• News
  • Film and TV
  • Music
  • Tech
  • Features
  • Celebrity
  • Politics
  • Weird
  • Community
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • LADbible
  • SPORTbible
  • GAMINGbible
  • Tyla
  • UNILAD Tech
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Threads
TikTok
YouTube
Submit Your Content
Flat-Earther’s attempt to sail to the edge of the world ended in disaster after just days

Home> News> Travel

Published 12:44 18 Oct 2023 GMT+1

Flat-Earther’s attempt to sail to the edge of the world ended in disaster after just days

A pair of flat-Earthers were under the impression that Lampedusa was the end of the Earth.

Niamh Shackleton

Niamh Shackleton

A couple set out to find the edge of the Earth only to be left disappointed (unsurprisingly).

The pair from Venice, Italy, decided to undergo their voyage during the pandemic, so that alone was a problem in itself.

But, away from ignoring Italy's strict quarantine rules, the unnamed couple sold their car and purchased a boat in a bid to travel to the edge of the Earth - which they believed to be Lampedusa - despite Flat-Earth theories having been debunked on several occasions.

Lampedusa is one of the Italian Pelagie Islands and is located in the middle of the Mediterranean ocean.

Salvatore Zichichi, a doctor from the maritime health office, went on to find the situation amusing as the Flat-Earth-believing pair used a compass to try and locate the island; something in itself that proves the Earth is in fact round due to the direction the compass points being based on our planet's magnetic field lines.

Advert

Zichichi told La Repubblica back in 2020: "The funny thing is that they oriented themselves with the compass, an instrument that works on the basis of terrestrial magnetism, a principle that they, as Flat-Earthers, should reject."

Lampedusa is Italy's southernmost island.
Alessio Bellsia/Getty

Evidently their compass reading skills needed working on as the pair found themselves in Ustica instead.

Upon arriving on the island, they were made to quarantine in Palermo as precaution.

Advert

But their first failed efforts didn't stop them from trying again and they attempted to escape quarantine.

They only lasted three hours on the run, however, after Harbor Master's Office went on to retrieve them.

Anyone else getting flashbacks of when you used to 'run away from home' as a kid to be dragged back shortly after?

They gave up eventually and went on to return home by ferry.

Advert

While some believe flat-Earthers can't possibly believe the that Earth is genuinely flat, Asheley Landrum, a psychologist from Texas Tech University, chatted to people at a flat-Earth convention in Denver and said they were 'sincere'.

Some people genuinely believe the Earth is flat.
martinwimmer/Getty

"If they were [trolling], they are very good actors,” she said, as per Physics World.

"We talked to more than 90 members of the Flat-Earth community and they’re all very sincere in their beliefs."

Advert

Flat-Earthers' misguided beliefs aren't down to a lack of education though, but down to not being able to trust institutions and authorities.

Landrum explained: "It’s not really an education thing - it really is about distrusting authorities and institutions.

"[It] seems to be based on both a conspiracy mentality and a deeply held belief that looks a lot like religiosity but isn’t necessarily specifically tied to a religion."

Featured Image Credit: martinwimmer/Getty / vuk8691/Getty

Topics: News, World News, Science, Travel

Niamh Shackleton
Niamh Shackleton

Niamh Shackleton is an experienced journalist for UNILAD, specialising in topics including mental health and showbiz, as well as anything Henry Cavill and cat related. She has previously worked for OK! Magazine, Caters and Kennedy.

X

@niamhshackleton

Advert

Advert

Advert

  • Researcher claims he's found the Garden of Eden and reveals where the mysterious location is
  • Cruise ship to set sail for 4-year trip around 140 countries in attempt to 'escape' US politics
  • Scientists discover the maximum age a human can live to
  • Air India plane forced to turn around mid-flight just days after crash killed at least 270 people

Choose your content:

9 mins ago
an hour ago
2 hours ago
  • Bruno Vincent/Getty Images
    9 mins ago

    Stephen Hawking made a chilling prediction for the end of the world and we're not far off

    The late professor's impassioned speech touched on nuclear warfare, aliens, and climate change

    Technology
  • X/@Vitus_oss
    an hour ago

    Man caught 'urinating' on sacred Vatican altar in front of hundreds of horrified people at holy mass

    Reports claim Pope Leo XIV is 'shocked' by the incident, but the Vatican is yet to comment

    News
  • Mike Marsland/WireImage
    2 hours ago

    Katy Perry caught kissing Justin Trudeau in NSFW pictures on yacht and leaves fans shocked

    The newly obtained images have further fueled romance rumors

    Celebrity
  • Kennedy News and Media
    2 hours ago

    Man unable to kiss wife after one of the 'worst cases' of nose growth doctors have ever seen

    This grandad’s growing nose left him hiding away, until one life-changing surgery

    News