Growing up and going to school, we are taught there are eight planets in the solar system. Mercury, Venus, Jupiter, Uranus, Saturn, Neptune, Earth and Mars. All of them orbiting space, large spherical bodies.
But, how do we know the planets are spherical? What proof do we have? Thanks to great scientific minds such Galileo Galilei and those working for NASA and other multi-billion-dollar space projects, we have vast amounts of scientific evidence through satellites and the occasional astronaut taking photos, that the earth, is indeed round.
Yet, there are those who still believe the world is flat. I know this sounds rather idiotic, after all, when was the last time people really believed the earth was flat? Not even those from the Middle Ages, when the scientific world was nowhere as advanced as it is now, thought the earth was actually flat.
However, here we are in 2018 with the Flat Earth Society. An organisation with scores of followers, each one truly believing the earth is flat. We have all heard about this group at some point of our lives and thought they were daft.
Honestly, who can believe in this day and age that the world is a disk flying through space, like something out of a Terry Pratchett novel?
There are also celebrities who think the world is a disk. Such as the pop star rapper, B.o.B. I don’t think he should be taken seriously though. He also believes the moon landing is a hoax. Then there is popular wrestler AJ Styles who is another flat earther.
Fortunately, there are no South Africans who believe the earth is flat. Or is there? Newcastle Classifieds was abuzz yesterday, August 30, when someone posted that they believe the world is flat. No, I am not kidding? If you missed the post, here it is:
Surely he must be joking, right? Unfortunately not. With the community engaging with him, attempting to prove their point, it seems he is rather adamant with his stance. As you can see in the next post.
Social media is a wonderful place, allowing people to interact and share their opinions. While some people were clearly frustrated with the man’s posts, there are some who took a somewhat more mocking stance. Their humour adding to the funny side of the initial posts.
Despite the jokes and the arguments, one Facebook user came to our hero’s aid. Our keyboard warrior is not alone with his ideologies.
But should we be taking our hero’s defender seriously? Especially, when he denies the existence of gravity.
Despite the ongoing battle between Newcastle’s Flat Earth supporters and those who believe it is round, thanks to social media, we are able to share ideas and have a good laugh while we are at it. And after all, who knows, maybe NASA is really lying and the earth is indeed flat….
Share your thoughts with us. Do you support the Flat Earth Society? If so, why do you believe the world is flat? If not, why do you think people are joining the movement?
Also read: Freaky Friday: The weirdest conspiracies people believe
Until next week….have yourself a FREAKY FRIDAY!!
