n reply #159 I asked an honest and simple question regarding why the “edge” of a flat has not been discovered, described, nor pictured, given the amount of exploration that has occurred.
I cited explorers such as Leif Erikson from the 11
h century and Columbus, da Gama, Magellan and Elcano from the 16
th century. To this list can be added James Cook (1773). Within a year's time in 1820 the Russians Fabian von Bellingshausen and Mikhail Lazarev, the British explorer Edward Bransfield, and the Americans Nathaniel Palmer and John Davis all saw or set foot on Antarctica. The Norwegian Roald Amundsen reached the South Pole in 1911. U.S. Admiral Richard Byrd (1888-1957) is another noted Antarctic explorer.
The only answer my honest, sincere, and simple question received was that because of “the treaty”, and no one could be bothered to even cite its actual name, nor when it was signed, nor by how many countries.
The Antarctic Treaty was signed on December 1, 1959 by 12 countries, but did not enter into force until June 23, 1961. There are now 50 nations that have signed or accept the treaty. This treaty that supposedly prevents us from finding the “edge of the earth meeting the dome of the firmament” did not come into existence until years, decades, or even centuries after the explorers I cited. This pretty much tells any thinking and rational person all they need to know about the credibility of the “flat earth fantasy”. “If” the earth were flat someone would have been to the edge by now.
Here is the actual text of the Antarctic treaty
https://www.nsf.gov/geo/opp/antarct/anttrty.jsp