A few questions from an open minded skeptic

Okay after reviewing your Q & A section I have a couple of questions I need verified.

First,
A few years ago I flew in a airplane, we were 35000 feet in the sky. I looked out the window on the clear day and saw a distinct curvature to the earth. We were over the ocean at the time and I saw the oceans curvature as it was forced to the earth by gravity. Please explain what I was seeing? If the earth was flat then that means that it was either an illusion, i was seeing the "ice wall", or they injected a gas in the plane cabin that makes people see curvature when the look out the window.

Second,
How does the program Google Earth work? I can zoom in on cities and see distinct pictures of the surface. I even found my own car sitting in my driveway in my hometown. Are they taken with planes flying over the earth? If there are no satellites then how are they able to get pictures like this? You can even zoom out and the more you zoom out the more you can see earth's curve.

Third,
Please oh please explain the elephants and turtle holding up the earth on the underside. C'mon, lets be serious, that would have to be some big elephants and turtles. Where are these ideas originally presented? I don't remeber any religious text speaking of the enourmous animals.

And my last question,
In the southern hemisphere spirals rotate the other direction, such as a toilet flushing. Please explain how this would occur if the earth is actually flat? This ties in with the coriolis effect, any info on that would also be appreciated.

- Mage Man

what?

You should just look over the forums. All of these questions have been discussed before.

A few years ago I flew in a airplane, we were 35000 feet in the sky. I looked out the window on the clear day and saw a distinct curvature to the earth.

I've flown on many international flights and I've never seen curvature to the earth.

The earth is not even curved from the top of Mt. Everest: http://www.panoramas.dk/fullscreen2/full22.html

How does the program Google Earth work? I can zoom in on cities and see distinct pictures of the surface. I even found my own car sitting in my driveway in my hometown.

Google Earth is a mosaic plastered onto a 3D model. The images come from aircraft, as explained on Google Earth's FAQ.

Google does not own satellites by their own admission. 

Please oh please explain the elephants and turtle holding up the earth on the underside. C'mon, lets be serious, that would have to be some big elephants and turtles. Where are these ideas originally presented?

Some people believe that the earth is held up by four elephants and a turtle. However, others do not.

In the southern hemisphere spirals rotate the other direction, such as a toilet flushing. Please explain how this would occur if the earth is actually flat? This ties in with the coriolis effect, any info on that would also be appreciated.

The backwards flushing toilets in the Southern Hemisphere is nothing more than an urban legend. Snopes has shown the claim of corolis effect upon toilet drains to be false.

http://www.snopes.com/science/coriolis.asp

1. Others, as well as Tom suggest that they've been at such an altitude and never seen the curvature. Furthermore, even if a curvature was witnessed, all it proves is that it appears that way.

2. As Tom points out, Google Earth is very much like the 3D mosaic that NASA has titled the Blue Marble Project. These photos can be taken by stratellite, planes and pseudolites.

3. It's mainly a joke. But it's partly from the Hindu religion.

4. Tom addressed this already, it's a myth.

Right, so, what Tom basically says is:
>He believes the Earth is flat because it appears to him that way when he looks out of his window at the institute.
>However, when someone else looks out of a plane window, much higher up so seeing much more of the earth, and they see a curved surface, it's an optical illusion?

So, summed up in one line: Evidence is only evidence if it supports FET, if it does not it's faked/illusion/lies.

Has anyone noticed how a lot of FE theory relies on optical illusion, laws of perspective and magical refraction?