The fact that we (the majority of humans) believe the earth is a sphere is not something which was always true.

This subject has long been the subject of debate between explorers, mathematicians, leaders and those with any interest in that thing that they happen to live on. Apparently the Greek philosophers gave the issue a lot of airtime, and never came to agreement. The idea the earth was a sphere was widespread but not many people believed it - of course it seems an odd idea that you’re standing on a big ball-shaped mass floating around in nothingness.

It was in the 15th and 16th centuries that evidence was brought to Europe following a number of seafaring explorations by the Portuguese and, most famously, by Colombus. For those guys, proving the earth is round must have been a bit of a priority: it was actually tough to recruit sailors apparently - sometimes there were even mutinies when the captain wanted to sail too far because the sailors were scared they’d fall off the edge of the earth! (On a practical note, sailors would have noticed that mountains disappear over a horizon once you get far away enough from them - a basic proof that the earth is not strictly flat).

Anyway, from here it was more “plain sailing” for those who thought the earth is round and the idea has become accepted by most people the world over.

However, there are people who still believe in a flat earth. For some interesting reading check out the Flat Earth Society.

This one is going to fellow mailart365-er Ria Cabral :)

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