The “Flat Earth” Society – “Rainbows Ain't Real”

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I was sitting outside enjoying a 'real' coffee with one of my friends (before it turned into Planet Hoth) and somehow we got on the subject of the Marianas Trench in the South Pacific (about 300 miles from Guam). Some at the next table started laughing and went off on a diatribe about the earth being flat, not round. I thought he was joking but he was dead serious. At that point, I knew as soon as I got back in my room I was going to be all over this. What could possibly justify the leaders of the world to stick with the flat earth theory for so long? When you hear the points they make some of them are plausible but most of them are outlandish and involve (of all places) Antarctica, a plasma dome that surrounds our planet and how even the airlines are in on this. The airlines? Yes, they can charge more for tickets since Antarctica is considered a no-fly zone. Another argument that that our beloved planet is flat encompasses several conspiracy theories (the US never went to space / the moon, a multi dimensional existence, using weather and nature to enslave us etc). According to the flat earthers that explains why it gets colder and colder the further you get into Antarctica and why it becomes harder and harder to breathe while you increase your altitude. They also believe that Hitler and the Nazi party had plans to build a “super base” and were about 70% finished when they got orders to immediately leave. One of their favorite arguments is about Felix Baumgartner' space jump from 24 miles above the earth. This completely smashes their “plasma bubble” theory although they do question the starting and landing points of the jump; they say is the earth was round there is no way he would be able to land almost exactly where the balloon took off. Another back up argument is that he didn't say a word until he started to slow down. It's kind of hard to talk or even think when you are free falling at speeds in excess of 700mph. I'll be posting more about the Flat Earth Society, the Treaty of 1595, failed missions to map the region and more Photo: National Geographic