The Earth is Not Flat

I see that moron flat earther freak in the US finally managed to launch his steam powered rocket, with himself on board (allegedly), in an attempt to 'prove' that the earth really is flat.  Whilst he supposedly survived the flight, (I say 'supposedly' because I doubt that he actually was on that rocket), I notice that he hasn't been forthcoming on whether or not his alleged journey has confirmed his crazy world view,or not.  Which isn't surprising: the world is not flat.  The fact that it is round (and it is a fact) was established centuries ago - the idea that it is flat has never been a widespread belief.  Damn it, the ancient Greeks believed the words was round and came pretty close to correctly calculating its size and mass.  Their belief was based upon simple observation that didn't need a rocket to carry out:  the fact that earth's surface is curved is obvious if you watch a ship come over the horizon when looking out to sea - you will see the uppermost parts of the vessel (masts, funnels, etc), appear first as it 'climbs' the curve of the earth's surface.  Moreover, if you can manage to look at a wide enough maritime horizon, it is possible to see a small degree of curvature with the naked eye.

Now, I know that the flat earther idiots will just say that the earth is actually frisbee shaped to explain that curvature, but if you fly at high enough an altitude you can observe a far greater degree of curvature.  More than that, the bloody earth has been photographed from space, from the moon even, by both satellites and real live people.  Guess what?  It's round.  But, of course, all of that has been faked, the morons tell us.  I find it profoundly depressing that, in the twenty first century, after man has ventured into space and walked on the moon, that it still seems necessary to have these discussions: the shape of the earth is well established.  Those who argue otherwise are contrarian idiots who fly in the face of observable fact.  I remember when, not so long ago, they were considered cranks and generally dismissed as a joke, but the advent of the web has given them new impetus, a platform through which to spread their idiocy.  It doesn't help that, increasingly, the mainstream press give them air time, fueled by their need to fill column inches in as sensational a manner as possible.  They shouldn't.  These are people who reject rationality and science, (the idiot with the rocket, for instance, proudly declares that he doesn't believe in science, despite his alleged mode of transport being possible only due to established scientific principles), and parade their ignorance as a badge of honour.  Really, we have stop encouraging these delusional idiots before they take us back to the Dark Ages.