Mike
Hughes, a 64-year-old stuntman who set off to check the Earth's shape, has died
while trying to fly a steam-powered rocket for a TV series. Hughes was known as
“Mad Mike” for his mix of courage and denial to accept the spherical nature of
the Earth. The calamity is a reminder that conspiracy ideas have consequences,
and at times even apparently harmless ones can be life taking.
Hughes
built steam-powered rockets, which he tried to ride. His ultimate goal was to
reach the Karman line, 100 kilometers (62 miles) above sea level, considered by
some the opening of space. He was attempting a more uncertain goal of 1,500
meters (5,000 feet), but even this was too much when his parachute couldn’t
open properly.
A full
coroner's inquiry will no doubt disclose more, but it is believed the
gravitational forces of the launch caused Hughes unconscious, leaving him
unable to open the parachute properly on the way down, and back-up chutes also
failed to deploy. This nonetheless means Hughes didn't suffer.
The unevenly
spherical shape of the Earth has been known since the beginning, proved first
by the shape of the Earth's shadow on the Moon in times of eclipses, and then
by the variances in the angle of the Sun at the same time across latitudes. The
latter discovery even permitted fairly precise estimates of the planet's
circumference about 2,300 years ago. Many more evidences have subsequently
emerged, from compasses to the existence of GPS.
.png)
0 Comments