On June 3, 2016 the Science department at Mother Teresa S.S. (M.T.S.) in London, Ontario launched a weather balloon into the skies with a GoPRO attached. The views are spectacular and reaches altitudes near space.

Man loses his cool in Flat versus Round Earth argument

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Caroline Floyd

Meteorologist

Wednesday, June 15, 2016, 12:02 PM - Brockville Police are looking for a 56-year-old man after a family argument got heated at a local campground on Monday - make that very heated.

The man was visiting St. Lawrence Park with his son and his son's girlfriend earlier this week when an argument erupted over the shape of planet Earth.

According to a release from the police department, when the older man failed to convince his son's girlfriend that Earth is, in fact, round, he began throwing their items into the campfire.

Showing off Earth's curves with the former Mir space station. Photo credit Wikimedia Commons.

Unfortunately for the group, one of the items included a propane cylinder, which resulted in a visit from both the Brockville fire and police departments (perhaps regrettably, there is no emergency science department). By the time the police arrived, however, the exasperated party had fled the scene.

Thankfully, no injuries or other damage were reported in what could have been an explosive situation. Brockville Police are still looking for the man to charge him with mischief.

The Earth was first established as round in the 3rd century B.C.E. by Greek astronomers calculating the planet's circumference using varying shadow lengths and observing the shadow of Earth on the Moon during an eclipse. Ferdinand Magellan's 1519 - 1522 expedition was the first to successfully circumnavigate the globe, proving conclusively there was no 'edge' to fall off. Today, as seen in the lead video, more practical demonstrations of the curvature of the Earth are available to anyone with a GoPro and a weather balloon.

Sources: Brockville Police | CTV News |