We all know that one person, that one skeptic who questions literally everything. I recently turned into one of those people. I made the innocent mistake of watching a Shane Dawson video, and before I knew what was happening, I was sucked into the black hole of conspiracy theories. I wouldn’t consider myself a conspiracy theorist or an expert by any means. I, just like so many others, simply find these theories fascinating and extremely intriguing, and I hope this will give you something to think about, too.
The Bermuda Triangle
The mysterious Bermuda Triangle is a fairly well-known conspiracy. It encompasses the area between Miami, Puerto Rico and the island of Bermuda, forming a triangle. As you may already know, this area of the North Atlantic ocean is notorious for making things simply vanish. Over the years, there have been countless cases of ships and planes literally disappearing in this area of the ocean, such as the U.S. Navy’s USS Cyclops and Flight 19. Back in 1492, even Christopher Columbus experienced odd things while in the Triangle. The water was much more rough and choppy, the ship’s compass began to malfunction and apparently, he claimed he even saw mysterious lights in the sky. He also insisted that he saw a fireball crash into the ocean. In the last hundred years, it has claimed around one thousand people, and no debris or bodies have ever been recovered. Naturally, over the years, a lot of different theories have surfaced, some more far-fetched than others.
One theory involves the Lost City of Atlantis. Legend has it, Atlantis was a technologically advanced utopian civilization. However, soon, its inhabitants turned greedy and corrupt. As punishment, the gods sent fire and earthquakes which led it to sink into the ocean. The theory says that the mythical underwater city continues to thrive underwater and is supposedly using its “crystal energies” to sink the many ships and planes that have “disappeared” in the Triangle. This one does seem a bit bizarre, I know.
Other theories include time portals and even extraterrestrials. That’s right. Aliens. Some people believe that UFOs are responsible for all the disappearances. According to them, the aliens use the Triangle as a portal to travel to Earth and capture people, ships and airplanes to conduct experiments on them. Crazy, right?
While scientists have attributed these disappearances to “rogue waves” and treacherous weather, that does not stop conspiracy theorists from continuing to develop new explanations about this mystery.
Mandela Effects
The Mandela Effect is when a group of people experience the same things from an alternate reality. If you’re thinking, Did you just say an alternate reality?, then, yes. Yes, I did. Just bear with me for a second here. This effect came to light when, in 2013, the news of the death of Nelson Mandela, an inspiring anti-apartheid revolutionary, came to light. The weird thing was that so many people all over the globe thought Mandela had passed away in prison sometime around the 1980s. His death was even talked about in a book that was published in 1991. People swear that they recall hearing about his death, seeing clips of his funeral, the mourning in South Africa, and even his wife making a speech on the news. So, if he passed away in 2013, why do thousands of people remember him dying in prison, some thirty years ago?
Here are a few other examples that will blow your mind:
The Berenstein Bears
This much-loved children’s book series about a family of bears was first published in 1962 and was even adapted into a TV series in the 1980s. Many people have grown up watching this series and it is a major part of their childhood. Which is why, it is so incredibly strange that this series is actually spelled, The Berenstain Bears. Not Berenstein, but Berenstain, with an “a” instead of an “e”. Shocking, I know! I always thought it was spelled “Berenstein”, and so many other people did, as well. When you look at the book covers, the title just looks plain wrong! Some people have even found old VHS tapes that are titled The Berenstein Bears. Weird, huh?
Luke, I am Your Father
This iconic line from Star Wars has been repeated time and time again since the release of the first Star Wars movie in 1977. But, Darth Vader never actually said those exact words. In reality, he says, “No, I am your father”. The odd thing is that even the actor who voiced Darth Vader in the movie, James Earl Jones, remembers the line as, “Luke, I am your father”. What? My life is a lie.
Monopoly Man
Yup, I’m talking about Rich Uncle Pennybags, otherwise known as the Monopoly Man. His character is so well known, with his white mustache, monocle, top hat, tuxedo, and cane, a few very noticeable physical characteristics. But, NO. Rich Uncle Pennybags does not wear a monocle! He never has. So many people swear they remember him with one and when you look at Halloween costumes, many people who dress up as him have worn a monocle.
So, why all these uncanny differences? Why do huge groups of people remember certain things so differently? One theory suggests that the reason different groups of people have different recollections is because they experienced events from different timelines or realities. This theory takes on the “multiverse perspective” which means, you guessed it, a parallel universe. Or universes. As in, plural. Yes, it’s crazy to think about. So, basically, conspiracy theorists would say that Nelson Mandela did pass way in prison a long time before 2013, but in an alternate universe.
Another theory explores the notion of time travel. Supposedly, if someone traveled back in time and changed something minor, it could have a domino-like effect and end up affecting the details of many other things, kind of like the butterfly effect. And that brings us to the third conspiracy theory.
Time Travel
I’m going to be completely honest here. I never ever thought there was even the slightest possibility of time travel being a real phenomenon. I mean, that kind of stuff only happens in sci-fi and fantasy movies, right? The rational side of me never believed in it. But the more research I did, the more convinced I got.
Consider the advancements mankind has made in technology in the last five hundred years alone, from the printing press to the telephone to penicillin to the Internet. We are constantly discovering new things about our world and creating more and more developed technology. And at the rate we’re going, in a thousand years, the idea of time travel could easily be possible. In a thousand years, the possibility of it existing doesn’t seem that outrageous, if you ask me. Some people even claim that UFO’s are actually time machines. But that’s a whole ‘nother story.
Here is an instance that might be compelling. This story is of Air Marshal Sir Victor Goddard and his peculiar experience in 1935 over an airfield in Drem, Scotland.
One fateful day, Goddard was flying to Edinburgh from Andover, England. During his flight, he flew over a deteriorating airfield in Drem. The place has turned into a farm; vegetation had sprung from it and there were cattle grazing. He didn’t think much of it and continued to fly to Edinburgh. Several days later, he decided to fly back to Andover and took the same exact route he had taken before. Right before he was going to reach Drem, he ran into an unusual storm. Unusual because Goddard claimed that the storm clouds were yellow. Yellow! He was obviously confused and soon started losing control of the plane in the strong winds and rain. Eventually, he broke out of the clouds and could see the ground again. He could see the Drem airfield, but as he approached it, the storm faded and gave way to a bright and sunny sky. However, Goddard noticed something very odd.
The airfield at Drem was no longer the abandoned ruin he had seen a few days ago. In fact, he could see mechanics and four yellow planes on the runway. He had never seen yellow airplanes before and couldn’t even recognize the model of one of them because the Royal Air Force at the time did not have a plane like that one. He noticed another strange thing. The mechanics were wearing blue overalls which was strange because back in 1935, they wore brown overalls.
After he passed over the airfield, the storm came raging back once more along with the yellow clouds. He struggled but managed to get back to Andover, somehow. Of course, no one believed him at the time. But here is the crazy thing: In 1939, the Royal Air Force began to paint their training planes yellow, and a new airplane model, the Magister, like the one he had seen at Drem in 1935, was added. Also in that year, the RAF mechanics’ were given new blue overalls, and the abandoned Drem airfield had started back up. Cue Jaw drop.
I don’t know if I managed to turn you into a conspiracy theorist or not, but I sure do hope that this gave you a different perspective on our complex and vast world. Until next time, folks. And remember, as Shane Dawson would say, don’t believe everything you see.