The final countdown

 

Here we go again. "Professor Dave Explains" have the latest updates on the so-called Final Experiment and its aftermath. 

As many people probably know by now, American Christian pastor Will Duffy took several flat earthers with him on an expedition to Antarctica. The purpose: to prove once and for all that the Earth is a globe. On the most popular flat earth "model", there can´t be a 24-hour sun ("midnight sun") in Antarctica. Indeed, Antarctica doesn´t even exist but is a mysterious ice wall guarded by heavily armed troops c/o NASA or some such agency?! Lo and behold, the flat earthers did see the sun at midnight. As far as I understand, there were three flat earthers present, but only one changed his mind and rejoined the rest of the humanity. Note that the entire 24-hour day with sunlight was livestreamed on YouTube, that compasses and GPS were used to prove that the team actually was in Antarctica (and not in the Arctic) and that drones were flown over the area to prove that they weren´t in a studio. 

Meanwhile at home (and on the web), the fallout has been *epic*, with most flat earthers experiencing cognitive dissonance and coming up with various ad hoc explanations as to what actually happened in Antarctica. This wasn´t unexpected, but "Professor Dave" hopes that the flat earth community is about to split apart, since every "flerfer" seems to have his own pet theory about The Final Experiment. Some even debunk the worst conspiracy claims of the others! Were they filming inside the Vegas Sphere? Did they build a similar building in Antarctica? Or is a 24-hour sun in Antarctica compatible with a flat earth model, after all? The flat earthers who accompanied Will Duffy are accused of being "shills" or "double agents". 

Most original - surprise - is Dean Odle, the Christian fundamentalist preacher who was too crazy even for Greg Locke (another fringey preacher). Odle claims that Will Duffy is a "fake pastor", that many of the participants in the expedition were Satanists, and that Satan himself tricked everyone with a fake 24-hour sun?! Not sure what this even means. Was the "sun" actually a UFO, a mirage, or Screwtape having a break? Odle also believe that the US government can change the weather (let me guess: HAARP?), so I suppose the Devil has many friends in high places...

I think it´s still too early to tell whether this is the final countdown, or whether the flat earthers will eventually unite around a common explanation and simply continue to proselytize á la Marian Keech in "When Prophecy Fails". Odle will certainly do so. But yeah, the whole flat earth thing does feel "so 2015". Maybe it really is time to move on. 

Hollow Earth next?