By CM Strawn 11/20/20

            Academics argue among themselves, one claiming this while another disputes that claim stating its impossibility categorically.

            It was affirmed only about four hundred years ago that the world was flat instead of spherical.

            Samuel Birley Rowbotham published a 16-page pamphlet, that was later expanded into a book in 1865, claiming that Earth was in fact flat. He cited selected Biblical referenced, creative mathematics, and faulty experiments to prove his theory.

            Interestingly, he acquired a following that has lasted until today. Flat Earth proponents present convincing arguments but produce no proof of their claims.

            The circularity of the Earth was proven by explorers sailing around the globe in the 18^th century and by round-the-world flights of the 20^th century.

            Despite satellite photos of the 20^th and 21^st centuries proving a round Earth, the notion of a flat Earth continues today. This is proof, of sorts, that some ideas never die.

            In the late 17^th century, the possibility of a Hollow Earth was postulated by Edmond Halley in 1692. He based his theory on Newton’s Lunar Density Estimate that the Moon was denser than the Earth by a factor of 9 to 5.

            There have been more proponents of Hollow Earth including John Cleves Symmes, Jr. in 1818, William Reed in 1906, Marshall Gardner in 1920, Dr Raymond Bernard in 1964, and Rodney M. Cluff in 2020.

            Mention should also be made of Jules Verne’s novel, “Journey to the Center of the Earth” published in 1864 and a revised and expanded edition in 1867.

            Do any of these prove the Hollow Earth Theory? Sadly, no. As ardent as the proponents of a Hollow Earth are, the cynics are just as fervent.

            In 1874, Charles Mason along with a team of scientists, including Nevil Maskelyne, the Astronomer Royal, conducted the Schiehallion Experiment. The hypothesis was that by determining the density of a mountain – Schiehallion in Scotland – the density of the Earth would be established. The assumption was that the Earth was solid and not hollow.

            This experiment is referred to as irrefutable proof of a solid Earth. As with the Hollow Earth Theory, it has never been definitively proven that the Earth is solid.

            In addition to the Hollow Earth Theory, there are many legends worldwide of the ancestors of indigenous people originating from beneath the surface of Earth.

            Here are a few of these legends from North and South America:

• The Mandan People have a legend that their ancestors came from a subterranean land through a cave on the North side of the Missouri River.
• San Carlos Apache of Arizona have a legend that there is a tunnel near Cedar Creek which leads inside the Earth to a land inhabited by a mysterious tribe.
• Iroquois tribes believe their ancestors came from a world inside Earth.
• Hopi People’s elders believe that a Sipapu entrance in the Grand Canyon exists which leads to the underworld.
• Brazilian Indians live alongside the Prima River and believe their forefathers came from an underground land in ancient times. And that many of their ancestors remain inside the Earth.
• Incas believe their ancestors came from caves located East of Cuzco, Peru.
• In Mexico, legend tells of a cave in a mountain five miles from Ojinaga. Devilish creatures came from inside the Earth and possessed Mexico.
• The Taino in Cuba believe their ancestors came from underground through two caves in a mountain.

            The possibility that Earth is hollow has inspired many books and movies. The idea that mysterious people live beneath our feet inspires the imagination and the spirit of adventure.

            We will never know for sure if Earth is hollow, solid, or flat. That information is being closely guarded by the Government.