Once you go flat, you never go back. And in fact, you can go a lot further.
Let's talk about that.
♪ (theme music) ♪
- Good Mythical Morning. - In your comings and goings across the
internet over the past month or so, you've probably come across an interesting
movement that is gaining momentum despite, well, despite things that we'll get into.
It's people debating the shape of the Earth.
Yes. It's called the Flat Earth Movement, and let's just give you a quick refresher
on what that is before we get into some other things. Okay, so, everybody--
- The Earth is flat. - Everybody used to think the Earth was
flat, right? Because it kind of seems that way when you walk outside. But then some
people came along-- some pretty smart people-- and they made a series of
- compelling observations-- - Yes.
And most everybody started to believe that the Earth is a planet, is a sphere,
in a universe. But then there are the people who think that this is all a grand
conspiracy, and no, the Earth is actually flat. It looks a little bit like this.
(Rhett) It's not supposed to be a square; it's a disk.
(Link) Like if you put your hand like you wanted to resuscitate the real Earth
- Resuscitate, yes. - by smooshing it from the North Pole down.
- It's like, "Whoops, I killed it." - You killed the Earth and there it is,
- a circle in front of you. - It's a pancake.
So, you see, the North Pole is at the center, and then the perimeter is a
150-foot high ice wall, kind of like the one in Game of Thrones.
- Yes. - That is actually Antarctica.
- Which, that wall actually exists, too. - Yes, it does.
- As with everything in Game of Thrones. - And the sun, the moon, and all the stars
revolve around this Earth, so we're literally at the center of the universe.
Oh, you think you're the center of the universe or something?
Yes, actually we are, Link. So, the question is: Why now? Why is this
something that a lot of people are believing? Well, um, there's a guy named
Eric Dubay who created a documentary called The Flat Earth Conspiracy Documentary.
It's free on YouTube. You can watch it. And he also wrote a book called
200 Proofs Earth is Not a Spinning Ball. And he is convinced a lot--
thousands of people-- that there's a legitimate case here.
- He's got 200 proofs, guys. - 200 proofs!
He can also take a picture while pointing at his own T-shirt.
He can. He's also a vegan anarchist, apparently, or he just likes a T-shirt that
says that. Now, a lot of people have made their own videos. You can find lots of 'em.
This has become a flat-out movement! (chuckles)
Oh, yeah. Including Tila Tequila, the reality star, who tweeted--
- Big fan. - "If the earth was a spinning globe, then
how come airplanes can still land without crashing? Because the face of
- the earth is flat, not a globe." - That's right, Tila. You tell 'em.
Another tweet. This is all caps: "IF I GET KILLED IN 2016, Y'ALL ALL KNOW
IT'S BECAUSE I EXPOSED THE EARTH AS BEING FLAT. #TRUTHEXPOSED"
- Hashtags. - B.o.B, the rapper musician,
- Big fan. - got in on this.
"Once you go flat, you never go back." And he got in it with Neil deGrasse Tyson.
- Yeah. - And then he created a song called
"Flatline" calling out Neil deGrasse Tyson, and then Neil deGrasse Tyson's nephew,
Tyson, responded with a rap of his own called "Flat to Fact." Who knew that the
Flat Earth theory could create a rap battle?
- I love - (both) 2016!
Okay, now, let's re-center here. In order to believe that the Earth is flat, you have
to believe a number of things, including, but not limited to, NASA and the Russian
and Chinese space programs have all been lying about everything. All the pictures of
- the Earth from space are fake. - Check.
- The Moon Landing: fake. - Check.
- International Space Station: fake. - Check.
- All the satellites circling the Earth: fake. - Check.
- Astronauts are actors. - Mmm... check.
All the airlines are in on this conspiracy because flights don't go across
Antarctica because they can't, because it's a wall, y'all.
- Oh, hadn't thought of that. - Gravity! Gravity itself doesn't exist.
- It's a conspiracy. - Check.
Basically, everything that we think we know about the nature of the universe
and that we've learned over the past few hundred years is a conspiracy and
millions of people are in on it. Okay? Now, here's what we're thinking.
- Question mark. - If you are willing to believe that,
- why stop there? - Yeah!
There are so many amazing things that you can add to the list!
Yeah, don't slow your roll, go full steam ahead
- We got a lotta options for you. - into these theories that we are gonna
present. They're options. They're all non-exclusive, so you can subscribe to
- all these. - Yes you can.
But let's start with the Hollow Earth Theory. Back in 1692, astronomer
Edmund Halley theorized that the Earth was a hollow shell with a 500-mile thick
- crust, okay? - That's right, that's right.
With who knows what inside. Now, today, people still subscribe to this theory and
like to talk about it on the internet. They believe that the North Pole is
actually a big hole that gives you access in there.
- The North Hole! - The North Hole!
- (crew laughs) - Gettin' it wrong!
And NASA has intentionally covered this up!
- With ice? - No, like, photos. They're like--
- With a big white handkerchief. - They're suppressing the evidence.
They don't have a dome like a football stadium.
- Okay. - As a result, many people theorize
there's lots of things you can believe is in there. A smaller Earth...
- Oh, that's cool. - A smaller sun...
- I like that. For warmth. - Or a lush tropical paradise that's
home to an advanced race of humans, aliens, and giants. My favorite!
I pick that one. Can we pick? I pick that one.
- Yeah. Pick all of 'em! - Okay, how about this? You can also
believe that the second Gulf War was started to close a Stargate owned by
Saddam Hussein. Or "Sad-am" Hussein, as the first Bush used to call him. Now,
- here's now this one goes. Saddam-- - And "Star-gat-tay." I think he also
said, (George W. Bush impression) "We've got to close the
- (both) Star-gat-tay." - That's good, Link! Sounds like
- Dana Carvey doing the impersonation. - Gonna do it. I'm gonna do it.
I look like Dana Carvey. I'm gonna do it. I'm gonna do it.
Saddam closed the Star-gat-tay and, because he was about to invite aliens
in to invade the Earth. So the Gulf War was not about weapons of mass destruction,
people, 'cause there weren't those. We all know that. It was about a Stargate!
The Stargate was shut down, so it turns out that was a really good idea to go in
- there and invade. - (normally) And the series was a great
- idea too. Also cancelled. - Yeah, and MacGyver was on that.
Body Earth Theory. If you wanna be a Body Earther, you get to believe that the
Earth can transfer positive electrons to your body that then can prevent harmful
- diseases, and have healing properties. - Okay, I like where this is going.
The ball of the foot, as we all know, is the ideal area for electrons--
- Lots of things! - to come (laughs) to come up--
- Massage... - to come up into your body. If you're
feeling sick, go walk around in the Earth and be a Body Earth Theorist, an Earther,
- or a Grounder. I met a guy once. - I remember this. You told the story.
- Yeah, on Eagle Rock. - Yeah.
And I got barefoot after my encounter with him, and I tried it.
So you can connect the people. If you wanna believe this.
- I tried it. - You could connect the people with him.
How about this: You could believe that the only thing you need to survive is
sunlight. No food, no water, just sun, or the vital life force of the universe.
- Okay. - This one actually has a name, it's called
- Breatharianism, and in the-- - Because what? You breathe the air?
Breathe in the life force that's got the sun in it.
- You breathe in the sun? - An Indian yogi claims to have lived for
- about 70 years without food or water. - (Yogi Bear impression) Heyy, sunlight!
(laughs) Yogi! Now, they made a movie about this guy, and a Swiss woman watched
the movie. In 2011, she decided, "I'm gonna try to live this lifestyle for myself."
And you know what happened to her? She died of starvation.
- Oh! - Because she didn't have any food.
- Spoiler alert! - But maybe she wasn't doing it right.
You know, that's probably what it was. She was looking at it crosseyed, or...
- I don't know. But listen. - Eating something on the side?
There's a subset of the Breatharianism movement where a guy says that you can
eat a Quarter Pounder with Cheese meal with a diet coke.
- I am not making this up. - And only that?
That's what you get. And he has these very complex reasons for why that makes
- the most sense. - And he is like your uncle?
No, he's just some dude, but you can join him. And I love that meal, by the way.
Why eat nothing when you can drink your own urine, and have a reason?
- Why not? - I'mma give you the reason.
It's called Urine Therapy. In the eyes of Urine believers, there's virtually nothing
- that urine can't fix. - Mm-hm.
I'm talking about the common cold, the flu, and definitely cancer.
- Okay. - And I make a lot of it.
- I'm making it right now. - Drink it warm or cold. You have options.
You can also rub it on your skin. We did a whole episode on weird uses for urine.
- But we didn't do that. - But we didn't say "curing cancer" until
today. Next time you go number one, grab a Thermos!
(chuckles) Okay. And this one is my favorite. You can believe that inspecting
and feeling a person's bare butt can offer insight into that person's future.
- Okay. It's for you, it's not for me. - It's called--
- I can help you. - It's called Rumpology.
- And again, we're not making this up. - Hold on, it's called-
Rumpology. This is not a sketch. This is not an SNL skit. It's called Rumpology and
- the idea is by inspecting and feeling... - Yes, yes.
for instance, someone who has a round... you wanna get your hands on a big, round
bottom. Well, that would indicate that somebody's open, happy, and optimistic.
A flat bottom can mean somebody is vain, negative, and sad.
- Oh, come on. - Not only do you get to look and feel
butts-- look at and feel butts-- you get to hang out with rumpologists like
Jacqueline Stallone and yes, that is Sly Stallone's mom. She's 94 years old, but
she's still going strong and she's still feeling butts.
I wonder why anyone would want to come up with such a philosophy.
- Oh, that's a joke. (chuckles) - You thought I was asking a
- legitimate question. - (laughs)
So, you know, take your pick or sign up for all of 'em. Let's go all in and then
- tweet some intelligent stuff about it. - Please do that.
- Celebrities. - And thanks for liking, commenting,
subscribing, and sharing this video with all your friends.
You know what time it is.
I'm Melissa. This is my puppy Gizmo, and we're from Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Now it's time spin the Wheel of Mythicality.
We have a Facebook page, and when you go over there and "like" it, it makes us feel
- better about ourselves. - Yes.
So please do that. We also have exclusive videos you'll like.
Only seen there. Click through to Good Mythical More. We are going to have
an unfiltered conversation where we're gonna give our unadulterated opinion
about why Flat Earthers believe what they believe.
(Rhett) World's worst butcher! (silly voice) Hello, I'm here for meat!
(silly voice) Step right up! What's your form of... payment?
Slide it across the table. Slide your table payment! Slide your payment across
- the table! - Could you stop that, Sir?
- Sure! Slide it right here. - You want me to put my dollars there?
- Right there. - Mmkay.
- Hyah! - Oh gosh.
- (crew laughs) - You're a bad butcher.
[Captioned by Caitrin: GMM Captioning Team]