Ripley's Believe It or Not by Ripley’s Believe It or Not! for November 01, 2015

Interesting about the Salar de Uyuni. Wikipedia says “average altitude variations within one meter over the entire area.” Now, THAT is FLAT.

What a lucky man Miller was there.

The typical Union and Confederate foot soldier was tough and strong. Most had poorly fitted and worn out shoes as well, but they still covered ground.

Alexikakos, The US army and Marines basic training ALWAYS had 20 mile marches up until after Nam. That was when Americans still could walk, and get up from a couch without help.

Isn’t that salt plain only “flat” with respect to the center of the earth? Wouldn’t such a large “flat” liquid surface actually be convex due to gravity, and subject to tidal forces (meaning the Moon) as well?

Yes, the lake is in respect to the center of the earth. Water seeks its own level and that is controlled by gravity. But if you want to be pedantic the earth is not spherical. Due to its rotation it bulges a bit at the equator. The shape is described as an oblate spheroid. Next, don’t forget how big the earth is really. The difference between a true flat lake surface and one with respect to the center of the earth may not be that great. I don’t feel like doing the math but it may only be a few feet. Hard to say if it is noticeable to a human eye.My fav fun fact about the earth is that even taking the mountains and ocean depths into consideration. If you shrunk the earth to the size of a billiard ball it would seem smoother than a real billiard ball.At any rate, we may be taking it too seriously. I had no trouble getting the idea using the term “flat.”

Micheal Jackson nose…

Burmese snub-nose monkey

“Boy! I’ve heard of ‘hoity-toity,’ but this is ridiculous!