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Space Idle

Flat Earther Plans New Rocket Launch, Predicts Super Bowl-Sized Ratings (phillyvoice.com) 219

Posted by EditorDavid from the T-minus-two-weeks dept.
Self-taught rocket scientist/daredevil "Mad" Mike Hughes will finally launch his homemade rocket in two weeks -- despite "anonymous online haters questioning his every move." An anonymous reader quotes PhillyVoice: He's found some private land in the "ghost town" of Amboy, California -- complete with a brand-spanking-new road that'll enable him to get his motor home and rocket gear to the site... "It'll be a vertical launch, me strapped into the rocket with 6,000 pounds of thrust, going up about three-eighths of a mile," he said, noting it's a prologue to a major launch this Fourth of July weekend. "It's the ultimate Wile E. Coyote move."

As with the scrubbed mission, this is in part an event which he hopes will get people to investigate the ideology which holds the earth is flat -- despite quite a bit of evidence to the contrary. He said it would've happened back in November if international publicity hadn't prompted government bureaucrats to "cover their asses" by pointing out that his launch site crept 150 feet into federal land. "I could've been arrested so at that point, I just went home and got back to work," he said... "But guess what? It's about to happen again... I should get more viewers than the Super Bowl," said Hughes, adding the launch will be aired on Noize TV [a video-on-demand service].
Noize TV has already posted video of a new interview with Hughes, touting his upcoming launch at 3 p.m. on Saturday, February 3, the day before the Super Bowl (which Hughes calls "nothing but bullshit.")

Hughes says he's also filing to run for Governor of California.
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Flat Earther Plans New Rocket Launch, Predicts Super Bowl-Sized Ratings More

Flat Earther Plans New Rocket Launch, Predicts Super Bowl-Sized Ratings

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  • Really? (Score:4, Funny)

    by Betty Crocker ( 5165591 ) on Saturday January 20, 2018 @07:16PM (#55969435)
    Is this what Slashdot has come to?

    This is like something that Q would teleport Picard off the bridge to watch just to WASTE HIS TIME.

    • Re: Really? (Score:2, Informative)

      by Frosty Piss ( 770223 ) *

      Yes, this is what Slashdot has come to. For what Slashdot could have been, go to https://www.soylentnews.com/ [soylentnews.com]

      Itâ(TM)s really quite sad, but thems the breaks.

      Now get off my lawn.

    • Re:Really? (Score:5, Insightful)

      by Patent Lover ( 779809 ) on Saturday January 20, 2018 @09:18PM (#55969923)
      Seriously, can we stop covering this asshole?

      • Re:Really? (Score:5, Interesting)

        by PopeRatzo ( 965947 ) on Saturday January 20, 2018 @09:23PM (#55969935) Journal

        Seriously, can we stop covering this asshole?

        Bite your tongue. I would definitely buy a pay-per-view to watch his launch. I might even donate to his Patreon if he promises to do it.

        What could be more quintessentially American than a guy strapping himself to a homemade rocket and launching himself off his motorhome in Amboy, California. God speed, you glorious bastard.

        • That would be great except this dipshit has been making the same bullshit claims for months. This is way worse than back when Evel Knievel pretended he was going to jump over the Snake River Canyon.

          • Re: (Score:2)

            by Khyber ( 864651 )

            "This is way worse than back when Evel Knievel pretended he was going to jump over the Snake River Canyon."

            He actually attempted it, and his record of broken bones tells me you're just a bitter person with no thrills in life.

          • That would be great except this dipshit has been making the same bullshit claims for months.

            The reason he has been making the claims "for months" is that he was going to do it months ago (last November) but was banned from doing it. I've no doubt he would have done it because he has made rocket flights before, and will do this one too if he is not banned again.

        • It's totally fake. There's no way rockets work.

      • And risk missing the opportunity to witness a Darwin Award getting won on live TV ?

      • Seriously, can we stop covering this asshole?

        Yes, when he has killed himself.

    • So, another unscrupulous narcissist hijacks clickbait farms to attract attention to a pointlessly-idiotic stunt.

      In what universe is this even arguably "News for Nerds?"

      Is there any "nerd" anywhere who takes flat-eartherism seriously?

      Seriously?

      This attention whore was never a flat-earth advocate - until he figured out that they're dumb enough to be willing to bankroll his stupid, steam-powered suicide machine. Now he's suddenly a passionate proponent of an idea so fundamentally idiotic, s

      • In what universe is this even arguably News for Nerds?" Is there any "nerd" anywhere who takes flat-eartherism seriously?

        You don't have to take flat-earthism seriously in order to take an interest in this. For one thing it offers a demonstration of a type of psychology, and that's science in itself. It also promises to be an entertaining show, even for nerds, and possibly a recorded coverage of a Dawin Award being won, as most of them do not get coverage at the time.

        This attention whore [is] suddenly a passionate proponent of an idea so fundamentally idiotic, so stubbornly anti-scientific, so willfully blind to all the scientific evidence since at least as early as the 13th century

        LoL, you protest too much; so much it sounds like you are the one taking the threat to the established view of a round earth seriously - by appealing to evidenc

  • He might just get his crowd. (Score:5, Funny)

    by sehlat ( 180760 ) on Saturday January 20, 2018 @07:20PM (#55969449)

    Of course, it will be like the stunt rider who was told that the crowd wasn't there to watch him jump thirteen buses. They were there to watch him jump twelve-and-a-half.

    • Shouldn't be too hard considering how popular the National Felon League is.........

    • Didn't Evel Kenevil already sort of do this test?

      Anyhow I have a new conspiracy theory I want to float for the first time here on slashdot.

      I think this so=called flat earther is really part of the conspiracy to convince us the earth is not flat. See he's only pretending to be a flat earther so when he goes up and say "golly the earth isn't flat" we'll all be convinced and the Round-Earth Conspiracy wins!

      It makes sense too. What's amazing really is that with all the space faring nations and corprorations

  • Honestly (Score:4, Insightful)

    by 93 Escort Wagon ( 326346 ) on Saturday January 20, 2018 @07:22PM (#55969457)

    Nowadays when we’re at the point that even a casual investigation by a grade school student can locate definitive evidence that the earth is round... it takes a special breed of delusional imbecile to hold onto the belief that the earth is flat.

    Here’s to you, Mike Hughes!

    • Re: (Score:3)

      by gweihir ( 88907 )

      Well, look at some of the extreme stupidity found in human beings, and this is just a bit more spectacular than most.

    • Re:Honestly (Score:5, Funny)

      by PPH ( 736903 ) on Saturday January 20, 2018 @08:50PM (#55969839)

      Well duh. Round earth has been demonstrated by incontrovertible photographic evidence [cdninstagram.com].

  • "Crater", not "ratings" (Score:4, Funny)

    by wonkey_monkey ( 2592601 ) on Saturday January 20, 2018 @07:27PM (#55969467) Homepage

    Flat Earther Plans New Rocket Launch, Predicts Super Bowl-Sized Crater

    FTFY.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by HiThere ( 15173 )

      O, he might get his ratings. That's a bit different from supporters, though.

  • He probably doesn't understand anything more than very simple cause and effect. Deducing indirect effects is beyond this fellow's ken.

    Truculent ignorance is often self-resolving, especially when high energies and risks are involved.

  • Flat earther (Score:5, Funny)

    by iTrawl ( 4142459 ) on Saturday January 20, 2018 @07:44PM (#55969527)

    Who are you calling flat? He's not flat... yet!

  • Do you think if I started a Kickstarter campaign to sponsor his live stream with a mental health "get help" campaign that I could hit a million dollars in 24 hours?

  • Haven't we already done this? (Score:3)

    by Mozai ( 3547 ) on Saturday January 20, 2018 @07:45PM (#55969535) Homepage
    Wasn't there already a non-government extra-terrestrial live video event [wikipedia.org] where we could see the curvature of the Earth from above? Or is this one of those things where anybody who produces evidence we don't like is clearly in-on-it and part of the big-as-we-need-it-to-be conspiracy?
    • There's just no convincing some people. You could send them into space so they could see for themselves and they'd swear up and down you'd really just put them in some kind of sophisticated VR room and faked the entire thing.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by plopez ( 54068 )

        They're trapped in the Truman show

      • There's just no convincing some people. You could send them into space so they could see for themselves and they'd swear up and down you'd really just put them in some kind of sophisticated VR room and faked the entire thing.

        I endorse the idea of putting flat-earthers into rockets. I'm just not in favor of having them return safely.

      • The temptation to put them in the airlock and open it would be strong.

        • I once heard somewhere that the the Russian researchers behind the domesticated fox project not only kept and selectively bred the most friendly animals (leading to the domesticated fox), but also did the same for those that were the least domesticated, creating more ferocious and wild animals.

          I'd like to think that flat-earthers are proof of a similar alien project related to human intelligence and that the aliens are also keeping the most aggressively stupid offspring.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by beckett ( 27524 )
      Presenting incontrovertible evidence or data would not change the mind of someone ideologically committed to the contrary.

      Red Bull was bought off by BIg Round Earth, and they're taking Round Earth Dollars, dontcha know??

  • Get a Balloon, or a plane ticket (Score:5, Insightful)

    by vix86 ( 592763 ) on Saturday January 20, 2018 @07:58PM (#55969595)

    He says he'll go up 3/8ths of a mile, that's just under 2,000ft. A commercial airline flight goes higher than that, as well as some cheap high altitude balloons. Of course the point of this isn't to prove anything except that this is a publicity stunt.

    • He says he'll go up 3/8ths of a mile, that's just under 2,000ft. A commercial airline flight goes higher than that, as well as some cheap high altitude balloons. Of course the point of this isn't to prove anything except that this is a publicity stunt.

      I believe he got quite a bit of money in donations, in addition to the publicity stunt. Win-win?

    • He says he'll go up 3/8ths of a mile, that's just under 2,000ft. A commercial airline flight goes higher than that, as well as some cheap high altitude balloons. Of course the point of this isn't to prove anything except that this is a publicity stunt.

      I'm guessing you could use a few Estes Rockets with a webcam and get more height, without the cost, or loss of life...

  • First 2018 Live Darwin Awards! (Score:5, Funny)

    by Andrew Lindh ( 137790 ) on Saturday January 20, 2018 @08:00PM (#55969601)

    This needs to be live viewing feed (for about 5 minutes) because it will only happen once and you want to make sure it's not censored by the crazy round planet people. He needs to get a circus monkey to push the launch button just to compliment the entertainment value. We'll get to see the first human firework that celebrates his own Darwin Award. Even if he survives, he won't see much at 2000 feet that you can't see from a skyscraper (Burj Khalifa is more than 1/2 a mile tall).

    • T Even if he survives, he won't see much at 2000 feet that you can't see from a skyscraper (Burj Khalifa is more than 1/2 a mile tall).

      Or a mountaintop.

      Meanwhile, the US is continuing to make stupid people famous.

      • There are mountains taller than that less than 15 miles away due south of Amboy, in direct line of sight. From there you can look down on this guy as he reaches the peak of his ascent.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by mysidia ( 191772 )

      I don't blame him for wanting to leave earth -- you could legitimately say it's been flattened as a metaphor by environmentally-unfriendly companies and all the political BS, but 3/8 of a mile is not enough to escape.

  • Idiots like this one should to everything they can to remove their presence from this world. If they do it in an entertaining fashion, all the better.

  • Flat earthers are a different breed altogether. With your typical conspiracy (9-11 inside job, fake the moon landing, vaccines cause autism, etc.), all it takes is a combination of a good story, not understood or misunderstood science, and a belief that you know something special that most people don't. It also becomes more popular as time gets further and further away from the initial event. But a key element is the inability for everyone or the average person to recreate the original variables surrounding the conspiracy. (We cannot recreate 9-11, we cannot recreate a moon landing limiting our technology and knowledge to what we had in 1968, etc.

    But with flat earthers? There are literally hundreds of ways today the average human can observe that the Earth is round. There's no depth of science to it. One can ask themselves the question, "Why can't I see the Rocky Mountains from my house?" Or, one can go find a straight road (perhaps on the salt flats or on ND Hwy 46 [roadsideamerica.com]), get a pair of binoculars or a good telescoping lens on a tripod, watch a car drive by, and watch it disappear over the horizon, then ask the question, "Would the car disappear if the Earth was flat?" Or just go onto YouTube and watch all the videos made floating weather balloons up to the stratosphere [youtube.com], where the camera can capture the curvature of the Earth. Or talk to an airplane pilot. Or control tower personnel whose equations they use to calculate distances, vectors, and flight plans would fail miserably if they were to use Euclidian Geometry instead of Spherical Geometry. Or duplicate Eratosthenes' [wikipedia.org] experiment. (Yes, that one's far more complicated than watching video's on YouTube, but if it worked for some dead white Greek dude over two thousand years ago, who didn't have the internet or Google, then it can work for anyone today as well.)

    Most conspiracy theories choose to ignore expert opinions because they're incapable of understanding the science themselves. Flat-earthers are fully capable of understanding the science; they just refuse to understand.

    • You understand this guy is trolling you, right? It's really amusing to see how bent out of shape some people get over his antics.

    • Most people have something that they just want to believe in, and for practical purposes in their particular lives it just makes things better. Big things like God/No God, yes, but also small things like "my wife did not eat the last cookie", which is easily proven, but it's just easier and better for them to stay on the couch and not eat the cookie, even if it's true.

  • When I lay the world map down on the table it's flat, how can you argue with that?

    1. Pretend you believe in something outrageous
    2. Wait for simpletons on social media to believe you and spread the story
    3. Spice it up by throwing in something grand like launching a rocket
    4. Wait for sensationalist media to pick up the "story" and make it go viral
    5. Watch the audience grow
    6. Profit

  • I'm reminded of those beer commercials (Score:3)

    by Pezbian ( 1641885 ) on Sunday January 21, 2018 @05:04AM (#55970895)

    Looks like "Real Men of Genius" might have a comeback.

  • The new road will be good. I've heard the slightest bump causes parts to fall off the rocket. It even broke before getting it out of the driveway.

  • I hope he'll have enough time to draw a map of the flat Earth, including the obligatory "Here be dragons" note.

  • Could it be that this guy has some serious psychological issues that could get him, or others, hurt or killed?

  • This is why they took lead out of paint
  • It must feel great knowing so many people will be tuning in to watch you fall on your face!

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