Free Republic

A California man’s quest to prove the Earth is flat will begin sometime next week when he plans to launch himself 1,800 feet in the air in a homemade scrap-metal rocket. “Mad” Mike Hughes, a 61-year-old limo driver who describes himself as a “self taught-rocket scientist,” has spent the past few years constructing a homemade rocket from scrap parts. His ultimate goal is to fly 10 miles above ground to prove the Earth is flat and disk-shaped. Hughes has invested $20,000 into constructing the rocket, which he hopes will travel at roughly 500 mph. Hughes’ initial plan was to launch...

A California man who planned to launch himself 1,800 feet high Saturday in a homemade scrap-metal rocket — in an effort to prove that Earth is flat — said he is postponing the experiment after he couldn't get permission from a federal agency to conduct it on public land. Instead, Mike Hughes said the launch will take place sometime next week on private property, albeit still in Amboy, Calif., an unincorporated community in the Mojave Desert along historic Route 66. “It's still happening. We're just moving it three miles down the road,” Hughes told The Washington Post on Friday. “This...

A California man intends to launch himself 1,800 feet high on Saturday in a home-built rocket to prove that astronauts faked the shape of the Earth. Mike Hughes, a 61-year-old limo driver, said his stunt will be the first phase of the flat-Earth space program, sponsored by Research Flat Earth, a group that believes Earth is, well, flat. He claims to have built the steam-powered rocket out of scrap metal parts in his garage. The project cost around $20,000, including the purchase of a motor home off Craigslist that was converted into a ramp.

Seeking to prove that a conspiracy of astronauts fabricated the shape of the Earth, a California man intends to launch himself 1,800 feet high on Saturday in a rocket he built from scrap metal. Assuming the 500-mph, mile-long flight through the Mojave Desert does not kill him, Mike Hughes told the Associated Press, his journey into the atmosflat will mark the first phase of his ambitious flat-Earth space program. Hughes’s ultimate goal is a subsequent launch that puts him miles above the Earth, where the 61-year-old limousine driver hopes to photograph proof of the disc we all live on. “It’ll...

As the National Institute of Aeronautics and Space (LAPAN) is striving to achieve its goals to advance the country's technology and aeronautical field, it is facing an anachronistic problem that has been emerging recently: Flat Earth believers. The group, which became a social media phenomenon last year, believes the Earth is flat instead of round. They often cite modern conspiracy theories, as well as literal, non-mainstream readings of the holy scriptures, as the basis of their statements. ... First expressed during the time of the Ancient Greeks, the flat-earth misconception has often reared its head over the centuries. The latest...

Shaq, a college graduate, defended Kyrie, saying: “It’s true. The Earth is flat. Listen, I drive from coast to coast, and this sh*t is flat to me. You mean to tell me that China is under us? It’s not. The world is flat.” One of Shaq’s podcast co-hosts refuted his assertion by saying, “We’ve seen the Earth from satellite imagery.” Shaq replied by saying that could be manipulated. To buttress his statement, Shaq pointed to the inaccuracies taught in school, such as the theory that Christopher Columbus had discovered America.

Maybe Kyrie Irving would have benefited from a few more years of that pricey Duke education. The Cavaliers point guard, who has established himself as one of the premier players in the NBA, caused a stir by saying he believes the earth is flat, not round, while participating on the podcast “Road Tripping with RJ and Channing.” “This is not even a conspiracy theory,” Kyrie said. “The earth is flat.”

The words “Google Flat Earth” were found carved into Mount Rubidoux this week in letters that were approximately ten feet tall and visible from the air. An aerial photo posted to social media by the Riverside Police Department’s air support unit showed only the “Google” portion of the message was still discernible as of Feb. 4. While the Riverside Parks Department brought in crews from a CAL FIRE camp in Norco to re-seed the area so the grass can grow and cover up the letters, a man believed to be behind the message reportedly encountered a city employee at the...

When I first heard that rapper B.o.B apparently believes the Earth is flat, I sighed the weary sigh of a science writer facing down an anti-science culture. Evolution, climate change, vaccines, and now #FlatEarth? “Are you kidding me?” I thought. Will Americans insist on rejecting everything that 100 percent of scientists agree on? Aside from B.o.B’s delightful diss track aimed at Neil deGrasse Tyson (and Tyson’s equally delightful response), this latest dustup just felt like more of the same. But then I clicked through and read B.o.B’s original arguments, and they stirred my very soul.

The Flat Earth International Conference has come to Denver. The flat-earthers come to discuss their beliefs with each other and debate the ideas of a flat versus round Earth. People not so sure the Earth is round have come from around the globe to Denver this week to discuss their beliefs at the Flat Earth International Conference, hosted at the Crowne Plaza Denver Airport Convention Center. The two-day conference began on Thursday and ends Friday. Self-described "flat-earthers" believe the Earth's shape has not been proven using the scientific method. "Scientifically when you go and try to prove the curvature, or...