"What's a conspiracy theory you believe is 100% true?"
Anything Found On Reddit
"I would believe any conspiracy theory that explains why I see a version of this question in my feed 3 times per day."- Longjumping_Ad_6988
Hold On To Your Butts
"Several years back, Samuel L Jackson did an AMA."
"He announced it a few days before and said he would read, up to 300 words, any statement that was the highest voted."
"The initial comment that was in the lead was a series of words for a gps system."
"Left, right, turn, 1,2,3,4,5 etc and of course motherf*cker."
"Halfway through though, another comment took the lead and ended up winning."
"It was a rather bland announcement that he was retiring from acting and taking up a life of crime fighting."
'Till the end of time, I will believe that his team said there was no way he was going to read a script that would immediately be posted to create a product that he would not get paid for."
'I am sure Reddit admins put their thumb on the scale to get the other comment to win."- frodosbitch
Samuel L Jackson Wink GIF by LionsgateGiphyMystery DNA Collection...
"When I was in middle school some group came and had every kid in the grade fingerprinted and mouth swabbed as a 'If My Child Goes Missing' packet for the children and parents."
"We got a copy of our fingerprints with our name on a form."
"And the sticker from that form was put on the tubes the mouth swabs would go back into."
"They set up in our gymnasium and the whole school of about 500 kids did it."
"I believe that was just a super easy way to get biometrics on the population before cellphones became popular."
"This was early mid 2000s."
"I’ve always wondered exactly who got that dna."- Equivalent_Seat6470
"I’m still convinced all these DNA test kits will be used/sold as a means to do things like deny medical coverage, plant evidence at crime scenes, population surveillance on a biometric level, etc."
"Got one as a gift once, handed it right back."
"NOPE."- nomadiceater
"The Candy Man..."
"The Ms on M&Ms have always been Ws."
"Willy & Wonka."- NorthernGamer71
Willy Wonka Smile GIFGiphy"Cost Cutting" My A**...
"All the recent tech layoffs (except Metas) weren't about cutting costs but about making workers afraid again and trying to claw back some of the leverage workers had been gaining."- boones_farmer
Maps Be Damned
"Bielefeld, Germany, does not exist."- Mikeavelli
They're Not Fooling Anyone
"Area 51 is where the US develop and test Intelligence, Surveillance, Tracking and Reconnaissance equipment, and the UFOs people are are actually new forms of surveillance equipment."- dazedan_confused
Area 51 GIF by MOODMANGiphyWhy They Didn't Release The Snyder Cut...
"DC makes sh*tty movies to give people comic book fatigue to spite marvel."- Season8isGreat
All In The Eye of The Beholder...
"That Contemporary art is used to launder money."
"Look it up. It makes sense."
"Rich person buys an art piece for $1,000, turns around and values it at $1,000,000, then sells it to a private buyer for 1.5x it's value."
"The buyer pays with a form of legal tender (cash) that cash has now been cleaned and is in the rich persons pocket, then he goes and commissions more art and repeats the cycle."
"After 5 years he has cleaned more money than offshore accounts, shell corporations, and high cash flow businesses could in 50 years."- Weird-Replacement-61
Bored Modern Art GIF by unimpressionismGiphySeriously though, who actually uses change?
"The 'coin shortage' is just a way to have us all move to using our debt/credit cards and digital currency 100% of the time."
"When that finally happens, the government will have full access to viewing our funds and income and can freeze it whenever they want, which would give them full power over the economy."- Tomb5t0ne
Who Actually Bought Baseball?
"Michael Jordan’s first 'retirement' was because he was suspended for gambling."- trojan_man16
What Else Would "Central Intelligence" Mean...
"CIA drugging US citizens without their knowledge to learn how to manipulate people's minds."- Xtrepiphany
cia GIFGiphySome people will believe literally anything they're told.
But just about everyone believes at least one sensational fact with zero evidence to back it up.
Curious to hear what some of those might be, Redditor standardgenre45 asked:
"What is a survival myth that is completely wrong and could get you killed?"
These involve conserving your available resources while they last.
Hydrate
"Rationing water is generally a terrible choice - drink what you have until it’s gone. Use that time with good hydration levels to take stock of your situation and make good choices."
"Decision making and physical ability drop off very quickly when you are dehydrated. The first decisions you make after realizing you are in a survival situation are critical and pay long dividends."
"Most survival situations are resolved within 72 hours and many hikers are found dead in the desert with full water bottles."
– RangerActual
Not Peeing Enough Is Bad
"I used to work with a guy who spent much of his Air Force career teaching survival to aircrews and I remember him saying, 'Ration sweat, not water.' He said to conserve energy and avoid doing physically strenuous things like constructing a better shelter during the day, but keep drinking water. His other maxim was, 'If you're not peeing, you're not drinking enough.'"
– LuckyOldSon
Save Your Battery
"Changing the voicemail on your mobile phone to tell incoming callers about your plight. That bullsh*t just wastes battery"
"At the first sign of trouble, send a SMS with your best location details to everyone on your contact list, even if you have no signal and set it to max power save with WiFi, Mobile Data and Bluetooth off. Your phone will continually try to get the SMS out if even if you get a little signal for a few seconds and will use a lot less power doing it."
– cruiserman_80
You might keep these in mind when it comes to someone trying desperately to stay afloat.
Drowning Survivors Take Note
"Perhaps not really a myth, but something people may think is true after watching people get rescued from the water on TV. 'get them breathing and send them on their merry way.'"
"If you rescue someone from a near drowning, they still need to go to the hospital, even though they are safely on land now."
"The lungs are coated with a slippery mucous like substance called a surfactant. It's kind of a lubricant and it keeps them from collapsing and sticking to themselves. If they ingested a lot of water into the lungs, chances are they have washed away the surfactant. Their lungs could collapse at any moment and their ability to uptake oxygen is reduced. Get the survivor on oxygen."
"source: rescue trained scuba diver here."
– EatDiveFly
Interpreting The Signs
"Drowning people do not cry for help or make gestures to try and get someone’s attention."
"What they are doing is trying to stay afloat and trying to catch their breath; never count on a cry for help!"
– goddavid22
Come Equipped
"It usually looks like someone is trying to climb an invisible ladder with their hand barely above the water, and unless you're a world champ water polo player, do not approach without a floatation device. They are desperate and you will become their floatation device, which can result in both of you drowning."
– mahboime
Driven To The Depths
"If you go into a lake when in a car dont wait until the car fills with water, just open the window and get out ASAP. If you wait, you could be 200 feet down or flipped over on the bottom. The power will still work for a short time. It only takes a few seconds."
"Edit - Source: must buddy did his master thesis on exactly this and I got to practice it several times in a pool."
– discostud1515
Never stick to the obvious when trying to provide aid in traumatic situations.
Look Out For Other Signs
"This is true of trauma/injuries too. People who are seriously hurt aren't usually the ones screaming and flapping around. They'll more likely be in shock or losing consciousness. If you are on scene at a large accident like a traffic collision or something and it's safe to help, look out for the quiet people"
– Sionain
The Quiet Victim
"Yep. Was involved as a passenger in a very nasty car wreck. The drivers were yelling and screaming. I was calm, matter of fact, and quiet. I remember the medic asking me what was on the airbag and I calmly said, 'That’s part of my tongue I bit off. Can you please help me out so I can walk this off?' Yeah, I had eight broken ribs, a 16 inch gash in my leg, a fractured trachea, and more. I was completely calm until about two hours into it at the ER."
– The_Curvy_Unicorn
Bears are cute...until they tackle you.
Don't Underestimate Them
"That bears can’t run down hills. They can. They’ll get you too."
– [deleted]
They're No Joke
"I was actually going to try and find this fact and what do you know, it’s at the top!"
"Bears are no joke, they run, climb and swim like a damn CrossFit junkie jacked up on meth."
"Another thing is they don’t gas out quickly, I’ve seen videos of bears running full speed than swimming across a river and running full speed again to catch prey."
"Insane…"
– djd1985
Speculation is rampant on the internet and it's important to do thorough research before applying supposed survival tips.
Better yet, hopefully you're not in any of the predicaments stated above that involve you resorting to questionable survival guides.
Redditor Civil_Improvement692 wanted to explain a few important facts for people.
"What is one thing other countries don't understand about America?"
I will admit I have seen very little of America. So this list will be help me out as well.
Transport Issues
Travel GIF by Grish MajethiyaGiphy"They're gonna be really, really disappointed in the train service."
tpatmaho
"Well, the last one makes no sense. European rail systems are government run and are much better than the semi private US passenger rail system."
EmperorPenguinNJ
Distance
"The US is huge. On r/askanamerican, foreigners will tell us how they're planning a 2 week trip, starting in NY, driving to Miami, then driving to the Grand Canyon, then driving back to NY, and we're all like 'What?!'"
MoonieNine
"I was on a call with a vendor doing some work for my department. One of the guys was in Minnesota (I'm in Wisconsin) and the rest of their team was in Ireland. The guy in Minnesota mentioned that he could come to our office since it was only about a 4 hour drive. The guys in Ireland started laughing saying that it they drove for 4 hours in any direction, they would be in the ocean!"
PhantomsRule
Law & Order
"Most people from other countries (and plenty of Americans) don't understand the system for making and enforcing laws in the US. Specifically, they don't seem to understand that laws vary by state and that there are restrictions on which laws can be made at the federal level. Also, I've seen way too many people who don't realize that the US President does not have the power to pass laws on his own."
upvoter222
423!
"Not to mention our 423 national parks. I hear a lot of us Americans say that we’re over populated as a country. I was a flight attendant for twelve years and when you’re 36,000 feet above it all, a lot of it is sparse. I live in Japan now and reside in Tokyo where there’s a huge population — but outside prefectures are empty because the younger generation are moving to where the work is. I think people need to keep that in mind no matter where they reside."
MSotallyTober
Peace
Relaxing Space And Time GIF by MyaGiphy"As someone who’s done 5 road trips across the US, it’s much more peaceful than the media lets on. Sure some areas are really bad, but do your research and you can avoid them. It’s not the war zone most of Reddit would have you believe."
c0smictwist
Wow... there is more than I even knew about. I'm intrigued.
Oh NYC
Is Awesome New York GIF by FriendsGiphy"There’s a LOT more to New York than NYC. New York State has more land than the Netherlands, Switzerland, Belgium, and Luxembourg combined, for perspective. Come on by sometime, we’ve got GREAT parks and good wine!"
IronbloodPrime
Hi!
"How friendly most of us are. Don't believe the news. Seriously, most of us love meeting new people. Especially those from other countries and cultures. In the US. we love to tell you the best restaurant or park or best way to get from point A to point B. Don't be afraid to say 'hi.'"
Spodson
"This was so evident in Florida, the first time our family visited America (from England) and everybody was so friendly. Love the people. That was back in 2002, I can't mesh the image I have of the lovely people from that trip to the image I have now from the media."
alice_op
From HK
"One college roommate I had was from Hong Kong, and was just about to graduate. But before he left, he and some friends (also from HK) were going to fly into LA, rent a car, and take a day trip to the Grand Canyon and back. The next day they were going to drive up to Seattle and stop and see the sights along the way, also on one day. We had to show them several maps with comparable scales to places he knew to set them straight."
ReverendLoki
Info Wars
"If they get their information from the news and social media they think all Americans are extremists, one side full of hate for the other. That is completely untrue. There are a few on the far ends making most of the noise. Most Americans are middle of the road, hard working citizens. We pay our bills, respect the law and get along with each other."
AdminW*ore
Ordinary
Bored Paul Rudd GIFGiphy"How utterly normal most people’s lives are here. The news has led non us people to believe that it is a lot more like the Wild West than it really is (I am from Texas)."
Frosty_Accident_6165
See! America can be a big ole blast!
Redditor reddituser1234543216 was curious to learn which far out conspiracy theories people still continue to believe, leading them to ask:
"What is the weirdest conspiracy theory that you believe in?"
The truth about fossil fuels
"The fossil fuels industry caused the historic and current fear mongering surrounding nuclear energy."
"Then they blamed it on 'liberal hippies' so future leftists would look back and think nuclear energy wasn't a good idea."
"Agents of the fossil fuels industry caused the Three-Mile Island incident and the poor government handling following the incident so Americans would forever be overly concerned about the nuclear energy industry."- DairyNurse
It all just seems too convenient.
"I am really partial to the alleged connection between mattress sales shops and money laundering."
"There are far too many than seems rational."- Cambridgecoffeepot
Theft of intellectual property!
"Oreo stopped selling their Thins mint flavor because the girls couts put the squeeze on them for making a better version of their most popular cookie."- DevilsDrumbum
Girl Scouts Cookie GIF by Girl Scouts of the USAGiphyDid he really think he'd make it in the Major League?
"Jordan played minor league baseball to serve a suspension from NBA for gambling."- WastedKnowledge
The epitome of "smooth criminal".
"DB Cooper got his money and went back to work on Monday morning as if nothing happened."
"And the guy was such a milquetoast nondescript blank of a man in real life that no one noticed."- Gemmabeta
How many are out there?
"I just find it odd I haven't heard a peep about human cloning since we cloned a sheep, internationally agreed it was a bad idea to clone humans, and then never talked about it again."- ronintalken
Animation Character GIF by Greg GunnGiphyAn interesting point to ponder...
"When was the last time you bought tin foil?"
"Not aluminum foil, actual tin foil."
"I bet it's been quite some time."
"It's somewhat difficult to find without special looking for it, and costs substantially more than tin foil."
"WHY is it harder and more costly to get? "
"Because if you can't buy tin foil, you can't make tin foil hats."
"And if you can't make tin foil hats, the government can get into your head and know what you looked at in incognito mode..."- stryph42
Even more exciting than the MCU!
"The theory of the Schurverse basically it proposes that: 'The Office', 'Parks and Rec', 'Brooklyn 99', and 'The Good Place' all exist in the same universe because they were all worked on by Michael Schur."
"It also states that all the reoccurring actors between the shows are people living out their lives to become good enough to get into the good place."- buffkirby
It's all a government cover up!
"I think the government is responsible for some of the wilder conspiracy theories so that some of the marginally less wild but true ones are discounted equally."- bigsim
Always Sunny Reaction GIFGiphyThink twice before mailing it off!
"Those DNA Ancestry companies are just a front for the FBI to store bio history on everyone."- unassum1ng
They're everywhere!
"Scam syndicate."
"Last year a family friend was scammed out of a large amount of money."
"I decided to investigate."
"In doing so, I allegedly uncovered a crime syndicate run by the world's largest Christian doomsday cult."
"The cult recruits members in foreign countries under the guise of missionary work, trains them through American-based online computer training programs and lavishes them in cars, clothes and cash."
"Meanwhile, in the US, they use a large network of members to data mine, collect money from victims and launder money through LLC's and current businesses."
"After discovering this operation, and while using family tracking apps, I noticed forced IMEI microcell interactions and numerous newly established microcells that tether to and geo-locate my phone."
"The suspicion is members have surveillance on my travels, internet activity and home life to intercept any communication with law enforcement or outside organizations."
"The community in which I live has a large enclave of members and businesses within the cult."
"I have reported to the FBI and local police."
"It has gone no further."
"Right now, informing as many investigators is my only recourse."
"As crazy as this reads, and as serious the allegations, it's as real as things get."
"I'm glad to stumble upon this if it stops folks from being scammed, but I do not know how long me or my family stay safe with this knowledge."
"It's as close and imminent as across the street."- HELLEREDDIT·
Vibing Red Alert GIF by VibeheadsGiphyDon't believe everything you see.
"The moon landing really happened...but the photos are fake."
"I don't 100% believe this, I just feel it's the most likely to be true."
"If you go through security now in 2022, there will still be a sign advising anyone with rolls of film to let security know, because the minor radiation from the x-ray machine will damage the film."
"Scott Kelley the astronaut wrote in his book that he got the equivalent of 10 chest x-rays a day while on the ISS."
"The theory is that after 8 days of exposure to solar radiation, the film used by Apollo 11 was ruined and unusable, so NASA had, Or as a precaution, already had, fake photos produced in their place."- FLICKGEEK1
They start so young.
"I believe that my brother steals money from me when i sleep."
'Most evidence i got is from my mom."- Xcross8769
Why else would it spread so quickly?
"Viruses and some of the illnesses are human made and purposefully spread."
'The pharmaceutical and medical fields have stay in business somehow."
"Also if the Universe is infinite, there have to be aliens somewhere.'
"We can't be the only inhabited planet."- grumpycoffeee
We are not alone...
"That we are a big sh*t show for alien tv."- AndreMichel
x files GIF by The X-FilesGiphyThe "cloud" is bigger than we think...
"That my data is save using Facebook."- IIITysonIII
The Lost City will be found one day!
"I believe in lots of what can be called conspiracy theories, but my craziest is that I kinda think Atlantis was real in some way."- skarodegradation
Some would say it makes more sense...
"I don't believe in it but I think it doesn't sound too far-fetched."
"The many children Elon Musk has with many women are clones of him."- throwaway220408
Elon Musk Reaction GIF by Saturday Night LiveGiphyThe truth is out there...
And yet people still choose to believe all this!