You might not know much about Flat Earth Theory, or have had a serious conversation with a believer. I imagine that most Flat Earthers don't put their beliefs out there publicly, because they know they will immediately be ridiculed by most people they come across. So when you think about it, there could even be one sitting next to you right now...
In all seriousness, there are plenty of Flat Earthers with enough passion organise an annual international conference, inviting people from all over the world to speak on the subject.
The planning for the 2020 conference is already underway, and they're promising it will be their "biggest, boldest, best adventure yet." However, they've failed to notice one pretty major flaw in their plans.
After "extensive experimentation, analysis, and research," the FEIC - who are quick to point out they are not connected to the Flat Earth Society - are certain that the Earth is not a sphere. The most common theory among them is that we live on a stationary plate, with Antartica actually being a large 'ice wall' along the edge (now where does George RR Martin get his ideas?).
According to the Flat Earth Society, “the space agencies of the world” have conspired to fake any space exploration we have seen evidence of in the past. “This likely began during the cold war,” their FAQ reads. “The USSR and USA were obsessed with beating each other into space to the point that each faked their accomplishments in an attempt to keep pace with the other’s supposed achievements.”
According to the FEIC, "government space agencies are taking creative liberties with your tax dollars and producing misleading materials," while all satellite images of the Earth are either artistic renderings, CGI, or deliberately taken with curved lenses to trick us all into believing it.
For the 3rd entry of the annual conference, those attending will be taking a cruise - supposedly fit with its own restaurants and swimming pools (sign me up). One thing they failed to account for before they made this announcement, however, is that the navigational systems that cruise ships use are based on a... spherical Earth.
"Ships navigate based on the principle that the Earth is round," Henk Keijer, a former cruise ship captain who has spent 23 years sailing all over the world, told the Guardian. "Nautical charts are designed with that in mind: that the Earth is round."
Today, ships use the same global positioning system that is used in cars, using satellites orbiting the planet. Keijer, who now works as a forensic marine expert, said that the existence of GPS is proof alone that the Earth is a sphere. He explained:
“The reason why 24 satellites were used is because on the curvature of the Earth. A minimum of three satellites are required to determine a position. But someone located on the other side of the Earth would also like to know their position, so they also require a certain number of satellites.
“Had the Earth been flat, a total of three satellites would have been enough to provide this information to everyone on Earth. But it is not enough, because the Earth is round.”
"I have sailed 2 million miles, give or take. I have not encountered one sea captain who believes the Earth is flat."
So, that should settle it, right?
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