Dolly Keane: Kooky Flat Earther or Misinformed Little Kid?
This is from Wednesday, and I am sorry I haven't been able to post on it yet -- busy, you know!
Is it funny? No -- it is not! I'm not even sure what the joke is supposed to be -- that people thought the Earth was flat because of maps? Or that Dolly's addled little girl brain thinks that it was only just months ago that the world's true shape was discovered? Or that little children have no real sense of time so that it is easy for them to confuse a few months with several centuries? To her credit, she really just says it "was months ago" that people discovered the earth isn't flat. And, she's right -- I mean, it's something on the order of six thousand months ago, but still . . . she's not wrong.
Plus, there are still people who believe the earth is flat. Visit their website, which is so kooky, I believe it's a joke. But, you can read about the historical origins, and more official stuff about the Flat Earthers on wikipedia. I found the most interesting thing there to be this tidbit:
"The last world model propagated by the Flat Earth Society holds that we live on a disc, with the North Pole at its center and a 150 feet high wall of ice at the outer edge. Curiously, the resulting map resembles the symbol of the United Nations, something Johnson [he's the last flat earth president or something] used as evidence for his position. " Hmmmmm . . .
Finally, if you would like to chat with the Flat Earthers (and maybe even Dolly Keane!) you can do so here.
Check out the map Dolly and Jeffy are looking at. It's some wacky, distorted version of the U.S., I think. It's like one of those old maps you see in history books where they haven't really accurately mapped North America yet. I've always suspected the Keanes were stuck in the 50s, but maybe I was wrong to think it was the 1950s. Maybe it's the 1550s?
Is it funny? No -- it is not! I'm not even sure what the joke is supposed to be -- that people thought the Earth was flat because of maps? Or that Dolly's addled little girl brain thinks that it was only just months ago that the world's true shape was discovered? Or that little children have no real sense of time so that it is easy for them to confuse a few months with several centuries? To her credit, she really just says it "was months ago" that people discovered the earth isn't flat. And, she's right -- I mean, it's something on the order of six thousand months ago, but still . . . she's not wrong.
Plus, there are still people who believe the earth is flat. Visit their website, which is so kooky, I believe it's a joke. But, you can read about the historical origins, and more official stuff about the Flat Earthers on wikipedia. I found the most interesting thing there to be this tidbit:
"The last world model propagated by the Flat Earth Society holds that we live on a disc, with the North Pole at its center and a 150 feet high wall of ice at the outer edge. Curiously, the resulting map resembles the symbol of the United Nations, something Johnson [he's the last flat earth president or something] used as evidence for his position. " Hmmmmm . . .
Finally, if you would like to chat with the Flat Earthers (and maybe even Dolly Keane!) you can do so here.
Check out the map Dolly and Jeffy are looking at. It's some wacky, distorted version of the U.S., I think. It's like one of those old maps you see in history books where they haven't really accurately mapped North America yet. I've always suspected the Keanes were stuck in the 50s, but maybe I was wrong to think it was the 1950s. Maybe it's the 1550s?
posted by big al at 2:25 PM
3 Comments:
I like how Florida is parallel to Georgia and the Carolinas in that book they're reading...
The "Flat Earthers" are so ignorant,I mean, why else is there gravity, and there are even pictures by NASA from space, that show the globe shape...sigh, they're going to sound so stupid if they tell someone their take on the Earth's shape. I bet none of them are married or have girlfriends....
Did the cartoonist even use a real U.S. map as a reference? Has the cartoonist even seen a real U.S. map? It looks like someone took a giant bite out of the South. And I'm not sure what's up with New England. Maine appears to no longer exist.
Or maybe Dolly thinks that the Earth actually was flat "months ago" but has since rounded out. ;)
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