We’ve reached peak 2019, because now dating apps are quite literally fuelling the hopes and dreams of flat-earthers.
Notorious flat-earth conspiracy theorist, daredevil, self-taught rocket scientist and limo driver ‘Mad’ Mike Hughes has once again launched himself 1,500m into the sky over the Mojave Desert with a homemade steam-powered rocket.
According to the 63-year-old, the whole thing is sponsored by “commitment-free dating app” Hud, and is part of an upcoming series for the Discovery Channel.
I’ve got a few questions. Firstly, why is a dating app for hookups sponsoring this kind of thing? Secondly, who is trusting a homemade rocket 1,500m in the sky!? And thirdly, did Hughes have his dreams dashed when he looked down and saw the curvature of the Earth?
According to Forbes, it’s the second time Hughes has launched himself into the atmosphere in hopes of drawing attention to the ‘Flat Earth movement’ and eventually send himself to space where he can find out once and for all what Earth is shaped like. Spoiler alert: it’s round.
Hughes isn’t the first person to make headlines for believing our planet is flat. NBA star Kyrie Irving, television personality Tila Tequila and rapper B.o.B are all convinced of Earth’s flatness. In 2016, B.o.B posted a series of tweets telling his millions of followers that he “didn’t wanna believe it either.”
“No matter how high in elevation you are…the horizon is always eye level…” he wrote. Later he posted a photo of the horizon and captioned it, “The cities in the background are approx. 16 miles apart…where is the curve? Please explain this.” Wow.
There’s no update on whether Hughes’ launch was a success or failure judging by the daredevil’s various social media platforms, but no news is good news, right?