Although X-Files told us that we should want to believe in UFOs and conspiracy theories, some of them are so ridiculous and common sense-defying that we just cannot bring ourselves to trust the tiniest bit of them. As luck would have it, you’re just about to see for yourself what we are rambling about here. This is our glorious list of conspiracy theories - from believable, to hilarious, to plain outrageous, these stories will either make you laugh or want to dig deeper.
Of course, this list just wouldn’t do without some of the most popular conspiracy theories, like the one about the iceberg, JFK, or mister Dillinger’s death. However, if you’re somewhat of a connoisseur of these tall tales, you’re also bound to find some new stories here that were shared on Reddit by people from all walks of life. And if you’re here purely for entertainment, there are also some pretty funny conspiracy theories that will amuse you in their absurdity. Yet, who knows, it might just be that the crazy conspiracy theories are, in fact, the ones that are real…
Now, before we burst from anticipation to read these famous conspiracy theories, we should all probably just scroll down below and check them out, shall we? Once you are done reading them (and there are loads to read through - great material for a cold winter’s evening!), vote for the conspiracy theory that made you doubt your own beliefs or made you laugh until your tummy started hurting. And after that, share this article with your friends!
“Modern art that sells for millions is a way for criminals to launder money. I refuse to believe someone paid over 100k for a banana duck taped to a wall. Someone is using that grift to launder their drug money or something.”
“Celebrities aren’t actually giving their kids absurd names, they just aren’t publicizing their legal names.”
“There is only one yawn on earth and it constantly travels from person to person…”
“The CIA killed Marilyn Monroe because Kennedy had been disclosing classified information to her.”
“Yuri Gagarin was not the first man in space, just the first man to live through it.”
“That there are people rich enough to disappear. There must be some billionaires we’ve never heard of.”
“Starbucks trains its employees to spell names wrong on coffee cups to get pictures of their brand on social media.”
During the ’80s and the ’90s, America became convinced that here was an underground network of Satanists working to kidnap and torture children. While none of it was real, the theories destroyed many lives and livelihoods.
“Disney’s frozen is only titled like that so when you Google “Disney frozen” the movie comes up instead of conspiracy theories.”
“Planned obsolescence everywhere in the industry. If everyone stopped replacing their cars and smartphones, imagine the.”
“The “coup attempt” in Turkey was faked in order for Erdogan to consolidate his power and purge the opposition.”
“Facebook and Google are monitoring everything you type, post, and say. There are so many stories of people talking about, say cats, and getting ads for cat food within an hour. They never searched for cats or cat food then or in the past, just said the word a few times. “Reply All” did a podcast episode debunking this theory, but all it boiled down to was an email from Facebook stating they didn’t do this.”
“The woman’s clothing industry is a conspiracy. Winter cardigans are intentionally thin so they have to buy more to layer them, no pockets so they have to buy bags.”
“Toothpaste and shampoo commercials show using way too much of the stuff. You need a pea-sized bit of toothpaste but the ads always show it covering the entire brush and then some.”
“That laundry detergent companies suggest using more detergent per load than necessary in order to force people into buying more often.”
“During Hurricane Katrina, the Murphy Oil refinery in St. Bernard parish, just outside of New Orleans, had a container rupture and leak oil on a lot of the surrounding neighborhood, including my grandparent’s and aunt/uncle’s houses. After the cleaning up the land was deemed uninhabitable and the oil company was able to purchase all the land for very, very cheap. Many people that were affected and in the area believe that the oil company did it on purpose, and I tend to believe them.”
“Lip balm makes your lips dependent on lip balm. Just seems the more you use it the more you need to use it. Not sure if that’s an actual conspiracy but that’s the best I can come up with on a Monday morning.”
“I believe that there are people richer than the people we know as the richest people in the world.”
“Pope John Paul I was assassinated for trying to uncover corruption in the Vatican Bank. He’s the only Pope whose body was cremated and I believe it was done to hide the evidence of being poisoned.”
“Elon Musk is actually a Martian who has been exiled to Earth and he’s just trying to find his way home.”
“That Sprite changing their bottle from green to clear doesn’t actually help the environment, they are just doing it cuz their green bottles in the water are immediately recognized.”
“Mattress firm is some sort of giant money laundering scheme. They are everywhere and always empty. I remember seeing 4 mattress firms all on each corner of an intersection once, there is no way there is such a demand for mattresses.”
Even if you haven’t heard about Centralia, Pennsylvania, you have probably still heard about Centralia, Pennsylvania. It’s the most infamous ghost town in probably whole world because of its underground fires burning there indefinitely since 1962. Although the origin of the fires is known, it still didn’t deter people from coming up with their own juicy explanations.
“Michael Jackson was chemically castrated as a pre-teen, which is why his singing voice remained so high pitched, and a major contributor to many of his other odd behaviors as an adult.”
“Trader Joe’s parking lots are terrible and small to make the store seem like it’s always busy.”
It’s July 4, 1947 in Roswell, New Mexico. Mac Brazel went out to his sheep pasture only to find unusual objects, like metal sticks, foil pieces, and paper scraps strewn around the area. Not knowing what it was, Brazel called the police and soon enough armored vehicles showed up to pick up the litter. This, of course, sparked some awesome theories about UFOs.
We all know that NASA landed astronauts on the moon in 1969, yet, by the 1970s some people were certain that the operation was nothing but a huge hoax.
“The government had a hand in creating and/or popularizing some of the more outlandish conspiracy theories in order to make questioning the official story seem inherently crazy by association.”
In the 1990s, the Sherman family came forward and spoke to media outlets about years of strange occurrences at their ranch in Ballard, Utah, also known as the Skinwalker Ranch. The father of the family, Terry, told the press that his family had witnessed strange lights and UFOs. That, and many other unexplained occurrences, turned the ranch into a hotbed for various conspiracy theories.
Vermont’s Brunswick Springs has long been a fountain of conspiracy theories (pardon the pun). In fact, Ripley’s Believe It Or Not even named the springs the eight wonder of the world, because each of them have completely different minerals despite coming from the very same source.
“The government invented “Throwback Thursday” to get people to digitize and post old pics they wouldn’t have had access to so that they could improve facial recognition and age progression algorithms.”
“New Coke was a cover for switching to high fructose corn syrup.”
“The Colombian government is actively performing criminal activities in all the country in order to remain rich.”
Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in Memphis, but some think there is more to the story. On April 4, 1968, Martin Luther King Jr. stepped out onto his balcony at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee, and was shot. The civil rights leader died at the Memphis Hospital at 39 years old. The killer, James Earl Ray, was caught and pleaded guilty a year later. However, many people, including King’s own children, do not believe Ray acted alone.
Probably no other event in the history of humankind was as ripe for conspiracy theories as the COVID-19 pandemic. From microchip injections, to the origins of the virus, to basically any other aspect of pandemic, great many theories spawned from it.
In Salem, New Hampshire, there is a 4,000-year-old archaeological site called Mystery Hill that no one knows how or why was it built. The site comprises chambers, walls, drains, and basins all made out of stone and no explanations.
“Cosmopolitan and other similar magazines intentionally give out bad advice so their readers won’t get in a relationship which makes them keep buying them for advice.”
“CSI television shows purposely over play the forensic capabilities of various law enforcement departments to help project an image of total competence.”
“Apple got rid of the headphone jack because Square was competing with Apple Pay.”
The story of Jimmy Hoffa was full of conspiracy theories - his rise to the title of a president of union, his disappearance in 1975, and his connections with mobsters sure left some unanswered questions.
Flora, Mississippi is the home to probably the most famous UFO sighting so far. See, in 1977 several police officers claim to have seen a strange object floating in the sky, over the top of a forest. This, of course, sparked some intriguing stories.
“In the United States, gun manufacturers secretly support democratic candidates because whenever they win there’s always a rush to buy up as much ammo/guns as possible.”
“Netflix’s marketing team releases memes about shows to give off the appearance that everyone is watching the said show. Since people have FOMO they watch the shows to understand the memes until everyone eventually does watch it.”
The Georgia Guidestones is a famous monument that is known for its bizarre inscriptions. What’s even weirder, is that the monument was paid for by an unknown man, so no one knows who built it or why. Some think the codes are telling the future, while others believe Satanists or the New World Order built the sculpture to promote their evil agenda.
Enoch Lincoln, who was a famous poet and human rights advocate, sparked some controversy way back in 1991. In fact, it was his missing body that led conspirators to theorize on his whereabouts. See, his remains were laid in a crypt in 1829 never to found again!
Some conspiracy theories date back over hundred years, just like the story of mysterious lights floating around Brown Mountain in North Carolina. In fact, the lights were first witnessed on September 24, 1913 and have not been explained as of yet.
Probably the most famous conspiracy theories span from the Area 51, which is an American military installation, ‘famous’ for experimenting on aliens and their spacecraft. Since the operations there are kept in secrecy, it soon became a fertile ground for various unbelievable theories.
The Stanley R. Mickelsen Safeguard Complex in North Dakota was built during the Cold War to detect incoming missiles. The $500 million building is shaped like an unfinished pyramid, much like the one you can see on the back of the dollar, and has a round circle on each face. The shape of it prompted people to think that the facility was actually linked to Illuminati.
Bigfoot is just notorious for various conspiracy theories, and with over 2,000 ‘sightings’ in Washington state the tales are keeping strong. Some believe it to be a shy loner, others claim it to be related to humans, and some even think that Bigfoot is an extraterrestrial being!
“Michael Jordan retired because of gambling. He made a deal with David Stern.”
“Walmart’s security system is shared with the government because every time they have a nationwide search for someone they post a photo of them leaving a Walmart somewhere.”
QAnon is a well-known theory that a group of Democrats and elites was attempting to undermine Donald Trump’s presidency. QAnon is a baseless conspiracy theory claiming that former President Donald Trump is secretly fighting a cabal of satanic pedophiles and cannibals.
Truman Capote and Harper Lee were childhood friends growing up back in Alabama. Both of them became prominent writers and some people even claim that Capote wrote Lee’s famous novel “To Kill A Mocking Bird.”
The Denver International Airport is infamous for conspiracy theories surrounding the facility. One of them concerns the airport’s construction budget which went more than $2 billion over the estimate, prompting people to think that the airport has an underground structure used by Illuminati.
Did you know that there’s a hidden chamber behind Lincoln’s head on Mount Rushmore? It was supposedly made to keep America’s prized possessions, but nobody knows the real purpose it was built for.
Right after Princess Diana’s untimely death on August 31, 1997, people started coming up with their own theories concerning the accident. Nobody could believe that she was killed in a freak accident as royal were supposed to die from old age!
Although a famous conspiracy theory dating back to 1966 says that Sir Paul McCartney is dead, he’s very much alive to this day!
Ong’s Hat, New Jersey, might be the one of the internet’s earliest conspiracy theories! People have speculated that the ghost town lost its inhabitants from no other cause but interdimensional travel and, well, the theory caught on.
There’s a giant active volcano under Yellowstone in Wyoming, and if it erupts, it could wipe out the US. Naturally, some people think that the US Goverment knows exactly when the eruption will happen, keeping the information in secrecy.
Did you know that the Scottish Nessie has a cousin in Flathead Lake, Montana? In 1889, Captain James C. Kerr and his passengers aboard a steamboat reported seeing a huge Nessie in the lake. And, as of 2019, there have been 109 ‘sightings’ of the alien creature. Fancy a swim?
Some people in Idaho believe the state is subject to government experimentation and that they are being poisoned with chemicals. They believe the government is dropping harmful substances from airplanes at various times throughout the year, with ‘chemtrails’ serving as their evidence.
There are loads of conspiracy theories concerning John Dillinger, especially so about his jail escapes and death. You probably know that Dillinger was the public enemy number one in the 1930s and his trickery made him even more famous. From wooden guns to trick guards and escape jail to alleged operation to become unrecognizable, Dillinger sure has loads or unbelievable stories about him.
For years, people across Minnesota have reported hearing low humming or roaring sounds coming from the sky, and some think the sounds are of some sinister nature. In fact, they are pretty sure the sounds are connected to extraterrestrial beings!
On August 15, 1977, an astronomer named Jerry Ehman recorded a radio signal using the Big Ear telescope at the Ohio State University. Ehman wrote “Wow!” on the printout, giving it the name “The Wow! Signal.” Becaue the signal have not been heard ever since, it prompted some people to think that it was, in fact, extraterrestrials trying to contact our home planet.
In 2011, mysterious clouds formed over Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. In fact, they looked if they were a hole in the sky. The occurrence, of course, started a few juicy theories of its origins.
“Certain three-letter intelligence organizations might be the reason the Intel and AMD platforms have black-boxes built into motherboards, which can basically execute ANYTHING.”
In the mountains of Alaska, you can find the High-Frequency Active Auroral Research Program which helps scientists study the farthest distances of the atmosphere with over 180 antennas spread over 33 acres of land. However, some people firmly believe that it’s, in fact, a mind-control lab!
Back in 1969, Johnny Gosch was abducted from des Moines, Iowa, never to be found. Conspirators were quick on this case, claiming that he was forced into a child-sex ring that was operating in Nebraska. Even though his mother, Noreen, received some ominous pictures of a man tied up in a basement, it gave no proof that it was Gosch.
Wytheville, Virginia, was an exceptionally ripe ground for UFO sightings - by 1988, 3,000 reports were filed in! Definitely a rightful source for conspiracy theories.
Remember the Joplin tornado in 2011? The one that hit Joplin, Missouri, with devastating winds reaching 200mph, leveling the city and killing 161 people? Some think that this horrible occurrence was part of a greater mystery…
“The mafia is partially the reason why the Twin towers came down as quickly as they did. I can’t remember where I found it but essentially when the WTC was being constructed the Mob had control of a bulk of the construction companies involved. A bit of money laundering here, a bit of skimping on the fireproofing there, a bit of money for the inspectors to turn a blind eye, and the WTC was ready to go, of course, no one could plan for a 757 to plow head on full of gas into a structure not fireproofed adequately.”
In 2012, a 34-acre sinkhole opened up in Bayou Corne, Louisiana, and it’s still growing. Although sinkholes aren’t unusual, the sheer size (325 feet across and hundreds of feet deep!) of this one sparked interest in conspirators as to its origin and possible purpose.
In 2015, Rhode Island beachgoers experienced a bizarre blast that knocked them off their beach chairs, even injuring one person. The rumbling heard just before the blast seemed very suspicious to some of the witnesses and conspirators definitely found some food for thought in this happening.