But They Know Enough to Snort Condoms, Eat Tide Pods and Ban Guns

Not to mention vote. A Third Of Millennials Aren’t Sure The Earth Is Round, Survey Finds

A new survey has found that a third of young millennials in the U.S. aren’t convinced the Earth is actually round. The national poll reveals that 18 to 24-year-olds are the largest group in the country who refuse to accept the scientific facts of the world’s shape.

YouGov, a British market research firm, polled 8,215 adults in the United States to find out if they ever believed in the “flat Earth” movement. Only 66 percent of young millennials answered that they “always believe the world is round.” Science teachers across the U.S. will be shaking their heads after learning that nine percent of young adults answered that they have “always believed” the planet was flat.

Another nine percent said of young adults said they thought the planet was spherical but had doubts about it. In a disturbing display of indecision, 16 percent of millennials said they weren’t sure what the shape of the planet was.

Overall, only two percent of the respondents said they always thought the Earth was flat without any doubt. YouGov found that age was directly connected to Americans’ views on the shape of the world. Seventy-six percent of adults age 25-34 say they’ve always believed the Earth is round, compared to 82 percent of ages 35-44, 85 percent of ages 45-54, and 94 percent of adults 55 and over.

Of course, the planet isn't a sphere, it's a very mildly irregular (mountains, valleys, continents and oceans) oblate spheroid, flattened very slightly by its rotation, differing from a true sphere by some 21 miles. But I'm sure that's not the distinction they're making.

I suspect (and deeply hope) that some substantial number of the "flat earth" responses come from people trying to screw up the survey.

But probably not enough:



Linked above the line at Pirate's Cove in the weekly "Sorta Blogless Sunday Pinup" and links. Thanks, Teach! A week late and twice as big due to tax season, Wombat-socho has "Rule 5 Sunday: Not Your Normal Graduation Picture" ready for business.

Adam's (or Rama's) Bridge

Apparently there used to be a walk-able path from India to Sri Lanka: Adam’s Bridge Between India and Sri Lanka Before 1480

The map above shows what Adam’s Bridge (aka Rama’s Bridge or Ram Setu) in the Palk Strait might have looked like prior to 1480 when it connected India and Sri Lanka.

In 1480 a cyclone supposedly deepened the channels between India and Sri Lanka, rendering it impassible by foot. However, today some sections are still only between 1 and 10 meters (3 and 30 feet deep) as can be seen in this photo from NASA’s Landsat 7 satellite:

Here, you can explore it on Google maps:



Reminds me a lot of the shifting islands on the Eastern Shore. There used to be complete roads out there, too.

Correcting GPS for Continental Drift

It really happens. Continental Drift, GPS and Europe

In response to the news that Australia has to correct its GPS coordinates to account for continental drift, the Ordnance Survey blog examines whether Great Britain will have to do the same. “The situation for us (and most of Europe) is not so bad. Europe’s GPS compatible datum, ETRS89, is fixed to the European tectonic plate at the time 1 January 1989 and moves by around 2.5 cm each year. In theory, GPS-derived coordinates are now about 70 cm away from where they should be in the ETRS89 system.”

Holland or the Netherlands?

Probably more explanation of the relation than you can absorb in one swell foop:



I visited The Netherlands and Holland, I suppose, once back in the 90's for a meeting.  I visited the Rijksmuseum, the Van Gogh Museum, both in Amsterdam and the Mauritshuis in Delft. All well worth it.

Doetzen Kroes is from The Netherlands. She would look good in pearl earrings.