the world is flat...

[sao123]

how is it that in 500 -200 BC pythagoris && aristotle both proved that the earth, sun and moon were round.... by observing the shape opf the shadows during lunar & solar eclipses....

but in 1492... when columbus sailed his voyage from spain...
the people then still believed again that the world was flat and that they would fall of the earth by going too far offshore?

 

[mchammer]

they didnt actually believe that

 

[Rip the Jacker]

because people are stupid.

 

[Tom]

I read somewhere there was a Greek guy that came close to inventing the internal combustion engine which probably would have led to their having an industrial revolution 2000 years earlier than when it actually happened.

 

[Syringer]

How can people believe that people in Columbus' time believed the world was flat? It's as true as his discovering of America, or that he was trying to find a path to the Indies for spices.

 

[Bateluer]

Originally posted by: Tom
I read somewhere there was a Greek guy that came close to inventing the internal combustion engine which probably would have led to their having an industrial revolution 2000 years earlier than when it actually happened.

It was a Roman Engineer. Can't remember the name though.

He was close, very close, all he needed was to hook his prototype to some gears and BAM!

 

[OrganizedChaos]

my tenth grade history always made it a point on the first day to explain that our elementary school teachers were required to lie to us about these things for political reasons.

 

[Paratus]

It was a steam engine.

May have been Archimedes.

 

[sao123]

Originally posted by: Syringer
How can people believe that people in Columbus' time believed the world was flat? It's as true as his discovering of America, or that he was trying to find a path to the Indies for spices.

and yet they still teach this in history classes... wtf?

 

[JEDI]

Originally posted by: sao123how is it that in 500 -200 BC pythagoris && aristotle both proved that the earth, sun and moon were round.... by observing the shape opf the shadows during lunar & solar eclipses....

but in 1492... when columbus sailed his voyage from spain...
the people then still believed again that the world was flat and that they would fall of the earth by going too far offshore?

FLAT

 

[drinkmorejava]

SERIOUSLY, are they still teaching everyone this crap. NO ONE THOUGHT IT WAS BLOODY FLAT, the English, French, and even the Vatican knew was round. The problem was Columbus was an absolute idiot and thought the circumference of the earth was much less than they did (they were actually pretty close). If he didn't run into the Caribbean/north-south America it would have been a suicide mission, there?s no way he would have reached the East Indies.

/rant

 

[StrangerGuy]

...And the world is supported by an infinite stack of turtles....

 

[Malak]

There are still people that think the world is flat. I even recently met a man who thinks that the earth is still the center of the solar system and in fact the sun revolves around us.

 

[Rufus12]

Only the Greeks thought the likes of Aristotle etc. were right. They weren't recognized til later on.

 

[judasmachine]

Originally posted by: mchammer
they didnt actually believe that

QFT. It's a myth, their weren't the idiots we are taught they were.

 

[quakefiend420]

Originally posted by: Malak
There are still people that think the world is flat. I even recently met a man who thinks that the earth is still the center of the solar system and in fact the sun revolves around us.

i seem to remember you mentioning that in another thread

 

[Howard]

Originally posted by: Malak
There are still people that think the world is flat. I even recently met a man who thinks that the earth is still the center of the solar system and in fact the sun revolves around us.

Well, the chances of meeting somebody like that are higher for you than the average person.

 

[Eeezee]

The world is as flat as a beach ball

 

[Goosemaster]

Originally posted by: Paratus
It was a steam engine.

Steam+ duke nukem over 19200kbps modem = :laugh:

 

[Howard]

Originally posted by: Eeezee
The world is as flat as a beach ball

Deflated?

 

[Syringer]

Originally posted by: judasmachine

Originally posted by: mchammer
they didnt actually believe that

QFT. It's a myth, their weren't the idiots we are taught they were.

 

[Vic]

Because Columbus knew the earth was round. Your elementary school teachers lied to you. All seafaring cultures throughout history have known the earth is round. The horizon is only 30 miles away. You can see the curve.

The ancient steam engine was built by Hero of Alexandria.

 

[Kadarin]

Originally posted by: Tom
I read somewhere there was a Greek guy that came close to inventing the internal combustion engine which probably would have led to their having an industrial revolution 2000 years earlier than when it actually happened.

Somehow I don't think it alone would have sparked off an industrial revolution. However, it's interesting to speculate how history would have turned out differently had it done so... Perhaps the Dark Ages would never have happened, perhaps we would not have this stupid monotheistic Christianity/Islam nonsense, and maybe we'd be the ones building stargates.

 

[HombrePequeno]

I can't say that I was ever taught that in school. The only place that I remember seeing it was on Rocky and Bullwinkle (the Peabody cartoon). I think I may have seen it in a couple other cartoons but it definitely wasn't taught in my school. I really wish people would stop perpetuating this crap.

Eratosthenes roughly figured out the circumference of the Earth back in 500 BC by comparing the angle of shadows in two different places at a certain time of day.

 

[DanTMWTMP]

in 1492, the general idea was that the world was round. the world was flat, and columbus trying to prove it wasn't is a myth.