Mad Mike preparing for a rocket launch on 12/1/17.
I report with sadness, the death of a man by unicorn. “Mad Mike” Hughes chased a very unique unicorn, but was impaled yesterday by its sharp, pointy horn.
Mad Mike was a science denier. There’s nothing unique about that, as many misguided folks have a low regard for science. What made him different from most science deniers is that he put his life on the line for his cause, and chased a unicorn straight into the troposphere.
Mad Mike Hughes built a steam-powered rocketship, and launched himself into the troposphere several times, in order to prove something about the world being flat, or some other strange, vague thing he mumbled. Or maybe he was just trying to prove that he could do it.
He broke his ankles and injured his back during these launches, but never gave up.
I posted about him several times, on December 1st, 2017, and on March 26th, 2018.
On Saturday, 2/22/20, this crazy astronaut was at it again, near Barstow, California. He had a new steam-powered rocketship that he hoped would launch him 5,000 feet straight up. He launched successfully, but during blastoff the rocket’s parachute got caught on something and ripped. Mad Mike went straight up, and then, with no parachute, went straight down.
He did not survive. Mad Mike is dead.
And the world is not flat. But Mad Mike is.
I encourage unicorn chasing, but I include a warning. Watch out for the pointy horn. Unique experiences can be heady, thrilling, and fun as hell. But they can also be very dangerous. Proceed with caution when chasing these beasts. Do your research, and respect good advice, knowledge, and science.
Just the same, we’ll miss you, Mad Mike.
Here are some links to several news stories about Mad Mike’s demise:
https://www.cnn.com/2020/02/22/us/science-channel-mike-hughes-dead/index.html
https://abc7.com/daredevil-mad-mike-hughes-dies-in-rocket-launch-crash-near-barstow/5960342/
Categories: Science
Chasing Unicorns 
From 5000 feet you are basically just off the ground and cannot see the curvature of the Earth. You could book a ticket with a window seat on a commercial flight and easily get to 35000 feet, but this is still not high enough. It’s like looking at your globe from a millimeter away, you can’t see much. I guess he could really have saved up and bought a ticket with Blue Origin that has a capsule that will take you to 100 km (330,00 feet). This might be sufficient to satisfy your stubbornness and probably be cheaper and safer than the homemade steam rocket. Or wait a couple of years and book a flight on a SpaceX dragon capsule that will go higher than the space station (1,267,200 feet). If that didn’t convince you, nothing would.
Or he could have performed some basic experiments on earth, like Archimedes did more than 2000 years ago and demonstrated that the Earth was indeed approximately spherical.
But none of this would have been as theatrical as killing yourself in an incredibly stupid way. Rocket people call this “lithobraking”.
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Your analysis illustrates the wisdom of doing research.
I think I might like that Blue Origin ride. But I’ll bet it’s expensive. Probably much cheaper than building a steam-powered rocketship, though.
His eventual goal was to reach somewhere around 64,000 feet. Still probably not high enough to prove or disprove anything.
The stupidity of some people is hard to fathom. But maybe that’s why they called him “Mad Mike”.
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I’ve read about this guy. Classic science denier doing it for attention. Yes, the Earth is not flat, but as you say, Mike now is. The irony is rather amazing. In some ways, he’s contributed to science after all.
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Sometimes a contribution to science is not what one expects, and yet it can still have real value. Such as by sending the message, “Don’t try this at home.”
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Yeah. What’s with these flat earthers anyway. If they’re serious shouldn’t they just navigate over to the ends of the earth and take a photo of the dome? It seems simpler than blasting yourself five thousand feet into the sky. Although maybe not as fun.
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Perhaps you think more scientifically than them. I’m not sure what dome you have in mind, but trying to navigate to the ends of the earth seems like a dome idea, even if scientific in basis.
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If the world was flat, I think cats would find the end of it..
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Cats are smarter than most people, CrankyPants. Especially me.
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A sad truth. lol
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They explained that with Antarctica being a giant ice wall around the earth that NASA is guarding. Which doesn’t make sense, because Trump would have made Mexico pay for it.
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Trump sucks. Antarctica sucks. But Mexico is kinda cool. Also, I’m pretty sure NASA is watching me.
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They are, Trent. And that’s because you think Trump sucks and Mexico is cool.
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Hey, I like Antarctica.
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As global warming continues to melt the ice, you might be able to buy some real estate there.
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My nephew was there for 3 months. I told him to bring me back a penguin but….as you can guess, I didn’t get one. I got some cool pictures though. 🙂
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That sounds interesting. Is your nephew a scientist?
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He did enjoy it, but there is no way I would go, wayyyyy tooo COLD!!
He isn’t a scientist but he works with the environment. I don’t understand completely his job, just know he was sent there for his job. Helping a research team that was there.
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The only way I’d go there is if they paid me a pile of cold cash.
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What if it was a talking penguin?
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Haha!!
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That continent is soooooo lame.
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How can one not laugh at “The world’s not flat but Mad Mike is’?
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Well, I don’t think Mad Mike is laughing. For him, this joke probably fell flat.
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You’re so punny!
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Just as you’ve warned about the pointy end of unicorns, I’ve warned that playing close to “the edge” carries the risk of falling off.
I think the official term is ‘death by misadventure’ … ‘misadventure’ of course being the code word for stupid.
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Yes, the edge can be a scary place. Especially when you think the world is flat.
I think there was a Civil War general who once said, “Adventure is the result of poor planning.” I think those are the kind of adventures we call misadventures.
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I’ve never heard that quote before but it certainly rings true! … although planning doesn’t cover everything. Sometimes a unicorn just shows up unexpectedly 😏
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That’s true. Those unicorns can be quite rascally.
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Sometimes there are no words for one’s stupidity! But I think your “the world’s not flat but….” line summed it up pretty well! 🙂
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Mad Mike was a very daring daredevil. I suppose this is what eventually happens to those with such derring-do.
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Yes like you said, chasing unicorns can be fun but…..be cautious about what you chase!
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You have a point, there. Just like a unicorn’s horn.
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“The world is not flat, but Mike is.” Ugh.
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Am I a little too early for the gallows humor?
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Nah. Anyone who fires themselves into the atmosphere on a home-made rocket had to have had a sense of humor.
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Maybe so. I suspect his Flat Earth beliefs may have been part of his sense of humor.
I understand he was quite the daredevil before he became a homemade astronaut. He worked as a stuntman for Hollywood. And in 2002 he broke the world record for longest jump in a stretch limousine, soaring 103 feet.
Perhaps as a former bull rider you can get into his mindset better than the rest of us, and be less inclined to regard him as crazy.
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Flat Earth… Ha! Everyone knows it’s a sphere. How else could it be hollow?
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I know, huh? Where would the Morlocks live?
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