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“Got To Be A Freaking Potato”: 30 Secrets People Believe Are Purposely Hidden From The Public
Interview
They say it’s important to question everything. This urges people to challenge established notions, norms, and beliefs, which ingrains a healthy skepticism in us. It also improves our intelligence and drives innovation in society.
Recently, people in this thread were doing exactly that—discussing things that might not be what the general public is used to believing. From recycling being a myth to inaccurate rich lists, scroll down to find netizens’ opinions on the world's biggest secrets.
While you're at it, don't forget to check out a conversation with Stephanie Kemmerer, a former conspiracy theorist and an advocate for recovery from conspiracy theories and cults, who kindly agreed to tell us more about what happens when people reject certain truths.
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
Personal finance. Why are high school kids forced to take three years of math and chemistry but don't understand how a loan works?
#2
Criminality by the wealthy. It’s massive.
Some people go too far with questioning everything. Sometimes even to the point where they start rejecting standard explanations for a phenomenon or an event and instead credit a group or organization with power for carrying out a secret plot or hidden agenda.
This belief is called a conspiracy theory and is more common than we might think. For instance, one in three Americans is convinced that global warming is fake.
Meanwhile, 49% of people living in New York believe that the US government was involved in the 9/11 attacks. And over half of America’s citizens assume that Lee Harvey Oswald wasn't acting alone in the assassination of John F. Kennedy.
In addition, 37% of Americans are certain that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is purposely hiding the natural cures for cancer from the public.
#4
The unfathomable amount of wealth that is off the books and hidden by the wealthy and/or dictators.
keyboardtek 6 months ago
This is well known. But Republicans continue to blame immigrants and Liberals for the country's economic problems.
#5
That we are currently eyebrows deep in a mass extinction event, and we should be much more concerned than we currently are. it's not anywhere on the news. insects are dying off at an alarming rate. so is sea life, and other life that depend on it. are you seeing less squirrels? what about lady bugs or dragon flies? i can't remember the last time I saw either of those. Butterflies... almost non existent in my area but i used to see them all the time growing up. crows... they used to be annoyingly everywhere, not as much any more. no one is mentioning how things we used to see all the time are slowly disappearing.
Nadine Debard 6 months ago
Were I live most cities and small towns have stopped mowing everything everywhere, leaving weeds in many spots, avoiding chemichals and planting honey plants to feed the bees and other pollinating species. There are much more insects, butterflies, bees, ladybugs, and many other rare species. It only took five years to drastically make the difference.
#6
What absolute disarray the public school system is in. Unless you work in a school, you cannot even fathom how horrible it is. From insane behaviors to kids receiving diplomas and only being able to read at a first grade level, it is beyond broken.
flower petals 6 months ago (edited)
It does seem like things in public schools are pretty bad. I know someone who says there’s a big similarity between the public school system and the foster care system, in that both systems are broken, and not everyone knows that. 🥺 Edit: I should have specified that my comments referred to the US. Sorry..
Curious about how these theories are formed and where they originate from, Bored Panda reached out to a former conspiracy theorist, Stephanie Kemmerer, who kindly agreed to tell us more about them.
She says that conspiracy theories (CTs) are generally broken into several categories of creation, one of which is based on real events but with added fictional elements. Others are completely made up, just like some UFO "evidence."
Some arise from misrepresented or misunderstood data, and 9/11 perfectly illustrates this. Essentially, any event that requires a level of some kind of expertise, like physics, engineering, or geography, can become the target of conspiracy theorists. "The real experts are not trusted, and the theorists create their own non-expert interpretation," explains Kemmerer.
#7
How much the US relies on prison labor and how our for profit prison system synergizes with giant cartels.
How much punishment is designed to encourage repeat offending on purpose. Just a few minor offenses can lead to becoming jobless, then homeless, etc.
Johnny McFearless 6 months ago
Recommended reading on this topic: Texas Tough: The Rise of America's Prison Empire, a 2010 book by Robert Perkinson. Easy reading, dramatic and shocking. Should be read by everyone.
#8
The degree to which the people in charge have no idea what they’re doing and are basically just winging it.
#9
Acts of terror they catch, before completion.
BoredPossum 6 months ago
You'd never sleep again if you knew all the things that almost happened.
What drives people to believe such unsupported claims is to make sense of a nonsensical world. “Conspiracy theorists are not all likely to be simple-minded, mentally unwell folks—a portrait which is routinely painted in popular culture,” says Shauna Bowes, a doctoral student in clinical psychology.
“Instead, many turn to conspiracy theories to fulfill deprived motivational needs and make sense of distress and impairment.”
Meanwhile, Kemmerer mentions our need for answers. "More so, we need answers that confirm and conform to our belief systems. CTs give us that. You can pick from a buffet of beliefs and take as much or as little as you like, as long as it all tastes good."
#10
The true extent of the Catholic Church's abuse/coverups of abuse.
:::UPDATE:::
Wow a lot of people liked this one. I wanted to acknowledge that while my point about the Vatican stands, the Roman Catholic Church is not the only religious community that, even just through tradition piety or shame, has to deal with people with religious authority abusing minors. This is of course abhorrent regardless of the source and anyone guilty of this should be locked up forever. I just wanted to play fair here.
StrangeOne 6 months ago
My ex's parents are very religious Christians. They used to go to church every Sunday and did other voluntary stuff, helped out the Pastor with the computers and whatnot. Apparently there was some horrible abuses going on involving the kids at the church they found out and they immediately stopped going, cutting off all ties with the church.
#11
The amount of radiation and pollution that all governments are collectively allowing corporations to create. There's a reason cancer and other diseases have been on the rise for 70 years. Plastics, oil, carbon monoxide, things we know about, and things we don't know about.
StrangeOne 6 months ago
All Canada did was implement a carbon tax on oil and gas manufacturers/producers, and other companies who create those emissions, and distribute a portion of those taxes back to the lowest incomed people every 3 months. Apparently it was supposed to encourage those companies to reduce the level of emissions so they don't have to pay as much of those taxes. The problem is those companies are too rich to be that affected by paying the tax, and it hasn't been enough of an incentive to go out of their way to change their infrastructure and production set up just to reduce the amount of tax they pay out. These companies just increase the price of the product onto the customers, and the poorest working people get a little more money a few times a year, but not enough to keep up with the inflation. This government just created a circle of tax income/distribution. One party is considering getting rid of the carbon tax once elected.
#12
There were some pretty horrific crimes not being told to the public when I was police. It wasn't really in the public interest for anyone to know outside of law enforcement and the judicial system etc.
Some were either so indiscriminate and terrible and some would just cause too much panic.
StrangeOne 6 months ago
I have heard some f****d up things. Not all murders make it to the news. On the lighter side, you don't hear about the funnier or odd calls as much, either. My dad went to a house that got broken into. Nothing was stolen but all the appliances were turned upside down. He said it was one of the most memorable calls he's had and it's a mystery why the perpetrator did that. If you want to know more of the serious calls the police do in your area, follow their social media pages.
People who believe a certain conspiracy theory may create a community, like the infamous Flat Earthers, which provides a sense of belonging to individuals. They create a bond by sharing their insights and circulating these theories, leading them to feel like members of a family.
"People who feel helpless, powerless, and isolated are more likely to fall for these things," adds Kemmerer.
#13
💥The cruelity of factory farm breeding and the toll on the animals.
#14
How unhealthy and unfit both the presidential candidates are to run for office.
Johnnynatfan 6 months ago
Let’s stop acting as if they are both equally unfit. One is old. That’s it. The other is a maniac psycho criminal wanna be dictator and clearly has had a decline in his mental capacity and is also OLD! That’s not even a remotely same comparison.
Sadly, falling into an unhealthy rabbit hole of CTs can have negative effects on people. Side effects include dependent narcissistic tendencies; extreme and increasing paranoia; the Dunning-Kruger effect (overestimating one's abilities); a lack of boundaries between online and offline personas; and anger issues.
"It's impossible to grow as a person within that world of CTs," says Kemmerer. "You're fighting imaginary enemies. All that effort, time, and anger—for nothing. In the process of that fight, you alienate friends, family, coworkers and strangers. It's a sad, lonely, and powerless way to live. It robs you of joy and agency."
#15
The fringe right and fringe left are not an accident. They are molded and encouraged to grow. Money and power interests want to keep the general public divided because it is easier to control a divided people. Think about how easy it is to get someone behind a cause or point the finger at the other side, that's how you get votes. Why do you think there's only 2 political parties in the USA?
If we were actually united, we could get rid of money in politics, get rid of trash politicians that just want to get reelected and don't care about then welfare of the people.
TotallyNOTAFox 6 months ago (edited)
To quote a german politician that's in talk of becomming the next chancellor: "The AFD (right wing party) is so successful because they use the current crises to gain influence - we have to fight them to save the democracy" - The interesting thing being that they want to fight the oppossition rather than actually solve the mentioned crises that lead people to vote for such parties in the first place....
#18
The amount of pharmaceutical residue is a pollution no one talks about that's in our water ways and oceans. Yes, states do their best to reduce other containments such as nitrates, mercury, trace metals and nasty bacteria. All of the d***s Americans consume and then get flushed into the sewers are not monitored. Smallmouth bass were developing male testes as well as female ovaries in the Susquehanna River in Pennsylvania. Most likely culprit was pharmaceutical residue from birth control pills found in the water. It all winds up in the ocean and it really makes you wonder about how safe our seafood really is to consume.
Thomas Ewing 5 months ago
Our "normal" quality of health has diminished since ww2 due to overpopulation, radiation, pollution, lowering of safety and mental health standards--no one wants to pay or be responsible for these things and our schools are slipping into a 'who-cares?' mentality. Everyone likes wealth, but no one wants to PAY for it! Stop dreaming and face the music. Stop scamming and do some real work! If you make things too easy, the world falls apart.
#19
A lot of under the table quid pro quo stuff in politics. Not necessarily with each other, but if I do this, company X donates some more and if media Y says this, I let some information leak.
Jo Slatermill 6 months ago
What you describe isn't quid pro quo but corruption. it's illegal almost everywhere except maybe the US, which is a broken country and has 3rd world antics and systems. quid pro quo is in politics itself, you support my bill even though your voters don't like it, I'll support yours.
#20
The reason a bunch of billionaires around the world started making doomsday bunkers all around the same time.
That to me seems like no coincidence and people who are that rich are definitely in inner circles of people that would know when something is coming and I feel is the reason these people started making these luxurious bunkers.
#21
Most information regarding the urgency towards climate change.
#22
The food and drink industry's role in promoting the fat acceptance movement.
BoredPossum 6 months ago (edited)
Yep, also very much depending on location. The concept of bodyshaming is way bigger in the US than in Europe. Here, we can state that being obese is a health risk without being crucified.
#23
The cover-ups and abuse related to charitable contributions.
#24
Military technology at the top level is definitely several decades ahead of what we’re even aware exists. All the technologies and sciences that you can think “I wonder if the military will find a way to use that” are definitely either already in prototype stage, being actively developed, or are already in limited production.
#25
The state of our aquifers, specifically how polluted they are.
Verena 6 months ago
Whatever the fracking people tell you, it is not correct. I worked 15 years in the drilling business, for two major contractors. Even if the area is carefully explored by core drilling (which adds to the environmental damage), no one can control where the fracking suspension is going to.
#26
The history hidden away in the Vatican archive. St. Peter's goes back to when the Romans had control of the city. I'd be most interested to see what information survived from Rome and Old St. Peter's before the current 1500's incarnation was built.
Edgar Rops 6 months ago
Bills, receipts, administrative documentation, low-grade diplomatic correspondence, legalese. Treasure trove for a historian, but 99,99% wouldn't be surprising, or immediately shocking to general population. Same applies to secret (which back in the day meant private) archives of other places. There are mountains of medieval documents in such archives, but they are not so much hidden, as just nobody knows how to work with them - they are in poor condition and we mostly lack technical means by which we can study them without destroying (only in recent years did we develop machines that scan documents without unrolling scrolls and leafing through books). And there is little funding and/or interest in improving the technology: corporations don't stand to profit, and unless there is a horrible, dark secret, governments wouldn't chip in either lest they be accused of wasting taxpayer money on studying stuff nobody cares about, except few university weirdos...
#27
What happens with all our personal data that is taken from us on a daily basis.
Michael None 6 months ago
Eh most people willingly give it away for a dopamine boost. Social media is designed to harvest data. On social media YOU are the product the consumers are advertisers and social engineers.
#28
It's not so much things are being hidden, as the mass media are dominated by conventional thinking and beholden to vested interests, so they focus on superficialities, leaving most people woefully under-informed.
I think that our current levels of consumption are completely unsustainable, the world is horrifically over-populated (by a factor of 2 or more), and capitalism as it is now practiced is incompatible with the continuation of global civilization.
We are now entering a period of gradual or possibly rapid decline, as the Machine continues to grind through what is left of our ecosystems and resources.
The best thing we could all do for future generations is to commit to a 30-50 percent reduction in our standard of living. Cut right back on non-essentials as we transition to 100% renewable/recyclable society within strict demographic and production limits. Of course the cutbacks should fall mainly on the rich but the middle class would also have to take cuts. The poor are already on the edge so we should minimize the effects on them (as far as possible).
So who's going to vote for this? Almost no-one of course. Which is why we continue on the road to collapse. I hope I'm wrong about all this, maybe I'm just a pessimist. But we seem to have a strange ahistorical belief that our empire is somehow different from all the ones in the past, all of which eventually collapsed.
#29
How truly damaging it is to have Covid more than once. Having it two or more times is pretty much guaranteed to leave you with long-term effects.
#30
How rampant the contamination in the air/soil is in disenfranchised neighborhoods. You can go to the hood and the soils there will test high in heavy metals/carcinogens generally due to the fact that cities will allow industrial plants to open up nearby and the regulations on them are super lax.
What things do you think are hidden from the general population?
Verena 6 months ago
Now, which ones are conspiracy theories to let people panic and which ones are a true concern?
Anony Mouse 6 months ago
I'd guess 75% conspiracy, 25% actual happenings.
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Sky Render 6 months ago
I would add the number of live intersex births to this list. Not just cases where ambiguous genitalia are present, for fairly obvious reasons (a number of intersex conditions are primarily hormonal in nature and are somewhat harder to detect at birth as a result). There's an entire branch of medicine quietly dedicated to concealing intersex conditions from those who have them whenever possible, often with horrific practices and encouraged gaslighting by their families.
marianne eliza 6 months ago
Especially if the hospital is at all connected with any religion.
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David Paterson 6 months ago
We're talking about hidden information, right. The world's greatest oxymoron is the "freedom of information act".
Verena 6 months ago
Now, which ones are conspiracy theories to let people panic and which ones are a true concern?
Anony Mouse 6 months ago
I'd guess 75% conspiracy, 25% actual happenings.
Load More Replies... Sky Render 6 months ago
I would add the number of live intersex births to this list. Not just cases where ambiguous genitalia are present, for fairly obvious reasons (a number of intersex conditions are primarily hormonal in nature and are somewhat harder to detect at birth as a result). There's an entire branch of medicine quietly dedicated to concealing intersex conditions from those who have them whenever possible, often with horrific practices and encouraged gaslighting by their families.
marianne eliza 6 months ago
Especially if the hospital is at all connected with any religion.
Load More Replies... David Paterson 6 months ago
We're talking about hidden information, right. The world's greatest oxymoron is the "freedom of information act".
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