World3 min(s) read
Flat Earthers have believed for years that the Earth isn't actually round - but a new theory has emerged.
This time the focus, however, is on Antarctica.
Namely that Earth's southernmost continent is not actually a continent at all, but a massive 'ice wall' that encircles the flat Earth.
But is this theory actually possible?
This new theory was first spotted by USA Today on a since-deleted Instagram mock-up, where a user included a photo of TV personality Bear Grylls, accompanied by the statement that Antarctica is actually "an ice wall" that encircles the Earth.
The post's user wrote: "The ice walls, which contain the waters are real," wrote the post author. "Many have seen them but few have ever gone past them.
"When will the ruling powers of this realm allow us to leave our confined space? Are we destined to go beyond or are we physically not able to?"
However, those quick to believe this theory will be disappointed - as experts have pointed out that Antarctica actually being an "ice wall" is physically and scientifically impossible.
It is a scientific fact that Antarctica is a continent. Data captured by satellites over the Earth has confirmed the fact that it does not cover the entire Earth, as this theory posits.
In fact, the photographs captured time and time again by agencies like NASA prove that Antarctica has a defined mass with a definitive end, definitely putting to bed internet rumours that it's secretly a wall of ice that covers the entire Earth.
Speaking to USA Today, glacial geologist Bethan Davies confirmed that it would actually be impossible for such an "ice wall" to exist without a land mass attached to it.
"Ice shelves have to be attached to the mainland," she explained. "A circular ice wall would be unstable and due to lack of inflowing glacier ice would rapidly thin and disintegrate."
Of course, Antarctica is not some mystery land where no humans have ever visited. Explorers have consistently been mapping the region since at least the 1760s, so the thought that Antarctica is not a continent is fundamentally impossible.
In fact, according to official statistics, during the 2019-2020 season, around 74,000 people visited the continent according to the Secretariat of the Antarctic Treaty, and none brought back reports that Antarctica was actually a gigantic ice wall.
