By Tim Binnall
A clever new marketing campaign from sportswear company Columbia offers Flat Earthers a sizeable prize if they can produce a photograph of the edge of the planet. The amusing challenge was reportedly put forward by CEO Tim Boyle in an open letter published in the New York Times and a video released on Monday. "This is a message to Flat Earthers," he wrote in the missive, "I've seen your manifestos, admired your diagrams, watched you stand proudly on your, well, flat ground. So here's the deal: it's time to put your map where your mouth is."
Boyle subsequently announced the launch of what the company has dubbed 'Expedition Impossible,' a challenge to the controversial conspiracy theorists to "do what no one in history has ever done: find the edge of the Earth." Should someone manage to pull off the unfathomable feat, the CEO said, they would receive "everything owned by the company." To those who might attempt to win the prize, Boyle smartly advised that they make the journey to the frosty 'forbidden zone' in Columbia gear because it's "tough enough for pretty much anything, except maybe falling into the abyss."
While Boyle's amusing video shows him promising all manner of materials found at the Columbia headquarters, a disclaimer attached to the contest notes that "the company refers to ‘The Company, LLC’ with assets which are valued at $100,000." Additionally, to prevent any shenanigans from possible participants, Columbia stressed that "the Edge of the Earth” is a visible, physical end to the planet Earth. We're talking infinite sheer drop, abyssal void, clouds cascading into infinity."