, this guy is gonna die by his own stupidity.

      --
      Chewbacon
      The Bible is like Wikipedia: written by a bunch of people and verifiable by questionable sources.
    8. Re:Ooooh, it is round... by uvajed_ekil · · Score: 1

      No, judging by his last attempt, he'll fail miserably, it will still be widely reported without good cause, and the same idiots who believe him now will still be idiots and still believe this garbage.

      --
      This is a hacked account, for which the owner can not be held responsible.
    9. Re:Ooooh, it is round... by grep+-v+'.*'+* · · Score: 1

      before some mechanical problem causes a spectacular failure that he survives unhurt.

      No. He'll keep trying until it shoots way up, malfunctions, and blows himself up, which then starts the conspiracy theory that NASA / NSA / The Amalgamated Globe Makers of America had him killed so that he wouldn't be able to expose the truth.

      I do have a question for them, though. The Earth is flat, right? So we all live on the surface, or the top in other words. That means we can double the Earth's living space by finding the edge and colonization the bottom ... right?? Or is the Earth sitting on something "all of the way down?" I've always been confused over that. And heck, who says that the edges are inhabitable? Or does gravity just always go "down" so they'd slide off, and anyone on the "bottom of the sheet" would immediately fly off downwards. Well that's silly ... (right??), so that means it's Earth all of the way down and we're living on a very large mountain-top, with Earth on top of Earth, on top of .... Earth? And they acknowledge other round planets, so why is the Earth special again?

      I wish someone would explain to me what the Earth is sitting on, if any, and if NOT what happens to gravity when you're on the bottom. And if the Earth really is sitting on something, what happens if you drill down FAR ENOUGH? I'm sorry, I'm just way confused here; someone please enlighten me.

      --
      If the universe is someone's simulation -- does that mean the stars are just stuck pixels?
    10. Re: Ooooh, it is round... by JonnyCalcutta · · Score: 1

      They don't have an answer to your question. That would imply they have an actual scientific theory, but mostly they just want God to be important again.

    11. Re:Ooooh, it is round... by religionofpeas · · Score: 1

      All you have to do to prove that the flat Earth theory is wrong is watch a sunset, while talking to a buddy who's watching a sunrise at the same time.

    12. Re: Ooooh, it is round... by HiThere · · Score: 1

      You mean it's not turtles?

      --

      I think we've pushed this "anyone can grow up to be president" thing too far.
    13. Re:Ooooh, it is round... by bill_mcgonigle · · Score: 1

      Why are you trying to confuse these oppressed truth seekers with your fancy words? They can see right through that ploy.

      --
      My God, it's Full of Source!
      OUTSIDE_IP=$(dig +short my.ip @outsideip.net)
    14. Re:Ooooh, it is round... by angel'o'sphere · · Score: 1

      Hae?

      What has looking out of the window to do with curvation of the earth or horizon?

      The only thing you could argue is: the higher you are the farer you can look, hence behind the horizon on a low altitude is "something" and that behind you can see now, hence you could meditate and conclude: the earth is a sphere.

      However, regardless of height, in an airplane you see no "curve" of the earth. The horizon is _flat_ ... you need to do as one of the other answers suggested: examine a picture and see that at the left and right edge the horizon is a pixel or two lower.

      So, again: no, you don't see any earth curvation in an air plane ... I fly often enough to witness that.

      --
      Cost free eBook I read (by iBook/Kobo/Amazon/ObookO/Gutenberg etc.): "The Green Odyssey" by Philip Jose Farmer.
  5. A fail will not change their beliefs by fbobraga · · Score: 2

    I recommend this documentary: https://metro.co.uk/2019/02/27...

    1. Re:A fail will not change their beliefs by gweihir · · Score: 1

      Indeed. These are fundamentalists. Facts have no impact on their messed-up view of the world. At least these fundamentalists are not violent, unlike many others. They are doing a ton of damage nonetheless.

      --
      Most ACs are not even worth the keystrokes to insult them. Be generically insulted by this and ignored otherwise.
    2. Re:A fail will not change their beliefs by fbobraga · · Score: 2

      found the Netflix website link (that is missing on the article): https://www.netflix.com/title/... ( https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8... )

    3. Re:A fail will not change their beliefs by gravewax · · Score: 1

      yep these guys are like the anti vaxxers, doesn't matter how much proof they see with their own eyes they will still believe.

    4. Re: A fail will not change their beliefs by fbobraga · · Score: 1

      Your post remembered me of this doc: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0...

  6. An antarctic expedition? by Chris+Mattern · · Score: 2

    Maybe we'll get lucky and the shoggoths will eat him.

    1. Re:An antarctic expedition? by jwhyche · · Score: 3

      Antarctic doesn't suffer dumbasses lightly. Odds are he will wonder off in to the wilderness down there and we won't hear from him again till the spring thaw. A little math shows that should be a 100 million years, give or take.

      I tell you there is money to be made off these fools. If we can just get pictures of the turtle then we are gold.

      --
      I read at +2. If your post doesn't reach that level I will not see or respond to it.
    2. Re:An antarctic expedition? by phantomfive · · Score: 1

      I tell you there is money to be made off these fools.,

      This is a guy who is making money off these fools. They are paying for his rocket.

      --
      "First they came for the slanderers and i said nothing."
    3. Re:An antarctic expedition? by jwhyche · · Score: 4, Funny

      Humm... The world is flat and I can constructed a computer model to prove it. All I need us a dual socket threadripper 2990WX with 256 GB RAM, 32 TB of SSD, and Quad RTX 2080Ti's.

      --
      I read at +2. If your post doesn't reach that level I will not see or respond to it.
    4. Re: An antarctic expedition? by phantomfive · · Score: 1

      Now you have the spirit!

      --
      "First they came for the slanderers and i said nothing."
    5. Re:An antarctic expedition? by CODiNE · · Score: 1

      ITSFLAT.BAS

      PRINT "Working";
      FOR i = 1 TO 50
      SLEEP 1
      PRINT ".";
      NEXT i
      PRINT "YUP. IT'S FLAT"

      --
      Cwm, fjord-bank glyphs vext quiz
    6. Re:An antarctic expedition? by bill_mcgonigle · · Score: 1

      If you don't hear from him again he fell off the edge.

      --
      My God, it's Full of Source!
      OUTSIDE_IP=$(dig +short my.ip @outsideip.net)
  7. Gotta say that's going to be interesting by Crashmarik · · Score: 1

    Just how is that going to work ? There's no way to launch without accounting for the velocity of the Earth spinning.

    Just what conceptual framework is he using for flat earth ? Is it meant to be a rapidly spinning disc ? why aren't people just hurled off when they get to the edges then ?

    This should be absolutely hilarious

    1. Re:Gotta say that's going to be interesting by Immerman · · Score: 1

      Sure there is - launch with enough energy to make it to orbit if the Earth were standing still, and you'll get there without any trouble. At least so long as you launch to the east.

      --
      --- Most topics have many sides worth arguing, allow me to take one opposite you.
  8. Why not a balloon? by Gravis+Zero · · Score: 2

    Seems like it would be more logical to just use a high altitude balloon to go to the edge of space where you would either hit the edge of a dome or see the curvature of the Earth (while asphyxiating). Why deal with the complexities of a rocket?

    Then again, he does think the Earth is flat.

    --
    Anons need not reply. Questions end with a question mark.
    1. Re:Why not a balloon? by Immerman · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I think it's more a matter of a DIY rocket enthusiast catering to flat-earthers in order to fund his hobby. Fools and their money and all that.

      --
      --- Most topics have many sides worth arguing, allow me to take one opposite you.
    2. Re:Why not a balloon? by cdsparrow · · Score: 1

      I'm not 100% sure, but I think this guy just likes to do stupid expensive things. And by attaching himself to the flat earth movement, he found a funding stream for his hobby.

    3. Re: Why not a balloon? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      This was already proven the first time this guy was mentioned on Slashdot because they found old blog/forum posts from this guy basically saying "I of course believe that the earth is a sphere, but, you know, those flat earthers have some interesting theories.." and all his other posts were about his dream to be a dare-devil and fly on rockets.

      He only went whole hog on the flat earth thing when he realized how much publicity and funding he was starting to get and it's actually working so perhaps he's not that stupid after all.

    4. Re:Why not a balloon? by Immerman · · Score: 1

      I could have sworn most of the funding for his last launch at least came from donations to do Flat Earth "research" .

      --
      --- Most topics have many sides worth arguing, allow me to take one opposite you.
  9. Fallee by Tablizer · · Score: 1

    will announce details of "an Antarctic expedition with the goal of reaching the edge of the world...to prove once and for all that this Earth is flat.

    One man already went, but because he fell off, didn't live to tell about it.

  10. Re:Look at the moon by cdsparrow · · Score: 1

    They don't say whether the moon is round or not do they? So it could be round and spinning in sync with the flat earth so it looks upside down when you are on the southern 'hemisphere'...

    Or some such BS

  11. I like humans in general. by beep54 · · Score: 1

    It is the individuals that drive me bonkers.

    1. Re:I like humans in general. by cdsparrow · · Score: 1

      Hmmmm, I like some individuals but dislike humans in general...

  12. Movie name not well choosed... by fbobraga · · Score: 1
  13. The ISS has a new slogan by geekmux · · Score: 1

    Those in the ISS have turned SMFH into an legitimate exercise because of this shit.

    Flat Earthers; Making our astro/cosmonauts stronger every day.

  14. a good one for the darwin awards by e**(i+pi)-1 · · Score: 1

    ... but what if he lands on the other side of the disk?

    1. Re:a good one for the darwin awards by Streetlight · · Score: 1

      Disks have two sides. Half of the surface of the earth, with continents, oceans, etc., could be on the other surface of the disk from which one lives. We just haven't dug a hole deep enough to find the other side of the disk, so if you want to get to the other side, you must go the edge of the disk. Not a flat earther here.

      --
      In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act. George Orwell
  15. Whelp by 93+Escort+Wagon · · Score: 1

    There goes three minutes of my life I can’t get back. Why do we waste time on imbeciles like this? Just ignore him, he’ll still get an audience at the local bar and be happy about it.

    --
    #DeleteChrome
  16. Is it Kyrie Irving by pgmrdlm · · Score: 1

    The basket ball player? He has the millions to do something stupid like this

    --
    Anonymous comments are as pathetic as the anonymous "sources" that contaminate gutless journalism from the New York Time
  17. Plenty of other attempts recorded on youtube by pgmrdlm · · Score: 1

    By flat feathers trying this. Just do a search of youtube and previous attempts. How many times do they have to be proven wrong.

    Funny thing is, I found that information by trying to find a recording of the hillbillies and Jethro launching himself strapped to a rocket

    --
    Anonymous comments are as pathetic as the anonymous "sources" that contaminate gutless journalism from the New York Time
  18. Of course, all rocks ... by CaptainDork · · Score: 1

    ... are flat.

    --
    It little behooves the best of us to comment on the rest of us.
  19. He's calling his company FlatEarthX by Applehu+Akbar · · Score: 1

    His goal is to send an unvaccinated astronaut in his ship Green New Deal high enough above Earth to circle the south polar region, getting images above the ice wall at the edge of the world in a rocket freshly stickered with No GMO and No Nukes decals. A successful mission would return pictures of the turtles that our planetary disk is resting on.

    Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) tweeted his best wishes for the mission. "My aunt keeps telling me that 'if the Earth were flat like that bartender lady claims, cats would already have knocked everything off it'. Soon we will see who's right!"

  20. So let me get this straight.. by Leslie43 · · Score: 1

    He's going to look for the edge in Antarctica, because that is where it's drawn... By the same people who say the earth is round?

    If you wanted to hide the location why would you draw it right there on a map?

    1. Re:So let me get this straight.. by omnichad · · Score: 1

      It's hard to refute international flights that go over the North Pole constantly. So that had to be the middle.

  21. Dude knowing where you are going to land by Crashmarik · · Score: 1

    Is all part of that process.. As to orbit good luck a disc, and a square have very different gravitational profiles than a sphere, assuming he is even using the Newtonian formulation of gravity.

  22. No evidence will convince them by Roger+W+Moore · · Score: 1

    I doubt any evidence will convince him - there is already a preponderance of evidence that the earth is spherical. The Netflix documentary on flat-earthers showed this well.

    A few more technically minded flat-earthers decided to show that the earth was flat by very accurately measuring the distance between the top and bottom of two vertical towers. As you would expect they found that the tops were slightly further apart than the bases. However, instead of being convinced that there was a problem with the flat earth hypothesis they decided that their experiment must be wrong.

    If they cannot be convinced by their own data that they themselves collected and which refute their beliefs then this is not a problem that can be solved by a rational, evidence-based approach.

    1. Re:No evidence will convince them by tlhIngan · · Score: 1

      I doubt any evidence will convince him - there is already a preponderance of evidence that the earth is spherical. The Netflix documentary on flat-earthers showed this well.

      A few more technically minded flat-earthers decided to show that the earth was flat by very accurately measuring the distance between the top and bottom of two vertical towers. As you would expect they found that the tops were slightly further apart than the bases. However, instead of being convinced that there was a problem with the flat earth hypothesis they decided that their experiment must be wrong.

      If they cannot be convinced by their own data that they themselves collected and which refute their beliefs then this is not a problem that can be solved by a rational, evidence-based approach.

      Heck, a bunch of them bought a Ring Laser Gyroscope, which is a precision device we use to measure rate of angular change (gyros measure rates of angle change). They're extraordinarily precise devices, with no moving parts.

      Guess what? It measured the rotation of the earth! (the Earth rotates 360 degrees roughtly every 24 hours, or about 15 degrees per hour).

      Conclusion - their brand new gyroscope was bad. It just happens to be bad by the amount the Earth rotates.

      Then there are the "flat earth pilots" - the pilots who believe in flat earth theory. You would've thought one of them would've flown off the Earth Plate by now - since many claim to be commercial pilots flying transport aircraft. Or even just executive business jets. These people are only really claimed to exist - no one actually steps forward saying they're flat earth pilots. Must be hard to reconcile the fact that all the fancy equipment in the plane, from the GPS to the flight management system, all base their calculations on a spherical Earth.

  23. Why does slashdot by fredrated · · Score: 1

    give 5 minutes publicity to this mentally ill asshole?

    1. Re:Why does slashdot by bug_hunter · · Score: 1

      The question is, is he mentally ill, or is he a rocket enthusiast who found a bunch of people dumb enough to give him money if he gave flat Earth theory some lip service?

      --
      It's turtles all the way down.
  24. Re:Look at the moon by Pezbian · · Score: 1

    "...atmosphlatic lensing..."

    ftfy.

    --
    In a world of the blind, the one-eyed man is king--and the two-eyed man is a heretic.
  25. No reason to be in /. by ContinuousPark · · Score: 1

    Why is /. even discussing this bullshit?

    --


    "All the things one has forgotten scream for help in dreams". Elias Canetti
  26. You know who he sounds like? by Dripdry · · Score: 1

    He sounds like Trump.
    People should say the same of Trump: stop feeding him attention.

    --
    -
  27. Infinity and beyond by PopeRatzo · · Score: 1

    I love crazy sonsabitches like this They make the world a better place.

    "I have a lot of court cases going on."

    I knew a guy like this once. He was a chemist with a PhD and a good job and one day he asked me if I would read his manuscript. It was a 400 page "theory of everything" based on the shapes of numbers and dark matter and klein bottles and some kabbalah-level code that was the most insane thing I'd ever seen short of the Voynich Manuscript. Here was a functioning guy, who cleaned himself, went to work every day and spent 10 years of his life in a fantasy world of his own imagination. He was certain that his work would shake the very foundations of modern science and that there were powerful forces out to stop its publication and then he started suing everybody in sight and then he disappeared. Sometimes, I like to believe that he used his theory to construct a wormhole generator and is in some parallel universe sipping bloody marys and laughing at the small minds who wouldn't take him seriously.

    So god speed, you magnificent bastard. I hope you achieve escape velocity.

    --
    You are welcome on my lawn.
    1. Re:Infinity and beyond by careysub · · Score: 1

      Anyone here remember Ludwig Plutonium? He was all over the early Internet with his delusions he called "theories".

      --
      Starships were meant to fly, Hands up and touch the sky - Nicky Minaj
  28. Why Antarctica? by uvajed_ekil · · Score: 1

    Why does this crackpot need to go to Antarctica? If the Earth were flat, you could travel in any direction and find an edge.

    Better question: Why do we spend so much time talking about this stupid shit?

    --
    This is a hacked account, for which the owner can not be held responsible.
  29. Congratulations by CptJeanLuc · · Score: 1

    Congratulations to you Mad Mike. In our current social media world there is so much noise as everyone shouts their ideas into the void in order to attract attention; however like a bird in spring with a perfect voice you have reached a level of lunacy which lets you rise about the white noise threshold of crazy. The saddest thing ... you are probably not crazy at all, just using this as a strategy to become (in)famous and profit from it.

  30. Rocks are basically round by idji · · Score: 1

    nt

  31. Re:Stop feeding the dipshit. by Barsteward · · Score: 2

    Its simple, there's no need for rockets, he just needs to jump off the edge into space.

    --
    "The hands that help are better far than lips that pray." - Robert Ingersoll (1833-1899)
  32. Some physics, please by gorgonite · · Score: 1

    The coloration of the sunset is because the scattering crossection of air molecules depends on the frequency of the scattered light. Blue light is scattered more then red light. On sunset, the distance the sunlight has to travel through the atmosphere is longer, hence the effect is stronger. This also explains why the sky is blue and not black. It also explains why some animals can orient themselves by looking at the sky. Interestingly, this explanation will fail spectacularly in a classical model, so as a free bonus you get some quantum theory by understanding this effect.

  33. Re:flat earth by nukenerd · · Score: 1

    And he is allowed to work as a limousine driver? I hope I never find myself being driven by him.

  34. Re: Look at the moon by religionofpeas · · Score: 1

    Cut two holes in a sheet of paper. Hold it under a lamp. Note the difference in the projection of light down one hole vs another even if the paper is flat.

    Right. With a desk lamp you can get different shadows, but you can never get the extreme effect of the Sun disappearing behind the horizon. If you move too far on the paper, you'd see the lamp disappear behind the hood, while still up in the sky.

    The spherical hypothesis has not even tried to disprove its null hypothesis

    The sphere model is the null hypothesis.

  35. Re:Put him in a fkn rocket and send him 30K miles by ebvwfbw · · Score: 1

    A lot of people would take that deal.

  36. The quintessential American by mark_reh · · Score: 1

    Is he ignorant, stupid, amoral, or very clever and just milking the system for all it's worth?

    I blame antisocial media for elevating stupidity to an art form and for turning people who should be ignored into celebrities.

  37. That's great! by dddux · · Score: 1

    Maybe he should just stay there. Or maybe he could even take some of other "disciples" with him. Please stay there for as long as you want. Marvel at the beautiful, blue, *round* planet. :)

    --
    "It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society." - Jiddu Krishnamurti
  38. The ceiling by Tony+Isaac · · Score: 1

    He'd better not go too high, he might bump up against the ceiling!

  39. poor flatearther people by NumenMaster · · Score: 1

    these poor misguided people are giving this assclown money to prove something when, in reality, theyre funding his desire for adrenaline rushes and media attention. his first rocket 'test' couldve been achieved in a helicopter or cessna but chose to strap himself to a rocket. hes just a daredevil. now he wants to go to space and then do an expedition in antarctic.. nothing daredevilish about any of that. im surprised he doesnt get them to fund a climb up everest. i think hes operating on a level of brilliance as al gore with his carbon credits. hahaha

    --
    Where's my sock? There it is...
  40. Re:Stop feeding the dipshit. by Methadras · · Score: 1

    "That way, we'll see what shape this rock really is," This guy and his kind of thinking is the kind of fuckery I detest. There is ample proof that the earth isn't flat. You can look through a telescope right now and see that every celestial body within our solar system is not the only spheroid in shape, but rotates so that you can see it is. Also, you can look at live International Space Station footage as it orbits the earth and sees that the earth has a curvature and is spheroid. For fuck's sake, we are dealing with people who are mentally diseased in that they rejected 600 years of science outright because "No One Can Tell Me What To Think!!!" No you fuckwits, the evidence is there for you to see from all the hard work others did for you.

  41. An experiment to consider by DeVilla · · Score: 1

    I've always wanted to suggest an experiment to flat earthers. Take 3 ships to the Antarctic ring. (Is that what they's call it?) Equip the ships with beacons so they can tell the distance and direction between them. Just in case there is some curvature to the earth go with short wave instead of something that requires line of sight. (The illuminati might try to block the signal that way.)

    Send two of the boats in opposite directions following the shore of the Antarctic ring. Park the 3rd boat at the edge of Antarctica. Then just record the relative distances and direction of each of the ships from the others until the 2 traveling ships meet on the opposite side of the disk/world(?). The for fun have them circle back to the parked ship recording more telemetry. Maybe throw in some support aircraft to further gather more telemetry. Maybe also have listening stations elsewhere on earth also monitoring. All of this being carried out by flat earthers. (The rest of us can listen in to, but those officially involved in running the experiment must be flat earthers.)

    Then let them analyze the data and explain what they find. (I'm eager to hear that part.) Am I missing anything?