Wristful Thinking

 Our final discussion over swindlers reminds me of a time that I was tricked as a kid. 

While attending a race expo for a nearby marathon, I came across a Power Balance Bracelet booth. This silicone wristband with a small hologram claimed it could “improve balance, strength, and flexibility” by interacting with the body’s natural energy field. As a 6-year-old, this blew my mind. I walked on balance beams, jumped on one foot, and did other balance exercises to prove that the bracelet worked. I will never forget falling off the beam then putting the bracelet on and successfully navigating it. After, I turned to the salesperson and told him that it really worked. He gave me a look like I was a complete idiot. I have never forgotten this because it seems like he would be ecstatic that he claimed another victim, but maybe his conscious caught up with him. My mom laughed the company off and we moved on, much to my dismay.

This ended up becoming extremely popular, with celebrities and athletes endorsing it. This hype only lasted a couple years before independent studies showed zero performance difference between the bracelet and a plain rubber band. In 2011, the Australian government forced Power Balance to admit publicly that there was no credible scientific evidence behind any of their claims. The company faced multiple lawsuits for false advertising and eventually filed for bankruptcy. What I didn't know until just now is that their famous “balance tests” were revealed to be done using subtle shifts in pressure by the demonstrator. 

I think this is such a funny example because they were forcing results in these tests! Thousands of people took these balance tests and felt the "real" improvement. Looking back, this is extremely dumb, and I cannot believe I fell for it. I think this experience shows that if something is too good to be true, it probably is. 

Link to their site: About Us - Power Balance

You Cannot Have Your Diamonds and Wear Them Too

 This week in class we discussed "famous" swindlers and their effect on history. In this blog post, I wanted to talk about a swindle that we didn't hit on. I find this to be one of the most insane swindles I have ever heard due to the money involved and due to the fame of the people involved.   

This is... The Affair of the Diamond Necklace!

    The Affair of the Diamond Necklace was a major political scandal in 1785 centered on a diamond necklace worth about 2 million livres, or roughly $15–20 million in modern U.S. dollars. The incident involved Jeanne de la Motte, who manipulated Cardinal de Rohan into believing that Queen Marie Antoinette secretly wanted to purchase the necklace. Using forged letters and staged encounters (with a Marie Antoinette look alike), Jeanne convinced Rohan to obtain the necklace. In forged letters, Jeanne told Rohan that he needed to take out lines of credit and purchase the necklace. Jeanne then took the necklace explaining that as the Queens best friend she would give it to her, in order to avoid suspicion from the King. Jeanne then dismantles it to sell the diamonds. After sending hundreds of thousands of dollars in modern USD and through pressure from aggressive creditors, Rohan became suspicious and eager for repayment from the Queen.  When payment was demanded, the court discovered that the queen had never ordered it. Better yet, the Queen hadn't talked to Rohan in over a decade! What gave Jeanne away? She signed the letters as Marie Antoinette de France! Any half-educated noble knows the Queen would NEVER say "de France", it is obvious who she is!  The resulting investigation led to public trials, the humiliation of Rohan, and Jeanne’s conviction. During her conviction and whipping, people wept and yelled their support to Jeanne. After she was convicted, branded, and sentenced to life in the Salpêtrière prison, she escaped within two years. She reportedly accomplished this by disguising herself as a boy and slipping out a window using a rope of knotted bedsheets. This was done through the aid of a sympathetic guard who was a loyal admirer of hers. She then fled to London, where she published memoirs attacking Marie Antoinette and portraying herself as the target of a royal conspiracy. Though the scam was exposed, the queen’s reputation suffered the most. The scandal reinforced existing public resentment toward the monarchy and contributed to the erosion of trust that preceded the French Revolution. 

    I think this story is so interesting and there is so much more to it. I encourage you all to look deeper into this. In terms of takeaways, first of all, this necklace is extremely ugly. I think this also shows the power of swindlers using famous people for their gain. It also reinforces the idea that we must question everything that we come across. Why did Rohan trust this random girl? Why would the Queen want anything to do with him if they haven't talked in a decade? This shows how taking advantage of greed and lust is a way swindlers achieve their twisted goals. I also find it interesting that people instantly trusted Jeanne because the Queen had become such a hated figure. 

Area 52

 In the nearly 200 hours I have spent running this year, a solid amount of time has been spent listening to conspiracy theories. They always keep me engaged because more often than not, they are quite interesting. I have always enjoyed listening to deep research and cherry-picked facts that supports theorists' ideas. While most of these are laughable, some of them have great backing and could genuinely be true. Today, I want to explore my favorite conspiracy on top of one o the most popular ones I could find. 

The Gate Program

What is believed: The GATE program, intended for gifted children, was not just an enrichment program. It was used by U.S. Intel communities and other covert programs to identify and train children for special operations or remote-viewing programs. Some children claim that they were given strange prompts such as code breaking, cryptography, or foreign language studies. 

How it evolved: The GATE program has been publicly visible for decades as an ordinary gifted education track. In the 2020s this theory gained traction online after many people who were apart of this program in the 90s-00s started to discuss odd assignments or tasks. This was picked up by podcasts and broadcasted at a larger level. 

Who believes it: Mainly adults who attended elementary school in the 90s-00s. They reflect on their time in this program and express that they feel like they were given weird tasks. Those who did well on these tasks felt that their schooling experience was heightened from that point, with the opposite also being true. People well versed in other programs such as stargate, remote-viewing, and MK-Ultra see this as a continued effort by the government to find "psychic" children.

How it is spread: This has primarily been spread through videos and discussions on platforms such as Reddit, TikTok, and Instagram. Once the theory gained traction, podcasts started to pick it up. Lastly, word of mouth through GATE members. This is the podcast I listened to:

Episode 161 : The Gate Program – Theories of the Third Kind

John F. Kennedy assassination

What is believed: The Warren Commission produced a rushed and faked report that identified Lee Harvey Oswald as the lone shooter in the JFK assassination. Many believe that possibly the CIA, Mafia, anti-Castro Cubans, or the KGB organized the murder. Claims include there were multiple shooters, evidence was suppressed or tampered with, the motive may involve Kennedy’s policy on Cuba/Vietnam/Cold War, the CIA or other agencies felt betrayed by Kennedy and orchestrated his death.

How it evolved: The speculation occurred immediately after the assassination due to the fact of how public and horrible it was. Around this time the Cold War and Bay of Pigs had occurred, which left many Americans skeptical of the government. The Warren Commission concluded that Oswald acted alone but many critics found issues in their claims and conclusions. In the following decades, this speculation has only grown through released documents, declassified CIA files, and audio recordings. 

Who believes it: While sources differ, many claim that a majority of Americans believe that JFK's assassination involved a conspiracy. Many researchers focus on discrepancies from the Warren report while others just distrust the government and think there is more going on. 

How it is spread: This theory has been picked up by countless books, documentaries, and podcasts making it one of the most popular conspiracy theories today. Recent government files were released which stirred up new interest on social media and internet forums. The mystery behind this event leaves so many unanswered questions that popular TV and semi-academic papers will likely continue to cover this event.

Overall, I find both of these theories interesting. I am not quite sure if I believe either, but they make for quality entertainment.