How did ancient people know that the earth was round?
In: 37
Maritime Navigators knew it first / have always known.
When rigging the sails, somebody securing the top mast at one point MUST have said “Ahoy! Enemy vessel to starboard side!”
Then that same person scrambled down the rigging only to find that the same ship was not visible from the deck.
Confused, this same person must have scrambled back up the top mast, only to see the enemy vessel slowly come into view from the top to the bottom. First the top mast appears. Then the sails. Then the prow. Then finally the hull.
What possible explanation could they have derived other than “the ocean seems to run downhill. Always. In every direction. So: the earth must curve downhill. Always. In every direction.”
That’s why pirate ships have the lookout stationed in the “Crow’s Nest.” You’ll see the enemy sooner from up high. The only explanation? The earth is curved.
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