This was originally written over 20 years ago. I have updated it, to expand on some of the ideas, add a few new and take out the references to the millennium bug which is what told me I wrote it 20 years ago.
Have you ever wondered how we would cope if the world was flat. I mean really flat, rather than the Earth being a globe.
(Yes I know it is not really flat, it took me a couple of months to get over it.)
What Shape Would It Be?
So we know it’s flat. But would it be a disc or square?
Just think you could have fun travelling to all four corners of the earth.
What Happens at the Edge?
Do you just stop or can you fall off?
Maybe there is some invisible barrier or wall to stop us going any further.
Falling off would be rather dangerous but could add a new dimension to space travel. No need to waste money building large rockets and using lots of fuel. All that would be needed is to do it sail to the edge of the world and fall off. Much easier, less fuel, more environmentally friendly and easy enough to do when you have nothing better to do and are sailing near the edge of the world on a Saturday afternoon. Of course it would be a good idea to work out some way of getting back on. A secured rope or chain to something back on the flat could do the trick.
Geography and Discovering New Countries.
As there are no poles, no magnetic points of reference. No navigation by compass. I suppose the may be a pole in the centre or maybe one at all four corners. So those intrepid explores could travel from pole to pole to pole to pole.
There could be around the perimeter challenges. Could this be done in 80 days? Or maybe a cross diagonal challenge. Those of us not up to a full intrepid expedition could maybe just do one edge.
Certain goods would have to travel greater distances as there would be no quick way around the world. Personal travel would make holidaying in the further corners a more exotic and once in a lifetime experience than it is now.
The Sun.
We would not get sunrise or sunset as we do now. A flat world would have no side to turn away or towards the sun.
If the world does rotate, how would it do this? Rotating on the centre point may put us all in a spin but the sun would ‘see’ across the flat plain. We would get different shadows cast through out the day depending on hills, mountains or tall buildings but it would still always be day.
The answer would be to get the sun to revolve around the world. Rising above the horizon in the morning and dropping down again in the evening. Speaking to a friend on the other end of the world in the middle of your afternoon would be much easier and social acceptable as it would now be the middle of their afternoon too.
The sun would need to be on some strange orbit so to give us seasons. The distance is rises and falls from us would change over the course of the year otherwise one day would be very much the same as another. How the sun could manage a changing orbit over time for us to notice a difference in summer and winter and still manage to rise and fall each day it is a bit beyond me.
The Seas.
What happens to seas at the edge of the world? Is the water somehow stopped from going over the edge? Or would we need a never ending supply to top up what we lost? More than likely the edge of the world would all be land. Thus keeping all the seas, or water supply, in the middle.
The sun is now moving around the world, rather than us around the sun. This stops the normal rotation. Water would no longer swirl down the plug hole.
How Deep is the World?
How flat is the earth? There would need to be some depth otherwise it wouldn’t hold anything up. But could we dig say 3 metres down? Without a good depth the would be no underground tunnels, cellars or even graves.
And what would happen if you dug all the way through? Open space on the other side would you fall off or is the some barrier there? Rather than landfill we could just send rubbish through the open hole.
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