1. The aeronaut can see for himself that Earth is a Plane, The appearance presented to him, even at the highest elevation he has ever attained, is that of a concave surface—this being exactly what is to be expected of a surface that is truly level, since it is the nature of level surfaces to appear to rise to a level with the eye of the ob-server. This is ocular demonstration and proof that Earth is not a globe.
2. Whenever experiments have been tried on the surface of standing water, this surface has always been found to be level. If the Earth were a globe, the surface of ail standing water would be convex. This is an experimental proof that Earth is not a globe.
3. Surveyors' operations in the construction of railroads, tunnels, or canals are conducted without the slightest "allowance" being made for "curvature," although it is taught that this so-called allowance is absolutely necessary! This is a cutting proof that Earth is not a globe.
4. There are rivers that flow for hundreds of miles towards the level of the sea without failing more than a few feet—notably, the Nile, which, in a thousand miles, falls but a foot. A level expanse EARTH IS NOT A GLOBE. 7 of this extent is quite incompatible with the idea of the Earth's*' convexity." It is, therefore, a reasonable proof that Earth is not a globe.
5. The lights which are exhibited in lighthouses are seen by navigators at distances at which, according to the scale of the supposed '^curvature'' given by astronomers, they ought to be many hundreds of feet, in some cases, down below the line of sight! For instance: the light at Cape Hatteras is seen at such a distance (40 miles) that, according to theory, it ought to be nine-hundred feet higher above the level of the sea than it absolutely is, in order to be visible ! This is a conclusive proof that there is no" curvature,^' on the surface of the sea—" the level of the sea,"—ridiculous though it is to be under the necessity of proving it at all : but it is, nevertheless, a conclusive proof that the Earth is not a globe.
6. If we stand on the sands of the sea-shore and watch a ship approach us, we shall find that she w^ill apparently** rise"—to the extent of her own height, nothing more. If we stand upon an eminence, the same law operates still ; and it is but the law of perspective, which causes objects, as they approach us, to appear to increase in size until we see them, close to us, the size they are in fact. That there is no other "rise" than the one spoken of is plain from the fact that, no matter how high we ascend above the level of the sea, the horizon rises on and still on as we rise, so that it is always on a level with the eye, though it be two-hundred miles away, as seen by Mr. J. Glaisher, of England, from Mr. Coxwell's balloon. So that a ship five miles away may be imagined to be "coming up" the imaginary downward curve of the Earth's surface, but if we merely ascend a hill such as Federal Hill, Baltimore, we may see twenty-five miles away, on a level with the eye—that is, twenty miles level distance beyond the ship that we vainly imagined to be "rounding the curve," and "coming up!" This is a plain proof that the Earth is not a globe.
7. If we take a trip down the Chesapeake Bay, in the day-time, we may see for ourselves the utter fallacy of the idea that when a vessel appears" hull down," as it is called, it is because the hull is" behind the water:" for, vessels have been seen, and may often be seen again, presenting the appearance spoken of, and away—far away—beyond those vessels, and, at the same moment, the level shore line, with its accompanying complement of tall trees, towering up, in perspective, over the heads of the*' hull-down" ships! Since, then, the idea will not stand its ground when the facts rise up against it, and it is a piece of the popular theory, the theory is a contemptible piece of business, and we may easily wring from it a proof that Earth is not a globe.
8. If the Earth were a globe, a small model globe would be the very best—because the truest—thing for the navigator to take to sea with him. But such a thing as that is not known : with such a toy as a guide, the mariner would wreck his ship, of a certainty! This is a proof that Earth is not a globe.
9. As mariners take to sea with them charts constructed as though the sea were a level surface,. however these charts may err as to the true form of this level surface taken as a whole, it is clear, as they find them answer their purpose tolerably well—and only tolerably well, for many ships are wrecked owing to the error of which we speak—that the surface of the sea is as it is taken to be, whether the captain of the ship" supposes" the Earth to be a globe or anything else. Thus, then, we draw, from the common system of "plane sailing,” a practical proof that Earth is not a globe.
10. That the mariners' compass points north and south at the same time is a fact as indisputable as that two and two makes.four; but that this would be impossible if the thing were.placed on a globe with "north" and "south" at the centre of opposite hemispheres is a fact that does not figure in the school-books, though very easily seen: and it requires no lengthy train of reasoning to bring out of it a pointed proof that the Earth is not a globe.
11. As the mariners' compass points north and south at one time, and as the North, to which it is attracted, is that part of the Earth situate where the north Star is in the zenith, it follows that there is no south" point" or '*pole" but that, while the centre is north, a vast circumference must be South in its whole extent. This is a proof that the Earth is not a globe.
12. As we have seen that there is, really, no south point (or pole) but an infinity of points forming, together, a vast circumference—the boundary of the known world, with its battlements of icebergs which bid defiance to man's onward course in a southerly direction—so there can be no east or west" points,'" just as there is no" yesterday," and no "tomorrow." In fact, as there is one point that is fixed (the North), it is impossible for any other point to be fixed likewise. East and west are, therefore, merely directions at right angles with a north and south line : and as the south point of the compass shifts round to all parts of the circular boundary, (as it maybe carried round the central North), so the directions east and west, crossing this line, continued, form a circle, at any latitude. A westerly circumnavigation, therefore, is a going round with the North Star continually on the right hand, and an easterly circumnavigation is performed only when the reverse condition of things is maintained, the North Star being on the left hand as the journey is made. These facts, taken together, form a beautiful proof that the Earth is not a globe.
13. As the mariners' compass points north and south at one and the same time, and a meridian is a north and south line, it follows that meridians can be no other than straight lines. But, since all meridians on a globe are semicircles, it is an incontrovertible proof that the Earth is not a globe.
14. "Parallels of latitude" only—of all imaginary lines on the surface of the Earth—are circles, which increase, progressively, from the northern centre to the southern circumference. The mariner's course in the direction of any one of these concentric circles is his longitude, the degrees of which increase to such an extent beyond the equator (going southwards) that hundreds of vessels have been wrecked because of the false idea created by the untruthfulness of the charts and the globular theory together, causing the sailor to be continually getting out of his reckoning With a map of the Earth in its true form all difficulty is done away with, and ships may be conducted anywhere with perfect safety. This, then, is a very important practical proof that the Earth is not a globe.
15. The idea that, instead of sailing horizontally round the Earth, ships are taken down one side of a globe, then underneath, and are brought up on the other side to get home again, is, except as a mere dream, impossible and absurd ! And, since there are neither impossibilities nor absurdities in the simple matter of circumnavigation, it stands, without argument, a proof that the Earth is not a globe.
16. If the Earth were a globe, the distance round its surface at, say, 45 "degrees" south latitude, could not possibly be any greater than it is at the same latitude north ; but, since it is found by navigators to be twice the distance—to say the least of it or, double the distance it ought to be according to the globular theory, it is a proof that the Earth is not a globe.
17. Human beings require a surface on which to live that, in its general character, shall be level; and since the Omniscient Creator must have been perfectly acquainted with the requirements of His creatures, it follow’s that, being an All-wise Creator, He has met them thoroughly. This is a theological proof that the Earth is not a globe.
18. The best possessions of man are his senses; and, when he uses them all, he will not be deceived in his survey of nature. It is only when some one faculty or other is neglected or abused that he is deluded. Every man in full command of his senses knows that a level surface is a flat or horizontal one ; but astronomers tell us that the true level is the curved surface of a globe! They know that man requires a level surface on Which to live, so they give him one in name which is not one in fact ! Since this is the best that astronomers, with their theoretical science, can do for their fellow creatures—deceive them—it is clear that things are not as they say they are; and, in short, it is a proof that Earth is not a globe.
19. Every man in his senses goes the most reasonable way to work to do a thing. Now, astronomers (one after another—following a leader), while they are telling us that Earth is a globe, are cutting off the upper half of this supposititious globe in their books, and, in this w^ay, forming the level surface on which they describe man as living and moving! Now, if the Earth were really a globe, this would be just the most unreasonable and suicidal mode of endeavouring to show it. So that, unless theoretical astronomers are all out of their senses together, it is, clearly, a proof that the Earth is not a globe.
20. The common sense of man tells him—if nothing else told him that there is an** up" and a *' down" in nature, even as regards the heavens and the earth; but the theory of modern astronomers necessitates the conclusion that there is not: therefore, the theory of the astronomers is opposed to common sense—yes, and to inspiration and this is a common sense proof that the Earth is not a globe.
21. Man's experience tells him that he is not constructed like the flies that can live and move upon the ceiling of a room with as much safety as on the floor : and since the modern theory of a planetary earth necessitates a crowd of theories to keep company with it, and one of them is that men are really bound to the earth by a force which fastens them to it** like needles round a spherical loadstone, theory perfectly outrageous and opposed to all human experience, it follows that, unless we can trample upon common sense and ignore the teachings of experience, we have an evident proof that the Earth is not a globe.
Extracted from:
One hundred proofs that the earth is not a globe (Carpenter, William etc.) - 1885