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Flat Earther Dies in Home Made Rocket
Old 02-23-2020, 11:08 AM   #1
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Flat Earther Dies in Home Made Rocket

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/...ia/4849772002/


I guess we'll never know if the Earth really is a globe.


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Hughes, a flat-earth conspiracy theorist, and business partner Waldo Stakes built the steam-powered rocket designed to launch Hughes 5,000 feet into the air. The launch was supposed to be the first step toward a more ambitious goal to launch "Mad Mike" more than 60 miles into the air, clearing the Karman Line — the border between Earth’s atmosphere and outer space.
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Old 02-23-2020, 11:21 AM   #2
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Why didn't he launch a camera instead of himself?
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Old 02-23-2020, 11:23 AM   #3
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Originally Posted by travelover View Post
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/...ia/4849772002/


I guess we'll never know if the Earth really is a globe.
Well, Mr. Hughes won't.
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Old 02-23-2020, 11:23 AM   #4
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Why didn't he launch a camera instead of himself?
That's what he was thinking as he fell back to earth. The stupid shall be punished.
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Old 02-23-2020, 11:33 AM   #5
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Why didn't he launch a camera instead of himself?
I suspect he figured he would have to operate the camera...
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Old 02-23-2020, 11:38 AM   #6
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Sad that he died. Not at all funny.
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Old 02-23-2020, 11:50 AM   #7
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Probably win a Darwin Award, though.
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Old 02-23-2020, 11:53 AM   #8
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Making fake claims can have harmful effects on others, so while it isn't funny, he did sort of ask for this.

Imagine the harm that has been done by the anti vaxxers. I can't directly see the harm in saying the earth is flat but there could be harm done.
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Old 02-23-2020, 11:55 AM   #9
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Why didn't he just book a commercial flight? You can easily get 6 miles high that way.
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Old 02-23-2020, 12:12 PM   #10
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Why didn't he just book a commercial flight? You can easily get 6 miles high that way.
There are also cases of middle school kids using a couple hundred bucks, a webcam and a surplus weather balloon to examine the curvature of the earth from 60,000+ feet.

This guy was not impressive.
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Old 02-23-2020, 12:17 PM   #11
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Why didn't he launch a camera instead of himself?
Some Flat Earther's also believe gravity is false. Maybe he thought way ?
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Old 02-23-2020, 12:18 PM   #12
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Is this the actual video of his launch?

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Old 02-23-2020, 12:22 PM   #13
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Yikes. I guess they were right when they told us lawn darts were dangerous.
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Old 02-23-2020, 12:35 PM   #14
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Is this the actual video of his launch?

I think so.
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Old 02-23-2020, 01:06 PM   #15
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I guess we'll never know if the Earth really is a globe.
It's not that hard to see. Water seeks it's own level, but a boat sailing off into the distance will disappear over the horizon.

Look at the moon anytime between new moon and full moon and you can see the round shadow of the earth.

Of course, there are photos of the earth taken from the moon. But I suppose flat earthers think those are fake too.
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Old 02-23-2020, 01:13 PM   #16
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Agreed, not funny that this guy ended up dying. Yet there is a sort of gallows humor in the sense that this was, at its best, a Wile E. Coyote kind of stunt. Makes me wonder if the words "ACME Steam Rocket" were printed on the missile's fuselage.
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Old 02-23-2020, 01:17 PM   #17
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It's not that hard to see. Water seeks it's own level, but a boat sailing off into the distance will disappear over the horizon.
FE would say it just is getting smaller and smaller until you cannot see it anymore.

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Originally Posted by mountainsoft View Post
Look at the moon anytime between new moon and full moon and you can see the round shadow of the earth.
FE would say:
Hold a plate in your hand so you can put food on it, and it too is a round circle, the sun on the other side (at night) is projecting that flat plate onto the moon.

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Of course, there are photos of the earth taken from the moon. But I suppose flat earthers think those are fake too.
Well yes, obviously as the other countries are missing.
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Old 02-23-2020, 01:18 PM   #18
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Some Flat Earther's also believe gravity is false. Maybe he thought way ?
+1. I wonder what he thought would happen if the launch was successful and the rocket made it to 5k feet--this event probably was not going to end well no matter what.
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Old 02-23-2020, 01:27 PM   #19
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The problem with discussing these sorts of topics is that those that engage in these activities are illogical.

While a reasonable person could come up with many sensible refutations of this kind of stuff, it doesn't matter when the other party's thought process defies logic.

As a result, sometimes terrible things like this occur. I feel for his family and children.
That being said, this is a great example of Darwin at his finest.
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Old 02-23-2020, 01:34 PM   #20
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I don’t get what the rocket project had to do with flat earth theory.

The Greeks already knew the earth was round, and even estimated the diameter.
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