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| | The Old Bedford Level (Site not responding. Last check: ) |
 | | In 1838, Samuel Birley Rowbotham ["Parallax"] made observations along a six mile stretch of this, between Welney and Old Bedford Bridges, which he claimed to show the earth was flat, leading to the formation of the 'Flat Earth Society' which survived until the 1980s! |
 | | (I'm not sure where Old Bedford Bridge is, but the description seems to imply it is to the south-east of Welney Bridge, though the Old Bedford River runs from south-west to north-east.) Indeed some of the observations were confusing, probably due to ignorance about refraction caused by the air. |
 | | If one sights along a level stretch of water, the curvature of the earth will conceal objects near the water surface, but Rowbotham regularly saw (with a telescope) barges and other objects at water level six miles away. |
| www.geocities.com /lclane2/bedford.html (425 words) |
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