Featured Image Credit: YouTube/The Final Experiment
Topics: Antarctica, Conspiracy Theories, Earth, Money, NASA, YouTube, Science, Travel
Emily Brown
Topics: Antarctica, Conspiracy Theories, Earth, Money, NASA, YouTube, Science, Travel
If you're spending thousands of dollars on something, you usually want to make sure it's going to pay off, but unfortunately, that wasn't the case when one YouTuber flew all the way to Antartica to try and prove the Earth was flat.
I say 'unfortunately', but at least his findings helped support the years of science and actual photographs from space that show the Earth is spherical.
It all started when NASA critic Jeran Campanella decided to travel to Antarctica to try and prove that the 'midnight sun', where the sun stays up for 24 hours a day, was a myth.
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If the Earth was flat, it would be impossible for the sun to stay up for the whole day - but in Antarctica, that's exactly what happens.
This is because of the seasonal tilt of the Earth towards the sun during the summer in the Antarctic, meaning the sun never goes below the horizon. The phenomenon is also known as the 'polar day'.
Campanella, who is American, initially didn't believe the evidence showing the polar day, but his skepticism came back to haunt him when he traveled to the region himself, along with a non-Flat Earther, dubbed a 'glober', named Will Duffy.
In his YouTube video, titled 'It's Midnight in Antarctica!', Campanella admitted: "Alright guys, sometimes you are wrong in life.
"I thought that there was no 24-hour sun, in fact I was pretty sure of it, but I respect Will Duffy for being a standup guy - at least in the way that he kept saying it was true, I kept saying it wasn't."
So, how much money did it take to show Campanella the truth?
Approximately $35,000. Yep - a year's salary for a lot of people out there.
However, it seems that Campanella himself didn't fund the trip, as he said in his video he managed to get it for 'free'.
He said: "I just want to say thanks to Will, through everything you've been at least kind to me. I appreciate that and I appreciate the trip... My whole master plan worked for getting a free trip out here [laughing]."
The YouTuber continued: "It's amazing, I can't even tell you... flying in was the best thing I've ever seen. Looking around, best thing I've ever seen. So you know, how could I give him a hard time for bringing me down here? $35,000 trip, it's been incredible."
When it comes to the future of the Flat Earth theory, Campanella encouraged his followers try and 'figure out' what the 24-hour sun means for themselves.