The simple reason cruise ships don't fall off the edge finally clicked for me

I used to think the flat earth thing had some points, but then I actually went outside and paid attention to the horizon instead of just watching YouTube videos. What got me was watching a ship sail out of the Port of Tampa last month. I sat on the pier for like 45 minutes with a pair of binoculars and watched a cargo container ship go from big to small until the hull disappeared behind the curve. The mast was still visible for another few minutes. That's not something camera tricks can fake when you're there in person. I get people trust what they see online, but you gotta go look for yourself. What other simple tests have y'all done in real life that convinced you?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_susan5d ago

Stand on any beach with a decent pair of binoculars and watch a boat go out to sea. The hull goes first, then the deck, then the mast. It happens every single time, no matter what camera or phone you use. I did it in San Diego last summer and the same thing played out like clockwork. No fancy explanations needed, just basic geometry.

tessa_hill865d ago

Oh come on, that's not how it works. I've stood on plenty of beaches and watched boats disappear over the horizon and it's never that clean or simple. Weather conditions, waves, even the heat haze messes with what you see. I remember one time in Florida I watched a fishing boat go out and the mast seemed to vanish before the hull because of some weird light refraction or whatever. And don't get me started on those zoom lenses that can bring things back into view way past where they should be gone. The whole "hull disappears first" thing is just a story people tell themselves because it sounds neat. If geometry was that straightforward, we wouldn't need all those complicated navigation tools and charts.