# 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:** 8
**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2020, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flat-earther-builds-a-rocket/802427/141 "2020-02-24T21:25:28Z")
> [@Snarky\_Kong](#): > > Post #80. OK - 1 post of 140 is questionable. That hardly warrants dressing down everyone in the thread. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2020, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flat-earther-builds-a-rocket/802427/142 "2020-02-24T21:26:20Z")
> [@Limmin](#): > > This may be the only time I’ve seen someone’s death basically being applauded on YouTube and in discussion forums such as this. You must be new to the internet. ---
**Author:** ![Dag\_Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@Dag\_Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dag_Otto)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2020, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flat-earther-builds-a-rocket/802427/143 "2020-02-24T21:27:15Z")
Astronaut. Cosmonaut. Moronaut. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2020, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flat-earther-builds-a-rocket/802427/144 "2020-02-24T21:28:15Z")
> [@zoid](#): > > I don’t see anyone applauding his death > [@Snarky\_Kong](#): > > Post #80. I don’t see that as applauding his death, either. Like **wolfpup** , said, it’s more like dark humor, as in “What were the redneck’s last words?” ---
**Author:** ![Kovitlac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/2bfe46/32.png) [@Kovitlac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kovitlac)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2020, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flat-earther-builds-a-rocket/802427/145 "2020-02-24T21:33:47Z")
People are making fun of the dude’s insanity (though it sounds like there’s a good chance he didn’t actually believe the earth is flat, that’s still the image he willingly projected), rather than expressing joy over his death. No one is celebrating in the streets. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2020, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flat-earther-builds-a-rocket/802427/146 "2020-02-24T21:39:27Z")
While I may chuckle over the term “lithobraking” for its resemblance to NASA jargonese it is in no way anything I want to happen to any living thing, or see it occur in front of me. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2020, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flat-earther-builds-a-rocket/802427/147 "2020-02-24T21:45:57Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > I don’t see that as applauding his death, either. Like **wolfpup** , said, it’s more like dark humor, as in “What were the redneck’s last words?” No, I was applauding it. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2020, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flat-earther-builds-a-rocket/802427/148 "2020-02-24T22:03:23Z")
> [@Dag\_Otto](#): > > I’m not sure how much redundancy you get when the entire budget is $18k. … The only thing missing is a coyote costume and ACME painted on the rocket. [Here](https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/otilliasteadman/mad-mike-hughes-rocket-death-flat-earth) is a claim that he had 3 more chutes. And [here](https://www.npr.org/2020/02/23/808645524/daredevil-mad-mike-hughes-killed-in-crash-of-homemade-rocket) is mention that the one chute was ripped off because the totally incompetent Keystone Kops boobs didn’t move the ladder off the side of the rocket when it launched. Seems that “Mud” Mike was only the top clown in the tiny car. (Also a photo showing that an ACME sign would have been a much more dignified thing to die beside than a painting of fruit genitalia.) ---
**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:** [February 24, 2020, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flat-earther-builds-a-rocket/802427/149 "2020-02-24T22:35:28Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > While I may chuckle over the term “lithobraking” for its resemblance to NASA jargonese it is in no way anything I want to happen to any living thing, or see it occur in front of me. Given that there is no evidence that he attempted to deploy a reserve chute, it is entirely likely that he was unconscious prior to impact, so we can take some small comfort in that. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2020, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flat-earther-builds-a-rocket/802427/150 "2020-02-24T23:12:31Z")
I put this guy in a category all to himself. It’s about as smart as someone trying to “prove” that trains are made of smoke, by throwing himself in front of a fast moving freight train. Speaking as someone with more than a passing knowledge of rocketry, this dude could not have passed his Level 1 training which would enable him to launch a medium sized model rocket. His lack of knowledge and safety would have gotten him thrown out of any certified club. His level of arrogance and stupidity was monumental. I just hope he does not inspire some other idiots to do the same thing, with the identical and highly predictable results. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2020, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flat-earther-builds-a-rocket/802427/151 "2020-02-24T23:43:50Z")
I find it especially astonishing that the parachutes were manual release. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2020, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flat-earther-builds-a-rocket/802427/152 "2020-02-24T23:52:13Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > No, I was applauding it. That’s…not great. If Alex Honnold falls (God forbid) on one of his free climbs, would you applaud that too? Mad Mike was foolish and his death was predictable, but he didn’t seem to be a horrible person. He had friends and family who are grieving right now. It’s not cool to take joy in that. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2020, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flat-earther-builds-a-rocket/802427/153 "2020-02-24T23:55:20Z")
> [@Larry\_Borgia](#): > > That’s…not great. > > If Alex Honnold falls (God forbid) on one of his free climbs, would you applaud that too? Yes. Anyone who throws away their life in such a pointless and predictable way is an object of ridicule. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2020, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flat-earther-builds-a-rocket/802427/154 "2020-02-25T00:00:19Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > Yes. Anyone who throws away their life in such a pointless and predictable way is an object of ridicule. You do you, chief. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2020, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flat-earther-builds-a-rocket/802427/155 "2020-02-25T00:08:27Z")
> [@Larry\_Borgia](#): > > That’s…not great. > > If Alex Honnold falls (God forbid) on one of his free climbs, would you applaud that too? > > Mad Mike was foolish and his death was predictable, but he didn’t seem to be a horrible person. He had friends and family who are grieving right now. It’s not cool to take joy in that. According to Wikipedia, Alex Honnald " started climbing in a climbing gym at the age of 5 and was climbing “many times a week” by age 10. He participated in many national and international youth climbing championships as a teenager." Further, “On June 3, 2017, he made the first free solo ascent of El Capitan, completing the 2,900-foot Freerider route (5.12d VI) in 3 hours and 56 minutes. The feat, described as “one of the great athletic feats of any kind, ever”, was documented by climber and photographer Jimmy Chin and documentary filmmaker E. Chai Vasarhelyi, as the subject of the documentary Free Solo.” In short, Honnald appears to be a highly skilled climber, who is engaging in fairly risky climbing activities. On the other hand, rocket man was an idiot, who had an incredibly limited knowledge of rocketry, and who ignored those who said he was essentially committing suicide by ignoring every single fundamental safety protocol. A more apt comparison would be: “If a random person with no climbing experience decides to free climb El Capitan, against the advice of those with a great deal of experience, and then falls to his death because he used a knot in his Wall-mart shoelaces that slipped out, would you call him an idiot?” Yes. Yes I would. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2020, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flat-earther-builds-a-rocket/802427/156 "2020-02-25T00:10:55Z")
I have no problem with calling Mike an idiot, I have a problem with people taking joy in an idiot’s death. ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2020, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flat-earther-builds-a-rocket/802427/157 "2020-02-25T00:14:33Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > Yes. Anyone who throws away their life in such a pointless and predictable way is an object of ridicule. You’re certainly welcome to your opinion, but be aware you’re an outlier on this. Dark humor is one thing, but actually taking pleasure in his death is pretty messed up. ---
**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:** [February 25, 2020, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flat-earther-builds-a-rocket/802427/158 "2020-02-25T00:20:06Z")
> [@Larry\_Borgia](#): > > I have no problem with calling Mike an idiot, I have a problem with people taking joy in an idiot’s death. Not really _joy_ as such. “At least that wasn’t me,” kind of outlook, and then masking the horror with a bit of dark humor. I mean, you have to admit, the results of this experiment were ground-breaking. ---
**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:** [February 25, 2020, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flat-earther-builds-a-rocket/802427/159 "2020-02-25T00:22:29Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > One of the funniest Darwin stories of all, about the guy who attached a JATO (jet assisted take off) rocket to a Chevy Malibu, went very very fast and eventually ended up in small pieces a hundred feet up a mountainside, is mainly funny because it’s fake; it never happened, but one can laugh at speed-demon car idiots who one imagines might just want to do such a thing. The Rocket Car story may just possibly have been the oft-retold evolution of an event that really happened. [This story, lengthy but entertaining](https://www.wired.com/2000/08/rocketcar/), claims to be a first-person account of events that could possibly have been the original “rocket car” story. It has just enough veneer of plausibility to be believable. I first saw this years ago on Cult Of The Dead Cow, and this telling at Wired says it came from Cardhouse. Originally, it included some hand-drawn illustrations which this current copy omits. I can’t find either of those originals now. [There’s also an epilog.](https://www.wired.com/2000/08/top10/) ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2020, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flat-earther-builds-a-rocket/802427/160 "2020-02-25T05:00:52Z")
> [@Larry\_Borgia](#): > > Mad Mike was foolish and his death was predictable, but he didn’t seem to be a horrible person. Maybe not horrible, but he was trying to raise money by fraudulently claiming he was a Flat-Earther. He was at least a con man. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flat-earther-builds-a-rocket/802427.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flat-earther-builds-a-rocket/802427.md?page=9)