B.o.B. is a very successful entertainer, particularly good at making catchy, upbeat music with that serious Atlanta bassline. B.o.B. is not an astrophysicist, nor astronomer, nor quantum mathematician, nor in any other relevant scientific field dealing with outer space.
Those “minor” details did not prevent him from posting on Sunday evening and again on Monday on serious science. He took to Twitter with a multitude of “facts,” graphics, and questions pertaining to the shape of the Earth. We can go back in the annals of history to find that the Greeks philosophized that the Earth was, indeed, round. It remained as just a philosophical idea until 1519-1522, when Ferdinand Magellan and Juan Sebastián Elcano circumnavigated our world.
Nonsense says B.o.B., and here is your proof:
The cities in the background are approx. 16miles apart… where is the curve ? please explain this pic.twitter.com/YCJVBdOWX7
— B.o.B (@bobatl) January 25, 2016
Time-lapse photos of stars form perfect circles… how is this possible ? pic.twitter.com/d9d1sJja8z
— B.o.B (@bobatl) January 25, 2016
The ONE thing every country can agree on : restricted access to the poles … Here’s to the UN… we believe you pic.twitter.com/gBzDk23VWp
— B.o.B (@bobatl) January 25, 2016
— B.o.B (@bobatl) January 25, 2016
— B.o.B (@bobatl) January 25, 2016
Many other Twitter users have chimed in, offering their two cents in contradiction these bold claims of Earth being flat. He was not without his own defenders, though, who include Tila Tequila (yes, the stripper/bisexual/model/”actress”) and some dude who shot a rocket up to 121,000 feet with a GoPro attached.
As good a backing as a random fanboy who uploaded his sweet rocket — with side by side comparison of the RedBull freefall — and Ms. Tequilla, the resounding authority on all matters space and beyond had to quip back.
Neil deGrasse Tyson never can seem to shy away, especially when it comes to fools who dare question this man’s realm; while B.o.B.’s music may take you to Cloud 9, Tyson is firmly on the ground of science.
@bobatl Earth’s curve indeed blocks 150 (not 170) ft of Manhattan. But most buildings in midtown are waaay taller than that.
— Neil deGrasse Tyson (@neiltyson) January 25, 2016
@bobatl Polaris is gone by 1.5 deg S. Latitude. You’ve never been south of Earth’s Equator, or if so, you’ve never looked up.
— Neil deGrasse Tyson (@neiltyson) January 25, 2016
@bobatl Duude — to be clear: Being five centuries regressed in your reasoning doesn’t mean we all can’t still like your music
— Neil deGrasse Tyson (@neiltyson) January 25, 2016
B.o.B continued on his claims even after Mr. Tyson broke it down, much to the majority’s chagrin. We get the X-Files back on our TVs and B.o.B. goes full Fox Mulder with claims that NASA doctors photos. There is still a Flat Earth Society that raises the stakes even more with the assertion that Antartica is, in fact, a ring of ice that goes around the edge, with NASA acting as the gatekeepers to keep people from climbing over and falling off into space. If this idea appeals to you, go ahead and sign up.
It seems odd that there would be a movement to go back on a scientific claim that has been proven for almost 500 years by the circumnavigation of the planet via wooden sailing ships, but, in this age of 140 character statements, anything truly is possible. The truth is out there, B.o.B., but it is not what you are selling. Now crank up “So Good” and tune into to Fox on Mondays around 8pm for some good ol’ televised fictional conspiracies.
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