Shaq says a 25-hour flight convinced him the Earth is flat, and Bill Burr can't stop laughing

A back-and-forth from Shaquille O'Neal's podcast is circulating widely online, with Bill Burr cracking up over a question science resolved ages ago.

In the clip, O'Neal argues that a lengthy plane trip did not persuade him that Earth is spherical, and Burr immediately turns that reasoning into the punchline.

What happened?

On the June 26 installment of The Big Podcast With Shaq, Adam Lefkoe and O'Neal were joined by comedian Bill Burr for a playful round of a game where Lefkoe lists "random things that have no racial connotation," and then they decide if it's something white people do or something Black people do. 

After listing off a few things, Lefkoe mentioned conspiracy theories. Burr used that opening to argue that white people had taken conspiracies in a "stupid direction," naming "flat Earthers" as his example.

Then, as Comic Sands noted, O'Neal cited a 25-hour flight and said he never saw the aircraft make any "curve." Lefkoe and Burr laughed, and Burr ridiculed the idea with, "You can determine whether it's round or flat by looking out the window."

Lefkoe also ribbed O'Neal about a moon-related claim as Burr kept the bit going, adding, "What are the scientists wasting all their time with all of these apparatuses. Look out the window."

Why does it matter?

Even though the moment was played for laughs, the underlying science is settled. Conspiracy theories like this start to erode people's belief in science. When people argue against something that the majority of the scientific world has accepted as fact, it can slow meaningful progress. 

When it comes to our warming planet, people who deny that our planet is warming at a dangerous rate and it's caused by human activity — mainly the burning of oil, gas, and coal — get in the way of pollution-reducing measures.

What are people saying?

While there was a lot of joking around, Burr brought up a solid argument against flat-Earthers' claims. "My question is, what is the advantage the people in power have, that if it's actually flat, I'm thinking it's round? Like, what does that get them?" 

It's a great point that can be applied to many conspiracy theories. Often, the simplest answer is the correct one. In this case, why would tens of thousands of scientists over hundreds of years try to convince people that the Earth is round? Shaq didn't have an answer; he just highlighted his own experience on a flight as a reason to question the entire scientific community. 

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