Does the Earth Rotate? NO!

Author(s):
William Westfield [pseudonym of William Edgell?]
Publisher:
The Author
Edition / Year:
1919
File under:
flat earth astronomy theories delightful illustrations
In the section labelled:
Inexact Science

Does the Earth Rotate? NO!

In the compiling of this little book as a contradiction of the theory of the present Astronomers I have made a special point of being as concise and plain as possible in putting forward my proofs, and to do so I have used simple language not indulging in astronomical terms. My intention is to place all my facts in a plain and simple method so that all may conceive what I wish to prove, as the use of unnecessary terms and huge wording would only tend to puzzle and fog one in reading, hence I hope that those who peruse this book will be able to follow any argument and agree with my conviction that the earth is a fixture and the sun does certainly move.

Thus begins this uncommon little tract, by which William Westfield hoped in vain to persuade the “Educational Authorities” to abandon the idea that the earth rotates, or indeed moves at all, in space. The crux of his argument is based on a simple experiment performed in his garden, in which he placed a tube pointed at the Pole Star.


Viewing tube experiment

He says of it:

I have this tube fixed in my garden, size 3 feet 6 in. by 3/4 in., directed to the fixed pole star, and I can view the star continually. Why? Because the star is fixed in the heavens and because the earth is a fixture also.

His tube would have covered only just over one degree of arc of the sky, so actually he should have observed a little movement of Polaris, but presumably he was not really looking for it. His disbelief in the earth's rotation did not wholly rest on this single experiment, in any case:

Here is another positive proof that the earth cannot rotate. In the Desert of Sahara, the length from east to west is 3,000 miles, its average breadth 900 miles, and its area 2,000,000 square miles. Rain falls on this desert at intervals only of five to ten or twenty years. If the earth rotates over 10,000,000 miles daily [corrected in errata to a mere 1,555,200 miles a day - still too large by a factor of about 60!], and in addition makes another movement round the orbit and sun yearly how can this large desert escape the rain from the heavens for years at a stretch, while other places receive the rain regularly? Why? It is because this desert is a fixture, and is not favoured by rain from the heavens, like other places, owing to geographical conditions.

As recent as June, 1917, it rained for about one hour on my garden, and only two and a half miles from here, north, south, east and west, there was no rain at all.

His garden should be located and marked with a blue plaque to record its important role in the history of thought.

I would not want to address each of the many fallacies expounded in Westfield's book, though it may be of interest that he thought that the rotation of the earth that he was arguing against was like the rolling of a ball, with the north and south poles exchanging places twice daily, but I do think his attempt to justify a belief in a flat earth is worthy of some attention:


The sun over London and New Zealand

As I contend that our earth is practically flat except for the hills, mountains and valleys, that no such thing as a globe exists, readers may wonder why the sun is not on view all over the world at one time. My answer is as illustrated. No 1 is the position of the sun at mid-day, in June, in England. At the same time it is midnight in New Zealand, and the mountain, hill or horizon as shown at C would easily prevent a person in New Zealand at D from viewing the sun when over England.

No 2 is the sun at New Zealand in mid-winter and a person in England at A is prevented from viewing the sun at New Zealand after it has travelled from viewing across the heavens to that country. This is due to the mountains, hills, towns, villages or horizon at B obstructing the view. All readers are aware that mountains and hills and horizon are common in all countries, and therefore it is these that easily hide the sun from our view, although the sun is even at a high altitude at that place.

(Yes, those horizons get everywhere, don't they?) On this basis Westfield calculates the sun to be only 2,500 miles above the earth. Curiously, he omits to say exactly how it must move in relation to the flat earth below it, in order to give the relative timing and orientation of sunrises and sunsets that are actually observed throughout the world. But to do so would presumably be a simple exercise, given his confident conclusion to this volume:

There are [...] large sums of money spent annually at our Observatories throughout England on astronomy based upon Astronomers' opinion and enormous distances given by them, such as the distance of the earth to the pole star and sun of millions of miles, whereas ordinary mathematics as taught at schools daily, absolutely prove the distance in both cases to be less than 10,000 miles.

With all due respect to astronomers' prophesies of future happenings as to comets, readers will see their judgment as to distances and earth rotation cannot be relied upon. May I ask, is it worth while keeping a large staff at our Observatories, or anyone working at a false and unreasonable theory, especially when our Government has now definitely decided on economy at their establishments?

A considerable sum of money can now be saved by greatly reducing the staff at observatories in this country, and undoubtedly the Government will be convinced that the proofs given in this small book is [sic] overwhelming against the enormous distances given by astronomers, and that the earth rotation theory is absolutely disproved.

I wonder if the current British Government, given its documented willingness to accept dodgy evidence is yet ready to listen?

Comments

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on 26 Jun 2008 - 15:01 Permalink
wow thats a good book I'm Muslim and many times Muslims disagreed the world and the scientists in some theories , and after few years (or more) they find that Muslims were right. Example : for the new babies ,scientists said that meat forms before bones , where Islam disagreed that because the holey Q'uran says that bones forms before meat. So,in Islam we the Muslims first refer to the Q'uran ,then we study it by science. But in this case , we the Muslims are different with our opinions about this thing. Thanks for reading my comment.
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on 01 Aug 2008 - 19:06 Permalink
First of all, dumberst arguments ever. I could literally sit here for days giving REAL evidence why these theories are horrible. Second, to the "Muslim" contributor. First off, being in the medical field I can tell you for a fact that Muslims weren't the only ones who have those thories. In fact, about half of the world's MD's believed that. As for the Q'uran and science. I noticed how you didn't mention the many, many, many other things the Q'uran has been 100% wrong about when dealing with science? Summary: Both of you are wasting everyone's time. By all means, keep believing in what you believe in, that is your right (at least in America, not so much in many Muslim taught countries), but quit bothering the rest of us with your conspiraacy theories that are universally rejected by anyone with a 4th grade education.
Submitted by joy (not verified) on 18 Feb 2010 - 12:14 Permalink
YOU MAY B IN THE MEDICAL FIELD BUT YOU CERTAINLY DIDNT LEARN THE HOW TO RESPECT SOMEONES OPINION N BELIEFS. IM A NON MUSLIM BUT I FEEL KNOW THE OTHER PERSON SAID ABOUT QURAN IS TRUE, THAT DOESNT MAKE HER WRONG AND YOUR COMMENT "(at least in America, not so much in many Muslim taught countries), " I FEEL YOU SHOULD ALSO B TAUGHT SOME MANNERS, RESPECT AND CULTURE. JOY
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on 24 Feb 2011 - 15:13 Permalink
lol..i quite agree with you..the comment above refering to quran being the ultimate truth is quite hilarious.. the quran also mentiones funny imaginative stuffs like earth being flat and spread like a carpet and held by mountain tops amd wot not..! rubbish.... there are photographs of earth taken from space that clearly show the earth is round... anyways, the rotation and revolving is only proved by the pendulam expirement and the time lapse video recorded from space which cud well be due to other factors.... it is an assumption of science that the earth moves.. and this theory very well supports the day night, season changes we see on earth.... anyways, man cannot say for sure if our very own earth rotates and revolves then what makes him assume he will reach other universes and galaxies and find out the secrets of the universe creation!?
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on 21 Apr 2011 - 21:59 Permalink
salam you said "earth being flat and spread like a carpet and held by mountain tops amd wot not..! rubbish.." first its not rubbish its word from our creator Allah he said what you mansion when he was describing what will happen when the word end and nothing for sure mansion if our earth rotates just the sun rotate
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on 28 Nov 2010 - 02:54 Permalink
the earth spins you have day and night as for the stone always landing in the same spot go sit in a train plane car tank and throw it up.......the earth speed is 1000 mls per hr if GODS hand suddenly stopped it you can bet that stone will fall many mls away travlling at mach1 along with yourself and the seas and any thing no bolted down to bedrock cheers
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on 29 Aug 2008 - 14:06 Permalink
So Newton was a jerk.. gravity doesn't exist right? Or maybe it does, but the Earth is much bigger than the sun? or Maybe our friend was broken and needed some money for his garden, so he wrote this book.. maybe
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on 07 Sep 2010 - 12:06 Permalink
you're wrong......... gravity really exist... even you argue about the earth's rotation the gravity can't be argued,, because gravity is a name of a force that pulls things down/ like when we jump we will land...... and also this is a reply to the other comments, the earth is not flat,,, these theories would prove it: if the earth is flat//... when you are standing at a pier you should see a boat going ahead getting smaller, and as it gets farther it is still visible to our eyes.. but that did not happen when we watch boats go ahead it gets smaller as it gets farther but it looks like being swallowed by the sea... it didn't remain visible to our eyes// it means that the earth is round....... and if the earth is flat, if we travel why do earth has no end? if we go west west and west we will be back to the place to where we started... and if the earth is flat why can't we see other countries by watching on tallest buildings? .........
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on 29 Oct 2008 - 09:04 Permalink
Why get annoyed about someone who thinks the world is flat, if his arguments are so bad you have to like him?
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on 03 Jan 2009 - 20:22 Permalink
I agree with you man, the earth is fixed and a clear evidence that will support your article, is that why in any branch of science they always assume that the rotation is zero to solve any problem? does not the rotation effect the credibility of the equation so why to set it zero and yet that means the earth does not rotate. isn't this convincing. see you yesterday
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on 04 Jan 2009 - 05:29 Permalink
If the earth rotated how does a blimp photograph a ball game when it(the blimp) is stationary. How can the earth move at about 1000mph and we cannot feel the movement. How can airplanes fly west and get to their destinations. Wouldn't their destinations be rotating out of their way?. Do not believe everything you hear, read or learn.
Submitted by Sol (not verified) on 04 Aug 2011 - 19:28 Permalink
The reason an object appears stationary because it is caught in the same speed and rotation as the earth, the earth may be moving fast but it's also huge the scale is so large that the turns are subtle and gentle like waves in the sea. It doesn't take much to get off the ground and escape only 11 KM/S. But as long as your inside the earth the pull holds you to it like the moon the moon rotates with the earth yet it's out in space slowly rotating but it barely moves a blimp is fully capable of compensating for small movements. Wind gust air speed and more, just because you don't think something is possible doesn't mean you should dismiss it it means you need to read into it rather then hold a closed off view. We all grow up as children but not all of us become adults.
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on 16 Mar 2009 - 19:58 Permalink
REFUTATION THAT THE EARTH ROTATES By AHMED RAZA KHAN a muslim scholar (1856-1921) The earth moves constantly about its own axis and also round the sun, which is stationary. This theory espoused by Nicolaus Copernicus, Johannes Kepler and Galileo Galilei, gained popularity all over the world. The theory says that the speed of rotation of earth is 1036 miles per hour, i.e., 17.26 miles per minute i.e., 30,389 yards per minute, i.e., 506.4 yards per second. Against this theory, nobody could speak. It was A‘lahazrat who challenged it and declared:- "The Islamic principle is that the sky and earth are stationary and the planets rotate. It is sun that moves round the earth; it is not earth that moves round the sun." In order to substantiate it, A‘lahazrat put forward two-tier arguments. First, he quoted a number of verses from Holy Qur’an and Hadith, the translation of some of which is given below: 1. The movement of Sun and Moon is according to a course. 2. The sun and the moon are sailing within a circle. 3. The moon and the sun were besieged for you which are constantly moving. [For detailed study, please see "Nuzool-i-Ayat-i-Furqan Besukoon-i-Zameen-o-Aasman" of A‘lahazrat written in 1339 A.H, published from Riza Academy, Bombay.] In 1920, he presented his book "Fauz-i-Mubin Dar Radd-i-Harkat-i-Zamin", Published from Idara Sunni Dunia, Saudagran, Bareilly. This book contains 105 arguments, dozens of diagrams and lots of calculations in refuting the said theory. Out of 105, I am giving below gist of only five logical and axiomatic arguments which are quite easy and which can be understood by a man of average intelligence. 1. If a heavy stone is thrown up straight, it would fall on the same place from where it was thrown, whereas according to the theory of movement of earth, it must not happen. According to it, if the earth were moving towards east, the stone would fall in west because during the time it went up and came down, that place of earth from where the stone was thrown up, due to movement of earth, would slip away towards east. Suppose, the process of stone going up and coming down took a time of 5 seconds, then according to the said speed of movement of earth, that is, 506.4 yards per second, the earth would slip away towards east by 2532 yards i.e. about one and a half miles In other words, the stone must fall in the west of that place (place of throwing up the stone) at a distance of about one and a half miles but actually it would fall on the same place from where it was thrown up. It shows that the said theory of movement of Earth is wrong. 2. If two stones are thrown away at the same time and with the same power — one towards east and the other towards west, then what should happen according to the said theory of movement of earth, is that the stone going towards west must appear to be going very fast and that the stone going towards east very lazy. Suppose the power of throwing the stone is 19 yards within three seconds, then the respective stones would fall in the east and west at a distance of 19 yards only but according to the said theory, by the time the westward stone would cover a distance of 19 yards in three seconds, the place from where the stones were thrown, would slip away towards east by 1519 yards (506.4 x 3) In this way, it must fall at a distance of 1519+19 i.e. 1538 yards, whereas it would actually fall only at a distance of 19 yards. Similarly, the other stone going towards east must fall in the west at a distance of 1519-19 i.e. 1500 yards, whereas actually it would fall in the very east at a distance of 19 yards only. It shows that the said theory of Movement of Earth is wrong. 3. Suppose, from a tree, two birds fly with equal speed and for equal period, one of them goes towards east and the other towards west. Now if their flying speed is equal to the speed of movement of earth, that is, if they fly at a speed of 1036 miles per hour, then according to the said theory, bird going towards west must fly at a speed of 1036+1036 i.e. 2072 miles per hour (being its own speed added by the speed of movement of earth), while the bird going towards east would not be able to move even an inch as its speed after adjusting the speed of movement of earth (both being equal) would become zero. On the contrary, what would actually happen is that the bird going eastward would go in the east to a distance of 1036 miles during an hour and the bird going westward would go in the west at a distance of 1036 miles. It shows that the said theory of movement of Earth is wrong. For a bird, the abnormal speed of flight of 1036 miles per hour has been assumed only to bring it parallel to the speed of movement of earth and simply to prove that according to the said theory, the bird flying towards east would not be able to cover any distance even if it comes abreast of a plane in the matter of speed and flies at a rate of 1036 miles per hour. 4. If it is intended to kill a bird appearing at a distance of 10 yards in the air from a particular place and suppose it takes two seconds in stringing the bow and shooting the arrow, then by the time the arrow is shot, that particular place would slip away within these two seconds at a distance of 1013 yards at a speed of 506.4 yards per second being the speed of movement of earth and thus the arrow can never reach the target, whereas it may be taken for granted that the arrow would hit the target. It shows that the theory of movement of Earth is wrong. 5. If a bird is sitting on a pillar near its nest just at a distance of one yard, even then it can never reach the nest, because in order to reach the nest, the bird shall have to fly — may it be for a second or part thereof. The fact is that, the bird can never surpass the speed of 1036 miles per hour, which is said to be the speed of movement of earth. It shows that the theory of Movement of the Earth is wrong. Need you go yet for further arguments? Go on thinking over plane, gun, cannon, missile squad and so forth. Thus, it's easy to come to the conclusion that a person who challenged the great scientists like Copernicus, Kepler, Galileo, Newton etc, must have been a great scientist himself. What is required to disprove the theories of these scientists, A‘lahazrat has done ahead of it but sooner or later its credit will be bagged by someone else who will win the fight in the name of a scientist for, Ahmed Rida Khan is better known as a Muslim theologian rather than a scientist. The above mentioned cases have no standing in the science of physics. It is very obvious that the author and Mr. Ahmad Rida had no knowledge in the field of physics, and if they did, it was not adequate.
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on 24 Apr 2009 - 05:07 Permalink
This is Great Stuff. I think many of us would love to hear you go into depth to reasons why the earth is portrayed as spinning. Is it a giant conspiracy? Also: does the sun spin around the earth? how do night and day work? and the seasons? The apparent movement of stars? Does the entire universe spin around the earth? How does The Foucault Pendulum work? If the truth ever becomes manifestly obvious to the world what major outcomes do you predict? Mass conversion to Islam? the end of the pork industry? If you know the truth it is your duty to pursue it!
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on 16 Jul 2009 - 20:08 Permalink
1. You forgot to take in account the 1st Newton's laws of motion...(mostly inertia)
Last week I took a high speed train (150 mph) and I had to jump a couple of times while trying to get my get my backpack. So if this scholar was right my half a second jumps could have made me fly 38 yardas across the wagon! But I just jumped and landed more or less in the same place, having unstuck the backpack strap with a tug and got my magazine from it.
Submitted by Sol (not verified) on 04 Aug 2011 - 19:35 Permalink
I love Inertia :D it makes the world work literally and keeps us on the ground. <3 Without it we would all be dead flung into space like little bits of cosmic derby 'billions and billions' of years ago.
Submitted by Seadolphin1253 (not verified) on 11 Jun 2009 - 23:33 Permalink
These comments are by far the oddest and funniest that I have ever come across! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHE! That was fun.
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on 21 Jun 2009 - 20:50 Permalink
to all the uneducated people that believe they are right, that the earth does not rotate do you not see that anything is relative to your frame of reference. what that means is that if you are at the ball game looking at the blimp hovering above you, to you from your frame of reference the blimp is stationary. to an observer in space the blimp would be moving at the speed the earth is turning. two people looking at the same object from a different frame of reference see two different things. if the blimp were to fly in the same direction as the earth rotates at a relative 10 mph, the observer on earth sees the blimp move at 10mph. the observer in space observes the blimp move at the speed the earth is rotating plus 10mph. the blimp moves at 10mph relative to the earth and its atmosphere, this is why blimps can fly east and west. if you do not understand this please refrain from commenting and please do not pass on your wisdom about the earth being flat or not rotating to anyone.
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on 21 Aug 2009 - 09:52 Permalink
Meanwhile, they claim there is an intellectual elite out there out to get them. That's not the elite trying to conspire against you.. it's 82% (http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/05_47/b3960108.htm) of the american population.
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on 30 Aug 2011 - 19:20 Permalink
You show your own foolishness by your arrogance. If we evolved. Why is the DNA record have no evidence of this. Why don't fish and mammals and apes and man have the same DNA sequences etc. DNA proves no link. No record of mans DNA in other species. Hello. You now have another missing link. Just this one is beyond reasoning. No genetic timeline present. I can trace human beans to genetic ancestors no problem yet never, not a single gene from another species or mans in lower species. You are blind to what is in your own microscopes. You have sacrificed the quest for knowledge to be accepted among your labotamized colleagues. Every strand of DNA should have a piece which would show a direct timeline from lower to higher DNA. Yet no DNA record to back up a word of your so called educated nonsense you feed each other and say how great your are for dumbing up all of society with your pschobabel.
Submitted by Alfred Armstrong on 30 Aug 2011 - 19:27 Permalink

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2005/08/0831_050831_chimp_genes.html

But my mighty internet mindreading powers predict you will have an answer to that. It won't be a good answer and it'll probably involve insulting me and anyone else who dares disagree with you, but you'll hit that submit button just the same.

I love the smell of troll. It's just like unwashed crotch.

Submitted by Thelonious (not verified) on 14 Jul 2009 - 01:50 Permalink
Surely the train cannot be moving for otherwise when the porter spilled my drink, it should have drenched the t-shirt of the nubile lass behind me rather than my pantaloons.
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on 14 Jul 2009 - 04:53 Permalink
I love these comments. So wait a minute, I throw a stone up and it lands in the same place, yes you are right actually, everything they have taught me in school is wrong and you are right. What a great argument. You know, I threw up a stone on an airplane once (it was rotating the earth like the earth rotates around the sun) and sure enough it landed in my hand. But I knew the plane was not moving and it was all an elaborate illusion to make me think the plane was really moving. Do you people stop and think about what you are saying, or just say it? Where do you think the laws of gravity etc. come from?
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on 14 Jul 2009 - 05:35 Permalink
Can I subscribe to the comments? I don't want to miss any! I am trying to decipher the battle over whether it was a muslim or a british dude who discovered that the Sun rotates around the Earth.
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on 20 Jul 2009 - 23:31 Permalink
Just to make it clear for everyone, the comment made by the muslim is not shared by muslims in the world. he is probably a part of a muslim organization or subculture or whatever that translates the koran however they wish. Anyway, im a muslim and i believe the earth rotates, and theres no contradiction to that in the koran
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on 28 Jul 2009 - 13:07 Permalink
to all muslims who thinks sun rotates around earth, I'm a muslim to and there is nothing in Quran that proves your theory, don't be stupid and linking Quran to your stupid ideas. the Quran shouldn't be linked to any scientific invention, dicovery for one simple reason : if you do believe in Quran you will know that it is fixed , it doesn't change, its the same as it was 1400 years ago and you cannot link something fixed to something that changes (science). please be intellegient enough and don't link Quran to this crab. excuse my english. thanks
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on 30 Jul 2009 - 06:10 Permalink
this is one of the reason why i keep searching for the best answer i believe in science
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on 04 Sep 2009 - 04:33 Permalink
The Earth is not rotating around the sun, the sun is rotating around the earth, forget the Quran the Bible which is the 4000 years old says the same thing, they borrowed it. Give your heads a shake, why would so called science teach this well maybe to further their agenda of evolution, without it everything is rotating from the earth. But if cnn say its true, then its true right sheeple. oh by the way evolution is not science when has anything that darwin said been observable which is the meaning of science. evolution is a theory, and a dumbass uneducated one at that, you know what I'm saying is true...even the Bible calls evolutionist FOOLS are you a fool? Ps 14:1 The fool hath said in his heart their is not God..so you must be a fool, dont be embarrassed about it, I mean when your mom or dad or child or friend die dont be a closet monkey climb out and say I will not sit in a service that mentions God. Dont bring your hairy ass into a church when you get married, dont visit one stay in your tree, you know what I mean..oh maybe you dont your a monkey arn't you.
Submitted by Robert Seddon (not verified) on 06 Sep 2009 - 22:47 Permalink
Well, given relative space the Earth orbiting the Sun and the Sun orbiting the Earth are the same thing... but the model does look a lot neater if you put the Sun in the middle and the planets on elliptical orbits around it.
Submitted by Alfred Armstrong on 06 Sep 2009 - 22:54 Permalink

To be pedantic for a moment, actually according to Einstein they aren't the same thing. Rotating frames of reference can't be substituted one for one another. The rest of the universe, and its gravitational effect, means the two things are distinguishable. Without this the twins paradox would not work, for one.

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on 28 Nov 2010 - 03:43 Permalink
i dont like this guy a man who invented the nuclear bomb along with his mates now look at the world today after 1000s of tests they say its global warming more like ripping holes... in the ozone layer... oops sorry we got carried away wheres all the fallout gone ...ask the airline companys like Qantas even their planes are feeling the effects ....soon all planes maybe will drop like flys thats the reason they banned atmospheric testing
Submitted by Lord Kefka (not verified) on 27 Sep 2010 - 02:47 Permalink
I am very curious about how anti-evolutionists explain breeding. It is something observable and I also suspect that most fundamentalists have some idea fathers pass on their traits to their children. I would like to find the official fundamentalist explanation for these things. Also it is polite to call us Apes, monkeys is offensive.
Submitted by Bridget (not verified) on 29 Jun 2011 - 02:07 Permalink
Oh, that's an easy one. Most of the creationists I know believe in micro-evolution and claim that is how God wants it. They just disbelieve in MACRO-evolution - the idea that those small changes over time can lead to a change in species.
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on 30 Aug 2011 - 19:01 Permalink
Passing on traits is far from going from a fish to a land animal or birds. How does a gill which breaths through water go to a lung which breaths air? Does half a lung work? Or half a central nervous SYSTEM. Define system. Ever ask yourself why they call it the missing link? It is MISSING. Your great proof the NEBRASKA MAN. A dawm pigs tooth. Hahaha. Missing link. Still missing. Always has. Always will be. DNA keeps a horse a horse. Only with man and intelligence can we mix DNA from different species. Try breeding a cat with a dog. Won't work. Takes an intelligence to manipulate the system. T
Submitted by Alfred Armstrong on 30 Aug 2011 - 19:07 Permalink

Boy, aren't you clever. Cleverer for sure than all those people who study evolutionary biology for years, for example, who haven't spent any time at all considering such questions as these.

Read up on the subject with humility and an open mind. You might actually learn something.

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on 30 Aug 2011 - 19:23 Permalink
Again. No actual argument. Just insults. I do study biology. Why you avoided my last comments and chose to slander. Proof of a weak argument. Lol
Submitted by pseudonym (not verified) on 30 Aug 2011 - 19:53 Permalink
pigs tooth? burying the lead a little, for every species on earth there are a million extinct species that came before, did the great creator in their wisdom manage to fuck up that badly or is evolution a mindless, random system that produces what ever it can and what ever works sticks? also yes nebraska man was taken out of textbooks (though I doubt it was featured in any) when scientific consensus determined it was a hoax. When was the bible last revised in the same way?
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on 30 Aug 2011 - 20:11 Permalink
I still have copies of my old texts with Nebraska man in it. Same old story. Act like the scientific community didn't rally around Nebraska man as proof. It was inspected by experts from all over the world. And it was not the biological community which exposed the fraud. Notice that you no longer travel around hyping your finds after your many frauds have been proven. It is just one example of the fraud. Also this site has banned my post. Has to use another location. What are you Aafraid of?
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on 30 Aug 2011 - 19:46 Permalink
Noticed you avoided the facts and did the old we gave each other pieces of paper proving i am right. Don't care if you work for NASA. Still wrong and the facts prove it with true open investigation using the scientific method and not crazy theories which you cling to like a junky afraid to be exposed to the truth of his addiction. And like all junkies. You want company so you feed your bs on everywhere and call facts fiction and theories as facts. Always ignoring what does not fit your little world of bs.
Submitted by Sol (not verified) on 04 Aug 2011 - 19:51 Permalink
The bible doesn't have a word for evolution.. I don't place my faith in Evolution or the bible. But I sure as hell know the earth isn't some center. The sun is life it has turned this barren world into a livable place as much as water without sunlight and water this world would be a dead cold place. Center of the universe or not. I've been in enough plans traveled far enough lived long enough to know the changes. The sun has been something worshiped by man. Religion changes it gets adapted the bible is nothing more then a collection of stories and icons from Greek and roman lore changed to suit christian and Jewish morals. A harsh truth but if you want to be harsh to science that's my harshness to religion. Man places faith and gives strength to icons.
Submitted by Alfred Armstrong on 25 Sep 2009 - 13:24 Permalink

The sun does rotate around its own axis, but I assume that's not what you mean. The author of this book thought the Earth was flat, so I don't think he was worried about the general consensus of opinion.

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on 02 Oct 2009 - 00:33 Permalink
Assalam alaikum to all Muslims, If you are a True Muslim dont Belive any stupid informations which againts the quran. The words of quran from only Allah not by any humans. One days all of us we need to give answers in front of allah, Belive in Judjement day on that day every soul came to know the true. This world is just an a Exam hall, we all came here for the practical test one day we must know of result of this examination. Excuse my english please.
Submitted by kerry (not verified) on 04 Jun 2010 - 04:50 Permalink
good stuff, love the fact that muslims, believe as christians, that there is a judgment for all, maybe then will all great mysteries be solved. peace to you and your family.
Submitted by Lord Kefka (not verified) on 27 Sep 2010 - 02:42 Permalink
Thats a pretty glum view of the world isn't it? An Exam hall? Well exams can be fun. I used to go to college finals, write out my papers and then force down alot of whiskey so that I could look over everything in a second frame of mine. I graduated with honors.
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on 12 Dec 2009 - 08:49 Permalink
don't opress religious peoples, they have people in powerful places... also on the topic of the book, that cover is a really crappy color.
Submitted by Ahmed Shehata (not verified) on 25 Oct 2009 - 22:43 Permalink
Holy Quran is the talking of God to all mankind. It is a valuable book to guide all humankind to rightness and NOT scientific book. No one can claim that he can understand the exact meaning of some verses of Quran. Here, it is the secret, there is a new understanding with the time and according to the level of each one.
Submitted by Alfred Armstrong on 27 Oct 2009 - 14:24 Permalink

Please note: any further comments left here that are off-topic and nothing to do with this book will be deleted. That includes any that are purely about Islam, whether for or against.

Submitted by Alfred Armstrong on 11 Nov 2009 - 12:21 Permalink

No, the earth rotation every day so bad book. Or, the earth orbit sun every year so bad book. Indeed the earth not flat so bad book. And indupitably the author idiot so very bad book.

What language this we speak by the way?

Submitted by Klive (not verified) on 12 Dec 2009 - 08:46 Permalink
Does it matter? it wont delay lunch, and the Russians are still producing Smirnoff. theres nothing to worry about, as neither argument will affect me.
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on 17 Jan 2010 - 04:06 Permalink
If the Earth were stationary, and the sun rotated around it, the sun must have aliens forcing it to constantly shift it's path. Haven't you people ever considered that no matter where on Earth you are, the sun path pattern shifts from one direction (North) to the opposite direction (South) every six months? The ONLY way this can happen is if the Earth is rotating at an angle while circling the sun. A drunk monkey could figure that out.
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on 30 Aug 2011 - 19:35 Permalink
Your argument holds no water. The sun could be moving up and down as rotating. Grab a lamp and a ball. Rotate the lamp around the ball while moving it up and down from the north to he south. Same effect your now a monkey I guess.
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on 19 Jan 2010 - 02:42 Permalink
Here is one this was never brought up. Since ever other religion has posted. 6) In possibly the oldest book of the Bible, Job asserted that God hung the earth on nothing (Job 26:7). The first scientist having this understanding would appear to be Copernicus around 1500. 7) The rotation of the earth was likely revealed in Job 38:12, where God asks of Job: Hast thou commanded the morning since thy days; and caused the dayspring to know his place; that it might take hold of the ends of the earth, that the wicked might be shaken out of it? It is turned as clay to the seal; and they stand as a garment. God asks Job if he has ever dictated the time of the morning or the location of the sunrise (dayspring). As soon as the sun is risen, its light will take hold of the ends of the earth in the sense that it touches all of the landscape, and the wicked are shaken out of it (the earth) in the sense that thieves, drunkards, adulterers, and others who practice their sins in darkness are forced to desist from these activities as they retreat from the light. Also, the beauties of the earth are revealed by the light, and its coloration is made to appear as that of a beautiful garment. Finally, the text asserts that God's command of the morning derives from His control of the earth, which is turned as clay to the seal. Hence, the suggestion is that God regulates the morning by rotating the earth as a potter rotates the clay. Yet ancient wisdom would have asserted that God regulated the morning by control of the Sun, and indeed, this is the perception of any uninformed mind.
Submitted by hamy (not verified) on 26 Jan 2010 - 21:39 Permalink
i m a muslim and in our holy book QURAN it is written allready that earth doesnt moves. moon and sun and other planets moves around earth and middle of the earth there is KAHAN E KABA of muslims. there r many things written in our QURAN and all is true, no need to proof. everything u want to know just get it from QURAN.
Submitted by Alfred Armstrong on 27 Jan 2010 - 14:22 Permalink

I wouldn't pretend to know much about Islam, but not all muslims agree with you. http://www.islamawareness.net/Science/muslims_contributions.html

The Muslims, however, did not suffer from the error of regarding as sacred that which was non-sacred. They were in a position to reflect upon matters of scientific interest with open minds, and in a purely academic way. When they found that the heliocentric theory was more rational, they accepted it without any hesitation.

 

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on 03 Mar 2010 - 16:49 Permalink
If the earth turns the sextant never worked. If the earth is tilted on its axis at 27% then throw your compass away it won't work. If the earth spins then the great leader Yahshua Ben Nun ( Joshua ) was wrong in Joshua 10:12-14. How could the great prophet Isayah not be knocked on his fanny when the sun dial returned 10% in Isaiah 38:8? If the earth spins at 1036 MPH? This means that the earth stopped, reversed its spin,... then started up again with out anything moving out of its place. Get real people you have inherited nothing but lies just as the Hebrew prophet Yeremyah ( Jeremiah ) said in 16:19. Was the prophet Habakkuk right in Chapter 3: 11. No the earth is not flat The Hebrew Scriptures state it is a circle. If the earth spins there is no way in hell that you could predict and eclipse be it solar or lunar, yet we are told each time an eclipse will take and how long it will last. Have a great day.
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on 30 Aug 2011 - 19:31 Permalink
Notice you only pick on weak arguments and a lid and slander the ones you KNOW prove your bs wrong. You have a weak mind. Probaly a school teacher.
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on 30 Aug 2011 - 19:50 Permalink
No I am referring to the posts on DNA. You ran with no argument because you know you have no logical explanation. Also. Missing link. Still missing. Lol Hahahah
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on 30 Aug 2011 - 19:53 Permalink
No not one guy in1922. All of you. All of the untied frikin field of biology. Admit it. Also should we go into all the other so called proofs which have been proven wrong with time yet you still site as facts? You ran becUse you are a clown like the guys in 1922. Name an example and I will make you a fool. This is why you no longer take them out of the smithsonian.
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on 04 Mar 2010 - 11:11 Permalink
I am muslim and to my understanding is the earth is round was already informed 1400 years ago in Surah Yassin at that time we believe that the world was flat. i read further there is no mention for the earth to rotate and evolving around the sun floating in its course. Just see the re entry of rockets cosmonouts to the earth it fall on the same place or maybe a little distance out. Why is that the roxckets heats doe not fall out furtherst. Sometimes mens theory are out and we need to understand further.
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on 05 Mar 2010 - 01:59 Permalink
All this theory was created by men and nothing ruled better than allah wisdom the darwinism theory was later found to be outdated and it was only the discovery of the dna that defy the theory the dna of monkey was not the same humankind. The foundation of science whether it is from the christian muslim or jews was from the wisdom of allah.So what we want to know is the truth so yesterday at night time i stupidly stares at the stars above my house it showing the same position the noth star or the star of kiblat for muslim.Now i started to belive and I shall dwelve further to study to get the right answer. What is the law of phisyic considering that the earth is the only inhibitat planets on the galaxy. Only allah knew the truth but god gave mankind brain to think so it is the intelligent of human brain that will find the truth.
Submitted by Robert (not verified) on 08 Mar 2010 - 01:47 Permalink
Normally I don’t care about grammar and orthography, but ‘the law of phisyic’ somehow made me laugh. Strange. The flat-earth-thing is also quite funny, considering that there had been at least 35 circumnavigations of the earth before the book was written… And as for the earth that isn’t rotating: The idea of everything having to stop its movement at the moment of leaving the earths surface thus making the landing of swallows on a rotating planet awfully dangerous is obviously bloody stupid, but you could define a set of rules describing all the movements of every star and planet without any rotation of the earth. You’d have to invent strange forces acting upon our beloved planet and the rest, the faraway objects in space would have to move with an extraordinarily high speed, compared to which the speed of light would be downright sluggish, the orbits would be meandering in quite confusing ways, but it would work. Of course it would be much easier to calculate the movements of a rotating earth, orbiting around a sun, that itself is orbiting around some distant point in the middle of our galaxy and then to calculate what the universe would look like, seen from the surface of the earth, which might be considered as a hint that the idea of a rotating earth is not entirely stupid, but as there is no point which is marked by the gods or whatever as ‘without any doubt not moving’, you can define your bedroom as the centre of the universe, you just can’t ask anyone to calculate the next solar eclipse using that frame of reference. Cheers, Rob.
Submitted by jamal (not verified) on 25 Apr 2010 - 16:30 Permalink
hello everyone, i have read all d comments on dis topic n as far as i understand it is absolutely rubbish 2 say dat earth is flat bcoz QURAN clearly mentions abt d shape of d earth n it is oval in shape looking like an ostrich egg. As far as rotation of earth is concerned i can say in simple words dat "earth does not rotate abt its own axis".And moreover we should not get ourselves into religious argument rather we should try 2 solve our diffrences by talking to each other in a polite and respectful manner.
Submitted by Candle (not verified) on 27 Apr 2010 - 21:04 Permalink
To the owner of this site. Are you selling this book? I need to buy it. Are you selling it at all?
Submitted by Candle (not verified) on 28 Apr 2010 - 17:59 Permalink
Ok that is fair play i will have to find this book elsewhere then. Just it's a rare book i need to buy it for a flat earther i know. Just a question about the website. I think this is a good website to document rare books, just i don't quite understand about it. In every review of the books you have done (the owner of this site) you just laugh at the people who wrote them and call them 'quacks' or 'mad men'. Was this website just made to laugh at people? That is not very nice. Usually people who collect these rare books actually follow the teachings of the books yet you seem to be laughing at every book on this site. Why do you collect these books Alfred if you think the people who wrote them are 'idiots'? Do you just keep the books for money value? Let's take this example of the book Does the Earth Rotate? NO! You obviously believe the earth is a globe so what is the point in buying a book you disagree with? Just to laugh at it? Confusing!!!!! Please explain. I am interested to know why you made this website. As i said it's a great little site with some rarities on, it's just a shame your reviews are so negative.
Submitted by Alfred Armstrong on 28 Apr 2010 - 23:55 Permalink

Do I really have to explain my sense of humour, or justify it to you? There's plenty of sites around where the blatherings of blithering idiots are taken seriously: this just isn't one of them.

This is MY site and I write stuff on it that reflects my own opinions and tastes. If you don't like it, you don't have to read it. You can set up your own web site and wibble on in your own sweet way, but if you come whinging and complaining round here, you'll get short shrift.

Submitted by Alfred Armstrong on 29 Apr 2010 - 10:13 Permalink

Recent commenters: if you leave comments attacking or questioning me personally, from now on I shall be deleting them. Not because I care, but because it's boring, and other visitors to this site don't give a stuff what you think of me or my views.

Bear in mind that all comments are moderated, so you'll be wasting your energies in raising a protest. Round here, it's an absolute dictatorship.

Submitted by August (not verified) on 27 May 2011 - 01:17 Permalink
...this site IS called "Odd Books", is it not? I get your humor, Alfred ('scuse me, "humour") and I think this site is great. I wonder how all these other folks find this site and DON'T get it. Cheers!
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on 03 Jun 2010 - 07:01 Permalink
I would just like to point out, all your 'reasons' that you think are refuting the earth spinning, are wrong, and right, at the same time. Everything in this universe is relative. Go and look it up. If a bird is flying with or against the earths directional spin, it makes no difference, as we cannot perceive a difference. If we were looking from a 3rd perspective, out in space, then yes, one bird would not move, and one would be going twice as fast as the original flight speed. This may seem tricky to get your head around, but it really isn't. And basically refutes nearly everything said about earth rotation.
Submitted by kerry (not verified) on 04 Jun 2010 - 05:11 Permalink
I love it Alfred, it has been good reading, and makes you think, especially how the World sees all this so differently, very Enlightening, and I only came here doing a search on Google looking for why the Earth rotates, because for the first time in my life I though hey man what makes it spin. and I am 60years old been into everything, and love science and Science fiction, and any good story, have read all religions with an open heart, and still have love for my fellow man. Loved it man, great, keep it up.
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on 11 Jul 2010 - 08:43 Permalink
I have read several arguments on here, all of which sound convincing when presented. I almost bought into the idea that the earth actually does not rotate after reading these arguments. However, the one thing that stops me from being convinced is not my having been taught a different way growing up, but a thought that came to me while reading this page. Here is my thought. If I am in an airplane, and I toss a marble up into the air, the marble comes back down to my hand, it does not go flying backwards, being left behind by the plane hurtling forward at 500 to 600 mph (800 to 960 km/hr). It is because of things being geosynchronous. If someone has a counter argument to my idea, please tell me.
Submitted by Alfred Armstrong on 11 Jul 2010 - 13:17 Permalink

You are right that the marble doesn't fly backwards, however, this is nothing to do with geosynchronicity. It's simply the case that the marble is already travelling with the same forward velocity as the plane when you toss it upwards. For it to fly backwards would require it to change its velocity in that direction, in other words to accelerate, which it won't do in the absence of any backward force acting on it.

If the plane speeds up while the marble is in the air, then it will appear to travel backwards but in fact it will be continuing its previous forward motion. Exactly the same effects can be observed in a moving car or train. The fact that the plane is flying far above the earth is irrelevant in this instance.

There are lots of online resources to basic physics if you want to understand this stuff better. Here's one: http://en.wikiversity.org/wiki/Introduction_to_physics

Submitted by Adam (not verified) on 18 Jul 2010 - 15:19 Permalink
How come we don't feel the earth moving at 1,000 mph? And what about the Southern Hemisphere? Shouldn't all of us here in Australia be upside down? I can assure you that we are definitely right side up. And...if a plane is travelling 500 mph from London to Australia, shouldn't the trip be cut in half if the Earth is travelling 1,000 mph in the other direction? For every 500 miles you travel forwards, the Earth should be rotating 500 towards the plane, so the plane would actually cover a distance of 1,000 miles per hour. And what about the clouds? Is gravity that strong that it can hold wispy clouds aloft in perfect form when the Earth is rotating at such a speed? If it's that powerful would it even let a plane fly in any direction at all? I don't think you've really thought about this too much. You just want to ridicule an opposing opinion without really delving into the possibility that you may be wrong. And when was the last time you saw any vision from space showing the Earth rotating? And where was the Earth in the sky when they supposedly landed on the Moon?
Submitted by Adam (not verified) on 18 Jul 2010 - 16:09 Permalink
Thank you, Alfred, for that information about what we're told about the Earth spinning. However, it's still hard to believe sometimes. 1,000 mph is very fast. And centrifugal force usually spins things outwards, as it does in a cream separator. Anyway...I'm sure I won't win this argument. But, as you can see by the comments on this web-page, not everyone thinks the same, whatever the topic happens to be.
Submitted by Chris Hunt (not verified) on 28 Jul 2010 - 15:26 Permalink
The Earth DOES rotate, but only with mechanical assistance and under very specific circumstances. I went to a fairground last week and boarded a device called a "carousel". I paid a little money, sat on a wooden horse and a man pulled a lever. The whole world began to rotate around me! If you felt a bit wobbly the other day, this probably explains it. Though I do wonder whether it's wise that a machine of such power should be entrusted to some guy on a fairground?
Submitted by Ray (not verified) on 09 Aug 2010 - 06:51 Permalink
Perhaps we should all verify science by personal experience. I reciently traveled to Alaska and can verify that the days are longer in Fairbanks during the summer months. This is because of the tilt of the Earth away from the Sun at the North Pole during the Summer months. As the Earth circumnavates the Sun to the other side of the Sun the Earths North Pole points the other direction and the Nights are long. The facts of the solar system are very established. You can go to any obseritory and verify for yourself the system of the planets. I wish every Muslim would do so and find out for themselves how out of touch their religion is with reality. Not all scientists are Christian, But Christianity does not contradict Science. The more we learn, the more we find out we don't know. But the one thing I do know is that Muslims would do well to study Phisics and Astronomy. Then they may become aware of the true nature of their religion.
Submitted by Bill (not verified) on 11 Aug 2010 - 02:01 Permalink
I do not know if anyone mentioned this facts: 1. If you believe the Bible, Joshua did not command the earth to stand still. Think about it. 2. All satellite and rocket launches, their trajectories are figured on a fixed, stable earth platform...go figure. 3. There is a 'conspiracy' of nuts to change true science to make it fit their 'spiritual' paradigm.
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on 11 Aug 2010 - 08:01 Permalink
Earth does not rotate.....scientist will some day accept the fact!
Submitted by Timotheous (not verified) on 07 Sep 2010 - 12:23 Permalink
earth moves..... if you think it's not then read this we are human beings...,,,, if we observe things..,,, we should get used to all of the things around you....,,,, you have done that don't you?.... but you lack one thing.. you only focused of getting used on the things around you but didn't include yourself... you are a human being! humans have high sense of balance that's why we couldn't feel the earth's rotation....... i know you guys believed a little science too... if not,, you will not comment proofs...
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on 08 Sep 2010 - 08:22 Permalink
Alfred, Thank you so much for you site. It's absolutely incredible. I can't stop laughing. But, it has a downside. I never thought there was so much ignorance in such primary subjects. And, I for one, would never take a airplane build by globularists if I was a flat-earther. But, oddly, they do. (sorry for the bad English - not my mother tongue)
Submitted by Alfred Armstrong on 08 Sep 2010 - 11:56 Permalink

Thanks and glad you like the site. I too find the existence of flat-earthers these days a little strange, but at least their peculiar viewpoint is harmless compared to some others expressed in the comments.

Submitted by Kris (not verified) on 13 Sep 2010 - 08:25 Permalink
Alfred, it was good fun..I'm sure that you know what shape the earth is and all about its rotation and other physics..You are just have a little fun at others expense ;-) bad boy..Just make sure you moderate any racist/religious remarks..All those great men turning in their graves..have fun..
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on 15 Sep 2010 - 15:54 Permalink
I just want to add one thing about the comment somebody had on Tue, 09/07/2010 - 11:06. The comment was:- "if the earth is flat//... when you are standing at a pier you should see a boat going ahead getting smaller, and as it gets farther it is still visible to our eyes.. but that did not happen when we watch boats go ahead it gets smaller as it gets farther but it looks like being swallowed by the sea... it didn't remain visible to our eyes// it means that the earth is round......." The answer to this question is:- Our eye sight has a limit because of which we can see things up to a limited distance. If an object goes beyond that distance, either we can see converting it into a "very small point" or we cannot see that object at all. For example, 1) If you fly a kite, initially we can its size as a square or quadrilateral. But, as it goes far and far in sky, we can only see a small "point", no shape. 2) A plane, when flying above your head in sky, you can see its shape clearly. But, as it goes far and far, you can only see converting it into a "small point" though the sky is clear and clouds are there. Even after some time, you cannot see the plane at all. The same thing, happens in case of boat. Initially you can see the boat, as it goes long you can see a small point and then nothing. But, that doesn't prove that earth is round, because THE SAME BOAT/PLANE/KITE CAN BE SEEN BY A "BINOCULAR" OR ANY OTHER SUCH INSTRUMENT CLEARLY AND IN ITS ORIGINAL SHAPE. IT DEPENDS ON POWER OF BINOCULAR HOW FAR YOU CAN SEE THAT BOAT. If the earth is round, and if the boat cannot be seen because it has gone behind the "curve" of the round earth, then IT MUST NOT BE SEEN WITH BINOCULAR AS WELL. Because, like our vision, the binocular's direction will also be went "Tangent" to that curve and will not see the boat.
Submitted by New Guy (not verified) on 20 Sep 2010 - 15:47 Permalink
If everybody can just look at all these boats we have every day that are travelling around the Earth in a circle and getting back from just where they started, you can easily see that the Earth is round. Or you have to have an IQ under 50 to think otherwise
Submitted by Elder TruthTeller (not verified) on 22 Sep 2010 - 10:46 Permalink
These ROUND EARTHERS, i tell ya. The poor lot of them. Still thinking the Earth is Round. Or worse, that it ROTATES. Good lawd! lol! I wonder if any of them realize that if the Earth was, indeed, Round and Rotating, you wouldnt have GRAVITY. You would have CENTRIFUGAL FORCE. Yet, you are told its Gravity that is in effect! Oh the Horror! Haaaa! Any simple Experiment will PROVE this. Or better yet, just go to the MOON! lol! Its (allegedly) ROUND and ROTATES--and yet, has (little) or NO Gravity. Yet, the EARTH which is allegedly doing the same thing is supposed to have Gravity? Hmmmm? I smell BAD science (as usual). Indeed. The EARTH does NOT Rotate. If it does, STOP it so i can get off...lol!
Submitted by jeff daniels (not verified) on 22 Sep 2010 - 18:46 Permalink
Satellites launched from our earth orbit our earth do they not? All satellites must orbit the earth (else they fall into it or arc out into space) If the earth was not rotating then geostationary satellites could not exist. And yet ... Geostationary satellites, launched from our planet exist do they not? Therefore - the earth rotates. L8rs
Submitted by Uncle Samurai (not verified) on 26 Sep 2010 - 12:23 Permalink
Oh good, I'm in the right thread. Question: do ALL solar systems (that we know of in sight) rotate on parallel axis'? Is there a universal compass?
Submitted by Alfred Armstrong on 26 Sep 2010 - 13:05 Permalink

No, you aren't on the right thread. Mostly, this page is about ignorance of astronomy, not knowledge of it.

My guess at an answer would be no, because if it were true it would be an astonishing observation and there'd have been a big fuss about it. But as I don't have the facts to back it up, I can't be sure. Go ask an astronomer, not random idiots on the internet.

Submitted by Lord Kefka (not verified) on 27 Sep 2010 - 02:27 Permalink
I once beloved that the earth was round but, like all the rest of you, I soon discovered that it is all a strange conspiracy. Why would anyone want to lie to us about it? All you have to do to prove that it is flat is go to a very high place, in my case Mount Olympus in Washington, and take an expensive telescope and look at the horizon. If it is a fantastically clear day you can see Japan, China, and all the little boats in between. 1 proof that the earth is truly flat: the moon. It never seems to rotate, because its flat too. In other words we only ever see ONE side of the moon. EXPLAIN THAT! And the shadow that makes it wax and wane? That is simply mold. Another way to check to see if the earth is flat is just getting into an airplane and traveling to the edge of the world. I work for a fishing/salvage/waste disposal company and we go out there and cast nets to get some of the fish flopping over the edge. Its an incredibly profitable business but you need to have the right permits and clearance to do it. What is gravity? Gravity is simply the pull of sin, toward hell. Have you ever noticed that newborn babies, who don't have sin to begin with besides original sin (and sometimes spicy nacho sin), float slightly off the ground? its true. Babies also have less friction. That is how Jesus could walk on water and why hell is subterranean.
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on 04 Oct 2010 - 16:06 Permalink
To be honest this is probably one of the most interesting blogs ive ever seen, even if its not a blog or discussion or argument or whatever. Point is if you have been though highschool and earth science you would understand that the earth revolves around the sun becuase the sun has a much larger mass and gravitational pull on the earth giving it an eliptical orbit. This applies to all the planets caught in the sun's gravitational pull. Regardless i don't have time to get into all of it.
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on 05 Oct 2010 - 14:11 Permalink
I am also in favor of flat earth. But, the only thing which disturbs my thinking is the rotation of geosynchronous satellites. Can anybody prove that why these satellites do rotate (as they say to sync up with earth's so called rotation!), if our earth is flat? I really would like to hear the answer for this as this is the only thing which prevents me from setting my mind to flat earth concept. Plz can anybody give me answer. Plz, only flat earth supporters do reply to this, I don't want this question to be ignored in flow of other comments or topics, as this is much important for my understanding. Sorry if I am being selfish or rude. Plz do answer...
Submitted by Lord Kefka (not verified) on 18 Oct 2010 - 22:45 Permalink
First of all you need to scrap your idea of gravity. Flat earth theories and Newtonian gravity don't mix because gravity would wad the flat earth into a ball. Also you don't need Satellites. Instead all you need to do to broadcast signals over the earth is to build a network of towers on mountains, the only thing which will stop them sending signals to any point on earth is other mountains. See the picture at the top of the article.
Submitted by skip (not verified) on 18 Oct 2010 - 19:26 Permalink
Hi. Sorry I'm not a flat Earth believer, but I'm starting to think the Earth is stationary. I went to school in the West, and have a Christian outlook on life. Without quoting the Bible and the various references already made, just observing the world around us, makes me question the validity of the "scientific facts" as we've been taught. for instance, IF the Earth IS rotating around the Sun as taught, then we're traveling in space at a pretty alarming rate, not only the spin of the Earth on its' axis, but the trip around the Sun, in conjunction with the spin speed. Then you add the speed of the Sun and it's little journey through the Milky Way, and we're moving pretty good. We'll stop there, no use in going overboard by adding the "supposed" speed of the Milky Way... Now, if we're spinning and moving so fast, how come the stars aren't just a blur? Why do they appear "fixed" in the night sky? just curious.....
Submitted by Alfred Armstrong on 18 Oct 2010 - 19:32 Permalink

Simple observation will show that the stars do move in the sky, albeit slowly. This is one of the reasons we know that our planet is moving. They don't move quickly because they are a very, very long way away. When you are driving alongside distant hills, don't they seem to move much more slowly than nearby trees? That is the same phenomenon on a smaller scale.

Submitted by skip (not verified) on 18 Oct 2010 - 20:37 Permalink
No, I don't think they are the same Alfred. One is the 3D effect, the trees and hills in the background. The other is a legit question to be answered. You say the movement of the stars is how we 'know' our Earth rotates. I asked why the stars didn't appear as a blur to us from our point of view, IF the Earth is spinning at 1036MPH. Having only went close to two hundred MPH on my motorcycle, I can tell you EVERYTHINGS a blur, at that speed, so WHY at 5 times that speed is everything so clear and in focus? Are all the stars and distant galaxys moving at EXACTLY the same rate and direction we are? that's the only way they'd stay 'right". Well, either that or the Earth IS stationary. They'd be "right" then too. Comment?
Submitted by Guy Fulton on 18 Oct 2010 - 22:12 Permalink
Look, if you have ever been in a plane you will have gone a good deal faster than 200 miles per hour. Look out side the window at Mount St. Helens and you will see it moving past very slowly. Perhaps you didn't actually observe very well on your motorcycle. Alpha Centauri, the closest star to us, is 25.8 trillion miles away, so perhaps the slowness of movement that far away can be grasped when you think about that scale... why am I wasting my time explaining this? Next people will start saying that coffee is hot because it is full of little demons who get angry when you boil them. Which is true, but quite unprovable.
Submitted by skip (not verified) on 18 Oct 2010 - 19:47 Permalink
Why do astronomers say that EVERYTHING is moving away from us? They say the red shift in the light coming from the various objects in space, other galaxys, other stars in our galaxy, etc. is ALL moving away from us. How is this possible unless we are at the center. Why don't planes use more fuel following the rotation (East) than the ones going West, which should use less because their destination is coming up under them at 1036 MPH. Just curious.
Submitted by Guy Fulton on 18 Oct 2010 - 22:25 Permalink
If I remember my college cosmology correctly all the galaxies are moving away from each-other too. Space itself is expanding. Also I believe that many astronomers think that there is no center of space, rather all points are the center, and if you were to travel in one direction you would end up in the place you had started. Ahem. NASA says: "Imagine a loaf of raisin bread as it is baking. The raisins in the bread spread away from one another as the loaf rises and expands during the baking. Pick any raisin and pretend you are standing on it (you're very small now!) and measuring the rate at which the other raisins are moving away from you. You will find that, no matter which raisin you choose, all other raisins appear to be moving away from you, with the furthest raisins receding the fastest." http://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/ask_astro/answers/970611e.html
Submitted by skip (not verified) on 18 Oct 2010 - 20:55 Permalink
Thats your answer? I'm lazy? I think thats just an excuse. I ask a question and your answer is I'm to lazy to look up the things that science can easily prove. Sorry I paraphrased to at least make your statement make sense. Ok, thanks for your insight. bye..
Submitted by Alfred Armstrong on 18 Oct 2010 - 22:49 Permalink

Why should I answer anyone's questions? I'm not here providing a public service.

When I don't know the answer to something, I do this thing called research. These days it's easier than it used to be, but I don't expect random strangers on the internet to give me all the answers, for nothing, without even the pretence of gratitude.

Unlike you, you [unnecessary insult written in heat of the moment removed].

Ta ta!

Submitted by kjvman on 20 Oct 2010 - 05:32 Permalink
I have a photocopy of this book. If anybody wants a copy, it is 20 dollars plus mailing costs.
Submitted by Jen (not verified) on 22 Oct 2010 - 22:27 Permalink
This is the funniest page I have EVER stumbled across! Yes, the earth is flat....IF you live in Narnia. For proof that the earth is a globe and rotates: ask an astronaut, for the love of the moon!!! I'm pretty sure they know, having been outside of the earth's atmosphere. Oh, and check this out: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whirlpool_Galaxy Isn't it just beautiful? Also, I think the authour was yanking a few chains and having a laugh. That, or he had a chemical imbalance preventing logical thought-processes. Oh, and I believe some of the people who commented on here misunderstood some of the other commenters' quite thinly veiled sarcasm, and some need to go back to school for grammar/punctuation/spelling/definition lessons. But, they contributed to the general hilarity, so I will forgive them graciously and bid you adieu. Good NIGHT!
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on 23 Nov 2010 - 12:40 Permalink
Earth was flat said the greek poet homer and believe that earth also a circular disk surrounded by an ocean.Thales Miletus also believed that the earth was flat disk floating in water
Submitted by timgarrow (not verified) on 30 Dec 2010 - 05:42 Permalink
the eath is round or we would fall off but i have not read any proof yet that the moon and the sun dont rotate the earth we could just see one side of the moon because it continues to face the earth as it spins around us. for any australians does the water in the toilet really spin clockewise cause it spins counterclockwise in america i m going to do research on the time it takes to fly east in comparison to the time in takes to fly west
Submitted by pseudonym (not verified) on 31 Dec 2010 - 02:56 Permalink
I didn't understand your first point but I am Australian so I will reply to the question. It spins in different directions depending on the shape of the toilet bowl, the Coriolis effect is too small to influence something at that scale, you need to look at cyclones or whirlpools to see it in action. You should be researching gravity if you want to understand the shape or movement of the earth.
Submitted by timgarrow (not verified) on 30 Dec 2010 - 05:48 Permalink
"as a general rule," it should take longer flying west in the Northern Hemisphere than flying the same route east, and just the opposite would be true in the Southern Hemisphere. Read more: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Why_does_flying_east_take_longer_than_flying_west#ixzz19ZEE6oJJ
Submitted by David Horton (not verified) on 27 Jan 2011 - 07:25 Permalink
Alfred, thank you for bringing Mr Westfield to the attention of the world, and in doing so attracting, by some kind of internet magnetism (I'm surprised magnets didn't get a mention somewhere here!), some of the strangest commentators and comments, surely, that have ever appeared in response to any post on any blog anywhere. And I read a lot of climate change blogs where nutters appear very fast; and write a lot of posts about all sorts of things, ditto. Perhaps you could hire these people out to other blogs in need of a bit of madness in the midst of serious science. Cheers.
Submitted by David Horton (not verified) on 27 Jan 2011 - 11:48 Permalink
On second thoughts ..... perhaps I'll keep myself nice. The ones I get when I blog at the ABC (http://www.abc.net.au/unleashed/david-horton-28320.html) don't come across to the Watermelon Blog thank goodness - I like to keep it civilised.
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on 10 Feb 2011 - 02:54 Permalink
By far the funniest threads I have ever read. The guy who said something about the carousel made me cry. Also, I noticed that all the people arguing that the earth is flat seem to be ignoring all the people who say "get in a plane and find out if it is". Anybody here who thinks the earth is flat should try to explain what would happen if I got in a plane and just kept flying in one direction, I would love to hear your viewpoint. Thanks guys.
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on 15 Feb 2011 - 14:16 Permalink
First of all, the Earth doesn't exist. 55% of all scholars in the world know that, the other 45% just keeps pointing out questions that will drive our attention off the truth. Secondly, a great evidence of the flatness of the Middle-earth is that when we play Age of Mythology, you can see the entire world by dragging your mouse around, and when you reach the limits of the terrain, all you see is layers and layers of (plain) soil, and then, black forever. The movement of the screen stops, indicating that the earth really ends there. In Civilization this doesn't work, but Civilization was made by the 45% evil scholars from Muslim communist monarchies.
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on 23 Feb 2011 - 18:58 Permalink
What crap this is lmao people still living in the dark ages? or what? what crap do people teach these days The world isn't flat if facking round i think we know by now people falling off the sides geez -_-
Submitted by Shaamil (not verified) on 18 Mar 2011 - 18:38 Permalink
The simplest proof that the earth rotates around the sun is the Foucault pendulum. Quoted from Wikipedia: The Foucault pendulum (play /fuːˈkoʊ/ foo-KOH), or Foucault's pendulum, named after the French physicist Léon Foucault, is a simple device conceived as an experiment to demonstrate the rotation of the Earth. While it had long been known that the Earth rotated, the introduction of the Foucault pendulum in 1851 was the first simple proof of the rotation in an easy-to-see experiment. Today, they are popular displays in science museums and universities. Link: Foucault pendulum
Submitted by Shaamil (not verified) on 18 Mar 2011 - 18:47 Permalink
Is not He Who has made the earth as a fixed abode. (Qur'an 27:61) What is the Tafsir (explanation) of this verse. What does the Islamic scholars say about the meaning of this verse. Does' it really mean that the earth is not moving?
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on 26 May 2011 - 08:20 Permalink
If you all believe in science and revolution then you would also believe that your ancestors were monkeys in the first place and then became humans (atleast this is what I have read) I donot believe in the fact that Earth revolves around the sun, it is the sun that revolves. END OF Discussion
Submitted by pseudonym (not verified) on 31 May 2011 - 14:44 Permalink
In the unlikely event that you read this response I feel it is my responsibility to inform you that if you are talking on the subject of ancestors then you must be talking about the branch of biology called evolution, no r. Evolution does indeed state that humans ancestors many millions of years ago were a different species, but certainly not monkeys, otherwise monkeys would become extinct as we would have out competed them for resources or vice-versa, though if that were the case we would not be having this conversation. Evolution is the results of inherited characteristic, like vision, breathing oxygen or walking upright giving one species an advantage over another or even with random variation in each generation the ability to survive and reproduce more successfuly than it's parent or siblings and pass on their characters to the next generation. Characteristic are the result of special bio-chemical coding in the cells of all life including plants that we call DNA (Deoxyribonucleic acid), it is what gives us the hair color or eye color of our parent, the leaf color and bark thickness of a trees parent and the muscles mass or excellent eyesight of a wildcats parent. DNA is in males sperm and females eggs and varies wildly and further varies through mixing the two and in some circumstances varies even further through disease and environmental radiation. This variation can lead to new sets of characteristics that advantage a sub-species who could later develop even more new DNA sets called genes to the point that they are distinct from their original species and while they can breed with the transitory sub-group they can no longer breed with the original species. Hopefully this explains a little of how it is that monkeys and humans evolved at the same time from proto-monkeys and proto-humans, if you go further into the past you will find one species that is the ancestor of both humans and monkeys, but without a time machine it's too hard find the exact point. I'm not sure if anyone reading this will learn from it but it was an interesting exercise or me, but next time I might just cut and paste a biology text book.
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on 31 May 2011 - 04:27 Permalink
The fact that this discussion has been going on for over two years is unbelievable.. i'm going back to live my life now... i was trying to find out the difference in flight time west coast to east coast.. and vice versa.. now i'm late for my flight
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on 10 Aug 2011 - 19:32 Permalink
So guys I am not a Muslim or in that instance no faith at all, yet it is very convincing me to accept a geocentric flat earth where sun orbits over the earth and I do not feel seasonal changes as being near to the equator. The string theories, space-time fabrics and Hawking’s new theories and all are fine but one should make sense what he observes. Sri Lanka