Hundreds of conspiracy
theorists who are convinced the Earth is flat gathered at a conference in
Britain at the weekend. The UK's first Flat Earth Convention took place over
three days at a hotel in Birmingham and saw nine speakers take the stage to
discuss the shape of our planet.
Among the more than 200
believers who attended were IT consultants and an NHS manager as well as
off-grid 'environmentalists'. One speaker at the event, which charged £107
($147) for a three-day ticket, even claimed 'gravity doesn't exist'.
According to the Telegraph,
Dave Marsh, an NHS manager who spoke at the conference, said: 'My research
destroys big bang cosmology. It supports the idea that gravity doesn't exist
and the only true force in nature is electromagnetism.'
In his speech, Mr Marsh
claimed he had disproved planetary motion using a Nikon camera and an app from
his back garden. Those who believed the Flat Earth Theory claim our planet is
shaped like a flat disc instead of a sphere.
The leading theory suggests Earth is a disc with the Arctic Circle in
the centre and Antarctica, a 150-foot-tall (45-metre) wall of ice, around the
rim.
Dave Murphy, a former
graphic designer who now lives 'off-grid', also spoke at the convention. He
said: 'One of the best examples is Antwerp's Notre Dame spire, which can be
seen something like 240 kilometres [150 miles] away from the spire. That should
be over a mile below the horizon, but you can still see it.'
In the conference room of
Birmingham's Jurys Inn hotel, delegates bought and sold flat earth merchandise.
Items included 'Flat Power' t-shirts, novelty spirit levels and flat maps. A
popular topic at the conference was what shape the Earth actually takes.
Some speakers argued the
Earth is a flat-disc with an outer ring of frozen ice walls, while others
insisted it has a domed roof. Darren Nesbit, a Bolton-based dance musician who
spoke at the conference, claimed Earth is diamond-shaped and supported by
pillars.
He said: 'I'm not saying
this is definitely what is going on, but I think it is a plausible model.'
NASA has proved that the
Earth is round using satellites, GPS and images from space, but 'Flat Earthers'
believe the space agency is lying. Theorists claim that satellite images and
evidence pointing to a spherical Earth are part of a 'round Earth conspiracy'
orchestrated by Nasa and other government agencies. Proponents of the bizarre
theory also claim the Earth is stationary in space rather than orbiting the
sun.
A number of high-profile
celebrities have made the shock revelation that they believe in the Flat Earth
conspiracy. American rapper B.o.B announced in 2015 he was a Flat Earther in a
rambling series of tweets. The musician, whose real name is Bobby Ray Simmons
Jr, wrote: 'No matter how high in elevation you are…the horizon is always eye
level…sorry cadets…I didn’t wanna believe it either.'
'Don’t believe what I say,
research what I say. I’m going up against the greatest liars in history …
you’ve been tremendously deceived.'
Former England cricketer
Freddie Flintoff revealed last year he couldn't stop listening to a podcast
called 'Flat Earthers' and was beginning to believe their theories. He said:
'If you’re in a helicopter and you hover why does the Earth not come to you if
it’s round?
'Why, if we’re hurtling
through space, why would water stay still? Why is it not wobbling? Also if you
fire a laser about 16 miles, if the world was curved, you shouldn’t be able to
see it but you can.'
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