Gleason’s New Standard Map of the World.
-DID YOU KNOW?-
By Tara Yilmaz
→ Did you know there are people today who think the Earth is flat? Outlandish as it is, these modern-day anti-spherical believers are known as “Flat Earthers.” Despite the proven findings that the Earth is round by the Italian Astronomer/Scientist Galileo di Vincenzo Bonaiuti di’Galilei more commonly known as Galileo. Flat Earthers continually contrive theories stating the Earth is flat.
→ Did you know there is a Flat Earth Society? In the 1950s, English Conspiracy Theorist Samuel Shelton founded the International Flat Earth Research Society in Dover, England. His organization promoted the pseudo-science theory that authorities were concealing the true nature of the Earth’s shape. Preaching the Earth is a flat disc surrounded by the South Pole’s impenetrable ice walls, Shelton left little room for scientific facts in his theories.
→ Did you know Flat Earther’s belief that the Earth is flat is based on their perception of “they feel like it is, and it looks like it’s flat” instead of scientific evidence? Eyewitness accounts by astronauts and views from the ISS (International Space Station) are not enough to sway them inthe direction of logic.
→ Did you know that Flat Earthers dismiss all photos taken from space as hoaxes? Standing on their soap boxes in online chat rooms, conference, and podcasts spewing conspiracies that multiple governments are working together to hide the greatest secret known to man. By doing so, NASA (National Aeronautics Space Administration) have stations placed around the ice wall to guard people from climbing over and falling off the end of the Earth.
The 2018 ABC News, interview with Youtuber Mark K. Sargent mentions there are some contrasting views on what the Earth looks like within the Flat Earth society. He states that some details need to be worked out, but the overall basic concept is sound. The majority of Flat Earther maps have the North Pole in the center. Some Flat Earthers imagine the Earth as a snow globe with a 150-foot wall of ice from Antarctica encompassing everything. The Earth is round, but not a sphere.
Other fringe earth models suggest the Sun moves in circles around the North Pole with its rays moving back and forth in a flashlight motion. Further down the rabbit hole, they also theorize that Earth’s gravity is an illusion. Objects do not accelerate downward; instead, the disc of Earth accelerates upward at 32 feet per second squared (9.8 meters per second squared), driven up by a mysterious force called dark energy as stated on the LiveScience.com website.
Other conspiracies in the Flat Earthers catalog range from believing the moon landing was fake, to the government controlling the weather.
→ Did you know that 1% of Americans believe the Earth is flat? In 2016, Public Policy Polling conducted a poll in conjunction with asking about people’s political affiliations. With 93% of Americans surveyed believing the Earth is not flat, another 6% stated they’re not sure. The article also pointed out there was no correlation between political party affiliation and being a Flat Earther.
→ Did you know people are going to believe what they want to believe regardless of facts, evidence, photos, videos and eyewitness accounts from astronauts? In a time when conspiracy theories are masqueraded as truth, it is important to avoid groupthink and conduct proper research from the appropriate authority. If you have questions about surgery, speak to a surgeon. If you have questions about flying an airplane ask a pilot. If you have questions about science, ask a science teacher, professor or scientist.