There is a huge debate about whether the Earth is flat or round – and flat earthers will go to such lengths to prove their point. So much this guy who believed the Earth is flat and conducted an experiment but accidentally proved the Earth was round.
Bob Knodel was filming a Netflix documentary named ”Behind the Curve” released back in 2018. The film shows groups of flat Earth believers and their different theories.
During the film he talked about his beliefs on the Earth.
Bob offered his two cents regarding the matter, adding that the flat Earth conspiracy theory consumed his life a lot.
He actually has a YouTube channel dedicated to the flat Earth theory.
The synopsis for the film is: “The internet has revived the conspiracy theory that the earth is flat, and America’s Flat Earth movement appears to be growing despite hundreds of years of scientific evidence disproving the idea.”
Some prominent Flat-Earth believers, such as Mark Sargent, Jeran Campanella, and Patricia Steere, creator of ”Flat Earth and Other Hot Potatoes” appeared in the film.
As well as astrophysics and other experts from UCLA and Caltech.
There is no evidence that the Earth is proven to be flat despite the growing community around the theory.
Bob wanted to prove that the Earth was flat so he conducted an experiment to do so, which ended up costing him $20,000.
The results of his experiment were unexpected, nothing he would’ve thought of. He ended up proving the exact opposite.
Bob wanted to prove all round Earth research wrong, led by experts at NASA. He explained all the details of the DIY experiment using a laser gyroscope.
It involved using a camera to film through two holes with a person standing on the other side shining a torch back at the camera. “A 15-degree per hour drift”.
Bob claimed if the light can be seen with the camera the holes in the fence and the torch all at the same difference above ground, he could draw a conclusion the Earth is flat.
However, during the experiment, he was not able to see the light, and he was left muttering ”interesting” as the cameras pointed to him in that awkward moment.
On his YouTube channel, he talked about the experiment and what it meant to all flat Earthers all around the world.
“What we found is, is when we turned on that gyroscope we found that we were picking up a drift. A 15-degree-per-hour drift,” he explained in his video. “Now, obviously, we were taken aback by that.”
Bob added the results were a ”problem,” and he was not willing to accept it and would be looking for ways to disprove it.
Knodel went viral at the time of the documentary and once again when the clip resurfaced on Instagram.
Social media users couldn’t believe he spent so much money only for the experiment to fail. There were comments made such as the experiment won’t change his mind or he won’t accept the results, or how satisfying it was to watch his experiment fail.
There were other experiments on the show as well. There was an experiment where a torchlight shone through holes that also proved the Earth is round.
Mark Sargent discussed his interpretation of the flat Earth theory, his role as an advocate, as well as his YouTube and podcast series. He also said he attends various flat Earth gatherings.
Shaquille O’Neal (Shaq) is also a flat Earth believer and has explained several times about his doubts.
On a podcast ”The Kyle and Jackie O Show,” Shaq argued to prove his theory. From a 20-hour flight “in which he never went in a straight line or turned upside down” to commenting that the lake at his house “would never have changed its position.”
According to Shaq, this would be inconsistent if the Earth were a ball, as has been recognized for centuries. “I drive from coast to coast, and the Earth is f***ing flat to me. I don’t go up and down at a 360-degree angle,” he added as another reason why the Earth can’t be round.
