We all have that one uncle who’s a dedicated flat-earther or believes in an elusive hairy ape-man that roams around forests, but have you heard the theory that the Earth is hollow and contains a hidden world within it full of vikings, Nazis and aliens? Let’s take a look at two lesser known conspiracies that will have you wearing a tinfoil hat in no time.
To start off, we have the theory that the Israeli government has a top secret special forces unit- made up of evil sharks. After multiple shark attacks were reported on the coast of the Red Sea in 2010, the Egyptian governor of South Sinai suggested Israel may be somehow controlling these sharks. The Israeli foreign ministry spokesperson responded to this rumor by telling BBC that “The man must have seen Jaws one time too many, and confuses fact and fiction.” However, this isn’t the only time Israel was accused of having an arsenal of tactical marine animals. According to a Palestinian news article from the Daily Al-Quds, Israel “has recruited a watery pet, the dolphin, known for his friendship with humans, to use for operations to kill Qassam Brigade Naval Commandos.” The Israeli government apparently achieved this by taking “advantage of dolphins’ love for humans, and how the animals like to play with people on the water”. Not only that, but the article claims that Hamas operatives actually captured one of these assassin dolphins and found it was fitted with surveillance technology and a weapon capable of shooting high-velocity arrows. Are these claims just propaganda, or is there somefin more fishy going on?
Next, we have the Hollow Earth theory. According to the Royal Society, a reputable science organization, one of the first modern versions of this theory was proposed in 1692 by the English astronomer Edmund Halley to explain why magnetic north was not constant. Edmund claimed that the Earth was hollow, contained four layers and that there were two entrances to this hidden world in the north and south poles. Since then, the theory has been disproved countless times using seismic wave imaging and the basic principles of gravity.
However, that hasn’t stopped others from believing in a hollow Earth. In the nineteenth century, an American Army officer named J. Cleves Symmes boldly proclaimed “To all the world: I declare the earth is hollow, and habitable within; containing a number of solid concentrick spheres, one within the other, and that it is open at the poles 12 or 16 degrees; I pledge my life in support of this truth, and am ready to explore the hollow, if the world will support and aid me in the undertaking.” in his published work the Symme’s Circular No. 1 from 1818. Symmes is often credited with repopularizing the theory, and many proponents followed after him like the news reporter Jermiah Reynolds who journeyed to Antarctica in search of the entrance.
The modern versions of Hollow Earth theory took these basic principles and added their own spins to it, including the presence of mole people and other life forms. According to The New York Times, various internet groups believe that advanced ancient aliens live inside the Earth and send UFOs out from the ground to spy on us, that Hitler and other Nazis escaped into the hollow Earth at the end of WW2 and that vikings also ventured into the hollow. One of these groups creatively named “Hollow Earth” (and surprisingly found on Facebook) set up a donation page to fund their journey to the North Pole to prove there is a gateway to the alien paradise once and for all. Of course, we’ve already explored both of the poles and found a hole… lot of nothing. There’s a lot more interesting conspiracy theories to cover, so stay tuned for the next issue.
