Here are examples of Conspiracy Theories that Turned Out to be True! Follow along to learn more about these theories.
The CIA Built a Heart Attack Gun
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● The theory:
○ The government has developed a gun that can cause fatal heart attacks
● What really happened:
○ The CIA developed a secret weapon in the 60’s and 70’s
■ A small poison dart was shot out that would cause a heart attack
● It could penetrate clothing and leave nothing behind except a tiny red dot on the skin, disintegrating on impact
● The target would feel as if they’d been bitten by a mosquito
● The poison denatures quickly so autopsy would not indicate foul play
● Why we know about it:
○ In 1975, Congress investigated the rogue activities of the CIA
■ United States Senate Select Committee to Study Governmental Operations with Respect to Intelligence Activities
■ During testimony, the secret weapon became known to Congress
Operation Mockingbird
● The theory:
○ The CIA is spying on American journalists and controlling the media
● What really happened:
○ Operation Mockingbird was a CIA operation that spied on members of the Washington press corps in 1963, 1972 and 1973
■ They also paid journalists to publish CIA propaganda
■ This included wiretapping phones as well as observing their offices to track their activity and visitors
○ Wiretapping of civilians is against CIA code
■ At least one part of Operation Mockingbird was done with coordination from the Attorney General, Secretary of Defense and Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency
○ Kennedy set the precedent for monitoring civilians, but it was also practiced in the Johnson, Nixon, George W. Bush and Obama administrations
● Why we know about it:
○ Mockingbird was uncovered by the Church Committee after the Watergate scandal
○ John F. Kennedy secretly recorded Operation Mockingbird conversations in the Oval Office. They are now part of The Presidential Recordings
Poisoned Alcohol
The theory:
● The FBI poisoned alcohol during Prohibition
● What really happened:
○ In 1920, the US passed the 18th Amendment of the Constitution, banning the sale, productions and importation of alcohol
■ The Prohibition Era was marked by widespread bootlegging of alcohol
● Some of this alcohol, made in private stills, had major health risks from heavy metals in the alcohol
○ Could lead to illness and even blindness
● Industrial alcohols (used in paints, solvents, fuels and medical supplies) were regularly stolen by bootleggers, redistilled and resold
○ These were regularly stolen by bootleggers, redistilled and resold
○ Law enforcement was frustrated that people continued to consume alcohol
■ The government redesigned formulas used to make industrial alcohol undrinkable
● The new formulas included adding kerosene, gasoline, benzene, iodine, zinc, mercury salts, nicotine, ether, formaldehyde, chloroform, carbolic acid, quinine and acetone
● Mandated that up to 10% of total product would be poisonous methyl alcohol
○ The government hoped this method would scare people into giving up drinking
○ Some estimates say that by the time Prohibition was repealed in 1933, the federal poisoning program had killed at least 10,000 people
● Why we know about it:
○ New York City medical examiner Charles Norris was very outspoken against the poisoning program
■ 1926 NYC: 1,200 became sick from poisoned alcohol, 400 died
● 1927: Deaths increased to 700
■ Norris assigned his toxicologist to testing confiscated whiskey for poisons, finding many of the ones we know about today
○ Public health officials and anti-Prohibitionists, including Missouri Senator James Reed, spoke out against the poisoning program
Cancer-Causing Vaccines
The theory:
● People may have gotten a cancer-causing virus from contaminated polio vaccines
What really happened:
● Simian Virus 40 was first found in monkeys in 1960
○ Monkey kidney cell cultures were used to produce the vaccine
○ The SV40 virus has been linked to many human cancers including childhood leukemia, lung cancer, bone cancer and Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma
■ While SV40 has been found in these cancers, it there is debate as the whether or not the virus actually causes cancer
○ Shortly after it’s discovery, scientists discovered SV40 contaminated some polio vaccines
■ It was reportedly removed from all vaccines in 1963
● An estimated 10-30 million people may have been exposed to SV40 after receiving polio vaccines in the 1950s and 1960s
○ More than 98 million people received polio vaccines before the contamination was discovered and eliminated
Why we know about it:
● The CDC admitted to SV40 contamination in polio vaccines
○ In 2013, the CDC abruptly took down its fact sheet on the subject
Gay Bombs
The theory:
● The military attempted to develop a bomb that would turn the enemy gay
What really happened:
● 1994 – The U.S. Air Force explored the possibility of using pheromones as a weapon
○ A proposal requested a 6-year, $7.5 million grant to see if dousing enemy combatants with female pheromones would cause a biological reaction in troops
■ The proposal suggested that affected soldiers would find their comrades “sexually irresistible” and could potentially lead to homosexual behavior
■ Presumably, the unbearable attraction would render enemy soldiers less effective in combat
How we know about it:
● The proposal was discovered by a military spending watchdog group through a Freedom of Information Act request
Sources:
http://www.military.com/video/guns/pistols/cias-secret-heart-attack-gun/2555371072001/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wiKyK3EOYgA
http://washington.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/06/26/project-mockingbird/?_r=0
http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/medical_examiner/2010/02/the_chemists_war.html
http://www.naturalnews.com/042077_cdc_polio_vaccines_cancer_viruses.html
http://www.immunizationinfo.org/issues/iom-reports/sv40-contamination-polio-vaccine-and-cancer
http://mentalfloss.com/article/49042/us-militarys-idiotic-idea-gay-bomb
