Flat Earth

Now waaaaait just one second...You're telling me that the earth isn't flat? C'mon, you guys are all kidding, right? Right?***In response to the first question, I'd always assumed that people who thought the earth was flat thought either believed...1) It just stretched out infinitely in all directions (or, not circle *or* square). Seems more logical to me at the very least, than there just suddenly being an edge you can fall off of... wonder where you would end up?...or...2) It was circular (but large enough, I suppose, that if you reached an edge it would appear to you to stretch out in a straight line). Even with the innate craze of a sudden drop off the edge of the Earth, I suppose it doesn't seem as absurd as a circle as it would with corners.What I wonder about a bit is the Equator - I seem to remember from some history class that *very* early northern explorers who hadn't passed it just assumed that it would continue to get hotter and hotter as you went further south. Just imagine, by the time you reached the southern edge of the earth you could no simply have the classic picture of an enormous waterfall over the edge; it would all be boiled away by then.This message has been edited by Morte, 08-03-2004 03:57 AM