In recent years, with the rise of Sarah Palin, Glenn Beck, and many other absolute foaming-at-the-mouth extreme-right-wingers, good old Bill O'Reilly has come to seem almost moderate. In an apparent attempt to regain his reputation for being a total fucking imbecile, O'Reilly invited American Atheists president Dave Silverman onto The O'Reilly Factor, then claimed that God could be proven to exist because humans couldn't explain why tides go in and out. (Like, tides, in the ocean.) The Raw Story quotes a pretty piquant exchange:
"I'll tell you why [religion is] not a scam," [O'Reilly] said. "In my opinion — all right? Tide goes in, tide goes out. Never a miscommunication. You can't explain that. You can't explain why the tide goes in."
Silverman looked befuddled. "Tide goes in, tide goes … out?" he asked.
"See, the water, the tide — it comes in and it goes out, Mr. Silverman," O'Reilly repeated. "It always goes in, then it goes out."
"Maybe it's Thor up on Mount Olympus who's making the tides go in and out," Silverman retorted.
"No-no-no!" the host objected. "You can't explain that. You can't explain it."
So, we're all aware that the moon's gravitational pull causes tides, right? It's hilarious that Bill O'Reilly doesn't know something that many small children can readily grasp — or at least it would be hilarious if it weren't also depressing as shit. This certainly backs up that study that said watching Fox News actually makes you stupider. It's not clear whether Silverman gave O'Reilly a remedial geology lesson, although if he didn't, he should be chastised for missing a delicious opportunity.