R U Still Down?

Lesane Parish Crooks also known as Tupac Amaru Shakur was born on June 16, 1971. He is most commonly known by his stage names 2Pac and Makaveli. Tupac was an American rapper, record producer, and actor. On September 7, 1996, Shakur was said to have been fatally shot in a drive-by shooting at the intersection of Flamingo Road and Koval Lane in Las Vegas, Nevada. He was taken to the University Medical Center of Southern Nevada, where he died six days later. Although many people were destroyed by his death, many also questioned it. It is always tough when a music star dies young and inevitably no one ever really wants to believe it. Tupac’s fans even came up with some out of this world theories as to him still being alive.
THEORY 1:
Some speculate that Shakur was weary of the bloodshed that accompanied rap beef and longed for an escape. They say he packed up and moved to Cuba with his aunt, Assata Shakur. Assata was a staunch figure within the Black Panther Party and the Black Liberation Army who sought political asylum in Cuba in the early 80s after escaping from a New Jersey prison following a hotly-contested murder conviction.
THEORY 2:
The album The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory was released under the stage name of Makaveli, named after Niccolò Machiavelli, an Italian war strategist who believed in faking one’s death as a tool against enemies. Also if you swap around a few letters here and there, Makaveli turns into ‘AM ALIVE K.’ The album art for The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory contains the text “Exit 2Pac, Enter Makaveli.” The cover also depicts Shakur as Jesus Christ who resurrected after seven days.
THEORY 3:
Biggie Smalls was the mastermind behind the shooting.
Their feud was one of the most storied in hip-hop history. The, former Times reporter Chuck Philips wrote that the Notorious B.I.G. offered the Crips $1 million to kill Shakur. However, after a 2008 Times story by Philips was retracted due to the inclusion of falsified FBI reports,  this notion was widely dismissed as well.
THEORY 4:
Pac conspiracy theorists believe due to the recurring appearance of the number seven throughout his work and life, that he would return in seven years. The number seven represents completion, divine perfection or a spiritual awakening. Unfortunately in 2003, the only sign of 2Pac was in the form of full-length documentary entitled Resurrection, which was narrated by the man himself using various pieces of audio.
No matter which theory you decide to believe we all know 2Pac will always be a legend in the rap culture!

The Mandela Effect

While browsing the internet for hours trying to find an abnormal conspiracy theory to write about this week, I thought about one that I had discovered over the summer. This conspiracy theory is the BIGGEST one of them all: The Mandela Effect. According to Fiona Broome, this is what happens when someone has a clear memory of something that never happened in this reality. Many people - mostly total strangers - remember the EXACT same events with the EXACT details. However, our memories are different from what’s in history books, newspapers, and so on. How does this happen? Well, some people speculate that parallel realities exist, and the population has been going between realities without even realizing it.

There are over 20 different examples of the Mandela Effect, some are more bone chilling than others, but they will all make you cringe a little. One of the most famous examples is in the childhood Disney movie “Snow White”. In the famous scene where the Queen is talking to the Magic Mirror she’s quoted to have said, “Mirror, Mirror on the wall, who is the fairest of them all?”, but if you grab an VHS tape, DVD, or even a book, the quote is actually “Magic Mirror on the wall, who’s the fairest one of all?” Scary right? That’s only the beginning! The TV show called “Sex and the City”, but many people insist they remember it being “Sex in the City” at some point. Some people even posted pictures that supports their false memory. One of the most popular Mandela effects debates, in which some people seem to recall the books and the cartoon about a family of bears being known as “The Berenstein Bears”. However, if you look at the books and movies they’re actually called “The Berenstain Bears.” Another example is Wite-Out. Some remember it as White-Out. I believe I remember it at White-Out. The list of examples go on and on! Another yet famous movie line that is often debated about is in the movie Star Wars. Children and grownups often run around saying “Luke, I am your father!”, but this is very wrong. The correct line says, “No, I am your father.” So I’ve basically grown up living a lie. The Mandela Effect will forever have me questioning every little detail about the world. I highly encourage you to do research on this subject. It will blow your mind!!

Plane Exhaust or Population Control??

The trace of clouds that follow behind an airplane can be fascinating for people to see. With it being the 21st century, jet engine traffic has become very common. It is not out of the ordinary to see a few lingering trails of clouds across the sky in the evening. Many seem to believe the streaks are beautiful lying on a bright blue sky, but others are quite concerned. Concerns range from the idea that these streaks could exacerbate global warming to more elaborate theories that the government has secretly been dumping harmful substances on the land. According to Jane McGrath in “What are Chemtrails and Should You Be Scared of Them”, jet engines spew out very hot air. And, because water vapor is one of the byproducts of the exhaust, the air is also very humid. However, high in the atmosphere where these jets fly, the air is typically very cold -- often lower than -40 degrees Fahrenheit. Additionally, the atmosphere up there is often of low vapor pressure, or the force exerted by a gas on the surrounding environment. When a jet engine is spewing out hot, humid air into an atmosphere that is cold and has low vapor pressure, the result is condensation. The water vapor coming out of the engine quickly condenses into water droplets and then crystallizes into ice. The ice crystals are the clouds that form behind the engine. This is why the streaks are called contrails, short for "condensation trails." To help explain it, scientists liken it to seeing your breath on cold days. You may have noticed that puffs of breath dissipate quickly on drier days. The same is true of contrails: When the atmosphere is more humid, the contrails linger, but when the atmosphere is dry, the contrails disappear more quickly. This explanation makes sense, but as author and airline pilot Patrick Smith tells readers, the contrails consist of not just ice crystals and water vapor but also other byproducts of engine exhaust. These include carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides, sulfate particles and soot. Some point out that these, in addition to the extra cloud cover, can have negative environmental effects. Conspiracy theorists have nicknamed contrails "chemtrails" under the suspicion that the government is taking advantage of this scientific phenomenon to secretly release other substances into the atmosphere. These theorists have become suspicious that the contrails expelled from jets today are thicker and linger longer than they did in the past. One of the more extreme theories says that the government is intentionally spraying people with harmful substances in order to experiment with the effects -- or even to "weed out" the sick and elderly. However, many reputable scientists dismiss these theories on the grounds that such experiments would be of no real use. The "chemtrails" would be released so high in the atmosphere that unpredictable winds would move them around significantly, making such experiments worthless.

The Bermuda Square

While sitting here at 11:00pm on Thursday night, a hour before this blog is due I have nothing to write about. I searched the Internet for countless hours trying to find a new conspiracy theory to write about. I kept shooting the topics down until I finally reached one I found interesting, The legend of the Bermuda Triangle!

    What is the Bermuda Triangle? According to researcher, (and Wikipedia), The Bermuda Triangle is a loosely-defined region in the western part of the North Atlantic Ocean, where a number of aircraft and ships are said to have disappeared under mysterious circumstances. Freaky right? I'm sure you all have heard of this place in movies and in books, but the question is, does this place really exist and is it really a time warp?

   The “Devil’s Triangle” is in the shape of a , you guessed it, a square! Just kidding, it's in the shape of a triangle! It connects Miami, Bermuda and Puerto Rico. This spot covers about 500,000 square miles of ocean off the southeastern tip of Florida. The Bermuda Triangle was one of the few places on Earth where true north and magnetic north lined up. Unexplained circumstances surround some of these accidents, including one in which the pilots of a squadron of U.S. Navy bombers became disoriented while flying over the area; the planes were never found. Some boats and planes have seeming disappeared from the area in good weather without even radioing distress messages! Although in some cases boats and/or planes travel the same path everyday through the triangle without any effects. Come tragic cases involving the “Triangle of Death” date all the way back to the 1600’s! In one incident of 1918, a large well known cargo ship went missing in the triangle area without a trace. The ship had over 300 crew members on board. This was probably one of the largest loss of lives on Bermuda Triangle. There have been over 30 cases reported of missing ships, boats, and people! As I sit here and ponder if these incidents are actually caused by Bermuda triangle phenomena, or are they just mere accidents that also take place in other ocean areas as well, and are simply hyped up here by some theorists to draw unnecessary attention? The world may never know! Make sure to read next weeks blog for more crazy conspiracy theories!

The Illuminati

What started out as an Enlightenment-age secret society has now developed into a worldwide phenomenon. The Illuminati was created in May of 1776 by Adam Weisaupt. He was the first lay professor of canon law at the University of Ingolstadt. The Illuminati was a group of freethinkers, secularists, liberals, republicans, and feminists. According to research, many people believe this society was seeking to take control of the world.

A deeper look into this so called cult will give you cold chills. This Illuminati is said to have a head council. This council was called “The Ancient and Illuminated Seers of Bavaria.” It was made up of five men. Each man is supposed to represent a point on the pentagram, which is a symbol of evil. These men were seeking to develops the superpowers of the mind and take over the world.

The Illuminati are believed to be a primary motivational force that encourages global governance and the world's economic systems. The United Nations, International Criminal Court, International Monetary Fund, and the World Bank are viewed as branches of the Illuminati. The cult is said to be the driving efforts to brainwash the gullible masses by mind control and manipulation of beliefs. Supposedly, they have a private access to banks to create inflations,?recessions, and depressions. The Illuminati is also said to supports certain leaders such as Beyoncé Knowles, Miley Cyrus, Kanye West. Barack Obama. Jay-Z, Justin Bieber, and George Bush.

The Illuminati claims they are not a church, religion, political group, or charity organization, but they are in fact an elite group of global influences who work to further the interests of the human species all together. They only operate to the benefit of the human race. Simply put, they are here to protect humans and to ensure that the human race will never die out!

The Illuminati has many different symbols. The most famous symbol is “The Floating  All Seeing Eye”. This symbol represents the Illuminati seeing themselves as gods, and also being able to see and watch everything the world does. The eye is usually the left one, which is also on the US dollar bill. Another popular symbol of this cult is an owl. The owl is said to represent wisdom. The members of the Illuminati see themselves as the only people smart and coordinated enough to rule the planet.

The Illuminati conspiracy theory is very controversial. Many people believe that this group will soon take over, and others see it as a hoax to distract us from the important issues in the world. I could go on and on with all of the different aspects of this elite organization! Make sure to read next week’s blog for more interesting theories!

Brace Yourself For This Conspiracy Theory!

Some people think conspiracy theories are for the birds, but others believe religiously in them! Over the summer I was scrolling through the “ever so trusting” Facebook when I came across a link for conspiracy theories. I clicked the link, unknowing how addictive these theories would become. What is a conspiracy theory? A conspiracy theory is a belief that some covert, but influential organization is responsible for a circumstance or event. There are tons of conspiracy theories about a lot of different things!

One conspiracy that intrigued me the most is about airplane safety. When in the event of an emergency you are instructed to assume the brace position. The brace position requires one to put their knees and feet together, with your feet firmly on the floor, and placing your head on the surface it’s most likely to hit - usually the back of the seat in front of them. Many theories have been adopted pertaining to this procedure. Some have suggested that it is only useful in preserving the passengers’ teeth. This allows investigators to use dental records for easier identification after the crash. It is also debated that this position actually increases the chance of death, by breaking your neck. The theory is that airlines recommend this position to reduce medical insurance costs and to ensure a quick painless death. Why in the world would they want you to die? Well,  it actually cost airlines less money if passengers die rather than sustain long-term injuries. Wrongful-death settlements can cost anywhere from three million to forty million less than it does footing the bill for lifetime rehabilitation! According to research, and MythBusters Kari Byron, Tory Belleci and Grant Imahara this theory is untrue. The MythBusters simulated many plane crashes to see if the myth would prove to be true. They bought seats from an airline and built a mini plane cabin to suspend from a crane. The artificial cabin was suspended and dropped fifteen feet to see how the test dummies held up. One dummy was positioned in the brace position and the other was sitting upright. The dummies hit the ground with 21 g-force units of impact! The dummy in the upright position absorbed more of the impact than the dummy in the brace position.

The conclusion to this conspiracy theory is very simple, the brace position save lives. Sitting in the brace position channels the crash force from your body to the chair in front of you. According to the Federal Aviation Agency claims it’s three times safer to assume the brace position for an airplane wreck than to remain upright!

Conspiracy theories can be very interesting! Make sure to read next week’s blog to see what conspiracy theory will be debunked!