We've all probably heard of the "flat earth" conspiracy theory or something related to QAnon conspiracies. Well, some theories go far beyond anything we've heard before.
A conspiracy theory is defined as:
"A theory that explains an event or set of circumstances as the result of a secret plot by usually powerful conspirators."
Whether the theory makes sense or not, people who tout these theories have worked it around in their mind enough to believe it. Ask Reddit has shared some of the most outlandish conspiracy theories that people believe today.
Redditor mycarnage2000 asked:
"What is the single most ridiculous conspiracy theory you’ve ever heard?"
Some of these are lesser known but they have big followings.
Satan burned the dinosaurs.
"That Satan buried dinosaur bones to deceive humanity into believing the earth is vastly older than a couple thousand years."
"I have encountered people who wholeheartedly believe that."
- TheSmegmatician
"It's wild....I have a family member who is a born again Christian who used to be scientifically oriented. Now they truly f*cking believe the earth is only 6000 years old or some sh*t. Going with the morals and values in the Bible is one thing, but please use your f*cking brain!!!"
- throwingplaydoh
Dinosaurs aren't real at all.
"Idk if most ridiculous, but definitely favorite that I try to spread. The CIA invented dinosaurs to discourage people from trying to develop time travel."
- ColdHardPocketChange
"Dude. I'm MORE encouraged to develop time travel, and bring back a T-rex to guard my sh*t."
- CordialTrekkie
Sign language interpreters.
"The sign language interpreters at press conferences are actually brain washing us."
- Aloha1959
"🤛👆🤏🙌🤙🤛🤲"
- Azigol
Super soldiers on Mars.
"Secret Space Program - people believe that a Nazi group split off from the Third Reich and discovered super advanced technology in Antarctica. They then moved to Mars and have been fighting reptilian and insectoid aliens using time travel and genetic super soldiers. Most of the members believe that they are part of this super soldier group and have been alive for hundreds of years. It's absolutely bonkers."
- PocketBananna
"I wintered over in Antarctica with the US Antarctic Program. While I was there I had my Instagram set to public and would post cool pictures fairly often. You would be shocked how many people DM'd me legitimately asking if there were secret armies, secret blackout zones, etc down there."
- vocatus
"So they thought there was all this secret conspiracy stuff going on down there but also thought you’d just tell them it was there if they asked?"
- thylocene06
Earth is especially flat.
"Flat earth, all day."
- Jack_McFakey
"The craziest thing that blew me away was learning that there are some flat earthers who will admit that Mars is in fact..round as well as other planets. But Earth just...isn't one of them."
- justsound
"That's weird. The flat earther I knew simply claimed that space wasn't real."
- Trademark010
"This has some recency bias but the girl who thinks the roman empire is a big made up historical conspiracy has to be up there."
- elbapo
"I sent that to my Latin professor and he told me he would fail me if I made him see it every again lmao. Had a good laugh in the classics department."
- gentlybeepingheart
JFK Jr. is living.
"The one where JFK Jr. will rise from the dead in Dallas just to reinstate Donald Trump as the president."
"Actually these QAnon people believe that he never died in the plane crash and just lived in hiding for 22 years for unknown reasons."
- TheBassMeister
"My Gf’s mom believes JFK himself is still alive and will be Donald’s VP. I simply state 'wow I’m impressed he still has the cognitive abilities for such a role as a person who is 106 years old.'"
- cleatus_the_noodle
"Windmills cause cancer."
- chicken-bean
"Literally my local government believes this and a lot of the voters do. I've worked elections where other volunteers go on this conspiracy theory with the county auditor. I visibly shake my head whenever they go on the tangent cuz it's so ridiculous."
"The idea noise can cause cancer is like the whole backwards music thing and Satanism."
- Pfroggy1
The UN has a hidden army.
"A million man UN army was hiding in the mountains along the Idaho - Montana border getting ready to take over America."
"This was big after Bill Clinton was elected President; 'that a United Nations army was 'hidden' in different remote places all over America, training and getting ready to spring out and take over the country, thus removing all American freedoms and enslaving the American people.' It was supposed to be one of the final steps to create a One World Government - the New World Order. It was tied directly to the 'black helicopter' conspiracies."
- Viker2000
Vaccine's make you magnetic.
"The vaccine makes you magnetic. I thought this was stupid, but on my way home from getting dose 3 I got pinned to an old shipping container and I've been stuck for 3 days now... Please send help."
- Downvotecollectineur
"I feel like the conspiracy theories have been getting crazier and crazier over like the last decade or so. Flat earth, magnetic vaccines, 5G, etc..."
"I remember in the 90's reading about this theory that the big oil companies hire people [to] drive their cars slowly in major cities to cause traffic jams and make people burn more gas. THAT was just about the craziest thing I'd heard at the time. Sounds absolutely quaint in comparison."
- pm_me_your_taintt
Empires
"This has some recency bias but the girl who thinks the roman empire is a big made up historical conspiracy has to be up there."
elbapo
"This does remind me of an awesome book called Valis by Philip K Dick where like the last two thousand years didn’t really happen. It was mint."
and_so_forth
"I sent that to my Latin professor and he told me he would fail me if I made him see it ever again lmao. Had a good laugh in the classics department."
gentlybeepingheart
Binding
"That flouride is in the water because it not only binds to teeth, but also is visible from space. So satellites are able to see the flouride and then match it to your dental records to track you."
Melerann
"I’ve heard the one about fluoride being used for mind control. Combine that with this and fluoride sounds pretty versatile."
a-bit-of-a-*ickhead
Windy Life
"Windmills cause cancer."
chicken-bean
"Solar panels absorb all of the sunlight, causing the earth to cool, and geothermal absorbs necessary heat as well. Utilizing too much of these technologies will cause permanent winter. Windmills use up the wind causing the earth to warm up and will create global warming."
SyntheticReality42
"And climate change is a hoax in general. Like the scientists have more to benefit than the fossil fuel cos funding and spreading this ridiculousness."
PM-ACTS-OF-KINDNESS
Stargate
"Sadam Hussein had a Stargate. Not even so much that he had one, but if the most powerful military in the world is invading wouldn't that be the time to use it? Hell he even had a second chance to fire it up."
Dinosaur_Dalek
"The Iraqi Stargate is up their with the Kandahar Giant, Foo Fighters, and that British battalion that vanished into a cloud in Gallipoli or wherever, as well as the Angel of Mons. I guess a lot of weird stories come out of wartime cos a lot of secretive weird stuff goes on in wartime."
Mysterious-Slice-591
Disguise
"That the twin towers were hit by guided missiles disguised as planes using holographic images."
ChristPuncher31
"I forgot about this. Something about how you can see a spark or flash of light before one of the planes hits the towers. There was a show that explained it but it doesn't matter as they want to believe the missile thing."
wtbrift
"I saw something similar but the charges where already in the building. They just set them off as the plane hits. The video evidence is pretty convincing unless you know architecture."
Inkqueen12
“about 6,000”
"That there was really only 'about 6,000' Jews killed during all of WWII. Cuz I mean, never mind all the mass graves… and the gold teeth… and piles of shoes... and the pows that barely survived the camps.
"Oh! Let’s not forget that those weren’t death camps either. Those were just work camps."
"I have never seen my dad want to spit on someone so badly in his life… that was also one of the first times I heard the word 'f*ck' in a sentence."
Professor_Quackers
a certain age...
"That a girl in high school legitimately believed the shots all the girls had to get are the cause of why women’s bodies typically can’t have children after a certain age. And that it is the government trying to fight overpopulation. She believed that if you didn’t get a shot you could easily live and have a baby healthfully at age 60 or more."
Admiral-Shepard
Demons
"It would probably have to be 'Sky Demons.' There are nutters out there that don't think airplanes are real, but actually flying demons."
jehull24
A number of conspiracy theories have come true over the years, but it's not looking like the earth will ever be proven to be flat. And certainly none of the conspiracies in this list.
Hopefully, we never see a day where we see any of them to turn out true.