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.
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!!