Flat Earth: Reddit experiment uses basketball to prove planet is round | Daily Star

Bloke destroyed the Flat Earth theory with a basketball and a camera

A REDDIT user has pointed out major flaws in the flat-Earth “logic” – with a clever experiment using a digital camera and basketball.

The Flat Earth theory claims the Earth is actually shaped like a disc.

But using a basketball and a macro lens, the Reddit user conducted an experiment to demonstrate how the curvature of the Earth works in photos. 

Zooming in as close as seemingly possible, the 36-year-old wanted to show how to a tiny creature the horizon can look flat, even though it knows the object that it is standing on is round.

Using just a basketball, a light, a camera and a shutter remote the user, captured images that looked more like something from a sci-fi film and he shared the results on Reddit.

He wrote: “Looking at my photos, it’s easy to imagine being an incredibly small creature living on the surface of the basketball.

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“From the perspective of that tiny creature, the ‘horizon’ of the basketball would always look 'flat’.”

Jeff said that he was inspired to take the photos after interacting with a few Flat Earthers whose beliefs seemed to be based solely on memes.

Although his response managed to exemplify how short-sighted their logic was, he did admit that he had some reservations about sharing the results.

He wrote: “I would like to clarify, that my photo does not prove the Earth is round.


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EXPLAINED: An experiment demonstrates how the curvature of the Earth works


Unsurprisingly the experiment was met with a mixture of sardonic and earnest responses.

“Basketballs, you can feel with your hands so they're a tangible object, unlike the Earth which you can't feel with your hands,” one commenter responded, dismissing the argument. 

“Fake, that camera is CGI,” another user wrote to which Useless Pickles responded “but it's the Nikon P900. The official camera of Flat Earthers!”

Other users, though, said they could see the curve in the photo. “My flat-Earthers father retorted that he sees curve in this photograph and he requested a bowling ball be used instead,” one commenter stated.


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DISCWORLD: The Earth as flat-earthers see it

“This proves the basis of all flat-earthers’ beliefs is insufficient evidence to determine the shape of the earth”


“Ok, seriously? The ball is clearly round you can see it on the top part of the picture???” another added.

The Flat Earth theory has soared in popularity in recent years.

Google trends show that the number of searches for “Flat Earth” has tripled in the past two years. 

Even high-profile celebrities such as rapper B.o.B and cricketer Andrew Flintoff have questioned if the Earth is round.

And they’re not alone.

The first Flat Earth International Conference was held in the US last year.

And the movement came to the UK this May, with the Flat Earth UK Convention in Birmingham, which drew around 200 paying attendees.

Flat Earthers genuinely believe that the Earth isn’t the familiar globe of a thousand pictures from space, but is shaped like a plane or disk. 


