Columbia Sportswear CEO Challenges Flat Earthers: Prove The 'Edge' And Win His £2.4bn Company

Conspiracy communities have the chance to get rich with one twist: prove the Earth is flat. Tim Boyle, CEO of Columbia Sportswear, has offered a challenge to flat Earthers: if they can find the edge of the planet, they could literally take over his entire family business of more than £2.4 billion ($3 billion).

The 76-year-old made this statement in the course of the Columbia 'Expedition Impossible' marketing campaign, saying that whoever won would be given full freedom of the company including its headquarters, meeting rooms and even coffee machines. Essentially, the offer is a way of confronting those flat Earthers who deny the scientific evidence accumulated over the centuries.

Who Can Join Boyle's Challenge?

According to the Daily Mail, Boyle explained that the competition is open to anyone who can provide photographic proof of a physical 'end' to the Earth. 'This message is for flat Earthers. You guys claim there's an end to the Earth. Well, just go snap a picture, send it to us, and you get the assets of the company. All of it. No paperwork, no lawyers, no catches,' he declared.

Even though Boyle threw down the challenge in a way that would attract publicity, Columbia later stated that the prize company created for the contest, 'The Company, LLC', is a legal entity that holds assets totaling around £81,000 ($100,000).

Flat Earthers' Own 'Science'

The fact that the Earth is not flat has been known by mankind for more than two millennia. The arguments to that effect have always been around: one of them is that we see ships disappearing under the horizon and the Earth shadowing the moon when there is a lunar eclipse. Modern space imagery from satellites and crewed missions provides further indisputable proof of our planet's curvature.

Dr. Ian Whittaker, a physics lecturer at Nottingham Trent University, explained why flat Earthers see what appears to be a flat horizon. 'At ground level, humans can only see a few miles from one side of the horizon to the other, which is not enough to see the curvature of the Earth', he said.

He added a helpful analogy: 'Imagine a microbe on a basketball's surface—it would only see a vast expanse of flat area because its height is tiny compared to the ball's curvature'.

The recent videos of the Fram2 SpaceX trip with Earth seen from the orbit over the poles have demonstrated a planet curve clearly visible in the videos. Flat Earther communities reacted with fury while many online users poked fun at their disbelief.

The current Flat Earth movement evolved from 19th-century England, Samuel Rowbotham, who in 1849 published the pseudoscientific treatise called Zetetic Astronomy that later spread to America and inspired organisations like Universal Zetetic Society. In spite of the strong agreement by the scientific community, some followers still distrust authorities such as NASA, contending that all visual proofs of a spherical Earth are fabricated.

A Marketing Stunt or Serious Offer?

Scientists and social media users alike have been intrigued by the campaign, but some are still skeptical about the seriousness of Boyle's proposal. Columbia Sportswear made it clear that a reasonable proof must depict the actual physical edge, like an abyss or emptiness, rather than a cliff or an optical illusion. 'We will not accept a normal cliff-top, cul-de-sac, or a prank claiming to be the edge,' the company stated.

Boyle also humorously suggested that if people are planning to take the trip, they might as well be comfortable and wear Columbia products. Even if it were just a marketing campaign, the project made headlines around the globe and helped to focus attention on the company's long history that goes as far back as 1938 when Boyle's grandparents established the Columbia Hat Company. Today, the business operates across multiple sectors of outdoor apparel and sportswear.