By Emma Weidmann | Arts and Life Editor
Conspiracy theories are not just for the dude on the sidewalk with a car painted with Flat Earth slogans. These theories can be pretty entertaining to consider and to think about all the secrets we don’t know. Here are some of the theories that pique our interest here at the Arts and Life Desk.
Emma Weidmann | Arts and Life Editor
Ask yourself this: Have you ever been inside of a mattress store? When was the last time you bought a mattress? Have you ever seen anyone inside of a mattress store except one employee, if even?
The answer to these is 1) probably no, 2) can’t remember and 3) no again. So, tell me why I have personally looked out my car window on the highway and seen three mattress stores to my left and one more to my right? Literally, you could stand at one store and have three more in your immediate line of vision. Who is buying all of these mattresses?
One conspiracy theory suggests that mattress stores are actually a front for a more illegal type of business — money laundering. Since that’s not my expertise, I won’t speculate on the real reason for all those stores, but it sure is strange.
Olivia Turner | Arts and Life Writer
One of the most thought provoking and elaborate conspiracy theories introduced to our society is undoubtedly the conspiracy of the death of former President John F. Kennedy. If you haven’t seen the Oliver Stone film, this theory summed up is that Lee Harvey Oswald was not the only person involved in carrying out the president’s murder and that the death of the president was a result of an inside job, as deducted by Orleans Parish, La., District Attorney Jim Garrison. Even after watching this three-hour explanation, I still am not sure what to believe about JFK’s death, but what I am sure of is that the film was very well done and deserving of contemplation.
Another more light hearted and far-fetched conspiracy I’ve come across is that of Valiant Thor (if you’ve seen “American Horror Story,” you know what’s up). The bones of the conspiracy are nothing too crazy; just a man who was focused on preventing and abolishing nuclear war and someone that worked with President Eisenhower and lived in the Pentagon to do so. But get this, he was supposedly an alien. Before you scream “fake news,” think about the fact that allegedly, government officials still speak about him seriously, as if Valiant Thor was real. Whether an inside joke or an extraterrestrial truth, this story is certainly entertaining to consider.
Maximilian Diehl | Arts and Life Writer
My personal favorite conspiracy theory, and one that I personally subscribe to heavily, is the belief that the Titanic was sunk intentionally. There are a few reasons that go along with this, including insurance fraud and the elimination of the general opposition to the foundation of the U.S. Federal Reserve bank. The theory goes that JP Morgan, who owned White Star Cruise Lines and was a supporter of the Federal Reserve, wanted the major business opposition to the bank eliminated. The opposition were the likes of John Jacob Astor, Benjamin Guggenheim and Isidor Straus.
Morgan gave them passage on the Titanic as a ‘professional courtesy’ and then used it to kill them, according to the theory. The insurance side of the theory is also riveting, as the Titanic’s sister ship, the Olympia, had run over a fishing vessel and owed a great sum of money in insurance payments and needed the hull to be repaired. It’s speculated that rather than paying out of pocket, White Star sunk the Olympia disguised as the Titanic, cashed in the insurance check and paid off their debts, all while making a pretty penny.
