17 years on Mars, or "How Daily Mirror fell for a fake story."

Recently the British tabloid Daily Mirror published an article online about this claim made by a alleged former US Marine (a claim that sounds more like a half decent science fiction novel rather than a true account) about how he allegedly spent 17 years on Mars...

The original story was published on a website called ExoNews TV (a UFO conspiracy theorist website) on April 3 of this year. Why the Daily Mail took so long to write up their own crazy story nearly three months after the original crazy story was published, who knows?

Maybe they just found out about it, maybe they were having a slow "news" day (ofcourse the Daily Mirror is not really known for publishing actual news or news that's truthful) maybe they thought that now was the time to publish it.

The original story from ExoNews TV is an account told by a person whom calls himself "Captain Kaye" or "Captain K" (you can listen to him recalling his story here) and whom claims to be a former Marine that spent 17 years of a 20 year military career on Mars.

Now such claims have been made before. Infact several people have claimed to have gone to Mars and back over the years, or claimed to have "knowledge" of bases on Mars. The problem with all of those claims are that the people who made them are either liars, seriously deluded, or both.

I believe this "Captain Kaye" is the first type, and for several reasons.

First he claims that our government has technology that is probably centuries ahead of our current technological level, and yet he gives an audio interview (he never shows his face) to a conspiracy theorist website.

Why the heck would he give an audio only interview and give a fake name and not have a video interview and a give out his real name, since giving a fake name and an audio interview would be useless in hiding himself from his former employers?

If the people whom he worked for are technologically advanced enough to get to Mars and set up a colony, in secret, then wouldn't they be advanced enough to have computer program that can analyze your voice and figure out who you are?

Heck, we have that technology now, so what would be the reason for this Captain Kaye person to hide whom he is?

He also claims to be a genius, yet he's not smart enough to even consider the fact that the people he worked for have the technology to find out who he is and that hiding whom he is would be pointless, and might even put himself in greater danger?

The only reason why I would think he would hide his identity is because he doesn't want people to find out whom he is, step forward and say "this guy is full of sh*t, and he's been on Earth the entire time".

The other reason why I believe this Captain Kaye person is lying is that he sounds like he's reading from an outlined script in his interview and that he's improvising from that script and trying to think up things to say rather than talking about things that he actually did. There's even a few times it sounds like he's shuffling some papers around.

Also, he offers no other evidence of his "experiences" or than his word, which we have no way of checking whether or not his word is good or not, or even if he was in the Marines, or any branch of the military.

The story is clearly fake, and I know the Daily Mirror doesn't have that much standards, but this is ridiculous even for them.

Whats next? Are they going to hire David Icke as a columnist?

Was an alien spotted near where I live?

The other day I was searching through Youtube looking for "alien caught on camera" videos (I actually do look for that stuff when I'm bored) one thing lead to another and I eventually came across this article about an alleged alien encounter that occurred not only in my home town... but also about only a mile or so from my home (although it happened over two years ago and nothing like this has occurred near here ever since).

Suffice to say that if I believed that this close encounter of the third kind actually did occurred (read about it here) I might be scared out of my mind. Of course I don't believe it. I believe it to be a hoax, and I'll explain why:

First, lets examine the description of the "alien" by the eye witness:

• There was a grey figure, about 6'5" with very long fingers, no eyes, mouth or nose that I could see. The grey color of it was lighter on the bottom, and faded into a darker shade towards it's chest. And it's fingers were at least 10" long.

Now that's a very detailed description of this creature. What detail that was not given was how far away this person was from the creature, or where exactly was this creature was (I'm well aware of the area and how it looks like having lived here all my life and driven past this place hundreds of times, so I can tell you after reading the report that the person gave is that either the person is a local as well, or has passed through that section of road enough times to remember what it looks like)? Was the creature on the hill in the wooded area, or in the middle of the road, or across the street at the little pond next to the apartments that are at that intersection, or on the side of the road?

Also it was at 2:00 PM in the summer time, and according to the report given, it states that:

• Traffic was at a stand still as there were at least 7 cars stopped as we watched it walk up a hill into the forest on the side of the road. Eventually a couple of Roanoke county police came, and one went into the woods, only to come out pale and shaking.

So there are atleast nine other eye witnesses to this incident, and probably a lot more than that, yet this is the only report about this alleged incident that I can find, and no one there (including the person whom made this report) had enough sense to take a picture of this creature? In fact why hasn't more people come forward and said that they saw something? I can understand maybe a few people not wanting to have anything to do with this incident, but certainly there must have been atleast more that one person willing to come forward and tell what they saw?

Now there is actually one alleged picture of this creature, and it was taken at night via a trail camera:

Photo Taken by Game Cam of Unknown Creature in Roanaoke, VA.

Photo Courtesy of Unsolved Mysteries and Paranormal Society of Virginia.

http://www.paranormalsocieties.com/view_society.cfm?id=1528 

Now besides the fact that this photo is blurry and really doesn't show anything (and before you point out that the year is wrong that really is not that significant as the person who set up this camera could have set the year wrong) there is no way of knowing if this photo really is from Roanoke, or from the area which is being talked about? This is the only photo provided and as far as I'm concerned it provides no proof that this incident even occurred at all, or that it's in any way connected with it.

Another thing that makes me believe that this is a hoax are the last to sentences of this report:

• I have searched all over the local news to see if there has been any reporting on this incident because where it happened is a very populated area about half a mile from Tanglewood shopping center (at the intersection of Ogden and Colonial Road). I have found nothing in the local news.

My question isn't why wasn't this in the news, but why didn't the person whom made this report tell the local news stations themselves? I would have if I thought it was real and not just a hoax, and that there were multiple eye witnesses, and that it was in the middle of the day time...

In conclusion I believe this to be a hoax. While the details of the creature is very descriptive, there's very little other information (such as where exactly the creature was when the person first spotted it, and how far away the person believes that they were from the creature). This, combined with the fact that no one else has come forward to back up this story, nor did the person themselves report this to the news, and the lack of a follow-up interview the try to get more information (and a note in the report did state that the person did provide full contact information) has lead me to conclude that this is a hoax.

The 10 most bizarre, absurd, and dumb conspiracy theories of 2013

Throughout this year there were a lot of new conspiracy theories going around. Some of them were scary. Some of them were weird. And some of them were just bizarre, absurd, and dumb to the point where one would either have to laugh at them, or pull their hair out in frustration.

The following list are ten of what I feel are the strangest and most bizarre and/or absurd conspiracy theories of 2013:

10. Robert Sarvis was a Democratic plant to help Terry McAuliffe win the Virginia gubernatorial election.

(Author's note: being that I am from Virginia, I just felt that I had to mention this one)

In the 2013 Virginia gubernatorial election there were a lot of accusations that went back and forth (some true, some not) but one of the biggest accusation didn't come during the election, but afterwards. The accusation that I'm talking about is the one that claims that Libertarian candidate Robert Sarvis was actually a shill or plant by the Democrats inorder to steal votes away from Republican candidate Ken Cuccinelli and to help guarantee victory for Terry McAuliffe.

Now as plausible as this may sound, there are just two problems with this: First there is no guarantee that the people who voted for Sarvis would have voted for Cuccinelli, and second most of the polls before the election showed that McAuliffe had an over 50% lead, and thus a spoiler candidate would not have been needed inorder to win. Also, besides those facts and the fact that there is no actual evidence that Sarvis was a Democratic plant, it's just as likely that Sarvis actually took away votes from McAuliffe as it is from Cuccinelli.

9. Anti-GMO/Monsanto claims.

While conspiracy theories against GMO foods are nothing new, what is new is that the Anti-GMO movement now seems to be focusing their claims on one company: Monsanto.

From what I can tell from their claims Monsanto pretty much controls the FDA, the farming industry, the food industry, Obama, the media, the U.S. Supreme Court, law enforcement, any blog that debunks the anti-GMO movement's claims, all the science organizations, and that Monsanto is responsible for every atrocity committed in the world since World War Two.

According to many in the anti-GMO movement Monsanto does all of this inorder to sell you a product that (insert the anti-GMO claim of your choice).

8. The Boston Marathon bombing was a false flag attack.

On April 15 one of the worst terrorist attacks in the U.S. since the 9/11 attacks occurred at one of the largest sporting events in the U.S., the Boston Marathon. Three people were killed, and 264 people were injured, many of who also lost limbs, or were otherwise permanently maimed in some way. Also, like clock work, conspiracy theories about the bombing started to be posted all over the internet within minutes of the attack.

The most common of the claims were that it was a false flag attack, and then later de-evolved into stranger conspiracy theories in that both the suspects, Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev, were under some kind of government mind control, right on down to the most absurd claim of there being no attack at all and that the whole thing was staged and that no one was actually hurt or killed.

Besides the fact that all of these claims were absurd on face value alone and were quickly debunked, they were also very disrespectful and just plain disgusting.

7. Amanda Bynes became a victim of Illuminati mind control.

Over the summer actress Amanda Bynes began engaging in behavior that ranged from bizarre to down right dangerous. This behavior of her's eventually lead to her being involuntarily committed into psychiatric care.

Now to most people this looks like a simple enough case of a young woman whom is mentally ill and whom's mental illness has caused her to act out in bizarre and dangerous ways. To a conspiracy theorist on the other hand it's a clear case of Illuminati mind control.

The main theory that is going around is that Amanda was being groomed by the Illuminati as part of a youth indoctrination program, and that she had decided to break away from them. When Amanda did allegedly break away from them one of two things happen: Either that the indoctrination was so intense that she could not function on her own and her mind snapped, or she was driven insane via remote mind control.

While this explanation kind of makes sense in a weird way, the one theory behind her behavior that makes even more sense is that she is either schizophrenic or bi-polar. Combined with her age, and her escalating erratic behavior over the past few years, this makes a lot more sense than a couple of conspiracy theories that range from being far fetched to pretty much impossible.

6. The Xbox One can see you naked.

When the Xbox One and all of it's feature were announced there were many concerns (some legit, some not) but one of the biggest concerns that in itself became a conspiracy theory is that the new gaming counsel (through it's inbuilt motion sensing Kinect system) can see you naked, even with your clothes on. The reason behind this claim is due to a photo of a test subject seen through the view of the Kinect that allegedly shows his ding-dong, despite the fact that he is wearing clothes.

As it turns out that wasn't the man's private parts, but was actually a fold in his pants that people mistook for his you-know-what. Although it should be noted that the Xbox One can see you naked... if you're actually playing a video game infront of it while naked (and if that's your thing then have fun playing with it... the Xbox One I mean).

5. Something about Comet ISON

The passing through and eventual destruction of Comet ISON was considered one of the biggest astronomical events of this year, not to mention the fact that we gained a ton of data on not just this comet itself, but comets alone through our observations of the comet, including it's destruction by the Sun.

Besides just destroying the comet, the Sun also (hopefully) destroyed something else that went along with the comet: Conspiracy theories.

From what I can find there were three primary conspiracy theories concerning the comet: That the comet was going to hit the Earth and that NASA was covering it up (clearly not true, and would be impossible to cover up) that it was an alien space (if it was I would think that it would have maneuvered itself into a non-destructive path, unless the aliens were suicidal) or that it was a sign of the Rapture (which clearly didn't happen).

Regardless of whatever conspiracy theorist claim was being made about Comet ISON, they all turned out to be wrong.

4. Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge wasn't actually pregnant.

This year Catherine, wife of Prince William and future Queen of England, gave birth to their first child, Prince George... or did she?

According to several conspiracy theorists the Duchess of Cambridge was not pregnant, and that the child was born from a surrogate mother chosen by the Illuminati (whether or not Prince William was the father depends on which conspiracy theorist you ask).

Now the reason why some conspiracy theorists were making this claim is also as absurd as the claim itself: she didn't really look pregnant, and in her first public appearance after the birth, she didn't look like she had just given birth...

3. Chemtrails are being used to poison angels in Heaven.

Probably one of the most absurd conspiracy theories that I read about this year was one that claimed that militant Atheists are using chemtrails to poison and kill angels. Sounds extremely absurd, right? Well, it is. Also sounds like satire too, don't it? Well, it is.

So right now you are probably asking "if it is satire, then why is it on this list?" Because a lot of conspiracy theorists didn't realize that it is satire and actually reposted the original article on their websites as if it were a real conspiracy theory, rather then something that some creative person just made up as a joke.

Come to think of it, that's how a lot of conspiracy theories are like (minus the joke part).

2. Gay people are deliberately spreading HIV with special rings.

This bizarre claim was made not by some random homophobic whack job with a blog or a Facebook page, but a famous homophobic whack job with his own nationally syndicated television program, Pat Robertson, and it was made on said television program.

Robertson's claims were that homosexuals wore special rings that were designed to cut people (usually via a hand shake) and that these rings had HIV on them, and that homosexuals used these rings to infect people (especially people they don't like).

These claims were extremely absurd. Infact they were so absurd (and embarrassing) that CBN removed them from their website and tried to get the videos of Robertson saying them removed from the internet (and utterly failed to do so), which shows two things: The people incharge of CBN do realize that certain bigoted remarks can go to far, and that people incharge of CBN do not know how the internet works.

1. President Obama and George Soros planned to nuke 300 million Americans.

According to Jim Garrow, a right wing activist whom now claims to be a former intelligence officer, claimed while on Erik Rush's radio show that President Obama was planning to drop nuclear bombs on the population and was going to kill around 300 million people. This "plot" was stop by three military officers whom he claims were fired because they stopped the President's "evil plot" (turns out they were relieved of duty due to behavior unbecoming of an officer).

The whole conspiracy theory in itself is absurd just on the those claims alone, but it goes even further into the land of bizarreness for the reason why President Obama was planning on doing this: to make George Soros richer via betting against the U.S. Dollar...

So there you have it folks, the ten of what I feel are the most bizarre, absurd, and dumb conspiracy theories of 2013. If you have any conspiracies theories that were created this year and feel they should have been on this list, please feel free to leave them in the comments section.

Could the pyramids be 28 million years old? Answer, no.

Recently I read an article on a website that promotes Ancient Aliens and trying to rewrite history in the strangest way possible about how the Pyramids in Egypt are 28 million years old (read the article here).

Now the article tries to link a comet that allegedly exploded over the region 28 million years with the creation of the pyramids, but really when I tried to read it, it just sounded like a bunch of nonsense. Infact most of it made no sense what so ever and was actually hard to read at points.

At the end of the article it makes it sound like aliens might have built the pyramids due to the sheer fact that humans were not around 28 million years ago (atleast they got the fact that humans weren't around 28 millions years ago right).

So, are the pyramids 28 million years ago?

Not a chance.

First, if these structures were 28 million years old, then the only parts that would be left of them would be the foundations, and what ever was underneath the pyramids. Everything above would have eroded away by now.

Infact many of these pyramids are in various states of erosion due to where they are located and are almost gone. Some of them don't even look like human made structures anymore, and look more like hills or small mountains out in the middle of the desert.

Pyramid of Amenemhat III (Dahshur)

And while others are in far better conditions then the one pictured above, even they are visibly eroding away. One day they will disappear. It might take 10,000 years, or it might take 20,000 years, but they will erode into nothing one day.

Besides all this, if these structures were 28 million years old, they would most likely be in far better condition than what they are today (not only are they suppose to be surviving erosion, but also climate change, continental shift, and a whole lot of other stuff) nor would they have been built out of limestone, or any stone at all.

The article is nothing more than a prime example of what pseudoscience, and is nothing than a bunch of nonsense that tries to make it sound like aliens built the pyramids, and that they are far older than what they are when say a person with even a junior high school level of science education could debunk this.

7 Reasons why aliens haven't talked to us

For decades now we have been trying communicate with other intelligent life else where in the universe, or at the very least find proof that they are other intelligent life forms out there in the universe.

Despite all of our efforts through SETI and other programs like SETI, we still haven't found any proof that there are other intelligent life forms out there.

So why is it that despite all of our efforts to find and communicate with other intelligent life forms in the universe we still haven't done so?

Well, there are a few reasons why we haven't yet:

They don't exist.

As difficult (and statistically improbable) as it may seem to be, there is a very real (yet microscopic) possibly that the reason why aliens haven't talked to us yet is because their is no other life in the universe, or at the very least that there are no other worlds besides this one that has life on them that have evolved into intelligent life forms.

They're not advanced enough to communicate with us or get here.

One of the reasons why aliens may have never communicated with us or have come to our planet is because they are not technologically advanced enough to either travel to the stars, or create a communication system that would allow them to send out signals into interstellar space. This isn't very surprising since we are barely able to do this ourselves (By the way, we are able to travel to the stars, and we do have a technology that would allow us to do so if we were to give it the funding. It's called nuclear pulse propulsion).

Despite the fact that the universe is around 13.8 billion years old, there is no reason to believe that there are any other civilizations out there that are just as advanced, if not more advanced than we are, and that we may be the most advanced civilization in the universe. But, considering how old the universe is, there is also no reason to believe that there are no civilizations out there that are far more advanced than we are as well, and can easily get from one star to another.

They are able to communicate with us and even get here, they are just very far away.

Maybe they are able to travel between the stars, and even able to send out radio signals, but they just haven't gotten here because of one simple reason: distance.

The universe is a very vast place, and the fact is that unless you have a way to travel and/or communicate faster than the speed of light, it can take years, even centuries, for a radio signal or a space ship to get from one star system to another, so it is entirely possible that the reason why we have never found an alien radio signal, or that an alien space ship has never come here, is because it just hasn't reached us yet.

They are unaware of our existence.

One of the reasons why aliens have never communicated with us is the same reason why we haven't communicated with them: they don't know we are here.

It is entirely possible that an intelligent alien species has seen and heard our radio signals, and either can not figure out where it came from, or they can't understand it and dismiss it as natural phenomenon (which we could be doing with radio signals from space right now that we believe are natural radio signals given off by stars, but are really alien radio signals).

Plus, who is to say that they are even looking for other intelligent life out there like we are? For all that we know aliens might not even believe that it is possible for intelligent life to exist on other worlds, and thus aren't even trying to find other intelligent life forms out there in the universe.

They don't want to.

There is the very good possibility that the reason why aliens have yet to communicate with us is because they have no reason or desire to communicate with us.

This could be because of humans are to violent for them to wish to communicate with, or they may be xenophobic and have no desire to communicate with anyone.

There is also the very real possibility that we are just to primitive for them to consider it worth their time to communicate with. In fact we could be so primitive to them that...

They don't consider us to be intelligent.

Ever hear the old saying that the reason why aliens have never landed on Earth is because they are looking for intelligent life and they didn't find any here? Well, that could be the exact reason why aliens have never come here.

It is entirely possible that we could be so far below an alien species in terms of technology and intelligence that they don't even consider us to be intelligent life forms, and that they could consider themselves to be as far beyond us as we are beyond a chimpanzee.

They have laws that forbid them form communicating with us.

In the Star Trek universe there is this one law that I'm sure that every trekkie knows about: the Prime Directive.

The Prime Directive basically states that Starfleet may not interfere with the development of an alien civilization, particularly a more primitive one, even if the interference is for the betterment of that civilization (unless you happen to be Captain James T. Kirk, in which case it's apparently okay).

It is entirely possible (even likely) that an advanced alien civilization have their own version of the Prime Directive, and are thus forbidden by their own laws from communicating with us, and are limited to just studying us.

5 Thing I've noticed about... Cryptids

Cryptids.

Creatures that are often times so elusive that there is no physical proof of their existence, and has lead most people to believe that they don't exist at all.

Now despite the fact that there is actually no proof that any cryptids exist, there are certain things that I have noticed about them, and have narrowed down to five things.

So here are five things I've noticed about cryptids:

5. They are masters at Hide & Go Seek.

If a cryptid was to ever enter a hide & go seek contest, they would probably win it, because they are masters at hiding.

Despite the fact that many of the areas of the world where various cryptids are known to live are actually very well explored, no one can actually seem to capture a living or dead cryptid.

A couple of good examples of this would be the search for the Loch Ness Monster and the search for Bigfoot.

Despite the fact that there have been multiple explorations of where Bigfoot is suppose to live (which is apparently everywhere now) or the use of motion sensor triggered trail cameras where they are suppose to roam, no one has ever been able to produce any solid proof that Bigfoot exists, other then a few grainy photos taken by people whom weren't even looking for the creature and could easily be something else entirely, and some photos and videos and footprints that are clear, but have either been found out to be hoaxes, or are strongly suspected of being hoaxes.

As for the Loch Ness Monster, that creature is so good at hiding scientists couldn't even find it after all of Loch Ness was scanned with sonar devices.

4. They're big business

Cryptids have made people a lot of money.

There have been many popular TV shows dedicated to finding cryptids, or has a cryptid as one of the characters. There have also been multiple products that feature cryptids as well (including shirts and toys). You can even pay people to take you on expeditions into these places where these cryptids are suppose to inhabit, and the sites where some of these creatures are suppose to live (such as Loch Ness) have become huge tourist attractions, attracting thousands of wannabe monster hunters every year hoping to catch a glimpse of one of these elusive creatures.

Of course lets not forget the millions of dollars spent on high tech equipment to try to find these alleged creatures.

Plus, who here can honestly say that the creation of the Star Wars character Chewbacca wasn't in some ways inspired by the descriptions of Bigfoot.

3. They don't seem to interact with each other.

Out of all the claimed sightings I have heard about varies cryptids, the one thing I have never heard is one cryptid interacting with another cryptid.

This could be a result of the alleged rarity of these creatures that there are simply not enough of them to actually interact with each other (other than a cryptid of their own species, which is also something that is never seen), or they're just scared of each other and avoid each other (which many known animals actually do).

Of course it could be because people so rarely see a cryptid (and it's usually from a distance, and it's not very clear) that it could be that no one has ever had the opportunity to see a cryptid interacting with another cryptid. It's not like people see Bigfoot or the Loch Ness Monster everyday, so it shouldn't be surprising that no one has ever seen Bigfoot riding on top of the Loch Ness Monster either.

2. There are multiple explanations for them.

While a few cryptids will have one explanation for it's existence, most of them have multiple explanations.

The two most common explanations for a cryptids existence is that they are either an unknown animal that has simply yet to be discovered, or, as many scientists believe, the misidentification of a known animal (other than those that are out right hoaxes).

Other explanations are that some could be a prehistoric creature that survived extinction (as Bigfoot and the Loch Ness Monster are sometimes claimed to be) or that they could be aliens (as the Mothman and Chupacabra are sometimes claimed to be) or that they're some kind of spirit like creatures (as the Jersey Devil is sometimes claimed to be).

Regardless of how many logically (and not so logical) explanations there are for a cryptid, there is one true thing that all cryptids have in common...

1. They probably don't exist.

Despite the numerous explorations of areas where the creatures mentioned above (along with many others) have been done in an attempt to find these creatures, no one has ever been able to capture one, or bring back any physical proof that these creatures exist at all. These facts, combined with the logical explanations for the sightings of these creatures (including misidentification of a known animal, and intentionally created hoaxes) has lead many scientists to concluded that most, if not all, probably don't exist, or they just don't exist at all.

Or course I (and many scientists) say they probably don't exist rather than saying that they don't exist at all in most cases because there is a remote possibly (and very remote at that. Basically being on the same level as proving the existence of ghosts, or proving that aliens have been coming to Earth) that a few of them could exist.

Because of this remote possibly that some of these creatures could exist, and the occasional eye witness sighting from someone who doesn't appear to be making their claim up, it keeps people looking for them and wasting their time and money trying to find something that odds are doesn't exist. But still, much like with UFO hunting and ghost hunting, cryptid hunting can be fun, and can lead you to go to all these interesting places and lead people to learn more about history and nature, and maybe even real science along the way.

11 Reasons why people believe in Pseudoscience

Why do some people believe in pseudoscience?

It's a question that I'm sure that many skeptics have asked when they encounter someone who believes in something that has been discredited for years (sometime centuries).

Doing a little bit of research into the subject, as well as a bit of thinking, I've come up with quite a few reasons why some people actually believe in pseudoscience.

11. It goes along with their beliefs.

Due to either religious or personal beliefs (or a combination of both) some people will believe in the pseudoscientific explanation for something, rather than the scientific explanation for something, if the pseudoscientific explanation goes along with their beliefs. Sometimes this will even go so far as to out right reject and ignore the scientific explanation, so long as the pseudoscientific explanation goes along with their beliefs, and the scientific explanation does not.

Examples of this would be people who have strong biblical beliefs rejecting the theory of evolution in place of intelligent design because intelligent design goes along with the creation story, or people who reject modern medicine in place of alternative medicine or believe in claims that vaccines cause autism because they believe pharmaceutical companies are evil, or people who believe that GMO foods are bad for you because they believe that organic foods are better for you and that GMO foods aren't tested or regulated.

10. Real science can be difficult to understand.

I have to admit, there are some things in science that are just difficult to understand, and unless you already have a decent amount of knowledge about a certain scientific field, you probably aren't going to understand whats going on if someone is discussing something about that scientific field.

Pseudoscience on the other hand is usually much easier to understand than real science, and because pseudoscience tends to be much easier to understand than real science, it can attract some people who have become frustrated with real science and their inability to understand it.

9. It sounds more awesome.

Besides being difficult to understand, science can also be boring to some people.

Because some people find the real scientific explanations to certain things to be boring and uninteresting, some people will go over to the pseudoscientific explanations, because it sounds a lot more exciting.

An example of this would be the explanation by ancient astronaut theorists that the Great Pyramid at Giza was constructed by aliens using their advanced technology for reasons unknown. Sounds a lot more exciting than the actual scientific explanation in that it was a giant monument and tomb constructed over a 20 year period by thousands of people for some egotistical Pharaoh.

8. It sounds more logical.

For some people that don't have a good understanding of both how science and logic works, a pseudoscientific explanation can actually sound a lot more logical than an actual scientific and/or logical explanation for certain things.

Lets take crop circles for example. Some people believe that crop circles are made by aliens as a way to send us a message. To some people this sounds more logical than the actual explanation of a bunch of pranksters getting together and creating these geometric shapes in wheat fields using rope and 2x4s.

7. It makes them feel smart.

Because real science can be hard to understand, it can make certain people feel dumb when they try to understand it and just can't. On the other hand because many things in pseudoscience are easy for most people to understand, and because of the false assumption that it is real science, it can make people feel smart when they understand it.

Because of the fact that they can understand it (and because they feel that it makes them look smart because they understand it) they might be more inclined to believe in it.

6. They were taught it and have yet to be exposed to the facts.

Most of the time when a person believes in a pseudoscience it's because it either makes them feel smart due to their lack of knowledge in the field of science, or they're just being stubborn in their beliefs that don't go along with the scientific and/or logical explanation. Sometimes of course it could also be that they were taught the pseudoscientific explanation, and never was exposed to the facts.

This could come in two different means: First, it could be because of an overbearing parent who refuses to allow their child to learn the scientific explanation for something in place of their own personal and/or religious beliefs (as is the case with many fundamentalist Christian parents who homeschool their children and only teaches them "intelligent design"). Second, it could be because what a person believes to a science fact is really a scientific misconception and they've had no reason to find out if it was true or not.

5. A celebrity believes in it.

Celebrities, much like the rest of us, are only human, and because of this many celebrities believe in some pseudosciences. Because celebrities can also be so influential to certain people, and can give off the misconception that they are smart, it can make some people believe that it's cool or okay to believe in that pseudoscience because this celebrity believes in it, and that it must be true because they believe that celebrity is smart, which may or may not be the case.

Most of the time this harmless because the pseudoscience the celebrity believes in is harmless. Sometimes it's not.

4. A scientist endorses it.

Much like celebrities, scientists are also humans as well. Because of this sometimes scientists will endorse a pseudoscience too.

Because an actual scientist, or doctor, or engineer officially endorses a pseudoscience, it can cause some people to not only believe in that pseudoscience, but even refuse to believe otherwise despite a majority of scientists, or doctors, or engineers who say otherwise and can back up their reasons why.

3. It was once considered real science.

There are several different types of pseudosciences out there that at one time were considered to be real sciences, but was either discredited by, or over taken by real science.

Because somethings were once considered to be real science, some people might be inclined to believed that it is still considered to be real science. Or, it could because they don't believe it should be outright abandoned.

2. The possibility it could be real.

There are some pseudosciences that exist not because the subject at hand is real, but because of the possibility that it is real.

Because there are certain pseudoscientific subjects that could be real (no matter how remote) this could lead some people to believing it really is real. Or, this could cause some people to believe in a pseudoscience is real just incase it ever is proven to be real and they don't look like a fool.

1. It goes along with something they are trying to sell.

Sometimes belief in a pseudoscience doesn't just make logical sense to some people, it can also make finical sense as well, especially if they are selling some product or service based on pseudoscience (like alternative medicine). This can be due to the combination of wanting something you're selling to work, and customers telling you that it works.

5 Things I've noticed about... UFOs

UFO. It's a term and phenomenon that's been around with the public for decades now and has basically the main name used when someone claims they have seen an alien spaceship.

While there are many things that I have noticed about UFOs, I've narrowed it down to five things.

So here are five things I've noticed about UFOs:

5. People use that term in contrast what it really means.

I'm sure that most people know that "UFO" means Unidentified Flying Object, but most of the time now when someone uses the term UFO they don't actually use it to describe an object in the air that they can not identify at the moment, instead it now means to most people that when a person says that they are seeing a UFO that they mean to say that they are seeing what they believe is an alien spaceship.

Even if it turns out a UFO is really a alien spacecraft, then the term UFO can not be applied anymore because the Unidentified Flying Object has in fact been identified.

4. People take horrible pictures and videos of them.

Most photos and videos of UFOs tend to be pretty bad. Many of them are blurry and don't really give much details. Some of them just look like balls of light or some other featureless object in the sky that could really be just something simple like a balloon (and yes, balloons do get misidentified as UFOs).

While there are some good photos and videos of UFOs out there that are pretty detailed, there's just one little problem with most of them...

3. The good ones are faked.

There are good, detailed photos and videos of UFOs out there that can be easily found on the internet. The one problem that all these very highly detailed photos and videos have is that they are always found out to be fakes.

UFO photos and videos have been being faked for decades now, be it either using built from scratch models used from the 1950's on up til today, to digitally altered photos and videos that have been being made since the 1990's.

People will probably continue to make these fake UFO photos and videos because they tend to get people attention, while skeptics will continue to debunk them.

2. It's big business.

Regardless of whether or not UFOs are actually alien spacecrafts, man-made objects, or natural phenomenon, UFOs themselves have become a big business.

There's numerous movies, TV shows, and video games about UFOs, and even toys designed after what most people believe that UFOs (and aliens) look like. Of course lets not forget the numerous books on UFOs too.

Lets face it, the exploitation of UFOs is a multi-million dollar, if not billion dollar industry.

1. They can be easily explained.

Many people believe that UFOs are actually alien spacecraft, but the vast majority of them can be easily explained as being either man-made objects, aircraft, natural and weather related phenomenon, or even just a trick of light (and of course outright hoaxes).

Even those that can't be easily explain right away, can be explained after some investigation. Even with the ones that can't be explained at all it still doesn't mean that they're alien spacecraft. It just means that there is not enough information to figure out what it is that was seen.

5 Things I've noticed about... Crop Circles

Crop circles. For decades now they've been appearing in crop fields around the world. Sometimes they're small, simple circles. Sometimes they are enormous and complex, and contain multiple different shapes. While there are many things I've noticed about crop circles, I have narrowed it down to five things.

So here are things I've noticed about crop circles.

5. They're a poor way to communicate.

If aliens really are making these geometric shapes in fields of barley and wheat as a means to communicate with humans (as what many people who still believe that crop circles are made by aliens claim) then it really has to be the worst way to communicate with another intelligent species.

Beside the fact that whomever makes these things would require the people that they are intended for to be able to fly somehow (which is of course easy for us now) it would also require those people to have an understanding of what those shapes mean. That is of course if those shapes have any meaning to them at all...

To simply put, it would be far easier and less confusing for aliens to land in a public area and start talking to people than it would to putting shapes in a field of crops.

4. It's vandalism.

Regardless of whether or not it's bored human who want to create a giant piece of art, or aliens from a distant planet trying to communicate with up in the worst possible way, it's still vandalism, and it's not only damaging a part of a person's property, it's also destroying a part of a person's livelihood, and it's destroying food.

I would think that any beings that were advanced enough to build space ships that could cross hundreds, if not thousands of light years, would at the very least know it's not nice to destroy another species food even if it was to send a message (that no one can figure out).

I would say that I would like to know what kind of species makes these crop circles, but I already know which species makes these crop circles, because...

3. We make them.

Yes, despite what many people believe, crop circles are in fact made by humans. It doesn't matter how large or complex they are, human beings (sometimes many human beings at once) are the ones who are making these things.

Not only is it known that humans make them, it's been known for over 20 years that humans make them (and it was greatly suspected even when crop circles first started appearing in the 70's that they were made by humans). There's even videos on Youtube showing how to make crop circles:

2. There are people who still believe they are made by aliens.

Despite the fact that it's been known for over two decades now that humans are the ones making crop circles (with plenty of videos and arrest records to prove it) there are still people out there who refuse to believe that groups of people can get together, go out to some farmer's crop field in the middle of the night, and make some geometric shapes in a pattern...

Besides believing that these crop circles are made by aliens, they are very adamant about their belief that crop circles being messages from aliens, often times to the point of which they become hostel towards those whom tell them that crop circles are made by humans.

1. They're very artistic.

I admit it, I think crop circles are very artistic looking and pleasing to the eyes, and the size and scale of these creations, not to mention the complexity of some of these creations, just makes these things look awesome (despite the fact that they're still acts of vandalism). Some people even say that they're a form of modern art.

This is in fact all that crop circles, art. They are not made by aliens. They are made by humans. Even the seemingly very complex ones can be easily made by humans after enough practice.

There is no hidden messages behind these things. They're just there to be look at and be admired.

8 Alternate UFO explanations

UFOs, and what they are, have been a subject of debate throughout the world for decades now.

For those who are apart of the UFO community, UFOs are usually considered to be extra-terrestrial spacecraft. For skeptics however most UFOs can be easily explained as either being some type of natural weather or astronomical phenomenon, a mis-identification of a man made object, or a hoax.

Beside the most obvious explanations for what UFOs are, there are a few not so obvious (or in some cases, accepted) explanations for what UFOs really are:

8. Extra-dimensional

Probably one of the far most common alternative UFO explanations is that UFOs (and the alleged beings operating them) are actually from other universes, rather than other planets.

This explanation has become so common among UFO believers that many believers actually try to determine if a UFO in a photo or video is of either extra-terrestrial or extra-dimensional origin (rather than of natural or man made origin).

7. Time travelers

Another explanation for the origin of UFOs is that they are from Earth, just far, far into the future. Just how far exactly is often debated amongst the UFO believers who believe this theory.

Some people believe that they're from a few hundred years into the future. Some people believe that they're from several millions of years into the future. Some people even believe that they're just from a few decades into the future.

6. Angels and Demons

Probably one of the more popular explanations amongst devout and fundamentalist Christians (especially those who don't believe in even the possibility of extra-terrestrial life existing elsewhere in the universe) is that UFOs are either angels sent by God, or (more commonly) demons sent by Satan.

While this explanation is far more accepted with devout and fundamentalist Christians (at least those who actually believe in UFOs to begin with) most UFO believers (and skeptics for that matter) do not.

5. Secret and experimental military aircraft

One of the more common explanations for UFOs amongst both skeptics and UFO believers is that many UFOs are actually secret and experimental military aircraft.

The reason why this is accepted among skeptics as well as UFO believers is because several different kinds military aircraft, back when they were still secret and/or experimental, were thought to be UFOs (i.e. F-117, B-2) and that sometimes the government even used the UFO phenomenon as a cover to help keep certain aircraft secret for years (like with the SR-71).

While skeptics and UFO believers do accept that some UFOs are most likely secret and experimental aircraft, many UFO believers also believe that these aircraft are far more technologically advance than what anyone believes is currently possible, and that the technology being used in them is of extra-terrestrial origin.

4. Holograms

Some UFO believers believe that some UFOs aren't even physically real at all, and that they're actually holograms created by the military.

While the main reasons behind why the military would even do this in civilians areas (if they even are doing this at all) are unknown, speculations from UFO believers vary from either being tests for holographic projection weapons, to being part of a bizarre conspiracy theory called Project Blue Beam.

3. Inner-terrestrial

Particularly popular amongst supporters of the hollow Earth theory, some people believe that UFOs are actually created by beings that supposedly live inside the Earth.

This theory is of course impossible, being that modern science has completely dis-proven the hollow Earth theory, although some will say that there are large areas underground that are hollowed out, not the whole Earth, and that these alleged beings live in those areas (at least those that don't claim that there is a conspiracy to hide the "truth" about the Earth being hollow).

2. Spirits

Some people in the UFO community believe that UFOs are neither of alien, or even of technological origin (or natural either) and that they're actually supernatural in nature.

While the belief that UFOs are actually spirits is somewhat popular amongst those in the New Age Movement, the explanation that UFOs are spirits are usually dismissed by both skeptics and UFO believers alike.

1. Ancient human astronauts

Some people believe (especially those who believe in the myth about Atlantis) that humans were more technologically advanced in the past than we were actually known to be, and that some even managed to build spacecraft and left the Earth thousands of years ago, and that they sometimes come back to Earth from time to time.

While this theory may sound plausible, so far no evidence has ever been found that we are far more advanced technologically in the past then we are today.

10 Counter conspiracy theories

Ever hear of the term "Counter conspiracy theory" (which is in a conspiracy theory that is meant to counter another conspiracy theory)? Probably not, but you have probably read of a few of them (mostly when someone is having an argument with someone promoting a conspiracy theory).

So, I have decided to play Devil'e Advocate here and have listed ten counter conspiracy theories:

10. 9/11 conspiracy theories were invented by Al-Qaeda.

Ever since the 9/11 conspiracy theories started to show up, some people have made accusations that Al-Qaeda itself actually invented many of the 9/11 conspiracy theories, and even bribed certain people within the 9/11 Truth movement to spread these conspiracy theories.

The problem with this is that Al-Qaeda admits to committing the 9/11 attacks, and even criticized Iran's president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, for saying that the United States government did it.

9. "Shape shifting reptilian aliens" is a code word for "Jews".

Many have accused David Icke's primary conspiracy theory, that "Shape shifting reptilian aliens" control the Earth and impersonate leaders of the world, as being nothing more than a re-hashing of old Jewish conspiracy theories, and that "Shape shifting reptilian aliens" is actually a code word for "Jews".

While it is possible that "Shape shifting reptilian aliens" is a code word for "Jews", most antisemitic conspiracy theorists don't bother to use such code words. Plus, David Icke is pretty much crazy as hell, so it's actually possible that he really does mean "Shape shifting reptilian aliens".

8. Alex Jones is a fraud.

While many negative things have been said about Alex Jones and the conspiracy theories that he promotes (which also usually gets debunked) one of the claims that is made against him is that he is just a fraud, and that he doesn't even believe what he says, and that he is just making up conspiracy theories to make money from his followers.

It's true that Alex Jones has made a lot of money from promoting conspiracy theories, and there is proof that he is very manipulative, the problem is that there is no 100% proof that he doesn't believe in the conspiracy theories he promotes.

7. Police State conspiracy theories is made up propaganda.

While there is quite a number of "Police State" conspiracy theories (i.e. FEMA camps, false flag attacks, martial law, etc.) some people have accused these conspiracy theories of being nothing more than propaganda made up by extreme right wing groups as a way to help recruit, or at least attempt to justify their own actions.

While it is true that, like with most other conspiracy theories, police state conspiracy theories are made up, and are sometimes used as propaganda, with the exception of a few people, it can be pretty hard to tell if a person making such claims are doing so for propaganda purposes, or if they really do believe what they are saying.

6. "The invasion of Iraq was for oil" claims is nothing more than propaganda.

Even before the United States invaded Iraq in 2003, there were claims that the invasion was for nothing more than to get that country's oil, and almost immediately there were counter claims that these accusations were actually being made up by those opposed the invasions, and even was created as a form of political propaganda (most of those accusations tend to be towards the Democrats and the former Iraqi government, but other groups are accused as well).

While it is true that many people who opposed the invasion also claim that it was for Iraq's oil, the problem is that they are also very sincere in their beliefs, and most politicians (even those who opposed the invasion) tend not to make those claims either.

5. Holocaust denialists don't even believe themselves.

There are a lot of accusations directed towards Holocaust denialist (most of which are probably true) one of the accusations is that Holocaust denialists don't even believe themselves, and that it is strictly made up antisemitic propaganda.

While it is true that some Holocaust denialists probably don't even believe what they are claiming, and are making these claims as nothing more than antisemitic propaganda, it is also possible that some of them really do believe that the Holocaust didn't happen, and that their bigotry is causing them to be willfully ignorant of the facts.

4. Tax protesters are just trying to get out of paying taxes.

One of the claims made against tax protesters (people who refuse to pay taxes because they believe that the IRS, income taxes, and most other taxes are illegal) is that they aren't doing what they do because they really do believe that the IRS and taxes are illegal, they're just doing it because they don't want to pay taxes.

While it is probably true that many so called tax protesters are only with the movement because they simply don't want to pay taxes, there are some tax protesters out there that really believe that taxes are against the law.

3. Creationists believe in evolution.

While many of the "claims" creationists have made to try to "counter" the theory of evolution are down right ridiculous (which includes the claim that the theory of evolution was just made up, or that it's an invention of the Devil), there are some people who claim that many creationist actually do believe in evolution, and that they are claiming that they don't either because of social pressures, or, for the high profile creationists, are just making up stuff to hold on to whatever power they have.

While many of the top creationist probably are trying to hold on to whatever power that they have, the odds are is that they really do believe in what they are saying, otherwise they wouldn't put out such ridiculous counter theories to evolution.

2. Global warming denialists are being paid to be denialists.

Probably one of the largest counter conspiracy theories out there is that many of the top promoters global warming hoax conspiracy theory are actually being paid by certain industries to deny that global warming either exists, or that it's being caused by human activities.

While it might be easy to believe that many of the top global warming denialists are being paid to promote the global warming hoax conspiracy theories, the problem is that there really is no proof that these people really are being paid to promote global warming hoax conspiracy theories.

1. Birthers are racists who are trying to get President Obama removed from office because he's black.

While many Birthers (people who believe that President Obama wasn't born in the United States) probably are racists, and that the conspiracy theory as a whole is fundamentally racist, some people actually accuse Birthers of making up the conspiracy theory simply to get President Obama kicked out of office because he is black.

The problem with this is that while it might actually be true for some, it might not be true that everyone who believes this conspiracy theory are just being racists who can't stand the thought of a black man as president, and there is really no proof for the most part that most of them don't actually believe what they claim.

5 Things I've noticed about... the show "Ancient Aliens"

Ever watch the show "Ancient Aliens", the History Channel show that claims that humans were visited by aliens in the past? Well I have, and there are some things that I have noticed about that show.

So here are five things I've noticed about the show "Ancient Aliens".

5. Their answer for everything is "Aliens".

According to the "experts" on that show, almost everything we have built in the ancient world was built by aliens.

It doesn't matter if it is a giant structure like the Great Pyramid of Giza, or some mundane but interesting object like the Baghdad Battery, or even something that was proven to be made in modern times, such as the Crystal Skulls, according to the experts on the show, they were all either built by aliens, or their construction was guided by aliens.

Heck, even our own existence is, according to them, the result of aliens messing with our genes a long time ago.

4. The "experts" have a "pics, or it didn't happen" type mentality.

All of the "experts" on that show apparently want exact details about how a megalithic structure was built, and if they don't have those exact details, they assume that aliens built it, not humans (where as with most scientists or archaeologists, it's the other way around).

This is somewhat similar to the phrase "pics, or it didn't happen" where when someone makes a claim on the internet that they did something pretty awesome, if someone is skeptical of the claim they will sometimes say "pics, or it didn't happen". Although some might argue that this is more of a reverse of that...

3. They get their facts way wrong.

Many of the "facts" that are presented on that show are just down right wrong. A great example of this would be many of the claims they make about Pumapunku that simply aren't true.

According to the show Pumapunku is 14,000 years old, when in fact it's closer to 1,500 years old. Also, according to show, the stone blocks at the site are basalt and granite. In fact the site was constructed using andesite and red sandstone.

2. The regular "experts" on the show are not experts in science or archaeology.

The show has regular guests on that claim to be experts in the field of ancient alien or astronaut theory. The problem with this is that not only is this not a legitimate scientific field, the regular guests on the show have no degrees in either science or archaeology.

Giorgio Tsoukalos doesn't have a degree in science or archaeology. Erich von Däniken, the person whom's book Chariots of the Gods? which the show is basically base upon, doesn't have a degree in science or archaeology either (or anything for that matter).

1. The whole theory that the show is base upon is racist.

One of the biggest criticisms of the theory itself (besides being nothing more than pseudoscience) is that it is in a way, racist.

The reason why the whole theory itself is accused of being racist isn't just because it's primary focus is on none European peoples, it's also because it asserts that people who are not as advanced technologically as what we are today are not capable of constructing massive, megalithic structures, simply because we would have a hard time constructing such structures with our technology. Some people would say that's pretty racist...

The Helmet that "Stops Alien Abductions"

Recently I came across a website that shows you how to make a helmet (actually it's a skullcap) that it's inventor, Micheal Menkin, claims to be able to not only prevent alien mind control, but alien abductions as well by preventing aliens from taking control of your mind and movements, thus preventing them from abducting you.

Basically, it's a tinfoil hat on steroids.

I find it quite strange that some head piece that, according to the website, cost only $25 to make (price may vary) can prevent beings that are so technologically advanced that they can travel through several light years of space, or go from one universe to this one, from finding you and abducting you.

The claim about this "helmet" isn't even the weirdest claims on that site.

According to the site, aliens are also causing autism (and possibly Down's Syndrome), that we are in a telepathic war with aliens, that aliens do not like cheap perfume (who does?), the smell of incense from White Sage, and that Vitamin-C is the Plan-B for alien hybrid fetuses.

There are also testimonials on the site as well. Of course, the names of the people giving these testimonials aren't given, so it is hard to say whether or not these testimonials are from actual people, or they were just made up for purpose of making people who believe that they are being abducted by aliens that these head pieces actually work. Considering how likely it is for the public in general to view people who believe they have been abducted by aliens to be "crazy" it doesn't surprise me that people giving testimonials about a head piece that is suppose to prevent alien abductions might not want their names to be given out.

So, would these helmets really prevent alien abductions? Most likely not.

Remember, these alleged beings are suppose to be thousands, if not millions of years more technological advanced then us. Some cheap, homemade head piece is not going to stop them from abducting someone (unless it makes them feel so sorry for the person wearing the said head piece that they just decide to stop abducting them).

The fact is that there is no proof that alien abductions are even real, and that the phenomenon is most likely the result of mass hysteria (some people watch television programs about alien abductions, and think they have been abducted by aliens) or mental illness, and not because aliens are coming to Earth and experimenting on humans.

What this head piece really is isn't some creative mind shield to prevent being assaulted by Extra Terrestrials,  but a ridiculous looking placebo that calms people who believe that they are being abducted by aliens by making alleged abducties believe that aliens won't be able to find them if they wear said placebo.

5 Things I've noticed about... The New Age Movement

I've made some observations about people in the New Age Movement, and that there are certain things that tend to be a common trend amongst New Agers.

Here are five things that I've noticed about the New Age Movement:

5. They love energy.

New Agers tend to believe that energy (in one form or another) is all around them, and that somehow they can somehow control this energy, and that they can somehow convert it and use it for their own personal means (such as healing, or some type of food source), or that they can use it to gain knowledge, rather than gaining knowledge the old fashion way, by reading.

Some New Agers even believe that you don't even need food, that all you need is to absorb sun light, or breathing clean air.

It should noted that last one is very dangerous and has resulted in the deaths of several people.

4. They're obsessed with crystals.

Most New Agers seriously believe that crystals are more then just pretty objects that make for nice coffee table or mantle decorations. Apparently they believe that crystals can be used for dowsing (which has not been proven to work), healing, and warding off negative energy, which apparently a small crystal being in your pocket, or hanging around your neck, is suppose to protect your entire body from all sides from negative energy that's suppose to be bombarding you from everywhere...

3. They believe they don't have to do much to alter their lives.

Apparently New Agers believe that if you just do a few good things, or if you rearrange the furniture in your house in a certain way, or you carry around some good luck charms, or if you put some plants in your house, or even if you have just positive thoughts, that you can dramatically alter your life for the better, rather than actually working hard and putting some real effort into changing their lives, which has been proven to be much more effective.

2. Talking to "other" beings.

Not only do New Agers believe in aliens (be it from another planet, or another dimension), spirits, and other super natural beings, they also believe that they can communicate with them (usually by telepathy), and gain knowledge from them. Some people even believe that they can even see the places that these beings are from, and even let those beings talk through them to other people.

They also believe they can communicate with dolphins...

1. It's pretty narcissistic.

Almost everything about the New Age Movement seems to be centered around the individual rather then others around them, and that the primary reason why you should do anything in the first place is to better yourself, even when the true heart of doing something is to help and benefit others. While there is nothing wrong with trying to improve one's self, everything New Agers tend to do is apparently to benefit themselves, and that helping others is a secondary bonus to them.

Also, New Agers tend to blame others for their problems, and that none of their problems are their own fault, or the result of unforeseen circumstances, and that those that wronged them (real or not, major or minor) will be punished in some way, some time in the future.

The Roswell Crash: The best thing that never happened to Roswell

The Roswell crash, probably one of the most famous alleged incidences to have occurred in the history of UFOs.

It is also probably one of the best things to most likely to have never have happened to that town of Roswell, New Mexico too.

Regardless whether or not an alien space craft crashed on a ranch outside the city, or if it was a combination of a experimental military balloon from Project Mogul and Project High Dive, along with hoaxes and other myths that have been generated because of the crash, the one true reality is that just about everyone knows about Roswell, New Mexico, and what is to have allegedly occurred there 65 years. Because of that it has become a huge tourist attraction for people who are into UFOs and curiosity seekers alike.

If it wasn't for this alleged UFO crash no one would really care about this place. It would just be a small city in the middle of the desert who's only one real tourist attraction would be the old Walker Air Force Base. Heck, the only reason why anyone would want to go to the old Air Force base there today is because that is where the alleged alien space craft and bodies were being held at after the "crash" in the first place.

There are other places there that attract wannabe UFO investigators as well, such as the alleged crash site, and the International UFO Museum and Research Center, which generates the community loads of money in terms of tax revenue and sales of things like food and lounging and souvenirs, and all sorts of other things that tourists tend to buy.

There has also been a huge amount of media centered around the city and the alleged UFO crash there as well, be it books, TV shows, documentaries, movies, video games, or magazine articles. All of this only increases the mythology of this alleged crash, which in turn increases the popularity of this place, thus increasing the amount of tourism to this place, which puts more money into the community. There was even an entire television series during the late 1990's and early 2000's called Roswell that centers around four aliens that survived the crash and disguise themselves as human teenagers...

Now I have seen pictures of Roswell and I admit it's a beautiful little city. I won't even mind living there if it wasn't for the fact that it is in the middle of a desert. In fact there is a lot more there to see then just a bunch UFO attractions, but that's not what people go there to see. They go there to see the site of something that most likely never happened, but in their minds is the greatest historical event in human history, and one of the biggest conspiracies in human history as well, rather then the crash of some high altitude military equipment that no one really cared about until the late 1980's.

While I don't like ignorance and the continued promotion of things that most likely never happened, I have to admit that this alleged crash is most likely the best thing that never happened to Roswell, New Mexico.

Embarrassing Conspiracy Theories: Shape-shifting Aliens control the Earth

While there are a lot of strange conspiracy theories out there, perhaps one of the most bizarre conspiracy theories out there is one that the primary promoter of is David Icke: that the leaders of the world (and just about anyone who is famous) are actually shape-shifting aliens.

The aliens are often times described as being humanoid reptilians that are from either another planet or universe (although some claim that they are actually the offspring of alien-human hybrids from thousands of years ago) and have actually been in control for thousands of years, and are using their technology to take on a human form and secretly control the human race.

There are several videos on the internet that claim to show some famous person or politician showing some type of reptilian features for a split second, and the reality is that they do not. Many of these videos allegedly shows a person "revealing" some kind of reptilian features are actually the result of camera angle and light reflection, or even or even natural human bodily actions, such as pupil dilation, and just licking lips with one's tongue. Some of these video are even the result of some special effects put in to the video by someone who wants to prove that shape-shifting aliens are real.

Taking into account the wide scope that many conspiracy theorists believe this to be, many people have been accused of being a shape-shifting alien (this includes David Icke as well, and possible even myself). There are even people who actually claim to be one of these aliens. Of course they never actually turn into an alien, they just act very strange when they are in what they claim to be in their transformation. These "transformations" seem more like acting, or psychosis.

Besides considering the scope of such an alleged conspiracy (in both time and number of people involved) and the sheer lack of any evidence what so ever that any of this is true, it makes no logical sense that any technologically advanced conquerors would even bother to do something like this.

Many skeptics believe that the shape-shifting alien conspiracy theory is actually a modernization and rehashing of the many Jewish conspiracy theories (both of which just so happen to be very similar in their accusations), and have actually accused David Icke of being anti-Semitic and that he uses the reference to shape-shifting reptilians as being a code word for "Jews". While Icke does deny this, he does believe that the book The Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion (which was proven to be a hoax as far back as 1921) is true, and has apparently been flirting with Holocaust denial.

Regardless of the reasons behind David Icke's allegations (whatever those true reasons may be), many people (both conspiracy theorists and skeptics alike) consider this to be complete nonsense, and have accused Icke of being everything from a scam artist to being outright insane (although some conspiracy theorists have also accused him of being a disinformation agent as well).

Ten bizarre conspiracy theories

There are a lot of conspiracy theories out there, and while most of them are pretty strange, some are truly bizarre, even to the point where a person who believes in the conspiracy theory is suspected of being mentally ill, and that the conspiracy theory itself is believed to be a hoax.

While there is no universal consensus amongst skeptics about which conspiracy theories really are the most bizarre conspiracy theories, here are what may be the ten most bizarre conspiracy theories:

10. The government can read you thoughts and control your mind

For decades now some conspiracy theorists have been claiming that the government can not only control your mind, but can read your thoughts as well, either through electronic and other electrical devices, or even through radio waves, and even light itself.

One of the most common claims by people who believe this is that tin foil hats can combat this.

This type of conspiracy theory is most often believed in by people with untreated schizophrenia, although sometimes it's just people who are very paranoid.

9. The Moon is a hologram

People who claim to believe in this claim that Moon is a hologram, either created by aliens, or the government.

Besides the fact that this conspiracy theories ignores everything we know about gravity and tidal effects (and a whole bunch of other sciences) there is speculation that the whole conspiracy theory itself is nothing more then a hoax.

8. We live in the Matrix

If you've ever seen the Matrix then you probably know what I'm talking about. This theory states that we really live in a simulated reality, and that everything we see, including ourselves, are nothing more then computer generated images.

The problem with this is that there is no proof of this what so ever.

7. No planes hit the World Trade Center towers

Literary considered the fringe section of the 9/11 Truth movement, people who proclaim these theories claim that the WTC towers were not hit by planes, and that what we saw on TV were either holograms or computer generated images, and that the towers were hit by a missile, or destroyed by lasers from space.

This conspiracy theory is considered so insane that other people in the 9/11 Truth movement have debunked this.

6. Shape-shifting aliens control the Earth

This conspiracy theory, which is primarily promoted by David Icke, states that the world is controlled by evil shape-shifting reptilian aliens from either another planet or dimension.

People who believe in this conspiracy theory tend to accuse just about everyone with just a little bit of power of really being an alien, this includes David Icke.

Many skeptics and critics of this conspiracy theory have accused Icke of being anti-Semitic, and that "shape-shifting reptilian" is a code word for "Jews".

5. The Philadelphia Experiment

The conspiracy theory claims that during World War 2 the United States conducted an experiment using the USS Eldridge to try to render the ship invisible, but instead either sent the ship backwards or forward in time, or to another dimension.

There are many claims that when the ship returned crew members were found to be embedded in the ship itself, or later developed mental problems, or just disappeared, sometimes weeks or even months after the experiment occurred, sometimes even in public places with many people around.

The problem with this is that there is no documentation of any such experiment ever occurring, or claims made by other people who said to see crew members disappear out of thin air in these public places. Plus crew members have stated that the ship never left port when this experiment was suppose to be occurring. Because of this many skeptics consider this conspiracy theory to be a hoax.

4. Obama is Osama

While there are a lot of conspiracy theories leveled against Barrack Obama, one of the most bizarre is that President Obama is actually Osama bin Laden.

Other then the fact that Obama and Osama are similar sounding names, the two are not the same person. They don't even look alike.

The conspiracy theory itself appears to be nothing more then an example Obama Derangement Syndrome, in which some people will believe anything negative about President Obama without question.

3. Flat Earth

People who believe that the Earth is flat also usually believe the there is conspiracy by government of the world (or the Illuminate, or aliens) to suppress this information, and create fake photos of the Earth from outer space as proof that the Earth is round.

While the concept of flat Earth is a more modern concept (contrary to popular belief) and has to ignore everything we know about the Earth, the people who do believe this claim the "truth" about about the Earth is being suppressed in order to subvert the Bible (even though the Bible itself says the Earth is round).

2. Project Blue Beam

In this conspiracy theory it's basically claimed that NASA and the Illuminate will use advance technology to simulate an alien invasion, the Rapture, and the Second Coming of Jesus, and that the world will be ruled by the Anti-Christ through a New Age religion, and that Islam and Christianity will destroyed within a day's time.

As I'm sure most of you can tell this is a pretty bizarre conspiracy theory. There have also been many predictions of when this is suppose to happen. All of those predictions have failed.

1. Montauk Project

This conspiracy theory claims that scientists at Montauk Air Force Base created an interdimensional portal, and also worked with aliens and Nikola Tesla. It's claimed that these things happened in the 1960's to the 1980's, years after Tesla actually died. There are also claims that there were experiments in time travel, psychic abilities, and that the alleged "Men in Black" corps was created there.

These aren't even some of the more bizarre claims, and it's even been accused of being a hoax created by Jacques Vallée and Preston Nichols as a means to sell books about this conspiracy, being that they are the only two people who claim to have knowledge of this place. Still, it is considered by many skeptics to be the most bizarre conspiracy theory out there.

Ancient Aliens Debunked (The Movie)!

Ancient Aliens is one of the most popular shows on the History Channel. It is also one of the most controversial television shows as well, not only for the fact that it is accused of promoting pseudoscience and pseudo-history, and that many of the claims made are the result poor research and false assumptions, and it has even been called deceptive.

In this the new online documentary about the show, internet talk show and podcast host Chris White shows how many of the claims made on "Ancient Aliens" are not true, and are either the result of not doing proper scientific and archeological research, or are outright false:

Also, please feel free to go to the Ancient Aliens Debunked website and find out more information.

Also, for further reading, please go to the Ancient Aliens Debunked page on Illuminutti.com.

5 Famous UFO/ET Hoaxes that some people still think are real

Ever since the UFO phenomenon began back in the 1950s, there has been a huge amount of reported sightings of UFOs, along with photos and videos of these so called UFOs, and even contact with aliens.

As it turns out, many of these sighting, and photos and videos, are actually mis-identified natural phenomenon, or mis-identified man made objects. Of course, it also turns out that some of these UFO sighting, and photos and videos, are not as simple something that has been mis-identified, but are actually man made hoaxes, many of which are still believed by some people to be real.

Here are what I consider to be the top five most famous UFO/ET hoaxes that some people still believe are real:

5. Alien Autopsy

There are actually several so called alien autopsy films making their way around the internet claiming to show an actual alien autopsy, but the one that I'm talking about specifically is the now infamous film that had it's own television special called "Alien Autopsy: Fact or Fiction". From the beginning, many people were skeptical of the film, believed the answer was fiction.

Well, it turns out it was in fact, fiction.

Ray Santilli and Gary Shoefield, two of the people who helped create, release, and promote the footage, admitted in 2006 that the footage was indeed fake, although for some reason they then claimed that the film was a "reconstruction" of an earlier film they claim to have seen, but deteriorate right after they viewed it...

There are also a lot of people who still think the film is real, but that maybe because they haven't heard that it was fake, or they refuse to accept the truth.

4. The Johnathan Reed video

In 2002 a claim made by a man named Dr. Johnathan Reed start circulating around the UFO community that back in 1996 Dr. Reed encountered an alien in the woods near his home, and that it killed his dog. After this alleged attack, instead of running away, he hit the alien in the head with a large branch. After all this, he still managed to get out his video camera, video tape the alien, the alien's apparent space craft, get the half alien dead alien back to his jeep, take it home, and continue to examine it in his garage while still video taping..

While many people considered this footage to be quite extraordinarily, there were many others who were skeptical from the beginning, and deemed it to be a hoax. And it turns out they were right.

In 2010 a team from the television show "Fact or Fake: Paranormal Files" investigated this video. Not only were they able to duplicate the video also exactly like the original, they also did a voice analyse stress test on Dr. Reed as well from an interview he gave the investigators. The test indicated that he was most likely being deceptive about his video.

Despite the show's investigation, many people still refuse to accept the fact that the video is a fake, and even claimed that the show was misleading about the facts.

3. Billy Meier's photos and videos

Billy Meier's photos and videos of UFOs from the 1970's are considered within the UFO community to be some of the best evidence of UFOs ever, but many skeptics, including those within the UFO community itself, consider his photos and videos to be fake.

Many of Meier's photos and videos of the UFOs he claimed to have taken have been duplicated over the years by skeptics, and many people have noted problems with his photos and videos as well, indicating that they are most likely fake. His ex-wife has even claimed that all of his alien visitations he claims to have had are made up, and that the UFOs in the photos and videos look like several models he made out of house hold items. He has also been unwilling to hand over any physical evidence that he claims to have for testing.

In spite of the fact that there is just so much evidence that all of his photos and videos are fake, he still claims that they are genuine, and he still has a lot of supporters who think so too.

2. The McPherson Tape

In 1989 a very low budget, found footage genre film commonly known as "The McPherson Tape" premiered to the world, and many people in the UFO community saw this film as being not only real, but as proof that aliens were actually abducting humans.

The film's creators soon after came clean about the film, even producing photos of the alien costumes and the "spaceship". There was even a remake of the film that premiered in 1998 that even has an alternate ending.

Despite all of this, there are many people who still believe that the film is real, and that the "family" in the film (all of whom are actors who aren't even related to each other) are being frightened by the government and being forced to claim that the footage is fake.

1. Crop Circles

For over 30 years crop circles have been appearing around the English countryside, and eventually this  phenomenon spread around world. At first, many people thought that the the circles were being created by aliens, because it was claimed that humans could not have created such designs large designs over night, and bend the crops in the way that was done, but in 1991 two people by names of Doug Bower and Dave Chorley came forward and admitted that they had created many of the crop circles in England, and even showed the media how to make a crop circle.

Since then many people around the world have been making crop circles on their own. Some have even made videos of themselves making these crop circles, even very complex ones, and then posting those videos online. Some people have even been caught making crop circles, and have faced legal issues because of it.

Yet, there are still a lot of people who believe that crop circles are made by aliens. In fact, there is even a group of people called Cereologist who study crop circles, and usually claim that most are made by aliens, and that the videos of people showing how to make crop circles are part of a conspiracy by the government to make people believe crop circles are a hoax.