ladbible homepage
ladbible homepage
  • iconNews
  • videos
  • entertainment
  • Home
  • News
    • UK
    • US
    • World
    • Ireland
    • Australia
    • Science
    • Crime
    • Weather
  • Entertainment
    • Celebrity
    • TV
    • Film
    • Music
    • Gaming
    • Netflix
    • Disney
  • Sport
  • Technology
  • Travel
  • Lifestyle
  • Money
  • Originals
    • FFS PRODUCTIONS
    • Say Maaate to a Mate
    • Daily Ladness
    • UOKM8?
    • FreeToBe
    • Citizen Reef
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Archive
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Threads
Snapchat
TikTok
YouTube
Submit Your Content Here
  • SPORTbible
  • Tyla
  • GAMINGbible
  • LADbible Group
  • UNILAD
  • FOODbible
  • UNILAD Tech
Flat Earther spent £15k on experiment trying to prove theory but ended up doing the opposite

Home> Community> Weird

Updated 17:23 15 Sep 2024 GMT+1Published 14:38 7 Sep 2024 GMT+1

Flat Earther spent £15k on experiment trying to prove theory but ended up doing the opposite

The experiment ended up proving the exact opposite of what Bob Knodel wanted

Brenna Cooper

Brenna Cooper

google discoverFollow us on Google Discover

A Flat Earther spent a staggering amount of cash in an attempt to prove the world is flat - only for the opposite to happen.

Despite ample amounts of evidence proving that our planet is in-fact spherical, the Flat Earth movement is one conspiracy theory is one that just refuses to go away.

Adamant that we're being lied to by scientists, Flat Earthers have been known to go to extreme ends in order to find evidence for their 'theories'.

One of the more famous cases of this involved the late YouTuber Bob Knodel, who splashed out an almighty $20k (£15,150) in an attempt to find evidence for his beliefs.

Advert

His experiment was shown in the documentary Behind the Curve, which you can watch the trailer for below:

Released on Netflix back in February 2019, Behind the Curve followed prominent Flat Earthers such as Mark Sargent who outlined their beliefs in the documentary.

Several scientists and astrophysicists also appeared in the film to give their views on the Flat Earth movement and its longevity.

During his segment in the documentary, Knodel decided to go beyond arguing his case and prove once and for all that scientific consensus from the last couple of centuries was wrong.

What was Bob Knodel's Flat Earth experiment?

In order to prove his theory that the Earth was in fact flat, Knodel created an extravagant experiment which set him back tens of thousands of dollars.

To conduct his experiment, Knodel created a laser gyroscope which he believed would debunk the idea that our planet is round.

To put it plainly, Knodel used a camera to film through two holes - which were both the same distance from the ground - while a person stood on the other side was shining a torch at the camera.

Below is a diagram of the YouTuber's set up for the experiment:

Knodel believed this would prove the Earth is flat. (Netflix)
Knodel believed this would prove the Earth is flat. (Netflix)

Knodel claimed that if light could be seen with the camera, and that all of the holes in the fence and his torch were at the same height, then we had definitive proof the world was flat.

However the experiment didn't go entirely to plan, with Knodel left muttering 'interesting' to himself after no light was able to be seen.

He would later attempt to explain the findings in Youtube video, saying: "What we found is, is when we turned on that gyroscope we found that we were picking up a drift. A 15 degree per hour drift.

Bob Knodel spent a lot of money on the failed experiment. (Netflix)
Bob Knodel spent a lot of money on the failed experiment. (Netflix)

"Now, obviously we were taken aback by that."

Admitting the results were 'kind of a problem', he continued: "We obviously were not willing to accept that, and so we started looking for ways to disprove it was actually registering the motion of the Earth."

Knodel passed away on 6 April, 2023, aged 62.

Featured Image Credit: Netflix

Topics: Space, Conspiracy Theory

Brenna Cooper
Brenna Cooper

Brenna Cooper is a journalist at LADbible. She graduated from the University of Sheffield with a degree in History, followed by an NCTJ accredited masters in Journalism. She began her career as a freelance writer for Digital Spy, where she wrote about all things TV, film and showbiz. Her favourite topics to cover are music, travel and any bizarre pop culture.

X

@_brencoco

Recommended reads

Lily Phillips' boyfriend has boundary she can never cross in content after sleeping with 101 men in a dayInstagram/Lily PhillipsWoman who lost two stone on Mounjaro warns of potentially-fatal side effect discovered on cruise shipMatthew Horwood/Getty ImagesBDSM expert reveals what it's like to be on receiving end of Euphoria's mummification sceneHBOI’m A Celeb final audience member shares brutal reality nobody saw on cameraITV

Advert

Choose your content:

2 mins ago
a day ago
  • Instagram/Lily Phillips
    2 mins ago

    Lily Phillips' boyfriend has boundary she can never cross in content after sleeping with 101 men in a day

    The 24-year-old OnlyFans star says her new boyfriend loves her 'not because' of her job and even left her a gift after a controversial shoot

    Community
  • Getty Stock Images
    a day ago

    Eight signs your marriage is over including fantasy ‘all women have’

    Relationship expert Annalie Howling has seen many relationships come and go, which is why she knows how they end

    Community
  • LinkedIn
    a day ago

    Multimillionaire forced to pay ex-wife £100 million after second life reveal

    Mikhail Kroupeev and Elena Kroupeeva married in 1988 and were together for 35 years

    Community
  • (Instagram/AnnieKnight)
    a day ago

    ‘World’s most sexually active woman’ shares how much she earns per month

    Australia's Annie Knight has been an OnlyFans creator since 2020

    Community
  • Conspiracy theory sparked after China posts video of astronauts in space
  • Brian Cox ends debate over whether we really landed on the Moon once and for all
  • Jeremy Clarkson shared his bank details to prove a point but ended up losing £500
  • Michael Jackson's official autopsy report cleared up bizarre conspiracy theory about his genitalia