Here's another reason why you shouldn't throw away anything ever. Since the mid-1970s, former North Dakota state senator Don Homuth has been in possession of the only known complete copy of a singularly strange "Square Earth" map from the 1800s.


This map — which takes its cues from Biblical passages — claims that the Earth resembles a crushed pizza box and that the corners of the planet are guarded by angels the size of continents. As an adult, Homuth received this map from his eighth-grade teacher. Decades later, he realized this map could be the last unblemished map out there and is now donating it to the Library of Congress. Explains Inforum:

Printed in 1893, the nearly 120-year-old "Map of the Square and Stationary Earth" was created by Orlando Ferguson of Hot Springs, S.D. Ferguson's map supports a theory that the Earth is flat. Robert Morris, senior technical information specialist in the Geography and Map Division of the Library of Congress, said they searched through 75 to 100 related maps before confirming they didn't have a similar map in its collections. "Probably very few copies were printed, and even fewer survived," he said. The only other known remaining map is in the Pioneer Museum of Hot Springs, Ferguson's home. But the map in the museum is missing a bottom portion, making Homuth's the only identified and fully intact map left, Homuth said. "For years and years I had it folded away," he said. "It was a shock to hear it may be the only (map of its kind) in the world."


Now we know why the moon landing was faked — those darn giant angels wouldn't let NASA leave the square. Also, what's the Earth made of past Antarctica? Ice? Dirt? Heavenly shortbread? I do relish the notion that if you trip in Sweden, you could end up in Namibia.

[The History Blog via Nerdcore]