I have always suspected that the Flat Earth society was a 
put-on - a joke.  There is a certain very British kind of humor where you assume some absurd position and stick to it with a straight face no matter what - you never crack a smile or break character.  The pet store owner in the Monty Python parrot routine is a good example.<p>I recall when I was a kid, a Flat Earth guy was interviewed on TV after John Glenn&#x27;s orbital flight.  The interviewer pointed out that Glenn could see the round earth out his window and he could see he was passing over the entire circumference of the Earth every ninety minutes and ground stations around the world could track him coming over the horizon and passing overhead and ... etc. etc.   The flat earth guy
earnestly explained that Glenn was just circling around the edge - the perimeter - of the flat Earth, don&#x27;t you see? -  all the while making circular hand motions around the edge of the the flat table top where he was seated.   I figured even then that the flat earth guy was just putting on the interviewer, daring him to say what he was no doubt thinking: &quot;Oh for pity&#x27;s sake, come off it&quot;.  But both of them played along, neither of them let on that he thought the whole interview was just a joke.