Some may call it paranoid. Others may say it’s silly. A few might even call it crazy. But, I prefer the term aware. From the Illuminati to the Phantom Time Hypothesis, people have been coming up with conspiracy theories to explain unusual events for years. I myself am a conspiracy theory connoisseur and will readily discuss my ideas (thank you, 1984) when given the chance. But, to learn more about some of the most popular and interesting theories, please consult the list below:

Illuminati

A name familiar to man, the theory that the Illuminati is ruling the world may seem crazy but, when looked at closer, proves suspicious. Originally started in Bavaria by Adam Weishaupt, Weishaupt simply wanted to help limit how influential the church (religion) was in everyday life and used the Freemasons as a model for his group. Eventually, the original Illuminati was supposedly dispersed in the late 18th century, but many still believe the organization is going strong underground. The main idea behind the present-day Illuminati is that there are a set of people who rule/run the world without the knowledge of the general public. Some people claim the Illuminati was responsible for events like the French Revolution or the assassination of JFK. A common “sign” of the illuminati is the triangle, and one of the most popular “sightings” of this is the triangle on the one-dollar bill. Although the leader of the Illuminati is unknown, there are several people who are rumored to be possibilities, one including Kanye West. But, if Kanye West is the person secretly ruling world and is using the guise of ignorance, he has me fooled.

Souurce: http://www.theweek.co.uk/62399/what-is-the-illuminati-and-what-does-it-control

Lizard People are Running the Government

A less commonly known theory is the idea that Lizard people, known as Reptilians, are actually the ones running the government. There are about 12 million Americans who believe in this theory, and they use several “distinguishing features” to spot these Reptilians. Some of the traits that may help you spot a Reptilian is if the person has “true red or reddish hair,” “love of space or science,” and my personal favorite, “alien contacts.”

Source: https://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2013/10/how-spot-reptilians-runing-us-government/354496/

Area 51

I first heard of the theory behind Area 51 while watching a great American movie classic, Scooby Doo and the Alien Invaders. In the movie,”the gang” encounters various aliens and unintentionally makes an alien friend who eventually must leave them to go back to her planet. In real life, many Americans believe that Area 51, located in the middle of the Nevada desert, actually holds all of the alien artifacts, records of encounters, and even possibly some aliens that the US government has hidden. Really, Area 51 was started just to help create an aircraft during the 1950s, which would explain the mysterious sightings of all the UFOs (unidentified flying objects) over the years which were simply be aircrafts being tested.

The alien theory really didn’t get too popular until 1989 when a man named Bob Lazar insisted that he had seen an alien on the site. While many people don’t actually believe in the aliens, the idea that this area is so heavily guarded and secretive does make it slightly suspicious.

Source: http://www.popularmechanics.com/military/research/a24152/area-51-history/

The Moon Landing Was Fake

A theory that resonated with a member of last year’s senior class, the idea that the famous Moon Landing in 1969 was fake, is a popular conspiracy theory. Instead of believing that the US actually sent Neil Armstrong and other members of the Apollo team to the moon, people who believe in this theory say that what we (the world) saw was not a man walking on the moon, but rather a staged event by Hollywood. Bill Kaysing self-published, We Never Went to the Moon:America’s Thirty Billion Dollar Swindle in 1976 which sights the various reasons/signs that this historic event is actual a hoax (such as the rockets not being real/believable). If this landing was just a production, I must say it was a very realistic one.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moon_landing_conspiracy_theories

Keanu Reeves Excellent Everlasting Life

Let me just start by saying Keanu Reeves is one of my favorite actors. Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure, where he played the main protagonist, Ted, is a movie about two high school boys who go back in time to find historical figures for their project and one of my favorite movies of all time. But, some people have seemed to have taken Reeves’ time travelling abilities a bit too far. Some have speculated that Reeves has been around since the mid 700s as King Charlemagne who crowned his son as the new king just days before he died. Also, Paul Mounet, an actor and doctor from the 1800s and 1900s, looks frighteningly like Reeves and, when he supposedly died, his body was never found. Honestly, if Reeves (Charlemagne/Mounet) has actually found the source of eternal youth, I wouldn’t be too upset.

Source:  http://keanuisimmortal.com/

Phantom Time Hypothesis

The most confusing theory I’ve come across is the Phantom Time Hypothesis. In this hypothesis (put simply), there are parts of history that are missing/never happened. Due to issues with dating and finding historical evidence in the years between 614-911 A.D, the idea arose that everything from that period was actually all made up/never happened. If this theory was to be true, and the medieval times never actually did happen, the year we’re in right now would be 1720 instead of 2017. Thankfully, many historians don’t agree with this idea and cope it up to exactly what it is– a conspiracy theory.

Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phantom_time_hypothesis  and http://mysteriousuniverse.org/2017/05/phantom-time-hypothesis/

Piano Man

Unfortunately, this is not about the excellent song by Billy Joel, but rather about a man named Andreas Grassal who was found on the streets of London, soaking wet. Because he refused to speak, the police eventually took him to a hospital and gave him a piece of paper and something to write with. Grassal drew a piano and was subsequently taken to one and played it for the next four hours. Grassal kept his silence and, for the next four months, continued to keep with his persona. But, eventually, he came clean about his true identity. It turns out he had gone to Britain after losing his job in Germany and, when found, pretended to be unable to speak. While it is a sad ending to a good story, I am glad that this man was not deeply distressed from a past traumatic event, but rather just suffered from impaired judgement.                                    

Sources: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1496769/Piano-Man-mystery-that-gripped-millions-ends-on-a-prosaic-note.html   and       https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andreas_Grassl

Flat Earth

Back in the day, the common idea was that the Earth was flat instead of round (and also the center of the universe– shout out to Mr. Stone’s AP Modern European History!). Nowadays, thanks to modern astronomy, we are able to confirm that the Earth is spherical, but that doesn’t mean everyone believes this scientific discovery. “Flat-Earthers” still believe in the original idea of a flat Earth (hence the name) and, although it seems crazy, many notable people actually believe(d) in this idea. Washington Irving, author of famous works such as “The Headless Horsemen” (shout out to English 11 with Dr. O’Brien!), was a prominent Flat-Earther in the 19th century and B.o.B, a modern rapper, has even started a GoFundMe page to help finally “prove” that the Earth is flat. I’ve never been out of this world, so I can’t say for sure, but I do know I’ve never heard of anyone walking/falling off the Earth, so I think I’m going to stick with modern science on this one.

Source:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flat_Earth#Myth_of_the_flat_Earth and  http://www.cnn.com/2017/09/25/us/b-o-b-flat-earth-gofundme-trnd/index.html

Last Thursday-ism

Do you remember what you did last week? What about yesterday? What about thirty seconds ago? It’s in your memory, whatever you did, right? According to Last Thursday-ism, your memories could’ve been created at any time, so that cup of coffee you had this morning was really finished two hours ago, but it could have been just a few seconds ago, but it just feels like/you remember it as it happened a specific amount of time ago.

To put this simpler, the main idea behind this theory goes on the idea that the universe could’ve been created years ago, “Last Thursday,” or just a few seconds ago but, when it was created, you were already created with your memories which would give the illusion of a longer lifespan. Since this theory can obviously not be tested, it’s technically more a philosophy more than a hypothesis. Still, it’s an interesting idea to ponder.

If, of course, you have the time.

Sources: The Media Office’s wonderful Co-Editor, Georgia Morris, and https://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Last_Thursdayism

Big Pharma

Out of all the theories stated about, the idea of “Big Pharma” is undoubtedly the most troubling of all. Big Pharma is the idea that the pharmaceutical industry (the industry/people who produce drugs/medicines to help people get well) is intentionally making people sick in order to continue selling drugs. Some of the factors (sub-theories, really) that have contributed to the formation of this theory is the idea that this (pharmaceutical) industry put out opioids while knowing of their addictive tendencies, the idea that a cure for cancer has been found but not released to the public (in order to continue making money off of treatments), accusingly Big Pharma of inventing diseases in order to sell drugs to “cure” them, and the idea that the industry is “in” with the Illuminati and keeping us (the general population) sedated in order to better control us (the general population). Although these claims have been dispelled, I believe that a good rule of thumb is to only ever take medication when it is absolutely needed.

Sources:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Pharma_conspiracy_theory  and https://www.ranker.com/list/big-pharma-conspiracy-theories/mike-rothschild

Throughout all of these theories, one main theme has occurred: the questioning of the powers (governmental or cosmic) that control us and the world around us. While I do believe that some of these ideas are absolutely ridiculous to a point of being humorous, some of them do raise a valid point. Although not everyone was born to lead, no one should ever blindly follow. One of my favorite quotes comes from Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets when Mr. Arthur Weasley reminds his daughter, Ginny Weasley that one should, “never trust anything that can think for itself if you can’t see where it keeps its brain.” I think everyone should be aware of this and always be on the lookout for infringement of freedom, whether it happens to be for your own benefit or another’s. While there may not (or may) be lizards running our government, the need for an awareness of surroundings should never be overlooked. You should always look something up for yourself before you take it as a fact.

But, of course, this is assuming that I’m not a part of one of these theories myself.