The Earth is incredibly large—even a modern airplane would take almost a full day to circle it. From ancient times to modern times, there have been many theories about space, trying to explain how the Earth was formed and its place in the universe. Of course, theories about the shape of the Earth also vary. Some people believe that the Earth is flat, while others believe that the Earth is a giant tree trunk. Finally, in the Middle Ages, people began to generally believe that the earth was round. However, for some reason, in the late 19th century, the controversy over the true shape of the Earth was strangely reborn.
Although the ancient Greeks are credited with being the first to discover that the earth was round, there has always been a view that in the field of the history of science this is a relatively new concept. The idea that the Earth might be flat reappeared in the public imagination during the Reformation and in the 19th century when advances in science began to threaten religion. The following content is a collection of some of the strangest and weirdest theories about the shape of the earth. Even though there is a lot of scientific evidence, everyone thinks that the earth is round.
Columbus believed that the Earth was pear-shaped
Without scientific evidence, the slave trader mistakenly credited as the discoverer of the American continent, Christopher Columbus, came up with a creative theory about the shape of the Earth. The explorer and genocidal maniac believes the Earth is pear-shaped and even has a nipple-like handle. But that's not all! Columbus also believed that the center of the earth's papillary handle was heaven.
Rowbotham believed that the Earth was a flat disk
A British astronomer named Samuel Burley Rowbotham in the 19th century proposed an interesting theory to explain the shape of the Earth. Even though circumnavigation had been around for hundreds of years in his time, Rowbotham still didn't believe the Earth was round. So he traveled throughout Britain telling people that the Earth was actually made up of continents floating on water. He also believed that the North Pole was the center of the flat planet, with a huge ice cliff at the end of Antarctica.
Ferguson believed that the Earth was square and stationary
A South Dakotan named Orlando Ferguson published a map of the Earth depicting a square planet. It shows a jagged edge, where is the edge of Antarctica, and then Earth's descent into space. Inspired by biblical verses, he added angles to the corners of the map and traced the positions of the moon and sun to represent the way the planets received light. Ferguson also included a schematic diagram of two people flying away from the Earth, since it would be impossible for anything to stay on the ground on an object traveling as fast as a third rock from the sun.
Hinduism teaches followers that the Earth is part of a giant tortoise.
One explanation for the Earth's shape is that it is actually part of a giant cosmic tortoise. According to Hindu cosmology, the earth is its lower body, the atmosphere forms its shell, and the upper shell is the heavens. Moreover, the entire turtle contains the universe in every part.
The Iroquois also believed that the earth was part of a turtle
The Iroquois of North America told a creation story that said the first humans were born on the back of a giant turtle. It all started when a goddess was thrown to earth by her angry husband because he learned that she would give birth to twins. And when she fell from the sky, Earth's sea creatures saved her, and then she collected dirt from the sea floor and created land on the backs of turtles. Soon, she gave birth to two sons, who then became representatives of good and evil. Eventually, the two men fight, and the evil one is forced to live on the turtle's back forever.
The Mayans believed the earth was flat
The Mayans believed the earth was flat and on the back of a large crocodile. They also believed that the planet was square, with four gods holding up the sky from each corner.And the sky was a huge snake with two heads carved with the shapes of stars, the moon and the sun. Above all things are 13 levels of heaven, and underground are 9 levels of hell.
Norwegians believe that the earth is a tree
Norwegians believe that the earth is one of the nine worlds, but it is the only world that humans can see. They called this world Midgard and thought it was shaped like a tree. According to their beliefs, Midgard is the tree trunk and Asgard is the sky. Surrounding the tree was a vast ocean filled with terrifying giants, including a snake patrolling the water.
Some people say that the Bible proves that the earth is flat.
The Western belief that the earth is flat is based on the Bible. This holy book is open to many interpretations. One view is that the Bible describes a stationary planet that is flat and has a tree so large that it can be seen from across the planet. Some people believe that if the earth were round, the tree would disappear from the horizon. Of course, scripture doesn’t explicitly say the world is flat, and it’s not a central belief in most Christian churches today.
There is a Modern Flat Earth Society that uses alternative science to support their claims
Today, believers in the theory that the earth is flat do not trust the evidence of the scientific method. Instead, they used sensory evidence to support their claim that the Earth was flat. For example, they believe that "etheric vortices" obscure some stars in the northern and southern hemispheres, which would explain why the night sky looks different in other parts of the Earth. Based on their observations, they said that the diameter of the sun and moon were both 32 miles, and that sunlight would also disappear because it was like a lamp that no longer shines in certain places.
