Now believe me, I'm not a rush to judgment conspiracy person.
In fact, those people tend to drive me crazy. How do you live in a constant state of paranoia?
You really don't believe there is a set-up behind every intention or hidden meaning behind every press release? That's no way to live.
I have argued and debunked many a nutty belief over the course of my life, but lately, a few thoughts have gotten me wondering. I'm not ready to join a club or even have a heated discussion but I may do a little research. It can't hurt.
Can it?
Redditor Zoozoo95 wanted to hear about the thoughts being floated about that sound suspect, but upon further examination made you wonder... could this hold some water? They asked:
What's a conspiracy theory that you heard that kind of made you think, "huh, what if they are right"?
There has got to be some shady goings-on with this supply chain nonsense. I refuse to believe we can't access our goods without this much drama right?
Meowwww....
Sasha Cougar GIF by University of HoustonGiphy"That the province of New Brunswick is denying the existence of Eastern cougars so they won't have to designate a huge bunch of land as protected wildlife habitat." ~ Numerous_Salt
Run the Clock!
"NBA refs are still rigging games. It's not as straightforward as making sure one team wins, since a lot of high-roller gamblers are betting on things like single quarters, individual players, or over/unders. One example that really stands out is last year, there was a game between the Mavericks and (I think) the Kings where it was the final seconds and the score wasn't close so the players were just letting the clock run out."
"And the ref called a technical on Luka Doncic for seemingly no reason. Turns out, the one free throw for the technical was the difference between the over and the under hitting. When Tim Donaghy was caught fixing games, he said he wasn't the only one and was going to wear a wire for the FBI, but someone tipped off David Stern and it never happened." ~ ElToberino
They were right...
"My mom's choir practice actually being my mom cheating. They were right. My mom had been acting strange and was irritable for a couple of months, so I talked to my friend about it and told him I assume she's going through menopause and it will eventually pass. He immediately said she might be seeing someone else."
"My parents have always been the type of people who cooked and gardened together, traveled and even worked together for a while. My mom never showed any interest in any other men, not even a comment about someone looking good. They got along really well so I just assumed there must be something else going on with her. Turns out he was right." ~ yukiatsusan
Miscavige!
"David Miscavige, the chairman of the Church of Scientology definitely murdered his wife and is getting off scott free for it. Him and his wife got into a pretty heated argument in 2007, and she hasn't been seen since. Lawyers hired by David claim she is still alive and devotes 100% of her time to work at the church of scientology, which is why she hasn't been seen since August 2007."
"In 2013, a former member of the church had filed a missing person report that was closed after a few officers had "spoken and seen Mrs.Miscavige", even though there's no evidence whatsoever of this meeting. All missing person's reports now are turned down since this investigation is forever closed." ~ ihatenuts69
Norma Jean
marilyn monroe hello GIFGiphy"Honestly, Marilyn Monroe's death. I know she was troubled and had her fair share of drug use but I think she got to a point where she was a liability with her involvement with JFK." ~ kyle71473
Poor Norma Jean. Hollywood, heck society as a whole, really ruined it for her.
Tragedy
Martin Luther King Jr Mlk GIF by IdentityGiphy"The FBI had many reasons to assassinate MLK. The FBI saw him as a threat to capitalism for supporting many socialist ideas like universal basic income, etc. The assassin even admitted he was hired by someone who may have been part of the government." ~ Rabbet_yt
Clues...
"There's one crank pushing the conspiracy that there was no single Zodiac killer. Rather the letters were a distraction created by dirty law enforcement officers to cover up killings connected to their drug trade. His theory doesn't quite hold together, but it's based on the idea that the murders were so different, different weapons, different kinds of victims."
"And that the letters and phone calls contain things found in initial police reports, but might have been falsely reported. The idea being that only someone with access to police records could write them. I don't remember all the details, but it's at least an entertaining theory. Much better than the books we get every year "My father was the Zodiac killer because he wore glasses in the 60s." ~ Pontus_Pilates
Genius!
"Germany's government opened the night clubs one week before elections. Some people joked that they did it so young people were to hungover to vote -> less progressive votes." ~ zimzilla
"The reason all UK elections are on a Thursday is because when the rules were written they thought the voters would be the least drunk on a Thursday." ~ TheNewHobbes
Well... DUH!
"A lot of rich and powerful people didn't want Epstein alive. With the number of millionaire/billionaires that are psychopaths or similar, there must be a few super rich serial killers out there. By extension there must be people making money supplying victims in the same way Epstein was supplying girls to the wealthy who wanted to scratch an itch."
"With the money, power and influence would come governments and intelligence agencies willing to overlook or cover up terrible actions for leverage. I'll take the low hanging fruit. The Epstein "suicide" was outrageous. I've never seen an issue in recent memory where the far left and far right were in complete agreement and equally outraged over the same issue."
"Calling it a "conspiracy theory" doesn't do it justice. It's a hypothesis, and a highly likely one, that he was killed or was allowed to kill himself. The cameras malfunctioned and the guards fell asleep... FFS that is some lazy plot writing." ~ ihatenuts69
A-HA!!!
The Goldbergs GIF by ABC NetworkGiphy"The government helps spread some of the more ridiculous conspiracy theories, so when a real conspiracy comes up, no one really cares because it's not anywhere near as wild as all the other dumb crap." ~ JerHat
Epstein is an obvious non-conspiracy. It's a disgrace.
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Hollywood hasn't helped, as movies and TV have typically portrayed death as something sinister and violent.
How could anyone be convinced death is a peaceful transition, and that what awaits on the other side is actually an unimaginable utopia?
Curious to hear strangers' thoughts about death, Redditor GoodNess2020 invoked a quote by an iconic literary figure and asked:
"Mark Twain once said, 'I do not fear death. I had been dead for billions and billions of years before I was born, and had not suffered the slightest inconvenience from it.' Why do you agree/disagree with his statement?"
People clarified what actually terrified them most about death
The Process
"I don't fear being dead. I fear dying."
– magicbluemonkeydog
"Yeah, that's usually the issue. It's why that quote doesn't mean much, to a lot of people."
"It's not a fear of eventually dying and not existing anymore. It's the act of dying itself. He didn't constantly die for all of time. He just wasn't alive."
– appleparkfive
Concept Of Loss
"To have not existed for billions of years is to have spent billions of years never knowing loss. To die is to know loss."
"If you look into a new bank account and see zero dollars, it’s nothing. If you look into a bank account that once had a million dollars and see there’s nothing in there, you’ll know it’s absence."
– -CrestiaBell
People provided an analogy to articulate what ceasing to exist must feel like.
It's About Time
"Time is only relevant to you when you are alive. He is right. Have you ever been sedated for surgery? You go under, and then instantly wake up and procedure is done.... or you died so no worries."
– 20190419
Consciousness Is Life
"You won’t be feeling anything in death though is the thing. That infinite/instant sensation was a living feeling, you just weren’t conscious for it - your body experienced it anyways. No body, no experience."
– Parradog1
Like Being Under
"That is very true, but for me, that's the closest amalgamation of what it probably feels like."
"No one can tell you what actual death will be like. It's impossible for you to experience nothingness."
"Thinking about death can be paralysing sometimes, and when I remember that the closest thing i can link as an experience I had, being put under, was actually sort of pleasant. I then think maybe death will be like that, and honestly it doesn't seem that bad."
– IamEclipse
When In Deep Sleep
"Yeah in contrast to sleep where you can actually feel like time has passed when you wake up."
– GreyFoxMe
Think Line Between Death And Slumber
"As CGPGrey puts it, your bed might very well be a suicide machine."
"Given our lack of understanding for the fundamental processes of our sentience, it's entirely possible that when you fall asleep, your mind is functionally killed, disassembled, analyzed, sorted, tweaked, and adjusted by your biology, before being reassembled when you wake. Every night."
– Mazon_Del
People opened up about their insecurities around the concept of death.
Fear Of What Comes Next
"I’m just paranoid that something does happen after death and it’s just based on one thing that you didn’t know about."
– PsychoDog_Music
The Circle Of Death
"There’s nothing to fear in oblivion. Unless, of course, your consciousness survives death. If so, it would be reasonable to fear the sensation of consciousness without senses, suspended alone in the cosmos, with no one to hear you, and no way to make yourself known. No reference point for counting time – a count that does not matter anyway in a literal eternity."
"You might wish that you still had a corporeal form, only so that you could make your mouth move to express your terror, to make the universal form of a terrified scream – the form of a letter O."
"But you won’t be able to. You just won’t!"
"This has been the Children’s Fun Fact Science Corner. Brought to you by shame, loneliness, and the letter..."
"O....."
– CecilSpeaksInItalics
When Faith Fails You
"what do you mean I'm going to hell?! I was a good person and attended church regularly!"
"Ah yes, but you failed to put a blue feather in your hat and then turn in circles the times praising God Almighty on the fifth Sunday after your twelfth birthday. To the pit with you!!!"
– phormix
There is an poignant episode from the Twilight Zone that brought me a sense of peace surrounding the concept of death.
Death was embodied by a handsome police officer who had been shot–played by a young Robert Redford–and begs to be let into the home of an elderly woman who had been living in perpetual fear of meeting "Mr. Death."
As the episode continues, she discovers much to her dismay that she welcomed Death into her home, but he warmly reassures her there is nothing to fear.
The episode ends with her finally offering her hand to Death after much protest, and they peacefully walk out together, arm in arm, into the light.
It was sweet and beautifully done. The 1962 episode was titled, "Nothing in the Dark."
That's how I imagine it to be.
A dashing Prince of Darkness telling me it's time to join him in guiding me to the other side.
Twilight Zone - "Nothing in the Dark" ending (SPOILER ALERT)
SPOILER ALERTFrom S3E16, "Nothing in the Dark". An old woman confronts her worst fear - the fear of death."Am I really so bad? Am I really so frightening? Yo...
Thanks for that tip, Alton Brown!
Reddit user 0_BREAD_0 asked:
"What's that one lifehack that ever since you learned it you used it?"
So Alton has us all upgrading our guacamole game, let's see how Reddit can help us grow.
It's A Race!
"Race the microwave or the kettle to get things done in the kitchen."
"It's amazing how much you can do in just a few minutes."
- zazzlekdazzle
"I'll add, doing this while things are cooking on the stove or oven also goes a long way for longer tasks like cleaning counters or floors or inside the fridge."
- spicy-avocado4306
20 Minutes
radio remains GIFGiphy"Clean in 20-minute bursts."
"Set a timer and just go HAM on an area in your house or apartment. Stop when the time is up."
"I ended up making a schedule of sorts where I do 2 of these bursts weekly for the kitchen/bedroom, and one for other rooms."
"Your living space becomes so much easier to manage."
- qisabelle13
"Do most things in 20-minute bursts, really. Outside of specific critical tasks that have other requirements. Wherever possible ~25 minutes or less of focused effort spaced out throughout the day tends to be more valuable and sustaining effort past that threshold can introduce diminishing returns."
- iuytrefdgh436yujhe2
"This is what I do. When I was younger, I'd watch my mom clean the entire house twice a week. She'd spend the whole day cleaning."
"Whereas I just take a few minutes a day to clean ONE area of the house."
- windinthesail
Shine A Light
"If something small, like a needle, falls on a smooth floor ( tiles, wood...) shine a flashlight at an acute angle over the floor. Even the tiniest items cast shadows easy to see."
- Boing78
"I feel so obtuse for not thinking about this."
- vitim_m
Say It To Save It
Whats Her Name Comedy GIF by CBCGiphy"When you meet someone for the first time say their name, at least, twice. "Good to meet you, Bryan." and at the end "Good talking to you, Bryan." You are WAAAAAAYYY more likely to remember their name next time."
- voice_of_craisin
"I usually forget their name before I can tell them mine"
- knovit
"I also will ask them to spell their name or repeat it back to them 'is that spelled John or Jon'."
- reganz
"God as someone who works in an education job and had trouble even remembering my phone number once upon a time, this is SO accurate! I usually also try to come up with a specific thing to associate a person with (I.e, if I might find out some kid named Blank likes Ben 10, and later on I’d remember, 'oh, that’s Blank, the Ben 10 guy!')."
- bubblessensei
Stay Hydrated Feline Friends
"You can get your cat to drink more water and prevent eventual fatal kidney issues by moving their water dish to a different room than it's food. Cats don't like to drink water right next to their food."
"I tried it one day and like 5 minutes later caught my cat gulping water like he had been in the dessert."
- Regnes
"Long story short: I accidentally trained my cat to drink out of a water glass. My cat now demands her own glass of water on the coffee table. I’ve created a monster, but I’ve created a monster that won’t have kidney issues. 🤷♀️"
- iono_maybe
"Getting a yule tree, and having them drink outta the water stand. Lol."
"But real talk, you can add things into the water too."
"Cats and other animals are more like humans than we care to admit. They like clean toilets, their favorite toys, and different foods and drinks."
"So, you can spruce your cat water up with catnip, cat-thyme, valerian, and chamomile herbs."
"As well as you can use your canned meat juices to mix into their water.I do this with tuna and chicken."
"Note: while it is a cliche stereotype, cats shouldn't be given fish, at least not raw. Should always be cooked, canned, smoked, or some other safe way to eat. Also, best bet to not give them any raw food. They can get food poisoning too. Especially true for cats that are indoors-only. They have less resilience."
- DaddyMelkers
Thank You
Sesame Street Reaction GIF by HBO MaxGiphy"Saying 'thank you' more and 'sorry' less."
"Like, instead of saying, 'sorry that I'm talking so much,' say, 'thanks for listening'."
"If someone does something nice, or thoughtful, or even just basic common courtesy, don't apologize for having them do it - that puts them in the position of needing to make you feel better. Give them the thanks that they would appreciate."
- zazzlekdazzle
"I'm a big fan of this one. "Thanks" instead of "sorry" leaves both people feeling appreciated, more confident, and less awkward."
- peter_ym_account
"For real. 'thank you for your patience' instead of 'I'm sorry this has taken so long!' Has saved me a lot of pointless conversation and reassuring. Things go wrong or sideways, you can't change that. You can change how you deliver news!"
- animal1988
Sleep!
"Sounds dumb but going to bed on time is pretty damn amazing. I'm happier, have better discipline (make better nutrition choices, more productive at work/gym) and I'm a more patient and pleasant human in general."
- lance2k2
"Not dumb at all. The person I am (internally and externally) when I get <5 hours of sleep vs 7/8 is surprising, for all the reasons you mentioned. I’m a great sleeper and fall asleep easily, but also very sleep sensitive in that way."
- massiejs09
"My life hack is similar to yours. To reinforce going to bed on time, I started to feed my cat canned food right before I went to bed. Sure enough, after only a couple days my cat made sure I know exactly what time it is every night, and often starts his bitching early, which is sadly helps."
- SeattleTrashPanda
Don't Over Do It
"Get up at least 20 minutes earlier for work or appointments than you need to."
"This reduces stress by not feeling so "pushed" to get out the door and to show up on time."
- Back2Bach
"Yep, this has definitely worked for me. I have to be to work by 9 most days, and I used to get up at 7:30 for years. A frw months ago I set my alarm for 7, and it has been a game changer. I don't even miss that half hour of sleep."
- DirtyBirdDawg
"This doesn’t work for me. I will take a little leisure time, either before or after getting ready, and then I lose all motivation. For me, I have to basically allow myself just enough time."
- hiding-identity23
Excited To Say Hi
Tom Hanks Hello GIFGiphy"Got this from reddit, but the thing where when you greet people with enthusiasm, eventually they start to be enthusiastic back."
- AlsdousHuxley
"My colleague replies with a 'Thanks!' with an exclamation mark, regardless of how trivial or insignificant the things I'm helping him with are"
""I feel like it makes me more receptive towards him asking me for stuff, and have started using it myself when asking other colleagues for stuff"
- BlitzAceSamy
No Glugging Or Mess
"This is really dumb but when you open a box of milk or juice and you pour it on the glass it always goes like under the box and it makes a mess, but if you flip the box and pour it backwards it doesn't do that."
"A friend taught me that like a year or two ago"
- arandomalbedofan
"The same idea works when pouring oil from a plastic bottle into a car engine. If you hold the bottle so the spout is at the top rather than the bottom, the oil pours smoothly rather than 'glugging' out. Hadn't thought of using it on a box of milk or juice, but it makes sense."
- retailguy_again
Yall ... I'm about to go change my oil and try this flipped bottle thing cause ya girl is a DISASTER about that.
Octopuses... they're just like us
"Octopuses are usually very antisocial but when they’re under the influence of ecstasy they are more willing to spend time around each other or even hug other octopuses."- Stab_That_Ukulele
The body compensates
"When you are starving, and have little body fat left, your body can grow almost fur-like hair to insulate itself in absence of fat."- A_Stupid_Fish29
"Your body’s normal functions can slow down to accommodate organ disease."
"For example, I have 40% lung function, but my O2 is completely normal at 98% saturation."
"They didn’t discover any lung disease until I had a ct scan done for other reasons and my lungs happened to show up in that."- nocturnal_numbness
What this would do for humanity!
"Cheetahs are so genetically similar that supposedly you can draw blood from one and inject it straight into another one without any health issues in the receiving animal."
"I.E. no blood type or clotting factor variations."- 0ttr
big cats cat GIF by BBC EarthGiphySo strange, that it makes perfect sense?
"Coca-Cola can help with blood stains."- Buzzed_Woody
Good thing they don't need a toilet...
"Guinea pigs average pooping around 100 times a day."- morgandanso
Um...
"In Phoenix, Arizona, you are legally allowed to bury a dead body on your property without asking for permission/getting a permit/etc."
"The city asks that you contact them beforehand so they can send someone out to stake for gas/electric lines, but it’s not required."- hedalexa12
digging sarah chalke GIFGiphyWho wouldn't?
"If provided with a mirror, dolphins will admire their own genitals."- Cymiril
The brain is a delicate creature
"There is a chemical called MPTP that specifically destroys dopaminergic neurons in the brain."
"About 3 days after someone ingests it, they get Parkinson's disease."- SheilaBoof
Gruesome with good intentions?
"In the 1960s or 70s, the Swiss Air Force dropped severed chicken heads all over the forests of Switzerland."
"The chicken heads contained the rabies vaccine, and the airdrop was to vaccinate wild foxes against rabies."- EnormousPurpleGarden
fennec fox GIFGiphyOne never knows when learning this newfound information might become useful.
Especially for parents of children eager to buy a Guinea Pig...