As a new decade dawns, we look back on the conspiracy theories that shocked, amazed and appalled us over the past.
In 1947, a mysterious crash that the U.S. military says was a surveillance balloon sparked the most enduring alien conspiracy of all — that it was in fact an alien spacecraft that was wrecked in Roswell, N.M., and that the government has kept the alien corpses, their technology, and the certain knowledge of life on other planets among its most highly guarded secrets. Many believe that the US military covered up the crash of an alien spacecraft in Roswell, New Mexico. It has been claimed that various parts of an alien spacecraft and even bodies of extra-terrestrials were retrieved from the scene. The high-security military base in Nevada known variously as Dreamland, Groom Lake, and Area 51, is believed by conspiracy theorists to hold more secrets than the spy planes tested there. It’s conjectured that Area 51 is where government scientists reverse-engineered alien technology, possibly including the Roswell debris. Their research supposedly gave rise to everything from stealth technology to time travel. It’s also spawned conspiracy-theorist hunting grounds like the nearby Alien Research Center.
1. Apollo Moon Landing
Image Courtesy: Brother Peace Maker
The Apollo 11 Moon landing in 1969 is said to be an elaborate hoax by the US accordingto some space conspiracy theorists. In 1969, millions of people watched as men walked on the moon for the first time in human history. Or did they? According to one remarkably enduring conspiracy theory, the U.S. government faked the moon landings with the use of movie sets and props. NASA footage of Moon’s surface seems bogus according to some theorists, who claim glaring anomalies such as shadows going in different directions and the US flag blowing in the wind show it was faked.
2. Nine-eleven
Image Courtesy: Digg
The defining moment of the past decade has spawned the most controversial and hotly debated conspiracy theory of all time. Did the US government allow the 9/11 attacks on the Twin Towers and the Pentagon to happen despite it’s prior knowledge, or did the Bush administration plan and execute the attacks as a “false flag” operation to justify the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and the repressive anti-terror legislation that offers the US government unprecedented control over the public. A bitter argument between theorists and scientific journals still rages over whether the two planes that struck the twin towers were the cause of the World Trade Centre’s collapse, or whether controlled explosions and thermite plasma were used to destroy the skyscrapers. The destruction of Tower 7, which was not hit by a plane, and questions over whether the Pentagon was struck by a cruise missile rather than a jumbo jet, have all lent weight to the conspiracists claims.
3.The 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami
Image Courtesy: SJSU
A theory which has gained considerable traction in the Muslim world following one of the worst natural disasters in South Asian history is that the tsunami could have been caused by an Indian nuclear experiment aided by Israeli and American experts. Theorists suggest that the heated nuclear race between India and neighbour Pakistan, led to the former spending billions on unsophisticated nuclear technology. Theorists are then split as to whether the test went awry, or whether backed by the US and Israel, India was taking the first step in “geological warfare” as part of a bid to wipe out Muslims in the heavily Islamic areas of Indonesia and Sri Lanka which suffered most of the 230,000 deaths caused by the Tsunami.
4.The Roswell cover up and Area-51
In 1947, a mysterious crash that the U.S. military says was a surveillance balloon sparked the most enduring alien conspiracy of all — that it was in fact an alien spacecraft that was wrecked in Roswell, N.M., and that the government has kept the alien corpses, their technology, and the certain knowledge of life on other planets among its most highly guarded secrets. Many believe that the US military covered up the crash of an alien spacecraft in Roswell, New Mexico. It has been claimed that various parts of an alien spacecraft and even bodies of extra-terrestrials were retrieved from the scene. The high-security military base in Nevada known variously as Dreamland, Groom Lake, and Area 51, is believed by conspiracy theorists to hold more secrets than the spy planes tested there. It’s conjectured that Area 51 is where government scientists reverse-engineered alien technology, possibly including the Roswell debris. Their research supposedly gave rise to everything from stealth technology to time travel. It’s also spawned conspiracy-theorist hunting grounds like the nearby Alien Research Center.
5. Princess Diana’s Death
When investigators concluded that the 1997 death of Princess Diana and her boyfriend, Dodi Fayed, was caused by a drunk driver and reckless driving, conspiracy theorists — including Fayed’s powerful father — begged to differ. They said they knew that it was in fact the British royal family who had MI6 kill Di because she was pregnant with a Muslim man’s baby.
6. NASA Is Covering Up an Alien Civilization on Mars
Image Courtesy: LIFE
In 1976, the Viking 1 space probe took a photograph of the Cydonia region of Mars that included what appeared to be a huge human face gazing up at the sky (bottom). The images created a furor among those believed that it was proof of an ancient Martian civilization. In 1998, the Mars Global Surveyor (top photos) took better-resolution photos that seemed to prove that the Face on Mars was simply an optical illusion — but some diehard conspiracy theorists insist it’s a NASA cover-up.
7. Big Business Wants Marijuana Outlawed
Image Courtesy: LIFE
Conspiracy theorists say that the real reason marijuana is against the law is because the hemp plant is so useful that it threatens the paper, rope, pharmaceutical, and cloth industries.
8. Paul Is Dead
There is an urban legend alleging that Paul McCartney of The Beatles died in 1966 and was replaced by a look-alike and sound-alike. He was supposedly replaced by William Campbell- the winner of a look-alike contest. Conspiracy theorists say that he died decades ago, killed in a car accident. Supposedly, various Beatles songs, played either backward or forward, give hints to the conspiracy. Yet another conspiracy theory states that Paul isn’t dead, but that the Beatles started the rumor themselves as a prank that they’ve been perpetuating ever since.
9.The Bermuda Triangle
Image Courtesy: Fantasy Art Design
The Bermuda Triangle, also known as the Devil’s Triangle, is a region in the western part of the North Atlantic Ocean in which a number of aircraft and surface vessels are alleged to have mysteriously disappeared in a manner that cannot be explained by human error, piracy, equipment failure, or natural disasters. Popular culture has attributed these disappearances to the paranormal, a suspension of the laws of physics, or activity by extraterrestrial beings. A substantial body of documentation reveals, however, that a significant portion of the allegedly mysterious incidents have been inaccurately reported or embellished by later authors, and numerous official agencies have stated that the number and nature of disappearances in the region is similar to that in any other area of ocean.
10. Global Warming
It’s the end of the world as we know it, or maybe not. As the world’s most powerful men ended the decade with a load of hot air in Copenhagen, the rest of us were left wondering just how hot our air is going to get. Having spent most of the noughties being told that the debate is over, conspiracy theorists are becoming increasingly vocal in their opposition to the global warming lobby. With scientists, politicians, and a House of Lords inquiry providing detailed rebuttals of the science behind man-made climate change, the cracks in the case for creating a “green planet” to save ourselves from melting ice caps and burning summers are beginning to appear. A multi-billion dollar industry built on fear and government misinformation provides the ideal backdrop for one of the biggest alleged conspiracies of the noughties.