Pre-internet conspiracy theories, which ones did you hear?

Pre-internet conspiracy theories, which ones did you hear?

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The Hypno-Toad

Original Poster:

12,810 posts

217 months

Friday 21st February
quotequote all
What says in the title really, what pre-internet conspiracy theories did you hear about when we all sat round in the pub or at coffee break at work? Usually they began with "Well my mates Mum, wife, girlfriend, daughters boyfriend, uncle who's in the Paras says"

Saville, obviously.

If the Argentines had sunk the Invincible, the QE2 or Hermes, Thatcher planned to drop a Polaris onto Buenos Aires?

At the start of the first Gulf War, were the Ministry of Defence really printing up conscription papers?

The mysterious Boscombe Down aircrash in the 90s. Were the SAS really onsite closing roads, arresting people who getting too close to the super secret whatever it was? And what was the super secret whatever it was?

Did the army really take control of Heathrow twice during the Wilson government of 1974 without telling the Prime Minister, just to show him what might happen?

And were there shadowy business men in the 70s, recruiting mercenaries to then form private armies to protect their interests in the UK?

Was Wilson a Russian agent?

I remember hearing all this stuff, clearly a lot of it bks back in the day (especially the Thatcher one.) but I was just wondering if anyone else had heard these or any others?



Edited by The Hypno-Toad on Friday 21st February 12:31

mac96

4,892 posts

155 months

Friday 21st February
quotequote all
My first was definitely 'Kennedy was really killed by the CIA' or at least Lee Harvey Oswald was working on behalf of them.

Plus a load of less specific ones about alien visitors to Earth that noone believed.
It is wierd to think that CTs have become so widespread since.

simon_harris

2,004 posts

46 months

Friday 21st February
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elvis was still alive

fake moon landing

lizard people

jayymannon

253 posts

89 months

Friday 21st February
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Bruce Lee didn't die and instead went undercover with the Hong Kong police.

TownIdiot

3,059 posts

11 months

Friday 21st February
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Paul McCartney was dead and the cover of Abbey Road was a message.

underwhelmist

1,921 posts

146 months

Friday 21st February
quotequote all
There's a guy in the chip shop swears he's Elvis.

PaulWoof

1,675 posts

167 months

Friday 21st February
quotequote all
Marliyn manson had a rib removed........

The Hypno-Toad

Original Poster:

12,810 posts

217 months

Friday 21st February
quotequote all
jayymannon said:
Bruce Lee didn't die and instead went undercover with the Hong Kong police.
I'd forgotten that one. I remember it now you've mentioned it, it was quite a big deal.

2ono

584 posts

119 months

Friday 21st February
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underwhelmist said:
There's a guy in the chip shop swears he's Elvis.
Just like you swore to me that you'd be true

Chauffard

839 posts

9 months

Friday 21st February
quotequote all
I'm pretty sure the one about putting bromide in soldiers tea to repress natural male urges is apocryphal, but maybe not.

Jim H

1,286 posts

201 months

Friday 21st February
quotequote all
Mysterious Marconi deaths, certainly something a bit odd going on there.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/GEC-Marconi_scient...

Austin Prefect

570 posts

4 months

Friday 21st February
quotequote all
There was also the Falkands war theory that Invincible was actually sunk and replaced by a look alike.

The second gunman at the JFK assassination is one that still circulates. It's an interesting one because once you've argued that the shot that hit Connally couldn't have hit Kennedy as well, which it only did because of the slightly odd seating arrangement, then you have two gunmen to fire both shots in the available time. Once two people are involved, then it is technically a conspiracy. Once you've established it's a conspiracy then everyone from the Mafia to the CIA via government officials must be involved. That's basically the entire argument of Oliver Stone's film.

There really were a few businessmen in the 70s who fantasised about having private armies to fend off the the expected collapse of civilisation. Basically an overlap of Walts and survivalists.

Astacus

3,564 posts

246 months

Friday 21st February
quotequote all
Apparently so and one of the Stirling brothers was involved.

boyse7en

7,416 posts

177 months

Friday 21st February
quotequote all
PaulWoof said:
Marliyn manson had a rib removed........
Wouldn't you need to have two removed, else you'd be lopsided?

zb

3,129 posts

176 months

Friday 21st February
quotequote all
Bruce Lee died because he was too fit. Something along the lines of he never ever took any prescription medication, and he took something whilst on a film set, for a headache that wouldn't go away, and it killed him.

Two JFK ones:
The first shot didn't actually injure him all that bad, the USSS agent in the car fked up drawing his gun and blew JFK's head off.

The other one was it was the Israelis that did him and his brother, as the then government had a different view of what Israel should be.

some bloke

1,307 posts

79 months

Friday 21st February
quotequote all
zb said:
...
Two JFK ones:
The first shot didn't actually injure him all that bad, the USSS agent in the car fked up drawing his gun and blew JFK's head off.

The other one was it was the Israelis that did him and his brother, as the then government had a different view of what Israel should be.
I saw a documentary a few years back about this - the film makers got retired murder cop (maybe an Aussie?) to review it cold case style.
The thing with the bullet hitting the senator was feasible as the sat he was in was a lower seat that folded out of the car floor so that bullet could have gone through JFK first. Apparently the USSS guys had been on the lash the night before as well, so their co-ordination may have suffered, as the cop reckoned there was a pretty good chance one of them did fumble his firearm and blew JFK's head off. It explained why people down at car level heard shots form different locations and why some there claimed they could smell that distinctive cordite smell.

But we'll probably never know the real story.

Baldchap

8,965 posts

104 months

Friday 21st February
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boyse7en said:
PaulWoof said:
Marliyn manson had a rib removed........
Wouldn't you need to have two removed, else you'd be lopsided?
It was Prince that had a rib removed when I were a lad. laugh

Austin Prefect

570 posts

4 months

Friday 21st February
quotequote all
Who is the current subject of the 'gallons of sperm removed via stomach pump' myth? It started as Boy George then shifted to George Michael. (The myth, not the sperm).

StevieBee

14,032 posts

267 months

Friday 21st February
quotequote all
Austin Prefect said:
Who is the current subject of the 'gallons of sperm removed via stomach pump' myth? It started as Boy George then shifted to George Michael. (The myth, not the sperm).
I was always led to believe that Marc Almond was the subject on this particular one!


98elise

29,145 posts

173 months

Friday 21st February
quotequote all
Austin Prefect said:
There was also the Falkands war theory that Invincible was actually sunk and replaced by a look alike.
Invincible being sunk was more a claim by Argentina than a conspiracy theory.

They did build 2 look alikes though smile



Edited by 98elise on Friday 21st February 17:57