The DIY Rocket Tragedy | To Prove The Earth Wasn't Round | Short Documentary

''Mad'' Mike Hughes built his own rocket to prove the Earth was not round, but after two successful rocket launches, the third did not go to plan.

[@3xfaster]

Yeeted himself Wiley Coyote style. Between the Titan submarine and this, at least he only involves himself directly and no one else.

[@Level10Productions]

Still puts others at some risk. For what? To get some photos of what we already have much higher up even. Ahh, but the conspiracy, right?

[@inappropriatejohnson]

At the time I wondered why he didn't buy a ticket on an airliner, window seat of course, that would fly higher than his halfassed rocket ever could.

[@fifteenbyfive]

That wasn't high enough to verify the earth's pizza shape.

[@j.griffin]

Mike had flown on airlines. What he wanted to do was build a bigger rocket to go into Space. He was trying to use that smaller rocket to raise funds to that end. He had already flown several similar rockets to similar heights.

[@fifteenbyfive]

@@j.griffin Pressurized cockpit. Do you know what happens to you without one if you go "into space?": He had two previous flights. That's not "several."

[@supertec2023]

You're part of the conspiracy everybody knows airplanes can fly they're all holograms 😂

[@DistrustHumanz]

​@@j.griffin exactly how was he going to do that when that steam powered rocket was only capable of 2,000 ft (edge of space is 300,000 ft)? At least the commercial airliner was capable of 40,000+ ft.

[@KhanaHatake]

Honestly, good for him. He didn't hurt anyone but himself, and did all this using stupid people's donations. I feel bad for his cat, though.

[@dfuher968]

Not hurting any1 else was pure luck. He fired his rocket with no regard of aircraft safety, he could not know, that he wouldnt disturb or hit aircraft, and he even lied about having the necessary permissions. And the debris couldve done significant damage as well. He was deeply irresponsible and selfish, imo, with no regard for the life and safety of others. That should never be applauded.

[@somedumbozzie1539]

"Bones heal, chicks dig scars, and the United States of America has the best doctor to daredevil ratios in the world!" - Captain Lance Murdock

[@CuriosityVaultChannel]

I like it.

[@snarkymoosesshack8793]

"I'm goin' to D-Duff Gardens! *Groan of pain"

[@StratfordWingRider]

Wait, he wanted to go to space and snap some pics and have people believe him? isn't that the exact behaviour he doesn't trust. I think more flat earthers need to do "prove us wrong" by building rockets. I hope some succeed in getting up there too.

[@blackice9088]

So Mad Mike became the ultimate "flat" earther... 😂

[@rule1dontgosplat]

The fact that he scammed the flat earth people into giving him enough money to build a steam powered rocket is hilarious.

[@drewthompson7457]

Something about a fool and his mo ey.

[@aziris7257]

At least he puts his money where his mouth is. He believes that the world is flat. That is fine. He went to try get evidence, that's even better. I've always said that if flat earthers don't believe that the world is round, they should get themselves to orbit and see the truth themselves instead of preaching their beliefs and calling people who don't believe them as stupid.

[@AI-censorship-in-progress]

Have you been to the orbit...? We know the answer.

[@esteemedmortal5917]

RIP Mad Mike

[@palindrome1959]

He climbed into his homemade rocket ... and died. The End P.S So he might not have been a flat-earther ... nevertheless, he climbed into a homemade rocket ... and died. The End

[@garypavlick5825]

The earth is flat in the 5th dimension. Not in the 3rd. So, it will always be spherical to humans on earth. Simply that.

[@jupiterlegrand4817]

And after all that, the earth is still a sphere...

[@MrJC1]

Over time I have learnt that it is possible to be both clever, and stupid all at once - a genius and a moron simultaneously. And that IQ's etc... should never be trusted.

[@10191927]

I remember in 2020 catching this guys story before he launched his Ill-fated rocket. Needless to say I was rolling my eyes hard just listening to him, he sounded incredibly naive and it seemed like a pointless endeavor. I couldn’t believe he was actually gonna go through with it. I was of course pretty nervous for this guy when he said he built his own rocket in his garage. I thought “Oh this is going to end badly”. Then came launch day when it all came crashing down.

[@AndrewHillis_2024]

THIS MAD MIKE HUGHES GUY WAS A SANDWICH SHORT OF A PICNIC AND HE WASN'T EXACTLY THE SHARPEST KNIFE IN THE DRAWER WAS HE ? ? ?🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔

[@4a8p9x]

Fool or conman, the world is better off without him.

[@rcard23yb]

At least he proved gravity is real...😂

[@nmstranger]

I dk if he was dumb enough to believe in flat earth or not BUT we do know he was dumb enough to strap himself with a dyi rocket and died as a result. Darwin award contender for sure

[@pantherplatform]

Really? Ice wall?

[@babayagaslobbedaknobba]

*HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAA!!!!*

[@sonic23233]

Why do people still believe what the Vikings believed?

[@danahan01]

Not only is the Earth round, it's hard too!!

[@biser1901]

Yes, the Earth is as round as a disk, yes, the Earth is as round as a circle drawn with a FABER-CASTELL compass on a flat surface, yes, the Earth is as round as a dinner plate, yes, the Earth is as round as an azimuthal circular trajectory, Yes, the Earth is round, because we see it in all directions equally, at the same peripheral circular distance, due to the limited 360 degree vision of the human eye! But most naive and illiterate people don't know and don't distinguish between what exactly is round and what exactly is spherical, because they obviously fell asleep during geometry lessons at school! There is a huge difference between a circle and a sphere, because a circle is always a 2D geometric shape on a flat surface on only one side of a given object, while a sphere is a shape with a 3D representation of a complete and complete object!

[@walking_man]

The Earth may not be flat but Mike is.

[@mileshigh1321]

Why didn't he just charter a boat and go to the edge!

[@drewthompson7457]

I have asked the True Believers who mapped their world. Almost everybody can name a few great explorers, but they all found our globe.

[@Eremon1]

Never trust a rocket engineer with the name Waldo. When stuff inevitably goes wrong you'll never be able to find the guy.

[@maarek71]

It baffles me how in this day and age there are so many idiots that actually believe the earth is flat. Did it happen to be a rocket bought from Acme?

[@blackholeentry3489]

Mad Mike KNEW the earth, she's a round.....He, just like Barnum and Baily, put on a show to attract funds so as to finance his adventure. Unfortunately, he also proved what the dinosaurs for millions of years already knew....fall down or off a clift and go BOOM! Ever attended a 'Flat Earth' convention? Neither have I. The best thing that can be said about him....He improved the gene pool by the simple act of employing an ACME rocket and thusly removing himself from it! BHE

[@JosieJOK]

So he wasn’t stupid, he was venal and reckless. Fine.

[@sonic23233]

Or both

[@Zentinel_85]

Definitely stupid. No redundant safety mechanisms. He knew the Earth might be round. Just making his family watch him die as he tries to enjoy riding a hobby rocket and draining all their money…

[@corvidflight19]

A bug on the windshield of life!

[@nmstranger]

he strapped himself to a dyi rocket....pretty damn stupid.

[@DistrustHumanz]

Using a steam powered rocket that is only capable of 2,000 ft (far from the 300,000 ft edge of space) was extremely stupid.

[@r0cketplumber]

He became a Splat Earther. I flew six times aboard the XCOR X-Racer, I was a key member of the team that developed its 1500-lb thrust LOX-kerosene engine. We flew it 40 times and allowed almost everyone from CEO to interns to fly aboard it. We never killed anybody.

[@davidhakes3884]

Perfectly fitting .

[@reverseuniverse2559]

Kerosene 😂 would have felt you were in a canoe 🛶 LMFAO

[@geraldscott4302]

@@reverseuniverse2559 I assume you don't know that the Saturn V used liquid oxygen (LOX) and kerosene as fuel. Kerosene is also used as jet fuel. Kerosene and jet fuel are the same thing.

[@reverseuniverse2559]

@@geraldscott4302 Wrong! Kerosene is a % mixture with aviation fuel ⛽️ ✈️ 💥

[@Munakas-wq3gp]

Did the exhaust smell fishy?

[@Zentinel_85]

He wasn’t misunderstood…. We understood him perfectly. He was just not too smart…. Shame his whole family had to watch him die in a wooden rocket with no thought to safety almost at all…….. So sad… His kids are going to grow up furious that he died trying to prove the world was flat….. how embarrassing…..

[@g.w.7893]

Mike learned more about gravity on that day.

[@blackholeentry3489]

Tough, but effective lesson. Thing is....there are plenty of flat earthers ready to step in, take his place and carry on. The bottom line...they ALL improve the gene pool by the simple act of removing themselves from it.

[@ronnie_5150]

"I'm a daredevil. I'm not much for authority or rules." Ironically, he proved why we have rules. 😆

[@mdr48371]

You may not believe in a round earth, but the round earth believes in you.

[@kellydalstok8900]

At least gravity, which these folks also tend to deny, does.

[@greenman6141]

I rather like the way he figured out the demographic who would be a cinch to grift. These days he'd just have to say his rocket would prove Trump won the 2020 election. And glorious for calling out Musk for lying about the one thing he says that isn't false and self serving.(though I doubt Musk has every actually said the earth is round...he wouldn't want to lose half his Xcreters by being so controversial) The overload of irony would soon have hit some kind of lethal level and killed MMike anyway. I hope someone kind looked after his cat.

[@stevensmith797]

If he was a flat earther , good on him for trying anyway , if he was,nt , good on him for having the balls to try something so nuts

[@kimweaver1252]

If he was legit about the flat earth nonsense, he could have hired a private jet and pilot for a few hours and flown high enough to see the curvature of the planet.

[@Zentinel_85]

Barely got off the round, I meant ground… same thing…

[@thomasnelson5010]

“Smart enough to build his own rocket, Dumb enough to get in it. My kinda crazy!”- Daniel Tosh RIP Mad Mike!!

[@Look_What_You_Did]

Who?

[@thomasnelson5010]

@@Look_What_You_Did Daniel Tosh's quote about Mad Mike, the guy in the self built rocket.

[@recceeboy1237]

So.... he became the first manned lawn dart, cool.

[@AndrewHillis_2024]

ANYONE WHO HAS FLOWN IN AN AIRCRAFT AT HIGH ALTITUDE KNOWS & HAS SEEN THAT THE EARTH IS CURVED ! ! !🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔

[@lunam7249]

yes, i gave seen it from a private jet at 49000 feet❤❤

[@clarkjanes3094]

Science called his bluff.

[@paulmurgatroyd6372]

He died doing what he loved... being ridiculous.

[@tylerdurden4006]

Love this ridiculous story, it is just so american, no logic or intelligence at all leading to his death. 😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@randyrobertson4686]

The picture they displayed at 3:39 in shows the flat earth with some water spilling off and over the edge in a few areas. Why isn’t it freezing? Also it just dawned upon me that if the earth really is flat, how do flat earthers explain why the North Pole is so cold and the sea water is frozen year round to various degrees of size and thickness depending upon the time of year. But if the North Pole is actually in the dead center of a flat earth why would it be colder there ?? The entire planet is flat, minus the mountains and deviations in the soil, why wouldn’t the temperature be constant everywhere?

[@kellydalstok8900]

They never explain their model, if they even have one. They just pretend they can debunk reality, as if that somehow would prove their position.

[@junejabarbidubi3173]

Do your own research and you won't have to embarass yourself with dumb questions.

[@derekflegg2670]

A steam punk rocket.. If you notice it looks a lot like the steam rocket Evel Knievel used to attempt his Snake River jump and if you also notice - Mad Mike's "rocket" fails the same way Evel Knievel's failed...

[@ral3514]

Someone asked me if this was true. I said I sure as hell hope so.

[@debasishraychawdhuri]

Flat-earther or not, I really wanted him to be successful in building a rocket that actually went to space. If he were a flat-earther, he would change his mind after he reached space anyway.

[@rozzgrey801]

Flat Earthers have no discernible mind to be able to change.

[@paulmurgatroyd6372]

But if he saw the truth, he either wouldn't believe it, like all good flat earthers, or it would be depressing for him.

[@derekflegg2670]

A steam punk rocket.. If you notice it looks a lot like the steam rocket Evel Knievel used to attempt his Snake River jump and if you also notice - Mad Mike's "rocket" fails the same way Evel Knievel's failed...

[@Wicked_Fox]

Even if he somehow made it to space and back, he would just deny it and say it's still flat.

[@debasishraychawdhuri]

I mean he would have to show some photographs, right?

[@stardolphin2]

Or other Flatties would...

[@TheDylanJoyce]

Flat earth or not, this man got closer to his wacky childhood dream that we ever got… I have to respect his dedication!

[@GamingInfested]

thats why we believe scientists and not the conman

[@_SurferGeek_]

Mad Mike was like a Flat Earth Kickstarter. The number of Flerfers who sent money for his steam rocket may never be known.

[@nwmacguy]

That guy could have done a crowd fund and flown on a Falcon 9 or Bezos B==D rocket flight instead of this.

[@blackice9088]

Another thing the flatearthers can't explain is how the whole world does not have sunlight at the same time. This *is* what would be happening if the world was flat. 😊

[@Tina-bp7wt]

Well, he lived his dream 😃 Good on him! Awesome 🚀💨

[@Lisa-oe1do]

Trivia time - name the century this headline is from: "Man died using steam powered machine trying to prove the earth was flat." ... wait what? The 21st? I quit.

[@jdsolberg7613]

Cleaning the gene pool, one rocket at a time.

[@SPak-rt2gb]

He was seen waving a cowboy hat on his way down 😁

[@andrewemery4272]

Darwin was so right

[@mrnobody6743]

Sadly, Idiocracy may be right as well.

[@kellydalstok8900]

Not if he already passed on his genes.

[@alanhyt79]

Intellectual Darwinism at work.

[@Chris-nn3vu]

NPC commenting at work.

[@kellydalstok8900]

Not if he had offspring.

[@RickTheClipper]

Darwin: Survival of the fittest

[@kellydalstok8900]

Doesn’t necessarily mean “the smartest” though. As long as the genes survive in the next generations.

[@patrickfreeman8257]

Why not just get a really big balloon and 60 miles of cable. Attach a camera, that can be controlled by remote, to the balloon. Even if you succeed in proving that the earth is round you'll get some awesome pictures to sell.

[@kettle_of_chris]

I'm completely fed up with people like him...good riddance

[@victorkireev7580]

He want to fly on homemade rocket and to make some pictures of the Earth. Why i must to believe his pictures if he didn`t believe in pictures of NASA.

[@tonyarichards5430]

Death fixes stupid right up. Not as funny as John Chau but close. He’d have been a magat for sure.

[@57Jimmy]

I couldn’t help but see… Stockton Rush. At least Mike here never put others at risk!

[@r0cketplumber]

At 5:28 "After a hair raising but relatively uneventful flight he landed with a resounding thud in the Mojave Desert." Uneventful... riiight. With holes blown in almost half of the rotten parachute's panels, he could have died right then and there.

[@rule1dontgosplat]

seriously! where the hell did he find that chute???

[@NicholasColdingDK]

Sad.. Why didn't he just drove his car up in some mountains? Or take a helicopter to the skyes? He must have known that 300 meters in a steam powered rocket wouldn't have worked...

[@kellydalstok8900]

*didn’t DRIVE

[@kellydalstok8900]

*skies

[@onechillhill5718]

He found the flatness he was looking for.

[@corvidflight19]

Just another bug on the windshield of life!

[@bussi7859]

Great way to leave humanity

[@natehill8069]

Even from private property hes going to have to contact the FAA to make sure no one is flying over just as he goes up.

[@ryancraig2795]

He should have settled for trying to jump the Grand Canyon.

[@georgeallen4495]

So he was a con man.

[@existentialcrisisactor]

This was nothing but comedy gold. 😂😂😂😂😂

[@mtsky-tc6uw]

dead men tell no tales....

[@deaconkraemer]

I keep telling people that the moon is square.

[@GBEdmonds-j1i]

This is why you have REDUNDANT systems in place and why you leave rocket travel to people much more qualified!

[@craigsdaddy4095]

starts @ 6:20

[@stephmaccormick3195]

Good riddance.

[@Chris-nn3vu]

That's another human being...

[@FlattardiansSuck]

​@@Chris-nn3vua fraud, and a snake oils salesman. No loss

[@gusfring9895]

It's very odd and ironic that he deliberately chose to portray himself as a kook, and relied on a very small minority of the populace for his support. Had I known of this I would have instantly dismissed him as a fool, and I'd bet a lot of other people did, too. If he could have figured out a way to promote himself legitimately maybe he could have raised enough money to do the job right. However, he would have been forced to abandon steam propulsion in favor of chemicals, be they solid, liquid, or a hybrid mix. Placing a tin can atop a pressure vessel wouldn't get him anywhere near the altitude he desired. I've launched paper and balsa rockets weighing a few ounces that hit 2000 feet using cheap, compressed black powder motors. He would have had to fly about 50 times higher than that to see the curvature of the Earth. Somebody ask Jeff Bezos how much it cost him to get his New Shepard rocket to achieve its first successful suborbital flight. How sad.

[@Down_is_now_up]

"Controversial topic". Nope, flat earth is not controversial, it's just entertainment for intelligent people as a top debunker, MCToon puts it. It is not a debate in 2024, of course.

[@ellenbryn]

Steam-powered?! Oh my sweet summer child. He may have used the flst esrth hoax for fundraising, but he desperately needed some high school physics and/or model rocket hobbyists to help him with the math. As well as clumsy lsunchpad design, he may have forgotten to account for the weight of the fuel

[@wildbill6976]

a lot of effort just to become a human lawn dart... Lawnchair Larry at least made it to 16,000ft, and landed intact....

[@None-m6t]

Don't be fooled!! Waldo Talked Mike into this for his (Waldo's) own benefit $....I know. I was there to see it first hand.

[@nancycurtis7315]

Another very interesting video. Thank you. Greetings from Dimboola in Victoria.

[@CuriosityVaultChannel]

Thanks for tuning in again 😎

[@phildavenport4150]

Nice place for a wedding.

[@GBEdmonds-j1i]

He sounds like one of those people who goes on YT and tells you Rings of Power is a good show when in fact they know its shit😂😂😂😂

[@7thsealord888]

I do love the idea that he was conning donations from Flat Earthers, to fund his dream. In his defense, I'm sure that, if he had gotten up there and discovered the Earth really WAS flat, he'd have said so.

[@othername1000]

He's probably not flat, probably more of a inverse hemisphere roughly conforming to the hole in the ground with the wreckage

[@jamesschenk]

Hes now a splatt earther should have had a back up chute bro

[@Whateva67]

😂

[@copperstaterocketguy1640]

Too obvious

[@Level10Productions]

This is what happens when we ignore reality and go against the grain of science and truth. He couldn't just settle for solid ground. Another sad ending for flat earth 🌎

[@remussebastianmadmax5816]

Schizofrenia , sory , evrion in no gravitatio it a sfera, planet it liquid

[@kingofmexico6290]

He got approval from BLM but it was black lives matters not the Bureau of Land Management

[@newforestpixie5297]

You don’t get Turtles or Elephants big enough to hold the Earth. And how do they stay afloat in space anyway ?

[@tusse67]

I would like to dispute that he was a flatearther beyond using it to raise attention to his steam rocket launches.

[@miketschudi2687]

he seems to have the same hairdresser like : cc ahh chris from new york, westchester county!

[@starrider529]

Whether earth is flat or round...you still coming down mate

[@fuffoon]

The flat earth stuff was to get some notoriety and cash. Smart enough.

[@corb5654]

Evil Knievel is possibly the most overrated uhm... performer ever

[@Martin1519]

A plane ticket would have been cheaper, and flew higher.

[@jldisme]

A homemade rocket? It's not like it's rocket science. lol

[@riogrande5761]

This reminds me of a song by John Mayer - One man submarine ride.

[@john8451]

Looks like just another grifter like Trump!