American rapper and music producer BoB has revealed a somewhat unusual belief in the year 2016: he thinks the Earth is flat.
BoB, real name Bobby Ray Simmons Jr, made the surprise announcement and then unleashed a torrent of tweets attempting to prove scientifically that the Earth is not a sphere.
A lot of people are turned off by the phrase "flat earth" … but there's no way u can see all the evidence and not know… grow up
— B.o.B (@bobatl) January 25, 2016
No matter how high in elevation you are… the horizon is always eye level … sorry cadets… I didn't wanna believe it either.
— B.o.B (@bobatl) January 25, 2016
He batted back objections about time zones, the moon, the tides, ships on the horizon, plane journeys, and the unknown exact location of the edge of the Earth.
Instead, he claimed that the human race has been deceived for hundreds of years – presumably starting from Pythagoras.
No I'm not crazy , Yes I'm feeling fine, no I'm not doing anything stronger than weed, am I doing this to promote my music .. No…
— B.o.B (@bobatl) January 26, 2016
I'm going up against the greatest liars in history … you've been tremendously deceived
— B.o.B (@bobatl) January 26, 2016
Popular astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson stepped in to try to explain some things – not that he got anywhere.
In the end, he said he was content to just enjoy BoB’s songs, including Nothin’ On You, Airplanes, and Magic.
@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 Flat Earth is a problem only when people in charge think that way. No law stops you from regressively basking in it.
— 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
Twitter has been full of disbelief, horror and amusement.
Cmon bob you honestly gonna tell me you believe da earth is flat https://t.co/AsAFNOkXru
— TJ (@TJBiddle) January 26, 2016
are ppl actually arguing about whether the earth is flat or round? the Internet is not for everyone! #FlatEarth Bwahahah
— Robin (@rob0349) January 26, 2016
I don't even know HOW to argue with an adult who is convinced Earth is flat.
— #drumsoverflats (@KiAgainstDworld) January 26, 2016
I can't fall back asleep and I just read B.O.B's tweets about how the earth is flat and we're all sheeple. This day is already ruined.
— Stank Dank (@Metal_Balls) January 26, 2016
I'm just gonna unfollow BoB b/c its so much easier than him trying to convince me the earth is flat and the other planets spherical. 😂😂😂😂😂
— Alladin Sane (@espad_a) January 26, 2016
So is BoB trolling or does he genuinely believe the Earth is flat? 😦
— Michael Cyr (@MrCyr) January 26, 2016
Why are we all discussing whether the earth is flat or not again? I thought we'd figured this one out already. When we WENT TO SPACE!?
— Haydn the Warlock (@Chechosaurus) January 26, 2016
@bobatl If the Earth is flat then can you explain to me how we have satellites in space on a circular orbit around Earth?
— Rika – Chan (@Hellstorm901) January 26, 2016
@bobatl I'd like to see photos of the "corners" of the flat earth
— RoB (@RoBWiese1) January 26, 2016
There was, bizarrely, a sneaking admiration for BoB and his battle against science.
Got to love @bobatl and his awakening 😂😂 not sure the flat earth was the one to go for. But still, the government #lies
— Deablosantos (@deablosantos) January 26, 2016
BoB been fighting for a flat earth for like 2 days now that's some dedication
— bball (@bball03_) January 26, 2016
One person had an idea of who could sort this all out: British astronaut Tim Peake, currently on board the International Space Station.
.@astro_timpeake Hi Tim, an American rapper is persistently claiming the earth is flat. Could you please tweet a picture to debunk this?
— Romil Patel (@rom_j_patel) January 26, 2016
Beautiful night pass over #Italy, #Alps and #Mediterranean https://t.co/OFOlTDP7TL pic.twitter.com/dAXLxYInmB
— Tim Peake (@astro_timpeake) January 25, 2016
Though we’re not sure even that could persuade BoB…
@ltscore316 examining the photo proves its not one image …. Photoshop pic.twitter.com/5QUFFfsS0m
— B.o.B (@bobatl) January 25, 2016
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