True Conspiracies

Hello and for the final time, welcome back to “You’d Have to be Crazy to Believe This!” Over the past nine weeks I have talked about some really crazy and out there conspiracy theories. Some, maybe most, are probably no true. In fact a lot of them have over whelming evidence against them. But this week, for my final post, I want to talk about some conspiracy theories that seemed crazy when they were first proposed, but in the end turned out to be true. So be careful whom you call crazy, they just might turn out to be right.

Canadian Gaydar

So Canada was not always the happy loving place we know of today. In fact in the 1950s and 1960s homosexuals were categorized a “psychopaths.” So the government created a program to identify and eliminate gay men from the civil service. Suspected homosexuals were asked to take a “stress test” in which they were forced to watch pornography whilst their reaction was measured.  This resulted in the termination of over 9,000 workers. But by the end of the 1960s the so-called “stress test” was ousted for its true purpose.

FBI Alcohol Poisoning

During prohibition era America, the FBI was looking for a way to crack down on the illegal distribution of alcohol. They decided to infiltrate alcohol smuggling rings and poison all the product. It is unsure how many deaths this resulted in but the current estimate is about 50,000 fatalities and thousands more left blind or permanently wounded. The program did not end until 1933 when alcohol became legal again in the United States.

MKUltra

MKUltra is the nickname given to the CIA’s mind control scheme. The program took place from 1953 to 1973 and the plan was to develop some sort of mind control and/or brainwash drug to be used against soviet spies.  In an effort to develop such drugs, innocent Americans were subjected to tests and forced to take mind-altering substances such as LSD.  The experiments only had one known fatality but it is unknown exactly how many adults were involved in the studies.  MKUltra was finally known to the public in 1975 after a series of government investigations.

                                            Bohemian Groove

There have always been rumors that the worlds most elite meet up to plan how the world will be run, but in Bohemian Groove, that really happens.  The 2,700-acre camping site hosts annual retreats for its elite members in including every republican president since 1953. Guests partake in strange cult-like rituals in which they wear costumes and set effigies a blaze and perform sacrifices in front of a giant stone owl. Apparently, the first mentioning’s of the Manhattan project, the project that birthed the atomic bomb, was brought up at the Groove by a group of world leaders.

So what do you think about these real life conspiracy theories? Did any of these shock you? Which one was most surprising? And if you have read my blog a lot I would love to know which one of my posts was your favorite? Well that’s a wrap on “You’d Have to be Crazy to Believe This!” Thanks for reading!

The Lost City of Atlantis

Hello! And welcome back to “You’d Have to be Crazy to Believe This!” It is safe to say this week’s conspiracy theory is not too dry. Ha-ha, get it? It is a pun. This Week I am talking about the lost, underwater city of Atlantis! Was it real? Is it just legend? And if it was real, where did it go? Let’s look at the evidence for this mysterious lost city.

Atlantis is a legendary city that supposedly sank in 10,000 BC. This city was allegedly very technologically advanced, maybe even having had some sort of space travel or semblance of technology similar to ours. However, according to Greek legend the city sank in a tsunami, leaving behind almost no trace that it ever existed. Many theorists believe this city is out there somewhere, waiting to be discovered.

The first mentioning of Atlantis is found in the work of ancient Greek philosopher Plato. Plato says the island was in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean and was home to millions of citizens. He describes

a massive landmass, estimated to be greater in size than Libya and Asia Minor combined. According to Plato, Poseidon, the god of water, protected the island nation. The island was even named after his son, Atlas, whom Poseidon named the king of Atlantis. As the people of Atlantis grew too powerful for Poseidon’s liking, he sent earthquakes and tsunamis to demolish the city until it sank into the sea.

Many of people who have studied Plato’s work took this story to be more of a lesson than fact. We all must behave and not let power corrupt us or else the gods will kill us, simple enough. However, modern investigators believe they have found evidence for its existence.

                                                                 Oricalcum

In a January 2015 dive, some marine archeologist made an interesting discovery. Several pieces of a mysterious unidentified mental alloy.  Some conspiracy theorists have claimed that this mysterious metal is the illusive “Oricalcum,” The metal mined in Atlantis. Plato proclaims in his work that this metal was the source of much of the wealth of the city, and describes walls adorned with the precious metal. These pieces have still yet to be identified, so could they be the mysterious and precious “oricalcum?”

The Plateau

When speaking about this mythical city one must ask, where was it? Well theorists say it lies on an

incredibly large plateau in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. The plateau in question is approximately 300,000 square miles big. The theory for how this plateau would have sunken is that a line of volcanoes running the length of the contentment all erupted at the same time causing massive earth quakes and tsunamis and eventually resulting in the island sinking.

Aside from that, there is really no concrete evidence for the existence of the lost city. No dives or investigations have ever turned up anything that legitimately points to the sunken civilization. But what do you think? Is there at all a chance that the lost city is real? I personally think it would be an amazing discovery but I don’t see it happening any time soon. Well, until next time!

The Denver Airport

Hello! And welcome back to “You’d Have to be Crazy to Believe This!” This week I am covering a more obscure conspiracy theory, but one I find pretty interesting. Some people believe, and bear with me here, that the Denver airport is a gateway to hell. I know this may sound super crazy but take a look at the evidence before you make your final judgment on the validity of this claim. There is definitely something off with this airport, and it is definitely something creepy and maybe even a little evil. Lets take a look at this strange airport!

The Construction

The airport was opened in 1995, after the demolition and reconstruction of the previous airport.  The project went pretty far over budget, like $2 billion over budget. Not just over budget, over time as well, taking an extra month to finish construction. A massive amount of time and a massive budget easily created a massive airport. In fact it is the third largest in the United States. Also its location is a little odd, its very far removed from the city.  So an expensive giant airport in the middle of nowhere, what could possibly go wrong? Some people say its size is just in explicably to big, and many people are curious about what the extra $2 billion is for when the airport is pretty plain. 

The Art

There are some pretty weird murals in the airport, not your typical background work. These murals depict some pretty gruesome images, not exactly what you would want to see after getting off a lengthy flight. 

But perhaps the creepiest piece of art at the airport is this horse statue right in the front of the airport. 

This giant blue demon horse with red eyes is 32 feet tall and has an inexplicably creepy background story.  When the artist was building the statue he said he continuously got a bad feeling while creating it. When the 9,000-pound statue was completed it mysteriously feel on the artist killing him. The horse is affectionately referred to as “Blucifer” by locals.

The Runway

From a heads on perspective these runways may seem completely ordinary, but from above they take on an odd shape. Can you see what it is?

Some people say this runway looks like a swastika, the symbol of Nazi Germany. This strange layout only boosts the theory that there is something off about this airport. 

The Tunnels

When the airport was constructed, they tried to create an underground automatic baggage transport system.  When they ran out of money and resources, they decided to abandon the project. But now as a result there are empty tunnels under the airport that are currently serving no purpose. This has created tons of rumors about what they could be used for. Some say maybe they are being used for government tests. Some proof of this maybe the shattering of 14 commercial airplane windshields in 2007. Could this unexplained incident be proof of some odd happenings at the Denver airport?

So what do you think? Is something odd going on at the Denver airport? Personally I definitely think there is something going on but a portal to Hell? Not so sure. Let me know what you think in the comments! Until next time

The Mandela Effect

Hello! And welcome back to “You’d Have to be Crazy to Believe This!” This week I am going to talk about one of the more Internet, famous conspiracy theories. One that everyone has probably experienced in one-way or another. One that is maybe (probably not) proof of time travel? That right I am talking about the Mandela Effect. Many people have claimed to have felt the effects of this phenomenon and maybe you are one of them. Read on to find out.

The Mandela Effect is the name given to the phenomenon when large groups of people remember something being different than what it is. The name comes from Nelson Mandela, the former president of South Africa. In the 80s, at the height of the South African civil rights movement, Mandela was in prison. Although he was later released, many people remember him dying in prison. This phenomenon of huge groups of people all misremembering the same thing is the Mandela effect. There are many theories for why this occurs. Some say that there are people time traveling a therefore messing with the fabric of time, so events of the past were changed despite what people remember. Another theory is that there are alternate universes that are crossing with ours as people jump from one to another. When this happens, people’s memories are affected and changed. There are multiple examples of this phenomenon lets look at some and see if you can relate to any of them! I have to admit some of them are kind of freaky but some… are probably just simple mistakes.

1. Its not “Luke I am your father”. The most famous line in the star wars series, and maybe one of the most famous lines of all time is not how people remember it. It is not “Luke, I am your father” it is “No, I am your father” it is not all that dramatically different, but it is a bizarre mix up.

2. Oscar Meyer is actually Oscar Mayer. The most famous deli meat brand synonymous with the all American spirit is notoriously misremembered. Even with the song that clearly spells out the name M-A-Y-E-R, many people recall it spelling out M-E-Y-E-R. This one I find a little stranger given the clear letter difference.

3. The line in Snow White is not “Mirror Mirror the Wall”. It is actually Magic Mirror on the wall. This is arguably one of the most famous lines in a Disney film; this line has been notoriously misquoted. That is right, a line you have probably been saying since your childhood is actually wrong. But some how everyone misheard it as a child.

4. “The Berenstien Bears” is not spelled the way everyone remembers. The famous children’s books are probably the poster child for The Mandela Effect because so many people misremember it. The books in question are actually called “The Bernstain Bears”, but the childhood fans of the series remember the title differently.

So are you a victim of the Mandela effect? Do you think it could be due to some bizarre forces at work? Let me know in the comments? Until next time!

Pan Am Flight 103

Hello! Welcome back to “You’d Have to be Crazy to Believe This!” This week we have a lesser know, but very intriguing conspiracy theory. Pan Am flight 103. Flight one 103 exploded over Lockerbie, Scotland in 1988 killing hundreds. But what seemed like an open and shut terrorist case has raised many conspiracy theories. Lets look at the case!

December 21^st, 1988 Pan Am Flight 103 took off from London and began its journey to New York. A mere 38 minutes later, the Boeing 747 exploded over Lockerbie, Scotland killing all 259 people on board as well as an additional 11 people on the ground, bringing the death count to 270. In a cooperative effort between British and United States investigators, it was found that the flight was the victim of a Libyan terrorist attack. Fragments of circuit boards and a timer lead investigators to conclude that one Al Megrahi, who was later tried and found guilty of the crime, had placed a suit case bomb on the plane. But is there more to this story?

When the case was originally being investigated, the investigators suspected Iran was responsible for the terror attack. But as the investigation progressed in to 1990, Iran became an valuable ally to the united states during the golf war, so an attack like this, in which 189 Americans were killed, could result in a shift of public opinion of our new found allies. Luckily the fragments of circuit and timer found in the crash were later traced to a Libyan manufacturer. While the manufacturer, strongly denies this claim the United States holds strong to its conclusions.

The next part gets a little hard to follow so I’m going to break it down by year.

1990

A Libyan Intelligence officer, Al Megrahi, is accused of the attack by the FBI after a long too year investigation. There evidence is a witness by the name of Tony Gauci identifies Tony as the man who purchases certain clothes found in the suitcase containing the bomb. The Libyan leader at the time, Muammar Gaddafi, goes public says that Al Megrahi is innocent and that Libya had nothing to do with the attack. In response, The United states, with the support of the United Nations, impose economic sanctions on Libya. They tell Gaddafi they will not be lifted until Al Megrahi extradited.

1999

Britain and Libya make a Prisoner transfer deal in which Al Megrahi is extradited to the United Kingdom.  There, he is convicted. Merely day’s later Trade sanctions are lifted and British Petroleum or BP is let into Libya to continue drilling. Many people find the timing of these two deals very suspicious.

2009

Fast-forward 10 years. Megrahi is released from prison in the United Kingdom on “Compassionate Grounds” due to his diagnosis of terminal cancer. Many find this odd because he was denied two appeals not long before this decision. But he is taken back to Libya to live out his final days.

2010

British Petroleum or BP admits that it lobbied for the prisoner deal that lead to Al Megrahi’s extradition in 1999 but denies current claims that Al Megrahi was only released in exchange for BP to drill off the coast of Libya.

2012

Leaked files from the Megrahi trial are leaked which reveal that’s the star witness of the case, Tony Gauci (remember him?) gave conflicting testimony. Not only that but the leaked documents reveal that the FBI paid Gauci $2 million dollars, the reason is unknown. These documents were never confirmed to have been legitimate FBI documents so it is unclear whether or not we can trust them.

Later in the year Al Megrahi dies, all while maintaining his innocence on his deathbed. 

2013

New York Times journalist Robert Worth revealed in an article that an unidentified former top C.I.A. official revealed it was Iran, not Libya responsible for the attack.

So what do you think? Was the flight 103 bombing pinned on Libya to protect public opinion of Iran? Let me know in the comments! Until next time!