The debate over whether the Earth is round or flat has persisted throughout history. Despite the Greeks proving over 2,500 years ago that the Earth is round, a group known as flat-earthers believe the planet is flat like a pizza. A social media clip circulating for years shows a flat-earther attempting to prove the Earth is flat, but ironically, his experiment proves the opposite. This clip, shared by u/killHACKS in the Reddit group r/facepalm, has garnered massive attention.
Representative Image Source: Pexels | Nurser Yart
The resurfaced clip is “The Light Experiment” which plays in the ending scene of the 2018 documentary “Behind The Curve.” “Flat-Earther accidentally proves the earth is round in his experiment,” the user captioned the post. According to Newsweek, the person experimenting, as shown in the clip, was Jeran Campanella, while the experiment itself was the brainchild of Bob Knodel. In the clip, Campanella demonstrated a dramatic scenario when his own preconceived notions were challenged by the outcomes of the experiment.
Campanella used a laser gyroscope to perform this unusual experiment. The equipment included three posts of the same height and a high-powered laser. The idea was to set up three measuring posts, placed over a nearly 4-mile length of equal elevation. Once the laser was activated at the first post, its height could be measured at the other two. If the laser was at eight feet on the first post, then five feet at the second, it would indicate the measuring posts were set upon the Earth's curvature.
In his first attempt, Campanella's laser light spread out too wide and no accurate measurement could be taken. But by the end, when he used a light instead of a laser. This time, he utilized two Styrofoam sheets with a hole cut out at the center of both. Campanella’s goal was to shine the light through the first hole that would appear on a camera behind the second hole, indicating that a light, set at the same height as the holes, traveled straight across the surface of the Flat Earth. But if the light didn’t make its way to the camera, it would indicate the Earth’s curvature. As Campanella shone light through the hole, the light couldn’t be seen flashing on the computer screen. "Lift up your light, way above your head," Campanella said in the clip. As the light was lifted, it could be observed on the camera. "Interesting, that’s interesting" Campanella mumbled.
According to IFL Science, this experiment has been performed by flat-earthers since around 1836 when Samuel Birley Rowbotham, an English inventor, first did it on the Old Bedford River. Each time, the experiment has invalidated the notion that the Earth is flat. This particular experiment took an investment of approximately $20,000, per The Jerusalem Post.
Most Redditors who watched the clip took the experiment in a slightly humorous manner, saying how flat-earthers never stop experimenting to prove their flat-earth theory. u/incomprehensiblegarb said, “People have known the world is round for literal millennia. Flat Earthers are just addicted to the ‘I'm smarter than everyone else’ feeling and are constantly chasing the dragon.” Others suggested that there were flaws in the experiment. “Only if the ground level were exactly the same at both boards and both cameras would this be a valid experiment,” commented u/thejoshuabreed.
Image Source: Reddit | u/streetking069
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President Donald J. Trump and photo of a forest.
Public united and adamantly opposes Trump’s plan to roll back the Roadless Rule
There doesn't seem to be much agreement happening in the U.S. right now. Differing moral belief systems, economic disparity, and political divide have made a country with so many positives sometimes feel a little lost. Everyone desperately seeks a niche, a connection, or a strong sense of community to which they can feel a "part of," rather than just "apart."
But there seems to be one thing that the country strongly unites over, and that's the "Roadless Rule." With the Trump Administration attempting to roll back conservation policies that protect U.S. National Forests, Americans are saying in harmony an emphatic "No." A nonpartisan conservation and advocacy organization, the Center for Western Priorities, reviewed a comment analysis on the subject. After receiving 223,862 submissions, a staggering 99 percent are opposed to the president's plan of repeal.
What is the 'Roadless Rule' policy implemented in 2001?
The Roadless Rule has a direct impact on nearly 60 million acres of national forests and grasslands. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the rule prohibits road construction and timber harvests. Enacted in 2001, it is a conservation rule that protects some of the least developed portions of our forests. It's considered to be one of the most important conservation wins in U.S. history.
America's national forests and grasslands are diverse ecosystems, timeless landscapes, and living treasures. They sustain the country with clean water and the wood products necessary to build our communities. The National Parks protected under their umbrella offer incredible recreational retreats and outdoor adventure.
Why does the administration want to roll it back?
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins told the Department of Agriculture in a 2025 press release, “We are one step closer to common sense management of our national forest lands. Today marks a critical step forward in President Trump’s commitment to restoring local decision-making to federal land managers to empower them to do what’s necessary to protect America’s forests and communities from devastating destruction from fires." Rollins continued, “This administration is dedicated to removing burdensome, outdated, one-size-fits-all regulations that not only put people and livelihoods at risk but also stifle economic growth in rural America. It is vital that we properly manage our federal lands to create healthy, resilient, and productive forests for generations to come. We look forward to hearing directly from the people and communities we serve as we work together to implement productive and commonsense policy for forest land management.”
Forest Service Chief Tom Schultz explained the Roadless Rule frustrated land management and acts as a challenging barrier to action. It prohibits road construction needed to navigate wildfire suppression and properly maintain the forest. Schultz said, “The forests we know today are not the same as the forests of 2001. They are dangerously overstocked and increasingly threatened by drought, mortality, insect-borne disease, and wildfire. It’s time to return land management decisions where they belong – with local Forest Service experts who best understand their forests and communities."
Why are people adamantly opposed to the proposed rollback?
A 2025 article in Earthjustice, a nonprofit environmental law organization, expressed its concern over the protection of national forests covering 36 states and Puerto Rico. A rescinded rule allows increased logging, extractive development, and oil and gas drilling in previously undisturbed backcountry. Here is what some community leaders had to say about it:
President Gloria Burns, Ketchikan Indian Community, said, "You cannot separate us from the land. We depend on Congress to update the outdated and predatory, antiquated laws that allow other countries and outside sources to extract our resource wealth. This is an attack on Tribes and our people who depend on the land to eat. The federal government must act and provide us the safeguards we need or leave our home roadless. We are not willing to risk the destruction of our homelands when no effort has been made to ensure our future is the one our ancestors envisioned for us. Without our lungs (the Tongass) we cannot breathe life into our future generations.”
Linda Behnken, executive director of the Alaska Longline Fishermen’s Association, stated, "Roadbuilding damaged salmon streams in the past — with 240 miles of salmon habitat still blocked by failed road culverts. The Roadless Rule protects our fishing economy and more than 10,000 jobs provided by commercial fishing in Southeast Alaska.”
The Sierra Club's Forest Campaign Manager Alex Craven seemed quite upset, saying, "The Forest Service followed sound science, economic common sense, and overwhelming public support when they adopted such an important and visionary policy more than 20 years ago. Donald Trump is making it crystal clear he is willing to pollute our clean air and drinking water, destroy prized habitat for species, and even increase the risk of devastating wildfires, if it means padding the bottom lines of timber and mining companies.”
The 2025 recession proposal would apply to nearly 45 million acres of the national forests. With so many people writing in opposition to the consensus, the public has determined they don't want it to happen.
Tongass National Forest is at the center of the Trump administration's intention to roll back the 2001 Roadless Rule. You can watch an Alaska Nature Documentary about the wild salmon of Tongass National Forrest here:
- YouTube www.youtube.com
The simple truth is we elect our public officials to make decisions. The hope is they do this for all of our well-being, although often it seems they do not. Even though we don't have much power to control what government officials do, voicing our opinions strongly enough often forces them to alter their present course of action. With a unanimous public voice saying, "No!" maybe this time they will course correct as the public wishes.