Featured Image Credit: Shannon Fagan / Mahamudul Hasan / Getty
The Flat Earth theory has been floating around for ages, and despite heaps of evidence showing we’re on a sphere, some people don’t buy it.
In fact, a surprising number of people believe the Earth is a flat disk, and some have gone to extreme lengths trying to prove it. According to a 2018 YouGov study, only two-thirds of American millennials believe the Earth is round.
Physicists like Professor Brian Cox have called the beliefs absolute idiocy, saying: "There is absolutely no basis at all for thinking the world is flat."
Despite loads of scientific evidence, some people still just don’t believe it. But one man seems to have finally put the debate to rest.
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In 2018, Greg Pagel combined a photo of his hometown, some mathematical calculations and a touch of Google Earth to prove the planet isn’t flat.
He shared his image on Imgur to display his findings.
The picture shows Lake Michigan in Manitowoc, Wisconsin with Silver Creek Park beach visible in the distance on the right, and the south side of Two Rivers on the left.
In additional pictures, he pointed out that the landscape appeared flat in each shot. Even in a panoramic view, the scenery still looked level.
Pagel created a video explaining his point and it does get a little intense so bear with it.
Using Google Earth, Pagel showed that two points in Silver Creek Park and Two Rivers are 8.4 miles apart.
He calculated that with the Earth’s circumference at 25,000 miles, 8.4 miles of that arc would equal 0.12 degrees in angle, along the Earth’s curve. Not something you'd notice with the naked eye.
To illustrate, Pagel compared right angles, 45-degree angles, and even a tiny one-degree angle on a pie chart, showing how subtle a 0.12-degree angle actually is.
This tiny angle explains why the Earth looks flat in photos and in person, but, of course, it’s not.
Social media users have since taken to the comment section of the YouTube video to share their thoughts.
One viewer wrote: "I can't believe this needs explaining to people, but well done for trying."
Another added: "This is the best video I’ve seen explaining how big this earth is, flat earth era do not realize how big it actually is, thanks!!"
Someone else praised the video calling it 'very cool' whilst another commented: "Much admiration for doing the math, and keeping people thinking!"
