8. Elvis Presley faked his own death

9. Operation Northwoods - A genuine conspiracy involving a plan by the Joint Chiefs of Staff to launch a fake Cuban terror campaign on American soil to persuade the US public to support an invasion against Castro. The plan involved bombings and the simultaneous hijacking and blowing up of American airliners. The operation was quashed by President Kennedy leading many to speculate that it was linked to his assassination a year later. The plan has also been linked by theorists who believe that the September 11, 2001 attacks were a so-called "inside job" because of the use of airliners.

10. MK-ULTRA - The code name for a covert mind-control and chemical interrogation research programme, run by the Office of Scientific Intelligence. The programme began in the early 1950s, continuing at least through the late 1960s, using US citizens as test subjects. Project MK-ULTRA was brought first to wide public attention in 1975 by Congress and by the Rockefeller Commission. Investigative efforts were hampered by the fact that CIA Director Richard Helms ordered all MK-ULTRA files destroyed in 1973. Although the CIA insisted that MK-ULTRA-type experiments were abandoned, CIA veteran Victor Marchetti has stated in various interviews that the agency routinely conducts disinformation campaigns and that CIA mind control research continued. In a 1977 interview, Marchetti specifically called the CIA claim that MK-ULTRA was abandoned a "cover story". Conspiracy theorists believe that MK-ULTRA was behind many so-called black-ops: Lawrence Teeter, the attorney for Sirhan Sirhan, the man convicted of the assassination of Robert Kennedy, pictured, believed Sirhan was operating under MK-ULTRA mind control techniques. Furthermore, Jonestown, the location in Guyana where members of the Jim Jones cult and Peoples Temple committed mass suicide, was thought to be a test site for MK-ULTRA medical experiments.

11. North American Union - The North American Union (NAU) is a theoretical regional union of Canada, Mexico and the United States similar in structure to the European Union, sometimes including a common currency called the amero. Theorists who believe that the three countries are planning for this believe that it is part of a global conspiracy to set up something called the New World Order (NWO). Officials from all three nations have repeatedly denied that there are plans to create a NAU although the idea has been proposed in academic circles, either as a union or as a North American community as proposed by the Independent Task Force on North America. The amero received support in 1999 from Canadian economist Herbert Grubel, a senior fellow of the Fraser Institute think-tank, in a book entitled The Case for the Amero. Robert Pastor, vice-chairman of the Independent Task Force on North America, supported Grubel's conclusions in his 2001 book Toward a North American Community, stating that: "In the long term, the amero is in the best interests of all three countries".

12. Shakespeare was somebody else

13. The disappearance of Shergar

14. Paul is dead
...
17. Black or unmarked helicopters - The concept became popular in the American militia movement, and in associated political circles, in the 1990s as an alleged symbol and warning sign of a military takeover of part or all of the United States. Rumours would circulate that, for instance, the United Nations patrolled the US with black helicopters, or that federal agents used black helicopters to enforce wildlife laws. In Britain, a similar conspiracy theory known as "phantom helicopters" has been reported since the mid 1970s. This concept relates phantom helicopters to UFOs and alien invasion rather than to martial law.
...
19. The Protocols of the Elders of Zion - Despite being utterly discredited for at least 100 years, belief in this document has proved remarkably resilient on the internet. The text takes the form of an instruction manual to a new member of the "elders," describing how they will run the world through control of the media and finance, and replace the traditional social order with one based on mass manipulation. Scholars generally agree that the Okhrana, the secret police of the Russian Empire, fabricated the text in the late 1890s or early 1900s but belief in it still persists - particularly in the Middle East.

20. The peak oil conspiracy - Peak oil (a theory in itself) is the supposed peak of oil production during and after which demand for oil outstrips supply sending prices through the roof. The peak oil conspiracy theorists believe that peak oil is a fraud concocted by the oil industries to increase prices amid concerns about future supplies. The oil industry is aware of vast reserves of untapped oil, but does not utilise them in order to maintain the illusion of scarcity, they claim.

21. Pearl Harbor was allowed to happen

22. The Philadelphia Experiment - Popularised by the Charles Berlitz novel of the same name, conspiracy theorists believe that during an experiment at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard in October 1943, the US Navy destroyer Eldridge was rendered invisible. According to some accounts, the scientists on the experiment found a way to bend light around an object but that the experiment went wrong and Eldridge was transported through space and time, reappearing at sea. Several sailors, it is said, were badly hurt when the experiment went wrong and some were melded into the ship's superstructure. The US Navy has denied that the experiment ever took place.

23. Pan Am Flight 103 - Pan Am Flight 103 was Pan American's third daily scheduled transatlantic flight from Heathrow to New York John F. Kennedy International Airport. On December 21, 1988, the aircraft flying this route - a Boeing 747 - was destroyed by a bomb, killing all 259 people on board and 11 people on the ground. The remains landed around Lockerbie in southern Scotland. A popular theory for which no evidence has been produced suggests that the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) had set up a protected drug route from Europe to the United States - allegedly called Operation Corea - which allowed Syrian drug dealers to ship heroin to the US using Pan Am flights. The CIA allegedly protected the suitcases containing the drugs and made sure they were not searched. On the day of the bombing, terrorists exchanged suitcases: one with drugs for one with a bomb. Another version of this theory is that the CIA knew in advance this exchange would take place, but let it happen anyway, because the protected drugs route was a rogue operation, and the American intelligence officers on the flight had found out about it, and were on their way to Washington to tell their superiors.

24. Fluoridation - Fluoride is commonly added to drinking water as a way to reduce tooth decay. However, there has been some evidence that there could be some harmful side effects from fluoride and conspiracy theorists believe that this information is known and recognised by those responsible for adding the fluoride, but that they continue the practice regardless. Drug companies have been targeted as possible beneficiaries, as they will profit from a population with ill-health. Another motive is that fluoride lowers mental abilities thereby "dumbing down" the entire population.

25. The 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami - A popular theory in the Muslim world is that the tsunami could have been caused by an Indian nuclear experiment in which Israeli and American nuclear experts participated. Several newspapers in Egypt and the Middle East alleged that India, in its heated nuclear race with Pakistan, has acquired sophisticated nuclear technology from the US and Israel, both of which "showed readiness to co-operate with India in experiments to exterminate humankind," beginning with the heavily populated Muslim regions of southeast Asia, where the bulk of casualties took place.

26. Plastic coffins and concentration camps - Just outside Atlanta, Georgia, beside a major road are approximately 500,000 plastic coffins. Stacked neatly and in full view, the coffins are allegedly owned by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema). Conspiracy theorists believe that Fema has also set up several concentration camps in the US in preparation for the imposition of a state of martial law and the killing of millions of Americans. They suggest that the financial crisis will be used to justify the imposition of a police state.

27. HAARP - More than 200 miles east of Anchorage, Alaska, is the Pentagon's High-frequency Active Auroral Research Program, officially an enormous experiment to heat the ionosphere with radio waves. But conspiracy theorists believe the project is a weapon to bring down aircraft and missiles by lifting sections of the atmosphere, cause earthquakes or even a huge weather modification machine.

28. The Aids virus was created in a laboratory - Based on the theories of Dr William Campbell Douglass, many believe that that HIV was genetically engineered in 1974 by the World Health Organisation. Dr Douglass believed that it was a cold-blooded attempt to create a killer virus which was then used in a successful experiment in Africa. Others have claimed that it was created by the CIA or the KGB as a means to reduce world population.

29. Global warming is a hoax - Some climate change doubters believe that man-made global warming is a conspiracy designed to soften up the world's population to higher taxation, controls on lifestyle and more authoritarian government. These sceptics cite a fall in global temperatures since last year and a levelling off in the rise in temperature since 1998 as evidence.

30. Chemtrails - Chemtrail conspiracy theorists believe that some contrails, which consist of ice crystals or water vapor condensed behind aircraft, actually result from chemicals or biological agents being deliberately sprayed at high altitude for some undisclosed purpose. The staple of right-wing radio shows in the US, there is fevered speculation that the chemicals being sprayed are part of a wider plot that involves the so-called New World Order and is being directed by shadowy forces within the government. The existence of chemtrails has been repeatedly denied by federal agencies and scientists.

I've always liked number twelve.

Shakespeare didn't write his works.

It was some other guy with the same name.

#24 is great. "They're trying to corrupt our precious bodily fluids!"

On a different note, I see nothing here about the orbital mind-control lasers, why else would we need to wear those aluminum foil hats?

On a different note, I see nothing here about the orbital mind-control lasers...
#5 | Posted by Sarcasmo

Why?

Because the orbital mind-control lasers are not a "conspiracy theory."

They are a conspiracy fact.

That's some great stuff, DOC.

Thanks.

I really enjoyed reading it.

I want more!

My apologies Doc, I'll put my thought protection helmet back on before it's too late.

Sarcasmo, the metal coathanger antennae probably just need a little tweaking. Any unlicensed professional automobile mechanic or garage-based rocket scientist should be able to straighten that problem out.

Did you get Bani's and JeffinDenmark's approval for the lists ratings?

"History's" greatest? Many involve the U.S. and many involve scenarios in the 20th century. Guess history doesn't exist too much outside that?

Not being into conspiracy theories, I would have liked to see a list of conspiracies in world history. But it does give me something to look into.

BTW, why isn't the theory that reality is just a made-up fraud on this list?

"BTW, why isn't the theory that reality is just a made-up fraud on this list?"

Because it's not a theory.
It's a fact.
And that's a fact.
~Professor Irwin Corey
World's Foremost Expert

Ah fluoridation! I did a grad school study on how one California county managed to defeatt fluoridating the water supply. That campaign was led by something called Pro-America (a title that has worked since time immemorial), a forerunner of the John Birch Society. This group suggested that Hitler used fluoridation to weaken the Poles before invading, AND that fluoridation was an Alcoa plot to dispose of aluminum waste products. herm

"~Professor Irwin Corey
World's Foremost Expert"

Yeah, but he's a left-winger. Which proves my point. It's a left-wing conspiracy! Or maybe it's a right-wing conspiracy spread by the John Birch society. I'm so confused ... see, that proves it's a fraud!

Let me try and clear this up for you, FYI.

There's pretty solid evidence---which, for obvious reasons, cannot be made public or even shown to anyone not on the distribution list of you-know-what---that it's a right-wing conspiracy spread by the John Birch Society, but done in such a way that it looks like a left-wing conspiracy which they were duped into believing, but which, in fact, they do not believe in and were, therefore, not duped.

For the real scoop, check with Joe the Plumber.

I would believe you, Doc, if it wasn't for the moonstacks on the moon. Which have the Illuminati logo on them. And are sponsored by the Masons. Good try, though.

You have a point, FYI. But remember, the deflection was offered as an attempt to steer you clear of areas that just best be left unexplored. This stuff can get pretty tricky. Just ask Spooky Muldur to tell you what happened to him when he got a little too close to the...Oh, wait a sec, doorbell's ringing, phone's jangling...back in a sec...

'"History's" greatest? Many involve the U.S. and many involve scenarios in the 20th century. Guess history doesn't exist too much outside that?'

This is an interesting observation, in all seriousness. Surely there must have been conspiracy theories through all history, but the only ones I can think of are the standards that are still big today -- Masons, Illuminati, Jesus & Mary Magdalene, the Easter Bunny.

I suppose by their very nature most conspiracy theories fade with time because either they don't matter anymore or they turn out to be conspiracy fact. Does anybody know of any conspiracy theories from history that haven't been proven or disproven that aren't listed here?

In terms of "in America," I'd agree with that. Although the tsunami conspiracy was a new one to me. Yikes!

Judas was framed.
Humpty Dumpty was pushed.

Hmmmm, this list is make Spud vey very suspicious.

The number one conspiracy of all time isn't even of the list?

S'rsly?

Time fer Spud to blow the lid on... The Stonecutters!

Who controls the British Crown?
Who Keeps The Metric System Down?
We Do, We Do...
Who keeps Atlantis off the maps?
Who keeps the Martians under wraps?
We Do, We Do...
Who holds back the electric car?
Who makes Steve Gutenberg, a star!
We Do, We Do...
Who robs the cavefish of their sight?
Who rigs every Oscar night?
We Do... We Doooo!

Good thread Doc--

They should remake the movie Philadelphia Experiment.

Historical conspiracy theory:

John Wilkes Booth was a Confederate Agent specifically charged by his government to assassinate Pres. Lincoln. Don't know if this is conspiracy theory or has become conspiracy fact, I think the debate is still ongoing with little proof to confirm it.

Sorry, I know that it's still American, but it's definitely not 20th century.

Nice find, Sarcasmo. Thanks.

12. Shakespeare was somebody else

He was. He was really some dude named Shakespeare

Virgil: Hippy, you think everything is a conspiracy.

Alan "Hippy" Carnes: Everything is.

From: "The Abyss"

They should remake the movie Philadelphia Experiment.
#21 | Posted by MURPHY

Absolutely, Murphy!

There were/are several Lincoln assasination conspiracy theories. The one that was most bandied about, IIRC, centered around whether someone in his cabinet, like Seward, was behind the assasination.

Lots of conspiracy theories have been lost through time. Some of Egypt's are still known - like whether Tut was killed and by whom. Like the female pharaoh. Etc. Lots of the conspiracy theories of the Middle Ages are still known. But it does seem like all lose their "importance" with the passage of time. But they have always been great things for arguments/discussions. People do seem to have a great need for conspiraciy theories.

Remember what we were taught about how something begins innocently, and after a time, expands into a legend?

Back when that movie came out, an old coot I knew who worked for one of the big defense outfits laughed his ass off about The Philly Experiment.

And the truth...as always..is dopier than the fiction.

A ship was drydocked yes, but warp nacelles were not installed, he told me. Far simpler stuff, pure high school science, not a cloaking device.

One, the screws were removed and new ones installed, with a different pitch, etc. Why? To fool German sonar operators, who, by the RPM's and cavitation noise can pretty well guess what they're chasing. So, bye-bye destroyer and hello, well, whatever.

Two. It was known that the u-boots had magnetic-homing torpedoes. How to fool such? Simple: wrap the boat in miles of cable, apply AC and presto..no more magnetic signature. A steel ship, after a time, absorbs the Earth's mag field, and polarizes. So, AC on, hummm...and no more magnetic field!

One new-propped un-gaussed boat. No warp, no Einstein-Rosen doors, no cloaking devices. Apparently, some sailors, perplexed as to this "high-tech" deal were pretty impressed, but, over time, expanded this yarn into...legendaria urbanis.

Go make a movie about that. Call it Beakman Goes To Sea. Rated B for boring.

Number 8 could include Bruce Lee and his son.