# Flat-Earther builds a rocket **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 22, 2017, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flat-earther-builds-a-rocket/802427 "2017-11-22T18:00:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2017, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flat-earther-builds-a-rocket/802427/21 "2017-11-22T21:16:56Z")
This guy is just the sort of person that ought to be duct taped to a lawn chair and be aided in slipping the earthly bonds by several large weather balloons. ---
**Author:** ![DooWahDiddy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9bcb4/32.png) [@DooWahDiddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DooWahDiddy)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2017, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flat-earther-builds-a-rocket/802427/22 "2017-11-22T21:46:08Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > No it is much bigger than that. The FES has members from around the globe. You mean all four corners. ---
**Author:** ![GaryM](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garym/32/241_2.png) [@GaryM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaryM)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2017, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flat-earther-builds-a-rocket/802427/23 "2017-11-22T21:50:01Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > No it is much bigger than that. The FES has members from around the globe. I see what you did there. GaryM ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2017, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flat-earther-builds-a-rocket/802427/24 "2017-11-22T21:57:06Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > I remember reading a story about some high school kids who sent up a weather balloon with a GoPro type of camera on it, and it went high enough that the sky turned black and you could see the curvature of the earth. I’ve seen the videos from experiments like that. ([This one](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=95NDkABAsSk), for example.) They’re amazing both for what they show and for how little these experiments cost. ---
**Author:** ![Grestarian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grestarian/32/3227_2.png) [@Grestarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grestarian)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2017, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flat-earther-builds-a-rocket/802427/25 "2017-11-22T23:11:12Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > From the story: \* Hughes plans to launch his homemade contraption on Saturday near the ghost town of Amboy, Cal., at a speed of roughly 500 miles-per-hour.\* > > So, he’s going to commit suicide. Whoa! Wait! I guess I should have actually read the article but… He plans to be IN the rocket? No wonder they call him “Mad”! > [@pulykamell](#): > > This guy is obviously a publicity whore of some kind or just plain fucking crazy. Or, I suppose, why can’t it be both? Why not just a balloon, if for some reason you don’t want to, I dunno, take a helicopter or plane to acheive the dizzying heights of just over a quarter mile? Yeah! Didn’t some guy do that in a lawn chair and 4 helium-filled weather balloons? That reminds me: the 2017 Darwin Award nominations should be coming out soon… –G! ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2017, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flat-earther-builds-a-rocket/802427/26 "2017-11-22T23:15:32Z")
> [@Grestarian](#): > > Yeah! Didn’t some guy do that in a lawn chair and 4 helium-filled weather balloons? [Lawnchair Larry](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Larry_Walters) used 45 weather balloons in 1982. A decade later he croaked himself. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2017, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flat-earther-builds-a-rocket/802427/27 "2017-11-22T23:22:21Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > You don’t want to go too high. I remember reading a story about some high school kids who sent up a weather balloon with a GoPro type of camera on it, and it went high enough that the sky turned black and you could see the curvature of the earth. Dunno - I’ve seen flat-earthers claim that the curvature in those experiments is just fisheye lens effect (I mean, it clearly isn’t, but you can’t convince these people with evidence) ---
**Author:** ![Rysto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ecccb3/32.png) [@Rysto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rysto)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2017, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flat-earther-builds-a-rocket/802427/28 "2017-11-23T01:00:51Z")
> [@wolfman](#): > > This amuses me a lot. I’m trying to imagine what element of flat-earthist theory is controversial enough for factioning. Are there orthodox flat\_earthers and reform flat\_Earthers? Reformist Flat Earthers acknowledge that the Earth might be a little bit round and advocate for flattening it. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2017, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flat-earther-builds-a-rocket/802427/29 "2017-11-23T02:40:04Z")
So, if Mad’ Mike’s rocket fails and he crashes, will he make a new crater or use the one that’s already there? ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2017, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flat-earther-builds-a-rocket/802427/30 "2017-11-23T02:52:22Z")
Okay, now I gotta know: What _do_ flat-earthers think is on the back side? They can’t seriously believe it’s “turtles all the way down”? Do they think there’s _something_ “all the way down”? An infinite iceberg? An alternate universe? Do they think it’s possible for anybody to go there and see? Which way does gravity pull down there? ---
**Author:** ![Ale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@Ale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ale)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2017, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flat-earther-builds-a-rocket/802427/31 "2017-11-23T05:25:45Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > Reach an altitude of 1800 feet? Near Amboy CA? The town proper is around 630’, the basin around rises a hundred feet, and there are mountains peaking over 3100’ around the basin. What is he hoping to see? At a guess, he is hopping to see how much money and attention he can grab with the stunt. ---
**Author:** ![Ale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@Ale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ale)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2017, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flat-earther-builds-a-rocket/802427/32 "2017-11-23T05:32:13Z")
> [@wolfman](#): > > This amuses me a lot. I’m trying to imagine what element of flat-earthist theory is controversial enough for factioning. Are there orthodox flat\_earthers and reform flat\_Earthers? Not sure, but I recall one of the main groups calling the other “Controlled Opposition” (it may even be a mutual accusation), meaning _they_ are not really flatards, sorry, I mean flat-earthers, but shills, agent-provocateurs and generally puppets of _them_. You know, _them_, that vague and nefarious group with an as yet unexplained motivation to convince people that the Earth is round. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2017, 6:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flat-earther-builds-a-rocket/802427/33 "2017-11-23T06:26:55Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > Okay, now I gotta know: What _do_ flat-earthers think is on the back side? They can’t seriously believe it’s “turtles all the way down”? Do they think there’s _something_ “all the way down”? An infinite iceberg? An alternate universe? Do they think it’s possible for anybody to go there and see? Which way does gravity pull down there? Are you familiar with the Total Reality Vortex on Frogstar World B, where Zaphod barely avoided being turned into a vegetable because of some sleight of hand by Zarniwoop? The Total Reality Vortex fills your mind with the absolute enormity of the universe and places your existence in its context, resulting in a crushing malaise as you realize that you are less important than a random Tau. All this powered by a single cupcake (which Zaphod ate after his encounter). To the FECTs, there is no other side. The Earth-pizza is the largest single object in existence. Above us a few hundred miles is the dome of the firmament, upon which there reside a bunch of LED-type sparkly things that we have mistaken for stars, planets and other space illusions. To them, this little bubble is _all there is_, because what is embodied in the Total Reality Vortex is so unthinkably terrifying that those ideas cannot possibly be right. Except, maybe for the cupcake. So, what is the flat Earth resting on? That question makes no sense. This pizza and its sparkly cover is the entirety of existence. The Earth is not somewhere, it is the sum of where. That there is such thinking even now makes me sad. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2017, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flat-earther-builds-a-rocket/802427/34 "2017-11-23T13:06:19Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > Are you familiar with the Total Reality Vortex on Frogstar World B, where Zaphod barely avoided being turned into a vegetable because of some sleight of hand by Zarniwoop? > > The Total Reality Vortex fills your mind with the absolute enormity of the universe and places your existence in its context, resulting in a crushing malaise as you realize that you are less important than a random Tau. All this powered by a single cupcake (which Zaphod ate after his encounter). IIRC, Zarniwoop had installed a 1:1 scale model of the universe in his office, ostensibly for the purpose of facilitating his field research on behalf of the publishers of the Hitchhikers Guide, but actually so he could arrange for Zaphod to be captured and consigned to the Vortex while technically within that Universe. This was why he insisted that Zaphod et al exit the building through his office window. When Zaphod was thrust into the Vortex, he discovered that, the Universe having been emplaced for his own benefit, he was the most important thing in it. ---
**Author:** ![Baal\_Houtham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baal_houtham/32/13604_2.png) [@Baal\_Houtham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baal_Houtham)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2017, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flat-earther-builds-a-rocket/802427/35 "2017-11-23T13:14:33Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > Out of curiosity, what is the height at which the Earth’s horizon begins to look clearly curved? I know that out an airliner’s window at 35,000 feet, it still looks flat. So maybe he could “safely” launch much higher than 1,800 and still not have his flat-Earth views challenged by the camera? LSLGuy (airline pilot) wrote that there is still ambiguity at 50,000’, but that his perception [is about 65/35 in favor of curvature.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=20246125&postcount=49) ---
**Author:** ![GreenWyvern](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/greenwyvern/32/2834_2.png) [@GreenWyvern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreenWyvern)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2017, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flat-earther-builds-a-rocket/802427/36 "2017-11-23T14:24:48Z")
A steam-powered rocket? Is he into steampunk too? I hope he’s going to be wearing a top hat and gloves. His demo seems to be a bit over the edge, but I think it will fall flat. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2017, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flat-earther-builds-a-rocket/802427/37 "2017-11-23T14:36:23Z")
> [@wolfman](#): > > This amuses me a lot. I’m trying to imagine what element of flat-earthist theory is controversial enough for factioning. Are there orthodox flat\_earthers and reform flat\_Earthers? My understanding is that one group uses “Flat earth” as a metaphor for questioning what you are told, taking nothing on trust, and re-examining your basic assumptions. They don’t really think the Earth is flat, but they are willing to consider the possibility that it might be. The other group literally believes in a flat Earth. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2017, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flat-earther-builds-a-rocket/802427/38 "2017-11-23T14:40:49Z")
> [@Moriarty](#): > > Some think the earth is flat like a pizza. Others think it’s flat like a Frisbee. Actually, there are people who argue that it’s square, because of expressions about “the four corners of the Earth”. Maybe the debate is square vs rectangle? > [@Mangetout](#): > > Dunno - I’ve seen flat-earthers claim that the curvature in those experiments is just fisheye lens effect (I mean, it clearly isn’t, but you can’t convince these people with evidence) Too technical, the ones I met claimed it was images being projected onto either windows (if in a plane or copter) or goggles (if parachuting). ---
**Author:** ![Ale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@Ale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ale)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2017, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flat-earther-builds-a-rocket/802427/39 "2017-11-23T18:22:15Z")
> [@GreenWyvern](#): > > A steam-powered rocket? Is he into steampunk too? I hope he’s going to be wearing a top hat and gloves. > > His demo seems to be a bit over the edge, but I think it will fall flat. Most likely a high grade hydrogen peroxide rocket, the H2O2 passes through a catalyst mesh, usually Platinum AFAIK, and decomposes into steam at high temperature. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2017, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flat-earther-builds-a-rocket/802427/40 "2017-11-23T18:28:01Z")
He already built his rocket? He should have waited for the Black Friday sale at ACME. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flat-earther-builds-a-rocket/802427.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flat-earther-builds-a-rocket/802427.md?page=3)