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  1. #1
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    'I Don't Believe In Science,' Says Flat-Earther Set To Launch Himself In Own Rocket

    Trumps America....



    On Saturday, a limousine driver plans to launch himself on a mile-long flight over the Mojave Desert in a rocket of his own making.

    His name is "Mad" Mike Hughes, his steam-powered rocket is built of salvaged metals, his launch pad is repurposed from a used mobile home — and he is confident this will mark the first step toward proving the Earth is flat, after all.

    "It's the most interesting story in the world," Hughes told The Associated Press of his jury-rigged quest to overturn more than two millennia of scientific knowledge. And the whole thing is costing him just $20,000, according to the AP. (It goes without saying, but we'll say this anyway: Do not try this at home — or anywhere.)

    "I don't believe in science," Hughes added. "I know about aerodynamics and fluid dynamics and how things move through the air, about the certain size of rocket nozzles, and thrust. But that's not science, that's just a formula. There's no difference between science and science fiction."

    The plan, as stated, is to send himself 1,800 feet high in the air at a speed of 500 mph before finally pulling out his parachutes — which, one hopes, will not be the same ones he used for another launch in 2014. Hughes, 61, told a flat-Earth community Web show that the flight, which the AP said took him a quarter-mile across Arizona desert, ended when he pulled his parachutes — two of which he said were at least 20 years old at the time and one of which didn't open.

    "Yeah, it was a scary moment," he said in the interview, adding that he had to use a walker for several weeks after his landing. "I had never parachuted before."

    It was not his first time tinkering with a big hunk of metal, however. Though Hughes may drive limousines for a living, he says he has worked in NASCAR pit crews, and The Washington Post reports he "has been building rockets for years."

    Just don't liken the man's entrepreneurial spirit to that of Elon Musk, who "is a giant fraud," according to Hughes. In fact, many notable space explorers came in for Hughes' criticism during the interview, including the "Freemason" NASA astronauts John Glenn and Neil Armstrong. Hughes maintained that all of them have been involved in "the roots of the deception" that the Earth is round.

    Now, it must be noted that humans knew the world was round long, long before NASA launched astronauts into space and we saw pictures of our spherical planet from afar. As the BBC points out, Aristotle — a Greek man with no known connections to NASA or Freemasonry — explained how we know back around 350 B.C.:

    "Again, our observations of the stars make it evident, not only that the Earth is circular, but also that it is a circle of no great size. For quite a small change of position to south or north causes a manifest alteration of the horizon."
    Other famed explorers who have circumnavigated the globe, such as Ferdinand Magellan and Sir Francis Drake, also failed to report observing the sea ice that many flat-Earthers believe marks the ends of our earthly disc.

    Still, Hughes converted to the flat-Earth belief recently, shortly after his first fundraising campaign for the rocket earned just $310 of its $150,000 goal. His second campaign, this time posted after his conversion and with the support of the flat-Earth community, succeeded in hitting its $7,875 goal.

    "I've been a believer for maybe almost a year. I researched it for several months in between doing everything else — you know, I've still got to make a living and all that kind of stuff, and building this rocket actually eats up a lot of my time," he told the flat-Earth Web show. "But when I'm not doing that, I research things."

    And Hughes intends that research to continue well beyond Saturday's launch, which he says he will be streaming online. He envisions the launch as just one step toward eventually getting himself into space, at which point he plans to take a photograph "to prove once and for all this Earth is flat," he told his interviewer.

    "This is the king of the deceptions," Hughes said. "Once this domino falls, this is it."

    https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-...-in-own-rocket

  2. #2
    Thailand Expat AntRobertson's Avatar
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    There are a few on here that should join him on his expedition.

  3. #3
    Thailand Expat misskit's Avatar
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    My bet is on this being the end of Mad Mike.

  4. #4
    Thailand Expat AntRobertson's Avatar
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    There may also be some method to Mad Mike's, errm, madness.

    It could be inferred that he just wants some funding so thought 'who better to filch some cash from than a bunch of science denying 'tards'. He should target climate change 'skeptics' next, he'll make a fortune.

    Of course he could just genuinely be a nutter too.

  5. #5
    Thailand Expat misskit's Avatar
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    I agree he's collecting the cash but he is also trying to fly a mile in a rocket made from junk. The article says he broke both legs when he tried it going only 1/4 mile.

    Noticed his website says the launch will be pay for view.

  6. #6
    Thailand Expat AntRobertson's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by misskit View Post
    the launch will be pay for view


    He could be on to something there! People might be willing to pay $$$ to watch an inevitable fuck up.

    Mind, he'll likely be dead...

  7. #7
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    Darwin award winner 2018 for sure.

  8. #8
    Thailand Expat VocalNeal's Avatar
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    Clearly American? If he were British he would be quaintly eccentric but as an American he is as has been stated a nutter. He clearly wants to leave this world and leave his name in the historic record?

    Had to use a Zimmer frame as he had never parachuted before. If I met him in a pub I might buy him a pint.
    Better to think inside the pub, than outside the box?
    I apologize if any offence was caused. unless it was intended.
    You people, you think I know feck nothing; I tell you: I know feck all
    Those who cannot change their mind, cannot change anything.

  9. #9
    R.I.P. Luigi's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by bsnub View Post
    On Saturday, a limousine driver plans to launch himself on a mile-long flight over the Mojave Desert in a rocket of his own making.
    Why have I got a feeling that a Gif of this is gonna be in the Amusing Pics thread soon.

  10. #10
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    He's building a rocket to deny science??

    *polite applause*

  11. #11
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    Quote Originally Posted by bsnub View Post
    The plan, as stated, is to send himself 1,800 feet high in the air at a speed of 500 mph before finally pulling out his parachutes
    Yes, that'll certainly prove the flatness of the Earth.

  12. #12
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    Didnt the Evil Knuteavil do this back in the seventies?








    Rocket Scientists.

  13. #13
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    Now we know why ENT has not been around for a while.

    I think you're right Ant, this is a money grubbing excersise. Much cheaper and safer to launch a rocket fitted with a dozen cameras. It wouldn't surprise me if that's the "last minute change of plans because of FAA rules" or somesuch.

  14. #14
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    I read about this guy before.

  15. #15
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    hopefully he doesn't believe in gravity either.

  16. #16
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    little foggy, knew I'd find it.

  17. #17
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  18. #18
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  19. #19
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    Fuck yeah man!

    Who the fug believes in trivial things like science, anyway?

    pooves, that's who... on ya fly boy!

  20. #20
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    Funny I don't recall if he made it across the Grand Canyon. Oh, flash back. That's what the parachute was for.
    Last edited by fishlocker; 24-11-2017 at 01:44 PM.

  21. #21
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    Same as Evil Knievel's Grand Canyon "jump," really...

    Pull the ripchord mid-flight...

    "Flathead" Society, indeed...

  22. #22
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    Shovelhead, Knucklehead, And the one all Asians love .....


    Pan head. Not that their describing anything other than the head design.

    That is the part bolted on to the top of the cylinder .

  23. #23
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    ^ Block: Both -head, and what the head is bolted to.

  24. #24
    Thailand Expat harrybarracuda's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by AntRobertson View Post


    He could be on to something there! People might be willing to pay $$$ to watch an inevitable fuck up.

    Mind, he'll likely be dead...

    Well he is in America. It's probably $100K to fix an ingrowing toenail....

  25. #25
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    This guy climbs up 2000 feet. Makes no claims about proof of flat Earth though.


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