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I’m a large instrumentality of conspiracy theories, oregon astatine least, things that sound similar them. There person been times erstwhile I’ve travel crossed 1 and spent the full time speechmaking astir it, lone to realise aboriginal that the prima has gone down and the satellite is up. So naturally, I got precise excited erstwhile I saw a Redditor ask, “What’s a information that sounds similar a conspiracy mentation but is really true?” I deliberation I’ve recovered capable worldly to support maine engaged for the adjacent week. Oh, sleepless nights—here I come. But conscionable a warning: these will marque you suffer sleep.
Here are 30 facts that dependable similar conspiracy theories and volition marque you question everything:
Disclaimer: This portion contains mentions of drugs and different delicate topics.
1. "Back successful the 1980s, successful an effort to ace down connected homosexuals wrong their ranks, the US Navy spent millions of dollars investigating a pistillate known lone arsenic 'Dorothy.' Undercover agents had discovered that galore suspected cheery men referenced this name, starring officials to judge she mightiness person been a 'madame' who organized cheery meetings—and that uncovering her could assistance them place galore cheery men. After respective years and millions of dollars spent connected the investigation, they determined that questions similar 'Are you friends with Dorothy?' were simply a mode for cheery men to place 1 different without outing themselves successful public. Dorothy ne'er existed."
2. "The CIA erstwhile attempted to usage cats to spy connected members of the Soviet Union. As portion of the plan, a feline underwent an hour-long country to implant a vigor transmitter successful its receptor canal. This task was known arsenic Operation Acoustic Kitty."
"They besides installed “additional wires” to override the cat’s consciousness of hunger—whatever that means. It sounds similar they spent a batch of time, money, and effort mutilating a mediocre feline and damaging its brain."
3. "Michelin created its edifice standing strategy to promote radical to question by car to much distant restaurants, which successful crook would pb to much predominant tyre replacements."
4. "In 1994, the United States Air Force attempted to make a non-lethal limb that was supposedly meant to 'turn radical gay.' It was informally called the 'Gay Bomb.' The thought was that the weaponry would incorporate quality intersexual pheromones, which would beryllium released upon detonation. Anyone exposed to them would, theoretically, go gay. The USAF believed that erstwhile soldiers were attracted to each other, they would beryllium excessively distracted to fight, giving the United States an vantage successful aboriginal wars. Obviously, this was ne'er created, but lone due to the fact that they couldn’t get it to work. It did, however, triumph a satirical Nobel Prize."
"Fun fact: determination was an service successful past Greece—the Sacred Band of Thebes—made up of 150 antheral couples. The thought was that their devotion to 1 different and the tendency to support a person would marque them combat much fiercely. By astir accounts, they did beauteous well. Which raises a question: what if it had worked—but backfired?"
- Jukajobs
5. "The United States authorities funded the CIA to nonstop agents into random bars, wherever they would spike people’s nutrient and drinks with LSD, mescaline, liquid THC, and different drugs, past observe and instrumentality notes connected what happened. They besides paid a antheral to beryllium connected a toilet, drinking martinis, portion watching radical person enactment with prostitutes connected the different broadside of a one-way mirror. The cognition was called Operation Midnight Climax—apparently named portion the agents were precocious connected their ain supply."
"Not conscionable that—the CIA would besides cause each different successful lunchrooms and astatine parties to observe however their ain agents reacted."
6. "The United States passed a measure that allows for the penetration of the Netherlands successful the lawsuit that a U.S. work subordinate is prosecuted successful The Hague."
"It’s what’s called a “signaling bill.” It’s a mode of telegraphing a presumption publically successful a mode that either gives intermission to others oregon appeases a peculiar interest.
There’s nary mode it would ever beryllium used, due to the fact that the consequences would instantly marque the United States a pariah and hazard collapsing the planetary bid it helps sustain. What this truly was was a repudiation of European and planetary institutions’ absorption to the planetary warfare connected terror.
Essentially, it’s the governmental mentation of 'go bleep yourself.'"
- CFCA
7. "The US authorities buys excess dairy from farmers to assistance support prices stable. It stores the surplus arsenic cheese, astir 1.4 cardinal pounds of it, successful a cave successful Missouri. But erstwhile Americans started switching to skim milk, determination was a batch much beverage abdominous near over. (It’s called 'skim' beverage due to the fact that the abdominous is skimmed disconnected the top.) That led to adjacent much food than the authorities could handle. So, successful the mid-1990s, they started a programme to assistance offload each of the other fromage they had lying around. Ever wondered wherefore Taco Bell abruptly had three-cheese burritos, oregon wherefore Domino’s started piling connected adjacent much mozzarella? That’s why."
"Years ago, I retrieve speechmaking an nonfiction that said each the insubstantial supplies—cups, napkins, straw wrappers, and truthful on—for accelerated nutrient chains came from a azygous supplier."
8. “The FBI spied connected Martin Luther King Jr., gathered grounds of an alleged affair, and attempted to blackmail him, going arsenic acold arsenic trying to unit him into taking his ain life.”
9. "In 2016, Hillary Clinton had an statement with the Democratic National Committee, past headed by Debbie Wasserman Schultz, who had besides served arsenic her run co-chair. Under this arrangement, affluent donors could marque a azygous ample publication that would beryllium divided betwixt her campaign, the DNC, and assorted authorities parties. This was known arsenic 'bundling,' and it’s comparatively casual to verify. The mode it worked was that donors would constitute 1 ample check: the maximum allowed publication would spell to Clinton, different maximum magnitude to the DNC, and immoderate remaining funds would beryllium allocated to participating authorities parties. Sounds analyzable but legitimate, right? The issue, critics argued, was that a ample information of the wealth intended for authorities parties, reportedly arsenic overmuch arsenic 99.5%, was routed backmost to the DNC, which past spent it connected advertizing that intimately aligned with Clinton’s run but without requiring the aforesaid attribution."
"And who chaired the DNC earlier Wasserman Schultz stepped in? Tim Kaine, who would aboriginal spell connected to go Clinton’s vice-presidential moving mate."
10. "The large US car companies conspired to person the trolley strategy successful Los Angeles dismantled aft World War II successful bid to beforehand car usage."
- eliota1
"This is partially true. The trolley strategy was besides already falling retired of favour and connected its mode out, arsenic much radical began to similar cars. At the aforesaid time, much Americans were moving into suburban tract housing, which was easier to entree and navigate by car and freeway systems.
The trolley strategy had besides go slower and costly to maintain, which was hard to prolong with declining ridership. Multiple backstage companies operated antithetic lines but failed to put successful them properly, starring to inconsistent work and a run-down network.
Trolleys progressively came to beryllium seen arsenic being successful the mode of cars and 'progress.'"
11. "The conception of jaywalking was popularized by car manufacturers astatine a clip erstwhile roadworthy fatalities were rising. In the aboriginal days, astir radical successful North America saw streets arsenic nationalist spaces, not thing reserved exclusively for motorists. There was a concerted lobbying effort, peculiarly from Detroit, to reshape that cognition and prioritize roads for car use."
"'Jays' was besides a derogatory word utilized to picture unsophisticated people."
"It was besides considered a precise superior insult astatine the time, reportedly connected par with immoderate of the harshest slurs, truthful nary 1 wanted to beryllium labeled a 'jaywalker.'"
12. "In the 1950s and 1960s, the US Army sprayed zinc cadmium sulfide (ZnCdS) successful St. Louis arsenic portion of a Cold War–era experimentation to trial however biologic warfare agents mightiness dispersed successful antithetic environments. The Army dispersed the inorganic compound, which glows agleam yellowish nether ultraviolet light, crossed 20 residential areas, 13 downtown locations, and 2 five-square-mile sections of the city. They utilized a assortment of methods to merchandise the chemical, including blowers mounted connected buildings, dispersal from the backs of presumption wagons, and aerial spraying from planes. The Army besides utilized the compound during Operation LAC successful 1957 and 1958, which progressive dispersing ample quantities of ZnCdS crossed parts of the United States."
"Zinc cadmium sulfide is simply a substance of zinc sulfide (ZnS) and cadmium sulfide (CdS), utilized for its fluorescent properties. The chemic tin bioaccumulate on the nutrient chain, including successful plants and seafood.
Long-term oregon repeated vulnerability is expected to person harmful effects connected the kidneys, bones, and respiratory system, perchance starring to kidney impairment, osteoporosis (bone weakness), and chronic inflammation of the respiratory tract."
13. "Black tenants were often seen arsenic much profitable to rent to than achromatic tenants. Expectations were lower, landlords could subdivide apartments more, and attraction standards were often reduced compared to renting to achromatic tenants, who typically had much lodging options. As a result, if developers wanted to commencement renting to Black tenants, they would sometimes prosecute 'scruffy'-looking Black individuals to walk clip successful predominantly achromatic neighborhoods, lasting connected thoroughfare corners, pushing babe strollers, oregon adjacent bringing children on to trick-or-treat. Racist achromatic residents would past panic astir the vicinity 'declining' and merchantability their homes astatine little prices to developers, who would spell connected to rent them retired to Black tenants."
14. "They simulated a bacteriological onslaught successful San Francisco successful 1950 utilizing 'harmless' bacteria, which whitethorn not person been wholly harmless, oops."
"They aboriginal recovered that Serratia marcescens was not wholly harmless, arsenic initially believed. In ample capable doses—such arsenic those utilized successful the experiment, wherever astir each of the city’s 800,000 residents whitethorn person inhaled astatine slightest 5,000 particles—it could origin serious, sometimes deadly infections, peculiarly successful immunocompromised individuals. This led to further research, but not overmuch other successful presumption of accountability.
At slightest 1 idiosyncratic is wide believed to person died arsenic a effect (and perchance galore more; determination were spikes successful IV-related infections, UTIs, cardiac infections, pneumonia, and more). Although ineligible cases followed, the US authorities investigated and consistently recovered itself not astatine fault, citing a deficiency of definitive impervious that the circumstantial bacteria released that time caused those illnesses oregon deaths, since it is simply a people occurring microbe.
Legal technicalities aside, it was already reasonably wide successful 1950 that this was a atrocious idea. Yet, successful existent American fashion, akin experiments continued successful different cities implicit the years utilizing antithetic 'harmless' bacteria and chemicals."
- meases
15. "The 'War connected Drugs™' started arsenic a racist argumentation of the Nixon administration. One of Richard Nixon’s apical advisers and a cardinal fig successful the Watergate ungraded said the warfare connected drugs was created arsenic a governmental instrumentality to people Black radical and hippies, according to a 1994 interrogation with John Ehrlichman published successful the April 2016 contented of Harper’s Magazine. 'The Nixon run successful 1968, and the Nixon White House aft that, had 2 enemies: the antiwar near and Black people,' erstwhile Nixon home argumentation main John Ehrlichman told Harper’s writer Dan Baum. 'You recognize what I’m saying? We knew we couldn’t marque it amerciable to beryllium either against the warfare oregon Black, but by getting the nationalist to subordinate the hippies with marijuana and Black radical with heroin and past criminalizing some heavily, we could disrupt those communities,' Ehrlichman said."
"'We could apprehension their leaders, raid their homes, interruption up their meetings, and vilify them nighttime aft nighttime connected the evening news. Did we cognize we were lying astir the drugs? Of people we did.'"
16. "Whoever holds the bureau of President of Portugal is, successful a way, the closest modern equivalent to the person of the Knights Templar. When the Templars were excommunicated by the Pope, and galore were sentenced to death, Portugal’s king astatine the time, Dinis, gave them refuge—partly due to the fact that of their relation successful helping conquer onshore arsenic Portugal expanded southward successful Iberia. He delayed prosecuting them and yet established a caller order, the Ordem de Cristo, which absorbed galore erstwhile Templars arsenic members. As a result, Portugal, not the Church, retained power of the group’s wealthiness and lands. Over time, the Ordem de Cristo evolved into a much symbolic and subject order, and its enactment yet became tied to the Portuguese state. Today, the President of Portugal holds that position."
- mackadoo
17. "The CIA planned Operation Northwoods successful 1962 arsenic a false-flag operation. The connection progressive staging violent attacks successful the United States and blaming them connected Cuba arsenic a pretext for invasion. John F. Kennedy rejected the plan. Anything beyond this constituent moves into speculation. This, however, is what documented grounds shows."
18. "COINTELPRO was an FBI programme that infiltrated and attempted to disrupt civilian rights groups. Some of the tactics utilized were highly aggressive, and, successful galore cases, illegal."
19. "Sugar-free gum tin really assistance forestall cavities. Chewing it increases saliva production, which helps neutralize acids produced by bacteria successful the mouth, lavation distant nutrient particles, and fortify bony enamel by delivering minerals similar calcium and phosphate. Xylitol, a earthy sweetener intoxicant commonly utilized arsenic a sweetener successful sugar-free gum, besides plays a role. Unlike regular sugar, it is not fermented by oral bacteria, meaning it does not nutrient the acids that pb to bony decay. In fact, xylitol tin inhibit the maturation of cavity-causing bacteria (Streptococcus mutans) by reducing their quality to instrumentality to teeth and lowering their wide beingness successful the mouth. This makes xylitol-containing gum not conscionable a safer alternate to sugar-sweetened gum but an progressive contributor to oral health. Drilling a cavity does not destruct the bacteria that origin it—it simply addresses the structural damage."
20. "According to declassified documents from the National Archives and Records Administration, the CIA was alert of Lee Harvey Oswald earlier the assassination of John F. Kennedy. Records bespeak that Oswald had traveled to the Soviet Union and aboriginal met with a Soviet quality officer, Valeriy Kostikov, successful Mexico City successful the months starring up to the assassination. Some documents from the play instantly preceding the assassination remained classified for decades, though galore person been gradually released implicit time. Kostikov has besides been referenced successful different Cold War–era contexts, including quality enactment successful the Middle East."
- aardy
21. "If you navigator lasagna successful a alloy cookware and past screen it with aluminium foil, you’ve fundamentally created a battery."
- limbodog
"The operation of steel, aluminium, and the brackish successful the lasagna efficaciously creates a battery. Over time, the aluminium tin statesman to interruption down, starring to tiny holes forming successful the foil."
- limbodog
22. "Dianne Feinstein, who was serving arsenic the Mayor of San Francisco astatine the time, received the LAPD’s statement of the Night Stalker successful confidence. She past publically shared those details with quality cameras. This reportedly alerted the suspect, Richard Ramirez, to however overmuch the constabulary knew astir him, prompting him to effort to flee."
23. "Until reasonably recently, 1 company—De Beers—controlled the immense bulk of the world’s diamond supply. Even today, it inactive holds important power implicit the planetary diamond trade. By restricting supply, it helped support prices artificially precocious and played a large relation successful shaping however diamonds are perceived. Diamond engagement rings, for instance, were not ever the norm. They existed but weren’t modular until De Beers pushed a large advertizing run that turned them into an expectation. The thought of spending a acceptable information of your wage connected a ringing besides came from this marketing, initially astir 1 month’s salary, earlier gradually expanding implicit time. Diamonds aren’t rather arsenic uncommon oregon inherently invaluable arsenic they’re often made retired to be. Industrial uses, similar sandpaper, often impact diamond dust, and synthetic diamonds tin present beryllium produced comparatively cheaply."
"However, controlled proviso and marketplace practices person kept retail prices, particularly for diamond rings, overmuch higher than they mightiness different be. They besides helped popularise the favoritism betwixt “natural” and synthetic diamonds, adjacent though, successful astir cases, it’s highly hard for the mean idiosyncratic to archer the difference."
"A important information of the remaining diamond proviso is linked to Russian production, which has been associated with backing authorities activities."
- noxxit
24. "In the 1970s, a radical of neoconservatives, including Donald Rumsfeld and Paul Wolfowitz, helped found 'Team B' to situation CIA quality assessments. While the CIA’s 'Team A' concluded that the Soviet Union was not rapidly advancing successful the arms race, Team B acceptable retired to reason the opposite. When they recovered small to nary supporting evidence, they interpreted this lack arsenic impervious that the Soviets were blase capable to conceal their capabilities. Among their claims was that US submarines were astatine hazard from a non-acoustic Soviet detection system, contempt determination being nary factual grounds that specified exertion existed. These assessments were aboriginal circulated done groups similar the Committee connected the Present Danger."
25. "That 'weather station' retired successful the outback? Yeah, it’s not truly a upwind station—it’s a surveillance installation tally with American involvement. That’s portion of wherefore determination are truthful galore Americans successful Alice Springs, contempt it being a distant town. Turns out, this 1 is mostly true. Pine Gap is simply a associated installation operated by agencies similar the CIA and NSA, on with their Australian counterparts. The basal has agelong been controversial, some due to the fact that of its strategical relation and due to the fact that of the governmental tensions surrounding however it was established."
26. "I person two: 1. Dianne Feinstein’s idiosyncratic operator of astir 20 years was reportedly investigated implicit concerns that helium had ties to Chinese intelligence. 2. Israel has besides been accused of placing surveillance instrumentality adjacent the White House, though specified claims person been publically disputed."
27. "The dolphin LSD experiment. NASA funded probe successful which a pistillate lived successful a partially flooded country with a dolphin successful an effort to thatch it to mimic aspects of quality speech. At 1 point, LSD was besides administered to the dolphin to observe its reactions and whether it affected the training."
28. "The lightbulb conspiracy. At 1 point, large lightbulb manufacturers astir the satellite agreed to marque their bulbs little durable. Early lightbulbs were built to past for a precise agelong time, which meant radical didn’t request to regenerate them often, making the concern little profitable. So manufacturers deliberately reduced their lifespan. It’s the benignant of thought that makes you wonderment however galore different products person been designed this mode since."
29. "During World War II, the US Army explored unconventional ways to weaponry Japan. One thought progressive strapping tiny incendiary devices to bats and releasing them implicit Japanese cities. The program failed erstwhile the bats returned to roost successful unintended places—including Allied facilities similar substance retention areas."
30. "The CIA tried to termination Fidel Castro aggregate times, perchance dozens, if not more, and failed each time. One aboriginal program progressive contaminating a diving suit (he loved to dive) with tuberculosis, truthful helium would go infected and dice from what appeared to beryllium a earthy illness. He reportedly got upwind of it, and the effort failed. Another effort progressive CIA snipers positioned connected a adjacent rooftop. That 1 was much straightforward and besides unsuccessful. The bureau past turned to the Mob. They approached Johnny Roselli, who arranged for a interaction wrong Cuba to effort to poison Castro’s food. That effort failed, arsenic did different akin effort—reportedly due to the fact that Castro didn’t amusement up astatine the edifice that day, coincidentally erstwhile the Bay of Pigs Invasion began."
"There were respective different attempts: toxin plots involving botulism and tuberculosis, the celebrated 'exploding cigar,' a booby-trapped conch shell, a weaponry placed astatine the Hemingway Museum successful Cuba, poisoned acold cream, and further failed assassination plots involving firearms. Even arsenic precocious arsenic 2000, a weaponry hidden beneath a signifier wherever helium was owed to talk was discovered by his information successful advance."
Well, I anticipation you slumber good tonight. Or don’t—because present you cognize conscionable capable to commencement questioning everything. Tell me, bash you cognize a information that sounds similar a conspiracy mentation but is really 100% true? Share it with america successful the comments!
Text has been edited for magnitude and clarity.
English (US) ·