You’ve all surely heard of the Darwin Awards, where some people remove themselves from the gene pool for the benefit of mankind by taunting natural selection:

Natural selection deems that some individuals serve as a warning to others.   Who are we to disagree? The next generation, ever and anon, is descended from the survivors.

This fellow, one Mike Hughes of California, who bills himself as:

The Only Man in History to Design, Build, and Launch Himself in a Rocket

Mike thinks the Earth is flat, and NOAA, NASA, and everybody else is wrong on that fact. So, to prove it, he’s made a rocket to go to the edge of space to prove it to himself.

In this Wednesday, Nov. 15, 2017, photograph, daredevil/limousine driver Mad Mike Hughes is shown with with his steam-powered rocket constructed out of salvage parts on a five-acre property that he leases in Apple Valley, Cal. Hughes plans to launch his homemade contraption on Saturday near the ghost town of Amboy, Cal., at a speed of roughly 500 miles-per-hour. (Waldo Stakes/HO courtesy of Mad Mike Hughes via AP) (Associated Press)

The launch Winnebago. Photo from Mike Hughes website madmikehughes.com

A story in the Washington Post says:

Hughes is a 61-year-old limo driver who’s spent the last few years building a steam-powered rocket out of salvage parts in his garage. His project has cost him $20,000, which includes Rust-Oleum paint to fancy it up and a motor home he bought on Craigslist that he converted into a ramp.

Besides the fact that limo drivers aren’t generally rocket scientists, there’s only one major problem; he’s used a similar design for his “steam powered rocket” as the infamous Evel Knievel, who tried and failed to launch a similar contraption over the Snake River Canyon back in September 1974.  Stuntman Eddie Braun did successfully zoom over the canyon — using Knievel’s original blueprints — in September 2016.

In a story by BGR, we get a clearer picture:

Mike Hughes, who has made it known that he doesn’t “believe in science,” has built a steam-powered rocket which he intends to ride into the sky. His aim doesn’t seem to be to put the flat earth debate to rest — at the altitude he’ll be reaching, he wouldn’t be able to see much of a curve, and even if he did it’s not like he’d admit it — but rather to promote a flat earth group that is helping to sponsor his flight.

If you’ve ever debated a flat earther online — and if you haven’t, I probably wouldn’t advise it, because logic and reason are completely lost on them — you’ll usually reach a point where one of you says “If we could travel to space you’d see the truth.” The rocket Hughes plans to ride skyward isn’t capable of such a feat, but it’s better than nothing. As for the potential dangers of the flight, he’s well aware of the risks.

“If you’re not scared to death, you’re an idiot,” Hughes explained. “It’s scary as hell, but none of us are getting out of this world alive.” While that may be true, taking your life into your own hands with a steam-powered rocket still requires a mix of guts and stupidity.

Umm, yeah. Looks like steamflunk.

Our friend, Dr. Roy Spencer, recently said on Facebook post that he’d like to nominate Hughes for a Darwin award “pre-humously”.

I second that motion.

Saturday, Nov 25th, while people are watching football and eating turkey leftovers, hughes plans a Pay Per View coverage of his Darwin Award event launch. In my view, he’s just another stuntman with a crazy idea to make fame and money.