“I just pose questions.” Questions about open-mindedness, investigation, interrogation and critical thinking. “When people say ‘Do you really believe the Earth is flat,’ inevitably I don’t answer it,” Burns admits. It turns out that what most would take as a literal assertion might just be a playful, challenging one. And the whole “four corners/edge of the Earth” theme is also splashed all over the website of the luxurious, world-famous Fogo Island Inn. It’s a bold claim that’s repeated on the Newfoundland & Labrador Tourism websiteNewfoundland & Labrador Tourism website. The Flat Earth Society of Canada believes Fogo Island, especially the rocky outcrop Brimstone Head that you can climb for a spectacular view of the North Atlantic Ocean, is one of the four corners of the Earth. Sometimes it’s more fun not to do your research. I had come to this modest building in Shoal Bay with a deliberately open mind - family in tow, warning everyone to be respectful - knowing only vaguely that flat earthers are free thinkers who believe the round earth is an elaborate hoax. The first clue that things aren’t going to unfold as expected comes when she hands over a business card that defines her position as “founder/artistic director” under the slogan “Think outside the sphere.”

FOGO ISLAND, N.L.-The Museum of the Flat Earth isn’t open on this quirky, resilient island that some have declared one of the four corners of the Earth, but Kay Burns is willing to unlock the doors and show us around.

Flat-earth society