Man to prove earth is flat using homemade rocket

[HarryPotterFan]

Today, in the world of, "you can't make this shit up" and "I can't believe people are really this stupid. No wait, after this past year I can" I present to you...the California man who plans on proving the earth is flat by launching himself a 1,800 feet high at 500 mph in a homemade steam-powered rocket! Picture in the link.

(ETA: I'm confused, at one place the author says he will launch himself 1,800 feet, then later he says a mile. Edit people, edit! You're a respected newspaper!!

ETA again: figured it out, a mile distance but 1,800 feet up.)

Anyway, he managed to launch himself a quarter of a mile before (and was injured), and had trouble raising funds for this bigger project until he found the flat-eather community.

Some wonderful quotes:

"Astronauts were merely paid actors performing in front of a CGI globe." (According to a flat-earth talk show host)

"The host talked of "Elon Musk's fake reality," and Hughes talked of "anti-Christ, illuminati stuff"

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/speaking-of-science/wp/2017/11/21/this-man-is-about-to-launch-himself-in-his-homemade-rocket-to-prove-the-earth-is-flat/?utm_term=.f0398e654912

[littlemommy]

This idea is so dumb that it’s almost poetic.

....Almost.

[HarryPotterFan]

Apparently he doesn't believe in science (but he does believe in aerodynamics), but at least he'll leave out food for his cats...

ETA: Meant to post this one as the second article: 

https://apnews.com/9d8e5e8e9245412ab80f5a1f58d885b7/Self-taught-rocket-scientist-plans-to-launch-over-ghost-town

[Ozlsn]

Well he's likely to prove something is flat at least I guess... not the earth though.

[uber frau]

On a very clear day, over a flat landscape, you can kind of see the curvature of the earth from a commercial jet. They fly at around 12 000 ft.
Launching a homemade tin box a mere quarter mile high isn't going to prove anything.

[SuperNova]

Flat earthers beleive the curvature that you see from an airplane window is actually a video screen with a fake view meant to fool you. They also think that gravity is unproven. I'm all for this man and his rocket. I say let his stupidity and gravity do it's work. A Darwin award winner if there ever was one.

[HarryPotterFan]

5 hours ago, SuperNova said:

Flat earthers beleive the curvature that you see from an airplane window is actually a video screen with a fake view meant to fool you. They also think that gravity is unproven. I'm all for this man and his rocket. I say let his stupidity and gravity do it's work. A Darwin award winner if there ever was one.

If they don't believe in gravity, what keeps us from floating away and what makes things fall?

My mom asked how he plans on coming down if he doesn't believe in gravity. 

[Cleopatra7]

6 hours ago, SuperNova said:

Flat earthers beleive the curvature that you see from an airplane window is actually a video screen with a fake view meant to fool you. They also think that gravity is unproven. I'm all for this man and his rocket. I say let his stupidity and gravity do it's work. A Darwin award winner if there ever was one.

My only concern is the very real possibility of innocent people on the ground getting hurt or killed when this ridiculous device inevitably crashes or explodes. A steam powered rocket sounds interesting in a steampunk novel, but it’s almost impossible to pull off safely in real life, especially if it’s been designed by a crackpot amateur.

[Rachel333]

I suspect he might not be a true flat earth believer, since he tried to finance this without success before he converted to flat eartherism. It seems like he figured out that flat earthers would pay for his project if he said that he was going to prove them right.

[Snowless]

On 11/23/2017 at 1:47 AM, SuperNova said:

Flat earthers beleive the curvature that you see from an airplane window is actually a video screen with a fake view meant to fool you. They also think that gravity is unproven. I'm all for this man and his rocket. I say let his stupidity and gravity do it's work. A Darwin award winner if there ever was one.

I can’t believe flat earthers still exist.  Thankfully, Popular Science has an article listing 10 *different* ways to conclusively prove that the Earth is round.

I like to say this about conspiracy theories and the like: the more elaborate, complex, and convoluted your theory is, the more likely it is to be false.  I think Occam’s Razor of “the simplest explanation is often the best explanation” tends to apply more often than not here.

With that said, I will not be disappointed to see this man remove himself from the gene pool.

[NotQuiteMotY]

On 11/23/2017 at 1:47 AM, SuperNova said:

Flat earthers beleive the curvature that you see from an airplane window is actually a video screen with a fake view meant to fool you. 

So, basically, the exact same companies that are so determined to squeeze money out of their customers that you can't have knee room or a 2-ounce packet of free pretzels have sprung for hundreds of little bitty video screens on every single plane and have done so since your average "video screen" was a heavy wooden box that only showed black-and-white pictures?

Sure, yeah, right...

[mango_fandango]

Every time I think people can’t get more stupid, I’m proved wrong.

[HarryPotterFan]

Darn, he launch has been delayed since he can't do it on public land, which he was planning on doing.

https://gizmodo.com/flat-earth-researcher-told-he-cant-blast-himself-into-t-1820735736

[Howl]

So should still happen this coming week?  Maybe this will be a good distraction whilst waiting for election day in Alabama, which I think is Dec. 12. 

This is exactly the kind of thing that BLM will say, "Not only no, but HELLS no!"  They (and all public land agencies) hate mopping up the crazy.  And yes, no matter how remote a possibility in the desert, he or his rocket could definitely take out innocent people when gravity! brings them back to earth.  Sadly, after this attempt, there's a high likelihood that nobody will need to worry. 

[WhatWouldJohnCrichtonDo?]

5 hours ago, Howl said:

And yes, no matter how remote a possibility in the desert, he or his rocket could definitely take out innocent people when gravity! brings them back to earth. 

On the plus side, it shouldn't be as dry as it has been sometimes, so the chance of him starting a wildfire should be on the low side.

[church_of_dog]

I forgot all about it on Tuesday and yesterday -- haven't seen a word online, wonder if he postponed again, or what happened?

[PumaLover]

Omg I had to come on here and make sure this wasn't my FIL... he's been experimenting with rockets and is very into conspiracy theories and I could see him being a flat earther. According to my BIL he covered one whole room of his house with some sort of metal sheeting so the aliens or government or whatever can't get through to his brain waves.

The Mojave Desert is one of my favorite places in the world. I'll be out there in a month and I'll be pissed if I get crashed into by some dumbass and his rocket.

[stylites]

On 25/11/2017 at 7:43 PM, HarryPotterFan said:

Darn, he launch has been delayed since he can't do it on public land, which he was planning on doing.

https://gizmodo.com/flat-earth-researcher-told-he-cant-blast-himself-into-t-1820735736

The video of his previous attempt (after which he ended up in a walker for two weeks) is certainly ... something:

 

https://youtu.be/3feaiPcv6yE

 

[Howl]

From this ABC.net.au piece, it sounds like launch should be today (Monday).  

'Mad' Mike Hughes eyes Monday for new launch date of homemade steam-powered rocket

Leave it to the Australians to keep us up to date.  There's nothing about the launch date on madmikehughes.com, so who knows. 

 

[Cartmann99]

From the AP article that @HarryPotterFan linked to above:

Quote

“I don’t believe in science,” said Hughes, whose main sponsor for the rocket is Research Flat Earth. “I know about aerodynamics and fluid dynamics and how things move through the air, about the certain size of rocket nozzles, and thrust. But that’s not science, that’s just a formula. There’s no difference between science and science fiction.”

Where exactly does he think those formulas came from? Did Moses show up with them on some tablets or something?!?

As always, it cracks me up to watch the anti-science folks use the "toys" that are created from scientific discoveries to spread their anti-science nuttery. 

[WhatWouldJohnCrichtonDo?]

On 11/26/2017 at 11:21 AM, WhatWouldJohnCrichtonDo? said:

On the plus side, it shouldn't be as dry as it has been sometimes, so the chance of him starting a wildfire should be on the low side.

I was obviously very, very wrong about the conditions in California. Dear Rufus, please keep this moron grounded and don't let him start any fires. Please.