Columbus had a hard time finding anyone to fund his suicide expedition. Everyone (well, everyone sufficiently well educated) knew the Earth was round, and knew

Columbus had a hard time finding anyone to fund his suicide expedition. Everyone (well, everyone sufficiently well educated) knew the Earth was round, and knew the approximate size. Columbus mistranslated units and ended up with a world about half the circumference of Earth, putting the far east in easy reach. NASA actually has an article on this [0]. Had the Americas not existed, Columbus would have had had to make his way back with no fresh water or food, and a high risk of scurvy. 0: https://pwg.gsfc.nasa.gov/stargaze/Scolumb.htm https://pwg.gsfc.nasa.gov/stargaze/Scolumb.htm