Mom told her kids the Earth was flat — until their grandma did a simple 'double sunset' experiment to prove her wrong

Just like millions of people across the globe right now, a Reddit user (u/Space_Report2659), who is also a grandmother, has been glued to her screen watching the Artemis II mission live. So, when her two grandkids, who are 5 and 7 years old, respectively, came over, as any elder would think, she thought it'd be the perfect opportunity to spark some curiosity in their little minds. However, it didn't go quite as planned for her, as the educational moment took a sharp, uncomfortable turn when her daughter-in-law stepped in, according to a post by u/sensaSEANal_sally on April 7.

It all started when the two grandkids seemed confused by what their grandmother was watching. And no, it wasn't because they were stunned by the feats humans are achieving but rather because "they thought it was fake because their mom told them things in space were fake," the user wrote. "I assumed she was talking about space movies, not the overall fact that people went to space. I decided to show them the moon landing and some take-offs. I asked them if they wanted to see a double sunset."

So, the grandmother showed them the double sunset, making them see that the earth was indeed curved and not flat, as their mother told them. "This is when you lay down and watch the sun go down. The moment you don't see it, you stand up and get somewhere higher, and you will see the sunset again because the earth is curved," the user wrote, explaining the process. However, the story didn't end there. Just as they were waiting for the second sunset, the daughter-in-law showed up. "My DIL had issues with that, she told me I am not telling the truth and that the earth isn't round. I was confused, and she told me the Earth was flat. I started grilling her on why she thought that, and she couldn't give me a reason," the user further noted.

Instead of putting forward her argument as an adult, the daughter-in-law stormed off with the kids. Soon, the grandmother received a call from her son, who revealed that his wife had been crying and the boys had been bombarding her with space questions nonstop. While many of you might think that it is a good thing that the children were finally able to learn the truth, surprisingly, that's not how the son reacted, as he told his mother that she overstepped and asked her to apologize. 

Now, it's not because he doesn't think the Earth is round. But he wants his mother to do so to keep the peace in his household. Is keeping the peace worth keeping his children away from the truth? Perhaps not. Nonetheless, this family isn't the only one that has to navigate through this problem. According to a survey conducted by the University of New Hampshire across the country in 2022, nearly 10% people believe that the earth is flat within the United States. 

Those numbers are quite concerning, and just so that they don't keep increasing, people in comments have been urging the grandmother not to apologize for educating the children. "NTA. Teach your grandchildren that science is a good thing. Do not ever apologize for being educated. Shame on your son for allowing his wife to push such nonsense on his children," Educational-Glass-63 wrote. However, this user wasn't alone as more such reactions poured in from all around the globe.

"People like this shouldn’t be having children, and your son is equally stupid if he allows this. He’s their father, too. He should want his kids to be intelligent," Ch3rry_Bombastic commented. Meanwhile, a few were worried that if the grandmother didn't speak up, the mother would homeschool the kids and keep them away from facts. "She’ll probably homeschool them to keep them as ignorant as she is. Poor kids," choppedliver65 wrote. Well, whatever the grandmother decides, she should keep in mind that this is about the childrens' future more than anything else.

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