A flat earther asked me to explain how he was able to see objects that were behind the curvature of the earth using math.

A friend of mine turned out to be a flat-earther. He was explaining how he could see a shore miles away which, according to his math (I assume calculated correctly), should have been behind the curvature of the earth and therefore not visible.

I consider myself to be very open minded , but also very pragmatic. I never took advanced math, so I tried to find a repky which wouldn't rely on math.

I read on-line that the atmosphere can bend light, so I grabbed a glass teapot, a piece of paper and my pill box (the first thing I saw on the table), and my smartphone.

I created a barrier by bending the paper so that it was taller than my pill box. I setup my camera facing the paper, to be sure that I couldn't see the pill box.

I filled the tea pot with water (atmosphere)
and started the video on my smartphone.

I slid the teapot in front of the paper and this is what I saw on my smartphone.

I al sure some will say that a teapot is not a valid replacement for atmosphere, but it was the best I could do at 11 P.M.