Easy. (1) mistaken calculation, and (2) if he followed the coastline, coastlines are convoluted and can be extremely long. Nobody endorses Cook's number today. Magellan traveled more than 24,000 miles because he did not follow a straight course (had to sail around the tip of South America, for example).
Easy. (1) mistaken calculation, and (2) if he followed the coastline, coastlines are convoluted and can be extremely long. Nobody endorses Cook's number today. Magellan traveled more than 24,000 miles because he did not follow a straight course (had to sail around the tip of South America, for example).