Mental Floss

CONSPIRACY THEORIES











There are a lot of people who don’t think Shakespeare was actually Shakespeare.

Discover the controversial conspiracy theories that challenge Shakespeare’s authorship, from the Baconian Theory to the Alien Theory and beyond.

Lorna Wallace




The British royal family has been dogged by conspiracy theories for more than 1000 years.

From secret love children to political assassinations to accusations of vampirism, the British royal family has been the subject of many bizarre conspiracy theories over the course of its history.

Paul Anthony Jones


Those Illuminati rumors still haven't gone away, HOV ...

Whether it's about Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce or Jay-Z’s part in the Illuminati, these music conspiracy theories are good for a laugh—and maybe a deep-dive on Reddit (or two).

Rudie Obias
Conspiracy theories are nothing new.

From doubt over Shakespeare’s existence to Lincoln’s assassination, conspiracy theories have been around for centuries.

Jake Rossen, Jason Serafino
Decades after the footprints that popped up in northern California, they were alleged to be a hoax.

When 16-inch-long tracks began popping up on northern California logging sites in 1958, workers dubbed the culprit ‘Big Foot’—but decades later, the whole thing was revealed to be a hoax.

John O'Connor


The truth is out there.

Sasquatch sightings have been reported in every state but Hawaii over the course of several centuries. In the process, a number of bizarre theories have been put forth to explain how the mysterious beasts came to be—and how they manage to evade us.

Mark Mancini






Barney Wayne/Getty Images

Humans love conspiracy theories, and always have—there’s even evidence that ancient Romans had a few. But with the advent of the internet, they seem to be everywhere. And some of them are actually true.

Austin Thompson
Moussa81/iStock via Getty Images Plus

From how long a "hoax" like the Apollo 11 moon landing could actually stay a secret to the conspiracy theory involving Queen Elizabeth I, here are the actual facts you need to know about conspiracy theories.

Stacy Conradt