What's the stupidest space-related thing you've ever heard someone say?

[Deutherius]

Shhhh! It's more fun to make fun of them D:

No, thank you. I absolutely understand the frustration some uneducated people might cause you, but I don't think it warrants ridiculing them.

[DMSP]

From Yahoo Awnsers:

"What's the biggest planet on Earth?"

[Technical Ben]

There are no stars! Obviously!

Someone said that to me. I forgive them, because I know some of their history, so know they are not to blame for missing the obvious.

I politely said "oh, that's right... what about when you take a photo in the day... are there any stars?" the answer was no. I said "the same here, no stars". Wait, they said, on earth the sky blocks out the stars. "No it does not, you can see some really bright stars in the day. The sun blocks out the stars, not the blue sky/air."

At that point the penny dropped. Which was not enough to move the direction of the train, but did help the driver understand where they are going and why. Hopefully in the future they can figure out if they are on the right track, and where to turn off.

(PS, some things in life are faked. Many things are not. Knowing which is which is the most important thing, when it comes to things that effect our life. Some things don't matter though)

[PnDB]

A couple:

First, this link -- http://www.phys.ufl.edu/~det/phy2060/heavyboots.html

Second, this...

[Stubby]

I overheard two people arguing about how Earth stays in space. One said that the Earth's core is filled with helium, which keeps it suspended in space. The other said it stays suspended inside of the atmosphere, since it encases the entire planet. I sure hope these people weren't serious.

[GreenWolf]

Reading this thread has given me the desire to make a short quiz with some basic questions about space, and ask people I know to fill it out. Could be interesting to see what the results are.

[Fel]

https://lightsinthedark.files.wordpress.com/2015/02/freeflyer_nasa_3000.jpg

This photo is fake because the astronaut should fall on Earth...

That's totally CGI; the clouds look sooo fake!

[vger]

My father things that certain Newton Laws spontaneously disappear or change in space.

What's interesting about this is he otherwise has expert knowledge of flight and aerodynamics.

[DancZer]

This: http://www.theflatearthsociety.org/cms/

[OhioBob]

But some people stand by their ignorance, so not all of them come home dejected and depressed from being made fun of for saying the moon landing was a hoax

From my experience in dealing with them, many moon landing deniers just want attention, any attention. To them, being publicly mocked is far better than going unnoticed. They actually like it because it makes them the center of attention. They are too ignorant to realize how ignorant they are. To them the mocking is just an attempt by their opponents to trivialize them because they are really onto something.

[nukeboyt]

"It's not a star expletive deleted, it's the sun". My 1960's childhood friend after I told him that the sun was like any of the stars in the night sky, just a lot closer.

[ScriptKitt3h]

-"Space is a waste of money, we ought to defund NASA and give it to the DOD."

I kid you not, a high school administrator said this.

[GreenWolf]

-"Space is a waste of money, we ought to defund NASA and give it to the DOD."

I kid you not, a high school administrator said this.

The fact that he thinks that NASA's (pathetically small) budget should be given to the military and not the public school system makes me incredibly angry and sad at the same time. No wonder people have so many misconceptions about science and space, if our education system is being run by people like this.

[impyre]

Sortof on topic (if you think about how fire works in microgravity): I overheard a teacher at a community college explaining to a group of 5th graders (who were there for some kind of summer program) why a fire in a jar causes an egg to be sucked into it (after performing the experiment). Her explanation was thus: "The fire is trying to get the air because it needs air to survive... so it pulls it in."

I'm 100% serious.

- - - Updated - - -

The fact that he thinks that NASA's (pathetically small) budget should be given to the military and not the public school system makes me incredibly angry and sad at the same time. No wonder people have so many misconceptions about science and space, if our education system is being run by people like this.

I've argued this point with my s/o on many occasions... she thinks money spent on space exploration is a waste. Granted, it's pretty subjective (and some intelligent arguments can be made on both sides), but I still *believe* that it is a necessary expenditure and in the best spirit of human and kerbal tradition.

[razark]

There are no stars! Obviously!

Look at the picture! It's got clouds. You obviously can't see the stars on a cloudy day.

I got into an argument with my 6th grade "science" teacher when she claimed that compasses flip around and point south if you cross the equator.

To be fair, every compass I've used points south.

[Motokid600]

How about the American northeast blackout in 2003? ( thats a real. long exposure picture ) People freaked out at all these "lights in the sky" and some thought they were the cause of the blackout. They were stars...

Edited March 25, 2015 by Motokid600

[GreenWolf]

How about the American northeast blackout in 2003? ( thats a real. long exposure picture ) People freaked out at all these "lights in the sky" and some thought they were the cause of the blackout. They were stars...

That is eerily reminiscent of the Isaac Asimov story "Nightfall".

[BagelRabbit]

Oog. I volunteer at the local Science museum, and some of the people there were incredible. Let me reenact some short scenes.

Setting: Me, in front of a picture of Mars. To the side of the picture, there are large block letters that say "Mars," along with a brief description. A mother walks by, tugging her young child.

Mother: Look, Ben! This is the Moon!

Me: Actually ---

The mother walks away.

~~~

Setting: Me, next to a display of the Sun. A twenty-something woman stops in front of the display.

Her: Hey! How's it going?

Me: Fine. How are you?

Her: Good. Now, I think I know about the Sun pretty well. I just have one question.

Me: Yes...?

Her: Why does the sun go across the sky? Y'know, why does it rise and set?

I'm incredibly proud that I managed to keep a stiff upper lip and an even tone of voice as I gave her the explanation.

~~~

Setting: Me in front of a model of the International Space Station. A guy walks over.

Me: How are you today?

Guy: I'm doing alright. This is a satellite, right?

Me: Yes. It's actually the biggest satellite we've ever put up there. It's called the International Space Station.

Guy: Oh, right! I remember that from Gravity.

Me: Yep. That's the one.

Guy: Isn't it cool that there is no gravity up there? If you got even a little too far away from Earth, you would just keep going. You'd never come back!

Me: Um...

Setting: Same model of the ISS. Another guy walks up.

Other Guy: Hey! How's it going?

Me: Good, how about you?

Other Guy: I'm doing great. ...So this is the International Space Station, right?

Me: You're right! Very good.

Other guy: The one with people on it.

Me: Yes. The ISS has six people onboard right now!

Other guy: ...and that's where all of the outer-space communications are made from, right?

Me: Actually ---

Other guy: And where we send the shuttles to the Moon from! (gestures to the station's modules) So which one of these is a Moon shuttle?

Me: ...

Setting: Me in front of a giant model of the Earth. A couple walks up.

Me: How are you today?

Her: I'm doing good.

Him: Yeah, I'm doing alright, too.

(I'm not making the next part up.)

Him: Do you see that, there? (He points to the meteor crater lake in Canada. The large one.)

Me: ...Yes?

Him: Do you know what it's caused by?

Me: A long time ago, there was an asteroid that got a little too close to Earth. It fell through the sky as a meteor --

Him: That's what they're telling you. But it's wrong.

Me: ...

Him: That spot has a strange disturbance in the Earth's magnetic field. It's actually a giant UFO that's hidden underground.

Me: ...

Him: This UFO may rise out of the ground in the next fifty years. There's already tectonic activity and stuff over there.

Me:...

Yep, that happened.

It deeply troubles me that these people are the ones who are interested enough in science to actually visit a science museum. I'm probably dealing with a group that's smarter than average.

Although it hasn't been all bad. I've met some really intelligent people, including one who worked on the Apollo spacecraft, two astronauts, and a few KSP players. Nobody who recognized the Forum handle UpsilonAerospace, though.

-Upsilon

Edited March 26, 2015 by UpsilonAerospace

[GreenWolf]

Okay, so I decided to actually make that quiz I talked about earlier. I submit for your consideration the first ten-question rough draft. Comments and criticism are appreciated.

A. Yes
B. No

2. How high do you have to fly to reach space?
A. 50 kilometers
B. 100 kilometers
C. 500 kilometers
D. 1000 kilometers

3. Which is larger?
A. The Moon
B. The Sun
C. The Earth
D. A whale

4. What is the primary cause of heating during reentry?
A. Friction
B. Compression
C. Radiation
D. Magnetism

5. Which of these was the name of the program to land a human on the Moon?
A. Gemini
B. Sputnik
C. Vostok
D. Apollo

6. Who was the first human go to space?
A. Yuri Gagarin
B. John Glenn
C. Neil Armstrong
D. Alan Sheppard

7. Why did the Space Shuttle have wings?
A. To takeoff
B. To land
C. Because it was actually a bird
D. To look cool

8. What are Russian spaceflight personnel called?
A. Astronauts
B. Taikonauts
C. Cosmonauts
D. Spacers

9. What is the name of the large, multinational, modular space station currently in orbit?
A. Mir
B. Skylab
C. The International Space Station
D. Freedom

10. What year did humans first land on the Moon?
A. 1969
B. 1961
C. 1955
D. 1972

1. Is there gravity in space?

[xXIndestructibleEVAXx]

Good, but suggestion: have some less basic questions, e.g. "what is the larget body in the asteroid belt" "what is the nearest star" "why do astronauts float in orbit" "why do rockets fly sideways" "what is the name of the nearest large galaxy" stuff like that.

[Tex]

I think that the stupidest thing I ever saw/heard was the title of an article. I'll let it explain itself:

Science Proves We Never Landed on the Moon

[Norpo]

I think that the stupidest thing I ever saw/heard was the title of an article. I'll let it explain itself:

Science Proves We Never Landed on the Moon

I'd like to see it explain the 50 other articles called "Science Proves We Landed on the Moon", aside from "shadows" and "there's no gravity on the moon"

[Bill Phil]

Someone said that the space program is a waste and that we should use the money to feed the hungry over in Africa. I said that NASA has less of a budget than many companies, that and that the USA's military has a budget more than ten times that of NASA's. I don't blame the guy, though... Most people on average don't know the budget of NASA. (this guy said that millions were being used to build a Mars ship, even though no one has started to build said ship, since Orion is only cislunar space and LEO all on its own...)

- - - Updated - - -

I'd like to see it explain the 50 other articles called "Science Proves We Landed on the Moon", aside from "shadows" and "there's no gravity on the moon"

The shadows? Wasn't that the weird fish eye thing going on?

[SlabGizor117]

I'll agree with this, but I'll also say that those who don't make an honest effort to learn, never will.

So I point. And I laugh. And they laugh too. Everyone laughs.

I'm terrible at parties.

Haha, I don't mean at all that we should actually make fun of anyone, I suppose this is being kind of mean, but my main point was to avoid a Youtube comments religious debate.

[Tw1]

Honestly, I find it hard to believe some of the stories people here have been telling about their teachers. I suppose there are factors that could play into it, like area demographics, and when it happened, but still...

Maybe it makes sense if it was not a subject they were teaching, but something they said when a kid asked them about it.

I do know people who've held on to one or two misconceptions, so it's not unbelievable, but still..

I can remember knowing more space trivia than then, but they at least got the basics right.

https://lightsinthedark.files.wordpress.com/2015/02/freeflyer_nasa_3000.jpg

This photo is fake because the astronaut should fall on Earth...

After all, you can clearly see, this astronaut is still, and not moving with a large velocity relative to Earth....

Mother: Look, Ben! This is the Moon!

Me: Actually ---

The mother walks away.

Although it hasn't been all bad. I've met some really intelligent people, including one who worked on the Apollo spacecraft, two astronauts, and a few KSP players. Nobody who recognized the Forum handle UpsilonAerospace, though.

-Upsilon

That first example is so strange.

There is the stereotype that people in the USA dumb things down for kids, so maybe the lady thought that "Mars" was too hard a concept for her kid.

But still, a minute's worth of explaining, and the kid would have learnt something. Really, if you're worried that a kid won't understand something, it's far better to avoid giving them false information, and instead, just simplifying it. E.g, explain the place where we live is on a planet called Earth. Mars is a different planet far away. Even if they don't fully understand it, they'll have an accurate, if incomplete picture they can build on later.

This museum does sound cool. If I came by, I would say hi.

Not much chance of that happening in the next few years though.