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Top 10 Interesting Conspiracy Theories with Facts, Claims, & Stories

On September 18, 2001 letters containing an active anthrax material were mailed to a variety of news media offices and to two Democratic U.S. Senators. In all, five people were killed and 17 were infected. You can imagine the terror that spread throughout America, as this was only one week after the attacks in New York and Washington DC. Immediately following the incident government officials announced this to be a second-wave assault by Al Qaeda. Conspiracy theories circulated that the U.S. government was premature in blaming Al Qaeda and should not use the information in creating decisions surrounding war. In the following years a report came out that confirmed that the “DNA sequence of the anthrax sent through the U.S. mail in 2001 had bacteria that originally came from a U.S. military laboratory.”

On August 6, 2008, federal prosecutors declared American biodefense researcher Bruce Edwards Ivins to be the sole culprit of the crime. He committed suicide later that month. This case shows that in some instances conspiracy theories can be surrounded with factual information. The internet is flooded with hundreds of various conspiracies about government, economy, history, celebrities, and world changing events. I have composed a list of 10 interesting and viable conspiracy theories surrounding specific events. I have steered away from including popular theories, such as the JFK Assassination, 9/11, Roslyn, and the moon landing.

10. 809 Area Code Scam

Conspiracy Theory - Don’t ever dial area code 809.

Don’t ever respond to e-mails, phone calls, or web pages that tell you to call an “809” area code. It is a scam that is spreading quickly and costing hundreds of people thousands of dollars. The thief will lure you into calling the area code by claiming that you can receive information about a family member who has been injured, to tell you that someone has been arrested, or that you have won prize money. You will be directed to a long recorded message and U.S. residence will be charged $2,425 per minute. The 809 area code is located in the British Virgin Islands. It can be used as a pay-per-call number, which is similar to 900 numbers in the United States. The area code is not covered by U.S. regulations, which state that a citizen must be notified of charges and rates. If you are a victim of the scam, both your local phone company and long distance provider will be no help. Forcing you to deal with the foreign company directly, this is impossible.

9. Baby Carrots

Conspiracy Theory - Baby carrots are permeated with a harmful chlorine substance when packaged.

Everyone loves the small packaged baby carrots that you can find at your local food market. These vegetables come from deformed and crooked bigger carrots that did not grow correctly. They are packaged through a machine operated process. During the process the carrots are soaked in large vats of water mixed with chlorine to preserve them. It is the same chlorine substance that is used in swimming pools and laundry. The chlorine helps preserve the carrots, as they don’t have the protection of the skin. Notice that if you store them in the fridge for a while a white substance will begin to appear in the bag. The carrots are also slimy to the touch. It seems that the use of chlorine as an antimicrobial treatment is a currently accepted practice in the processing for all fresh-cut ready-to-eat vegetables. Many claim that this chlorine substance is harmful to humans and can be attributed to various diseases.

8. Cash Back

Conspiracy Theory - Retail cashiers commonly steal from customers by tricking them into requesting cash back and pocketing the money.

A common complaint that has been spreading over the internet involves false cash back charges. When buying groceries at your local supermarket be sure to check your receipt as you leave the building. Grocery store workers have become skilled at tricking individuals into selecting cash back without them knowing it. One common occurrence is the clerk asking the customer to swipe the card a second time, while secretly asking for cash back in the process. In states that require employees to pump gasoline, a cash back charge can often go unnoticed. It is a simple way to take advantage of people and you might want to pay a bit more attention when using your credit and debit accounts.

7. Billy Joe Johnson’s Death

Conspiracy Theory - Billy Joe Johnson did not accidently shoot himself in the head with a shotgun.

Billy Joe Johnson was a highly recruited high school football prospect who played running back at George County High School in Mississippi. He had rushed for more then 4,000 yards in his first three years of high school and was preparing for his senior year. He had potential to gain a full ride scholarship from many football powerhouses, including Alabama, Mississippi, and Auburn. On December 8, 2008, Johnson was pulled over by police who were conducting a routine traffic stop. Billy Joe was all too familiar with the police who often seemed to target his car. The police officer claims that as he returned to his car to use the radio he heard a loud blast and Billy Joe Johnson was dead of a shotgun wound to the head. Crime scene investigators were called and the Grand Jury ultimately ruled that Billy Joe Johnson died from an accidental gun shot, although no gun was spotted by police as they initially approached the car. Billy Joe had no drugs or other reasons to fear the law. Strangely, officers claim to have seen a shotgun on the body as they approached the scene, as forensic evidence would place the weapon in a different position. The police vehicle did not have a camera mounted in it. The deputy on the scene tested positive for gun residue on both hands. It is an unusual case that does not quite add up.

6. Clinton Body Count

Conspiracy Theory - Before and during Bill Clinton’s presidency he was quietly assassinating associates that got in the way of his career.

The Clinton Body Count is a list of 50-60 individuals who have died under mysterious circumstances. In 1993, the pro-gun lobby group American Justice Federation published a list of 24 individuals directly connected to Bill Clinton who died suddenly and unexpectedly. The group includes a wide variety of different businessmen, police officers, pilots, and military leaders. One of the most noted victims is Vince Foster. Foster was a Deputy White House Counsel member during Clinton’s first term. He was also a law partner of Hilary Clinton. In 1993, he suddenly committed suicide and died by gunshot wound to the head. Conspiracy theories claim Foster was murdered. He was rumored to have had an affair with Hilary and Bill was not fond of the man. On the day of his suicide Foster was in the White House, but no video recording of him leaving the grounds was found, although the building is surrounded by cameras. He was recovered dead in Fort Marcy Park a few hours after being seen in the White House. Many separate reports have been made that his body contained two separate bullet holes to the neck.

5. Pearl Harbor

Conspiracy Theory - The United States had broken the Japanese code 9-12 days prior to the attack on Pearl Harbor and was well aware of the imminent danger.

Was the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor in December of 1941 really a surprise to the American government? According to American historian and researcher John Toland, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt had prior knowledge of the attack and used the incident to officially declare war on Germany and Japan, subsequently entering the U.S. in WWII. Prior to this point in the war, the United States military or homeland had not been directly targeted, giving the American population an anti-war feel. Many citizens felt that there was no need to enter the war. After Pearl Harbor occurred, the American people demanded revenge and quick entrance into WWII.

This attack was one of the most sudden and devastating defeats in U.S. history.
Ultimately, blame was placed on Hawaiian commanders, General Short and
Admiral Kimmel. Many inconsistencies have occurred surrounding the stories
of many high ranking officers involved in protecting Pearl Harbor. Witnesses
have changed their testimony under pressure; files were destroyed or ‘mislaid’;
and key government figures ‘forgot' where they were, what they said, and what
they did in the crucial hours preceding the attack. Many years after Pearl
Harbor, confirmation of Dutch foreknowledge of the Japanese attack also came
from General Albert C. Wedemeyer, who claims the U.S. must have been
readily aware of the impending danger. Many claim a massive cover-up that
has perpetrated a massive propaganda campaign of historical misinformation to
the world population.

4. The Business Plot

Conspiracy Theory - In 1933, a group of wealthy businessmen that allegedly included the heads of Chase Bank, GM, Goodyear, Standard Oil, the DuPont family and Senator Prescott Bush tried to recruit Marine Corps Major General Smedley Butler to lead a military coup against President FDR and install a fascist dictatorship in the United States.

Theorist’s claim that in the early 1930’s a high powered group of businessmen attempted to overthrow the United States government. However, when they tried to recruit Major General Smedley Butler things did not go as planned. Butler was a valid patriot and blew the whistle on the plan. No charges were ever filed, but the House McCormack-Dickstein Committee did acknowledge the existence of the conspiracy. It is historically noted that many individuals on this list maintained financial ties with Nazi Germany up until America’s entry into World War II. Not much factual information exists surrounding this theory, but it is extremely interesting considering the impact some of these people and their families have had on the United States.

3. Operation Phoenix

Conspiracy Theory - Operation Phoenix was a U.S. funded security program that was responsible for terrorism and members committed over 50,000 murders in its five year existence.

The Phoenix Program was a military, intelligence, and internal security program designed by the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). It was coordinated and executed by Republic of Vietnam's (South Vietnam) security apparatus and US Special Operations Forces from 1967 to 1972. Many claim that during this era the military training center at Fort Benning in Georgia was training people in international terrorism. The fort trained some 60,000 Latin American soldiers, policemen, paramilitaries and intelligence agents. The curriculum is said to have included blackmail, torture, execution, and the arrest of witnesses’ relatives.

In 1993, the UN Truth Commission for El Salvador named the army officers
who had committed the worst atrocities of their civil war, two-thirds of them
had been trained at Fort Benning. Roberto D’Aubisson, the leader of the death
squads and the murderers of Archbishop Oscar Romero and a group of Jesuit
priests was one of these men. In Chile, the school’s graduates ran Pinochet’s
secret police and three principal concentration camps in the area. In 1996, the
U.S. government was forced to release class lists and training manuals in hopes
of tracking international terrorists.

2. Russian Apartment Bombings

Conspiracy Theory - The series of Russian apartment building bombings in 1999 were planned by the FSB and not organized by Achemez Gochiyaev.

In September of 1999 a series of explosions hit four apartment blocks in the Russian cities of Buynaksk, Moscow and Volgodonsk, killing nearly 300 people and spreading a wave of fear across the country. The wave of explosions spanned from September 4 to the 16th. The bombings directly caused the Russian Federation to intensify the Second Chechen war, as the explosions occurred directly following a massive air campaign and bombing of Chechnya.

Following the events, Boris Berezovsky, who worked in the Kremlin at the time, implicated some FSB (former KGB) government officials in the bombings. Nikita Chegulain, a former undercover agent of the antiterrorist division of the FSB, said he possessed documentary evidence that proved that highly explosive hexogen was withdrawn from military bases and distributed secretly to regional organizations around the time of the explosions. He incriminates top government officials in the cover-up. FSB officials were also forced to admit that they planted a bomb in Ryazan on September 22, 1999, after phone calls amongst the agents were intercepted. The bomb was recovered, but FSB officials claim it was a security exercise and real explosions were not used.

1. Port Arthur Massacre

Conspiracy Theory - Martin Bryant was incapable of planning and conducting the 1996 killing spree in which 35 people were murdered.

On April 28, 1996 a mass killing spree was carried out in south-eastern Tasmania, Australia. In all 35 people were killed and 21 others injured, with the majority being murdered at the historic Port Arthur prison colony, a popular tourist destination in the area. The killer escaped the scene and the following morning a man from New Town named Martin Bryant was discovered with hostages taken from the scene. A standoff ensued, which ended with Bryant setting the house and himself on fire. He was captured alive, charged, and convicted of all 35 murders. Initially, Bryant pleaded his innocence and famously laughed when charged with the crimes. He later changed his plea to guilty, but never gave a confession.

Martin Bryant was an intellectually impaired man who had no military or artillery
training in his life. The man who conducted the Port Arthur massacre was a
professional combat shooter. In order to impose the kind of mass destruction
that occurred that day, one must have been fully trained in weapons and
combat situations. New South Wales police reports indicate that at the prison
colony, as the massacre began, 29 shots were fired in a 90 second period of
time, 20 of these shots ended in fatal injuries and 19 of the people were killed
as the result of a head shot. The killer shot 19 people in the head in only 90
seconds. Bryant’s AR-15 was found at the scene with an exploded cartridge in
the chamber. If this had occurred while the weapon was being held, severe
injury would have resulted to the operator. Bryant had no such injuries to his
hands.

Why would anyone want to orchestrate this massacre and frame Bryant? Many
claim it is an example of a "psyop". The definition of a psyop is a psychological
operation or an event designed to drum up public support for some piece of
legislation that would be otherwise be unpopular and probably be defeated.
Within a matter of weeks after the murder spree Australia passed a major gun
control law. Legislation was passed to remove semi-automatic weapons from
the Australian population and a gun buy-back proceeded. It is now illegal to
own any semi-automatic gun in Australia. The media has been instructed to not
discuss the issue and all files have been sealed for 30 years. While gun laws
could make a country a safer place to live, many feel they are a move against
the freedom and self-defense of the people.

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