There isn’t anything nice to say about this. Sad situation all around.
1513
Jackbuddy781 day ago
+1741
I will say that the History Channel has a lot to answer for during years of boosting conspiracy theories to the public from the mentally ill and con men.
It has helped set the stage for a lot of bs.
1741
Defiant_Sonnet1 day ago
+604
History is interesting, why the hell do we need shit like these shows.
604
allnamesbeentaken1 day ago
+421
Because the people who find history interesting are in shorter supply than the people who believe in conspiracies, and revenue is generated from viewership
421
Tibbaryllis21 day ago
+233
The outright stupid part of this true statement is that history is filled with so many amazingly interesting things, including true conspiracies.
* Remember the Mossad pager attack? Things like that have happened since before recorded history (relative to their current tech); we had germ warfare before scientists knew what germs were.
* And things like whole pods of dolphins have symbiotic relationships with human fishing tribes.
* And scientists doing bug f*** crazy stuff like the radioactive demon core (The core of the third bomb not used after Hiroshima and Nagasaki) kill a guy because he was essentially playing with it with a screwdriver.
* and explorers mapped the arctic with clothing that paled in comparison to what you can get at goodwill.
* so many cryptids are based in cultural traditions going back hundreds or thousands of years, and a surprisingly large amount of them are based on, or actually full one are, real animals.
* edit as I think of them
* that it turns out the sound of wind on a snowy mountain very likely caused psychosis in a bunch of Russian college students, and ultimately took their lives.
* [there are peoples *today* living on the ocean that have basically, and actually, never set foot on dry land.](https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/aug/10/the-last-sea-nomads-stateless-bajau-face-up-to-a-future-on-land-a-photo-essay)
* [a relative of an anaconda existed ~65 million years ago that was likely so big it couldn’t fit through a standard bedroom door.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Titanoboa)
* before the first faux salamander (our terrestrial ancestor) set foot on dry land, there were 10 foot long scorpions and 30 foot long lobsters.
And those are just the relatively well known examples. There are so many obscure events
Channels like History and Discovery used to tell those stories.
233
zevonyumaxray1 day ago
+75
And back in the day, so did A&E and The Learning Channel (TLC).
75
Tibbaryllis21 day ago
+11
Animal Channel
11
thumble19881 day ago
+26
Animal Planet
26
Hopeful-Flounder-20321 hr ago
+1
Enshitification reigns supreme.
1
DerekB521 day ago
+56
I read your comment and thought, "that's not what happened at the Demon Core", and it turns out there were TWO lethal incidents with the demon core.
According to wikipedia, you were referring to the second one. The guy was doing an experiment where you hold 2 bowls basically around the core. You were supposed to use shims between the 2 metal "bowls" so they didn't seal around the core and cause a reaction. A darwin award w***** used a flathead screwdriver instead of the shims. He did this at least a dozen times before the incident that killed him. Enrico Fermi even warned the guy he'd be dead within a year doing that that way. He was right.
56
Tibbaryllis21 day ago
+34
The fact that it was allowed to kill two scientists the same way roughly a year apart is the bonus crazy in that story.
It’s like when you first heard that some captive orcas killed multiples of their handlers across many years.
34
ThaddeusWerner1 day ago
+12
10 foot lobster? Dada chum dada chig, that lobster is f\*\*king big!
Yaaaaawwwnnn... but did you hear about Kim Kardassian's new dress? I think she's a total drama queen but that dress omg
9
Shad0wF0x1 day ago
+3
Jeez that Titanoboa is terrifying. It's like something from a Resident Evil game.
3
TurMoiL9111 day ago
+3
If you played the last Indiana Jones game, a Titanoboa is the boss in the Siamaese temple.
3
PrestigeArrival1 day ago
+2
The Tim Minchin song Storm touches on that. The world is so amazing and bizarre and wonderful all on its own. Why do we need to make up fake bullshit?
2
SickBurnerBroski1 day ago
+1
it isn't that those stories are less interesting. they take more work, and therefore money, to make. crackpots will tell their 'theories' for free.
1
ThesisWarrior1 day ago
+13
My God. This is so true. Very sad. People are more interested in fantasy or improbabilities than the fascinating reality we all live in.
13
DjangoTheBlack1 day ago
+4
The problem is we still give a f*** about revenue, if we want to build cool shit we need hierarchies, and if you want hierarchies, there’s gonna be pain and suffering to justify them
4
tomrichards84641 day ago
+1
Not necessarily even in shorter supply – just less likely to be unemployed and watching TV all day. The Rest is History makes crazy money, presumably a lot of it out of people listening on their commute.
1
MaxPower915751 day ago
+1
don't forget it's way easier and cheaper to just let nutjobs make up shit than actually have to research history.
1
PleaseBeChillOnline1 day ago
+1
I don’t think that’s true at all.
It’s more that people are lazy. You could make compelling content for the average viewer about real history but it would require rigorous fact checking & high production values to keep their attention.
That is slower & more expensive than just using history as a backdrop for your own bullshit lore. People will eat it up either way.
1
HonestyMcNasty1 day ago
+74
History is *really* interesting! I just learned that somebody had the job of throwing loaded rifles at piles of rocks to see if they'd misfire. This was in the early 1900s, mind you, well before OSHA or safety glass.
I love finding dumb moments of humanity in history.
74
Tibbaryllis21 day ago
+30
I’m a biologist that works with reptiles and amphibians. I’ve got paper in my office from the mid1900s (before ethics in animal studies) where scientists threw snakes off a three story scaffold on a football field to see how they fell.
They were not flying snakes.
30
Bedbouncer1 day ago
+7
I don't even want to know if flying snakes are a real thing.
7
acarp251 day ago
+18
“Flying snakes” are actually a thing but its a misnomer, they can only glide
18
Tibbaryllis21 day ago
+12
Yup, like flying squirrels, sugar gliders, flying lizards, flying frogs, and flying fish.
We just use that label all willy-nilly. Except I can’t think of any actually flying creature called “flying [name]”. Flying Fox comes close, but that’s not a *Fox*.
12
lilesj1301 day ago
+1
I got so irrationally mad as a little kid that "flying squirrels" wasn't accepted as an answer on a test question about what mammals can fly. In hindsight that probably was a sign of a few things, but we didn't talk about that stuff back in the olden days.
1
sweepme791 day ago
+4
I'm fairly certain u/Bedbouncer said he don't even want to know if flying snakes are a real thing. Like, come on now!
4
acarp251 day ago
+4
I told them but also reassured that they can’t actually fly so… a little give a little take? *shrug*
4
Tibbaryllis21 day ago
+3
Decently glass half full at least.
*life pro tip* don’t stand below a snake.
3
bootymix961 day ago
+4
[“As god as my witness, I thought turkeys could fly.”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lf3mgmEdfwg)
4
phyneas1 day ago
+4
> They were not flying snakes.
Well, they were for a very short time.
4
amart5911 day ago
+3
Well don't leave us hanging, how did they fall?
3
Tibbaryllis21 day ago
+16
*poorly*
Edit: lol, imagine throwing a garden hose off a three story building, including the thump when it lands.
16
ishpatoon19821 day ago
+1
I mean...isn't that Science though? Learning how stuff works?
Not saying it's the correct way to go about the details of gravity and snakes...but *Science*, no?
Like in 100 years from now people are going to have more answers than us and be like "Wtf were they doing that for!?"
1
Tibbaryllis21 day ago
+9
It is *commensurate* with the standards of science at the time. Absolutely.
And we’re certainly doing things that’ll look that way in 100 years.
But that doesn’t stop you from being a little wide-eyed when you learn about either of the above two (rifles and snakes) today.
At least we’re not going to look as bad to 100 year future us as bad as they’ll look at 50 years past us. *Progress!*
9
echochambermanager1 day ago
+1
> And we’re certainly doing things that’ll look that way in 100 years.
We are doing that today with dogs even tho we have equivalents to do research without dogs.
1
Tibbaryllis21 day ago
+1
Yeah, I’m not going to justify current standards in research other than to compare them to past standards.
At least we’re not quite to the level of [Vladimir Demikhov](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Demikhov) making doggy chimera.
1
Defiant_Sonnet1 day ago
+11
Try lions led by donkeys podcast youll find a lot of moments Joe talks about.
11
Sir_Encerwal1 day ago
+7
Man, H2 used to be such a bastion for the old specials and Modern Marvels reruns back when I had the expanded cable package. Then it got replace by Vice, which, while not terrible, did not hit the same.
7
poorperspective1 day ago
+9
Because real history is expensive and takes time.
I watch a lot of history content, Great Courses Plus, several podcast, Ken Burns ect.
All these creators have long cycles, because it takes a ton of research. That doesn’t work for network television. Time takes tons of money, that doesn’t work for networks. But what’s really c**** is giving some surface level information and then raising your eye brows and saying “Aliens?”.
9
GreatBandito1 day ago
+6
they were easy to produce and reuse the assets from other shows I'm assuming
6
einstyle1 day ago
+3
I mean, history is interesting but aliens are definitely more interesting. Especially if you’re kinda dumb. The audience for history shows is smaller than the audience for dumb conspiracy theories.
3
Terminated_Entropy1 day ago
+7
Money.
7
tanporpoise891 day ago
+1
Probably a new network exec who had to “make their mark” like happened with “syfy” and basically every channel in the 40s where I grew up
1
valiantthorsintern1 day ago
+1
Because it’s not really about history, it’s about escapism, transcending everyday boring existence and the hope that someone is coming to save us because this can’t possibly be all there is to life.
1
pbghikes19 hr ago
+1
The Da Vinci Code was a massive hit and producers said "*This is what the people want!*"
1
Zerobeastly1 day ago
+32
My aunt truly believed the documentary of the "found footage" of the "mermaid" was completely real and she could not be told otherwise.
32
Hairy_Combination5861 day ago
+4
That was around the same time as the Mega Shark "documentary" with the mega shark staying motionless next to an oil rig pylon. Yeah, it would suffocate. And the shark circling above a submerged upside down boat for many MANY hours with people breathing in an air pocket. Jesus wept.
4
upstatedreaming38161 day ago
+1
[That’s largely a myth.](https://www.britannica.com/story/do-sharks-really-die-if-they-stop-swimming) (
1
Hairy_Combination5861 day ago
+1
Eh, "Largely" is a big overstatement, unless you're talking about stopping "for a few minutes". The fake documentary had the sneaky mega shark lurking next to the pylon for quite a while.
>**If you look at the nurse shark and the tiger shark, this belief is already proven false: these, and a few other shark species, can stop swimming whenever they want**. They breathe by way of buccal pumping, actively “inhaling” water by using cheek muscles to draw it into the mouth and over the gills. **This allows sharks to stop moving but continue breathing.**
>But **some shark species don’t have the luxury of buccal pumping. For example, the great white shark, the whale shark, and the mako shark** don’t have buccal muscles at all. Instead, these sharks rely on obligate ram ventilation, a way of breathing that requires sharks to swim with their mouths open. The faster they swim, the more water is pushed through their gills. If they stop swimming, they stop receiving oxygen. **They move or die.**
>**Other shark species, such as the reef shark**, breathe using a combination of buccal pumping and obligate ram ventilation. When swimming slowly, they can use buccal pumping to supplement the amount of oxygen received from ventilation. **And if they choose to stop moving for a few minutes, they won’t risk their life**, though they generally aren’t as adept at stillness as sharks that breathe by buccal pumping alone.
>Of these three ways that sharks breathe, the **combination of buccal pumping and obligate ram ventilation is by far the most common**. Most kinds of sharks, then, won’t die if they stop swimming.
Note - for a few minutes, for the combo buccal pumping and obligate ram.
1
shitty_owl_lamp18 hr ago
+1
Wait. If some sharks have to constantly swim to breathe, how do they sleep??
1
Lollipoop_Hacksaw15 hr ago
+2
That was an ACTUAL thing for a week, where people had to talk others down about the "mermaid documentary" played during Shark Week back in like 2012.
2
freedfg1 day ago
+44
They've basically been feeding his delusions for upwards of what? 15 years?
He comes up to them and says he talked to aliens in the center of the earth and it all sound a lot like fanfic. And they went "yeah yeah, tell us more, and the aliens? Were they bigfoot?"
44
Neutron-Hyperscape321 day ago
+4
You are making a pretty drastic assumption that these alien beliefs are why he killed himself. The likely answer for why this happened is his recent divorce and financial difficulties, not that he talked about aliens on the History channel...
4
Neutron-Hyperscape321 day ago
+6
This guy didn't kill himself because he talked about aliens on the History channel. He had a recent divorce and was having financial difficulties... that is almost certainly going to be the reason for his suicide.
Blindly jumping to blame the History channel is wild behavior.
6
Worsebetter1 day ago
+5
You mean the 13 part series about HITLER using alien technology wasn’t ACCURATE!
5
DerekB521 day ago
+21
I remember seeing History Channel make this shift to Graham Hitchcock level weirdos(idk if they ever did him specifically, but it's always people like him) and thinking "man, this shit is like out of idiocracy", and then Trump became president.
21
fergult1 day ago
+3
The History Channelleaned into sensationalism for ratings. it’s frustrating to see how that kind of content can mislead people and contribute to harmful narratives
3
JeddyH1 day ago
+3
[Dinosaurs and the Civil War, only on the History Network.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FZ2HjSzva1A)
3
Kryptyx1 day ago
+5
Or they are on to something and are being silenced. Like the NASA reachers who all ended up dead recently. All in propulsion technology.
5
StuffonBookshelfs1 day ago
+5
You found a much nicer way to say what I was thinking. I appreciate that.
5
BrockSnilloc1 day ago
+2
Between Facebook and Ancient Aliens my mom has used both to help destroy her view of the world
2
AustinDood4441 day ago
+1
You said this perfectly!! I guess all that matters is ratings.
1
pushaper1 day ago
+1
The American pickers guy had a health crisis too recently.
The history channel and their partners need to be looked into. Somehow I think bravo seems to find unhinged people that dont seem to hurt themselves. Deadliest Catch (discovery channel) has had a few incidents I think but the race to the bottom has not been good for anyone.
The biggest issue fundamentally with history/learning/discovery channels is they have historically had one major competitor that generally does more reliable and better work than them... public television.
1
LowRough515623 hr ago
+1
And I’m sure it’s no coincidence that’s why the current administration moved to cut funding for that. It’s wild what can be done in the name of spending efficiency to cut truly informative broadcasting
1
pushaper22 hr ago
+1
ratings being down is not a reason to cut public broadcasting. I dont like how the UK does it but PBS and public broadcasters should have money even at a loss to offer a higher standard.
Prior to the internet these stations mattered because they were not out advertise because people talked about the cool show they saw.
1
VERY_MENTALLY_STABLE1 day ago
+1
oh come the hell on, you're trying to make a connection between History channel shows about bigfoot to the current political landscape...? do you even have a specific gripe outside of "a lot of bs"?
nobody is watching ancient aliens & then turning around & assassinating technocrats, people are assassinating technocrats after just reading the news.
1
Lollipoop_Hacksaw15 hr ago
+1
110%. The Ancient Aliens thing was lame, and the people they had on there were total goober grifters, but no one cares to be a cynic about something tragic like this.
Doesn't change the fact that whatever person or administration that pushed this trash TV onto The History Channel (and TLC while I am at it) can go f*** themselves severely.
1
Filmyboicrispy1 day ago
-8
Are they still conspiracies if congress is having hearings on it and admitting to UFOs and extraterrestrial life?
-8
VERY_MENTALLY_STABLE1 day ago
+2
most people are entirely unaware & not ready to accept that all that has / is happening
2
mechmuertos2 days ago
+446
He thought he was the incarnation of Edward Cayce, and was deep into Illuminati conspiracy. He wasn’t well.
446
SirCaptainReynolds1 day ago
+44
Edgar*
44
mechmuertos1 day ago
+11
Whoops!
11
FeetballFan1 day ago
+6
He also lost most of his livelihood after basically getting caught scamming people and committing fraud
6
mechmuertos1 day ago
+7
Yeah he smelled like grifter from the beginning.
7
Neutron-Hyperscape321 day ago
+4
I still don't think those beliefs are the primary factor for why he did this when he also had a recent divorce and was known to have financial difficulties.. that is almost certainly going to be the primary reason for his suicide.
4
mechmuertos1 day ago
+2
True. Absolutely it was combination of many things.
2
yeet_n_pray2 days ago
+421
Sad on a human level, even if > his work was… out there. Maybe a reminder that “TV personality” doesn’t equal “okay.” Check in on your conspiracy‑loving relatives.
421
ElectricalDark82801 day ago
+43
They spit and hiss at me when I check in on them.
43
Debaser19901 day ago
+8
Well, that's because you're obviously friends with cobras, humans don't typically do that 😅
8
SomewhereNo83781 day ago
+58
I wonder if TV personalities have higher rate of severe mental health issues, honestly
58
Shinydolphin1 day ago
+57
Probably. But conspiracy theorists definitely do, and he was definitely one of the craziest.
57
Throwaway199999905671 day ago
+2
I worked at a hotel he would come stay at, it was a remote mountain hotel and he would come for a week or two every year to write. I’ve never seen the show, he was a very nice friendly guy.
2
Ehrre1 day ago
+164
Holy shit I forgot this dude existed.
20 years ago I tried convincing my parents to let me go to a spiritual retreat thing he was holding in the US.
I listened to Coast 2 Coast AM conspiracy shows every night back then and was totally convinced in this guy's story.
I dont believe in any of that nonsense anymore but it's still sad to see someone struggle with mental health go out like that.
164
KingKliffsbury1 day ago
+55
Man I loved listening to coast to coast back in the 2000s. That was when conspiracies seemed fun, kooky, and kind of innocent.
55
Ehrre1 day ago
+26
I feel you. I listened to their backlog and then actively listened live on air starting like 2003-2007 or 2008.
Smoking a bowl and listening to truckers get themselves all worked up and scared recounting things they seen or having some guest with earth shattering "discoveries" was a trip
26
jopnk1 day ago
+11
Coast To Coast was great before George Noory took over. I still listen to old recordings of the Art Bell episodes on late night drives
11
KingKliffsbury1 day ago
+7
Art Bell had a healthy dose of skepticism of everything. Noory was way too credulous.
7
Ronho1 day ago
+4
Bell was amazing.
Noory is too cozy with right wing nutjobbery.
Thats not conspiracy, thats straight up grift.
4
jopnk1 day ago
+2
Art also had a better voice and cadence to his speech
2
Internal_Wheel_891 day ago
+3
same. Lots of good memories of driving home after work in the wee hours of the morning. Sometimes you got Art Bell and sometimes you got George Noory.
I liked all that kooky shit even though I never took it seriously, but it still kinda irritated me that George Noory was so credulous and let guests say the most far out shit without any pushback at all. That's probably part of why I got into Skeptics Guide at the tail end of that decade.
3
Induane1 day ago
+5
Yea, now scientists are vanishing/dying in somewhat sus circumstances, and the lead singer for Blink-182 is working in a legitimately official capacity on UFO disclosure.
Everything is weird now, AI is getting creepier by the day and Peter Theil says regulating AI will hasten the antichrist, drones fight a lot of war operations, there are robot police patrols, literally everything Trump does, RFK is cutting racoon dicks off of roadkill, chainsawing off whale heads, and faking bear/bicycle accidents in central park, all the Epstein horror, multiple members of Congress stating unequivocally that there are aliens, and wtf is literally happening right now?
5
LowRough515623 hr ago
+2
Tim “Daggumit” Burchett’s latest comments have to be among the craziest/funniest of them. That poor fool is working on a “self inflicted mortality” with the stuff he’s been saying
2
Crackt_Apple1 day ago
+42
What, if anything, made you break away from that kind of thinking?
42
Ehrre1 day ago
+141
I grew up, basically.
I most heavily believed in spiritual and conspiracy stuff from ages like 13-17.
I started questioning claims and investigating guests. By the time I was 19 I was tuning in for entertainment purposes only. I accepted that it was bullshit. Everyone had a book or a course or a retreat etc to sell. Stories stopped adding up and fell apart with any amount of scrutiny.
Eventually I stopped believing in anything spiritual whatsoever- even the harmless sort of nice things I grew up with prior to the conspiracy side of things.
Now I take supreme comfort in the idea that my being conscious and aware at all is an incredible random gift and that one day I will simply cease to exist altogether.
141
vektorog18 hr ago
+1
bro became an atheist because of some tv conspiracist😭
1
UnquestionabIe1 day ago
+3
I absolutely loved Coast 2 Coast AM, back in college found a stream (this was mid 2007, long before such things were common) that played archived episodes dating back to the early 90s nonstop. Had always been into paranormal stuff so it was an absolute blessing, spend many a weekend gaming for hours while listening to discussions on the wildest rang of topics.
Despite basically a life long fascination with the topic managed to never particularly believe in it. Just love how big and weird the world is, like there is a hidden history happening just out of sight.
3
SoggyCroissant871 day ago
+1
What convinced you to change your mind?
1
Ehrre1 day ago
+8
No one convinced me, I just changed my mind on my own. I replied to this same question more in depth to another user before you if you wanna know more
8
Low-Opening251 day ago
usually by growing out of children stories
0
TheRealProtozoid1 day ago
+37
I've known people like Wilcock my whole life. We don't talk enough about the intersection of mental health and spirituality/religion/conspiracy theories. I know it's generally considered polite to respect people's beliefs, but sometimes people's beliefs are a warning sign.
37
Underwater_Karma1 day ago
+7
I used to have a group of "club friends", with a girl who was batshit crazy. she talked about the spirits who lived in her house that she would interact with, the conversations she'd have with her dead mother and/or Jesus right in front of us. and these people would aggressively defend her as a "free spirit" or "very spiritual" any time anyone said "wtf?"
when she eventually attempted suicide and was institutionalized by her family, all these same people said "I never knew anything was wrong" and I called bullshit right in a few faces. called all these people out on how they made excuses for her every expression of obvious mental illness because they thought it was cute.
if your friends aren't even allowed to help, you've got no help at all.
7
GhostPriestess13 hr ago
+1
My uncle has schizophrenia and due to his ever-increasing beliefs in conspiracy theories, he’s now wandering around the US homeless and refusing to accept any sort of help. We knew he was getting into a psychotic episode because he started talking about “chem trails” and telling us not to walk under the electrical polls and stuff. He’s thinks the government is out to get him.
I’ve recently given up on finding him bc he clearly does not want to be found. I still worry about him every day. I know one day I’m going to get the call, or worse, that I’ll never get the call because they won’t be able to (or care enough to) identify his body. He’s just a random crazy homeless guy to everyone else.
1
PleaseSirOneMoreTurn1 day ago
+103
Rest in Peace, be kind to one another, mental health is so important.
103
non_Beneficial-Wind1 day ago
+12
The psyche, so easy to snap.
12
Really-E-Lee1 day ago
+3
Especially when you're being targeted by military contractors.
3
SgtHulkasBigToeJam2 days ago
+78
It’s been a rough week for basic cable TV stars. Someone better check on the Flavor of Love girls.
78
itsthe_implication_1 day ago
+94
One of those girls put a whole raw chicken in the microwave to cook it and none of the new information I've learned in the 20 years since has replaced that memory.
94
sphynxfur1 day ago
+40
Hottie my beloved
40
Maddie-Moo1 day ago
+35
The way they added a bicycle bell sound every time she blinked, that show should have won a Peabody.
35
vctrn-carajillo1 day ago
+8
Humanity peaked during that era. Everything went to shit after that
8
TooTameToToast1 day ago
+20
Ok, I don’t watch that show, so I really need to know the outcome of the chicken in the microwave situation.
20
edked1 day ago
+29
Even if you cooked it that way long enough to not make you sick, you're still going to want to puke from the rubbery, gelatinous texture.
29
itsthe_implication_1 day ago
+23
I still remember Flava Flav's reaction:
["Y'all wasn't serious was you?"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_vyvix1N7Q)
23
CeeArthur1 day ago
+9
That was great. The look the blonde girl gives her when shes preparing it
9
sudolicious1 day ago
+4
lmao, thanks for posting this, this is amazing. I downloaded the whole show now, episode 1 is even more bonkers from the get go. Like you can't tell me the people at 30 Rock didn't watch EVERY SINGLE MINUTE of this, there's just too much. Even the name, "Flavor of Love" - "Queen of Jordan"
4
SteelyFan31 day ago
+7
Breaking: "Mayor of Flavor Town" Guy Fieri, drowns in "freak" Barbecue sauce incident.
7
Silicon_Knight2 days ago
+137
Please talk to a professional if you ever feel this way. Between this and Darrell Sheets please know people care about you and love you.
I know there are reports of cyberbullying for Darrell Sheets as well. Just be kind people.
137
AttonJRand1 day ago
+27
I know this is supposed to be a positive sentiment, and maybe I'm just being too literal.
But why do people *always* say, "please know people care about you and love you" when I was at rock bottom this was verifiably not true of me, and it always made me feel worse, as if my situation was uniquely hopeless. Not to mention it being really bitter to think about the people who did love me and were gone, or those I thought loved me but showed me very clearly they didn't.
I guess its more supposed to be some vague general, we love the world and all the people in it type thing? Not literally that I have loved ones in my life personally?
27
VoraciousChallenge1 day ago
+5
It's people who mean well but have probably never been in that situation, so they're extrapolating from incomplete data.
Yes, a lot of people have people who care, but a lot more really don't. Some people have people who are more acquaintances than friends. I jokingly refer to a group of people in my life as "rent-a-friends" because they're my only social outlet and I see them at weekly paid gaming events at a store. People who stop coming just kind of get forgotten. When I took a break from it myself, I only got one message from anyone in that group, unprompted, that wasn't a response to me reaching out. If I died, I know people would be sad for a bit, but they'd all move on quickly and soon I'd have never existed.
There are also people who say these things not because they believe it, or even care if it's accurate. They just say it because they feel like they should, or want to think of themselves as someone who would be there when, in my experience, a lot of them wouldn't.
5
RipperReeta1 day ago
+26
Reports? [This channel/podcast](https://www.youtube.com/@HiddenInPlainSightRadio) did 6-10 hours a week just ripping the guy to shreds. It was 95% of their content. Just unrelenting. Think what you want to think about the guys beliefs and path in life. But people like these hosts are scum.
26
Move201720171 day ago
+7
That guy has videos ablut David not darrell
7
wrathmont1 day ago
+39
I followed him and people who ran in similar circles back in the 00’s. I never actually believed any of it but it was entertaining to hear their fantastical ideas about aliens and stuff.
He always seemed like a nice guy. Him apologizing to the dispatcher and saying “sorry to put you through this” was particularly sad. RIP
39
Introverted_Extrovrt1 day ago
+9
… 2 days after he released a video asking people to get help if they fell prey to thoughts of self harm. Seems like a bit of projection, in hindsight.
9
Kryceks-Revenge1 day ago
+10
This show is kind of my guilty pleasure. He was someone I recognized as a regular fairly quickly. So so sad. Damn.
10
thrilling_me_softly1 day ago
+6
I feel like we will be going through a major mental health crisis the next few years. No one has mentally recovered from Covid, the current state of the world is jsut make it all so much worse.
6
blue_sidd1 day ago
+26
He was a grifter and conspiracy theorist. Which is sad enough on top of being extremely mentally unwell. It’s sad in
that way.
26
frmr0001 day ago
-37
What is a “conspiracy theorist” exactly? Two years ago people who said there was a billionaire pedophile cabal of sadistic elites were labelled “conspiracy theorists”. Does thinking any conspiracy exists mean you’re a “conspiracy theorist”?
-37
RetPala1 day ago
+17
Like Peter Griffin's skin tone chart, there are "OK" and "Not OK" conspiracy theories.
17
frmr0001 day ago
-4
Like I said, two years ago, people talking about Epstein would have been ridiculed, and now? These things change over time as facts come to light, but of course my completely reasonable point is being mocked and ridiculed. I guess I shouldn’t expect anything more from the television sub though. Just keep watching your stories folks.
-4
MarkDue83151 day ago
+3
The amount of downvotes you are getting is baffling. You haven't said anything out of left field. You are totally right and the proof of the downvotes just shows how many people still want to remain closed minded.
3
frmr0001 day ago
+1
F*** knows. Herd mentality, lack of an ability or willingness for critical thought. This is the television sub after all, probably not a bastion of the brightest minds.
1
SteamedHamSalad1 day ago
+2
That is demonstrably false. Epstein has been discussed in the main stream since that Miami Herald article came out in 2018.
2
frmr0001 day ago
+1
And?
1
frmr0001 day ago
+1
Just to be clear, you do realize the official narrative is that Epstein acted alone, committed suicide and that the DOJ sees no evidence or reason to go after anyone else, right? So unless you believe that narrative, you are a conspiracy theorist. Do you not see why there may be a problem with that? Just because Epstein has been discussed in the mainstream media since his original charges, does not mean any meaningful truth about the situation came out. Hell at this point, if you're NOT a conspiracy theorist on the Epstein files, you are either complicit with the cover up, or you're a complete and utter moron. Hence why I take issue with the term being used pejoratively. But seeings how this whole f****** sub seems to not see that, I dunno, maybe the general public really is more f****** clueless than I realized and everyone really does have a childish, black or white view of the world that all conspiracy theories are wrong, and there is just no room for nuanced critical thought.
1
SteamedHamSalad1 day ago
+1
Maybe we are using different definitions of what makes someone a conspiracy theorist. A big part of my definition is someone who believes many conspiracies without having much evidence to back them up. They are skeptical of the official narrative but not the theories they either come up with or hear from others. I don’t think you should completely trust the official narrative. You should always be open to alternatives. But you also shouldn’t assume the official narrative is wrong without evidence.
Epstein is the perfect example:
Is it reasonable to believe in 2026 that Epstein acted alone? No
Was it reasonable to believe in 2018 that Epstein might have acted alone? Maybe. It would depend how much you knew about the story. Most people likely knew Maxwell was involved at this time
Is it reasonable to believe that Epstein might have killed himself? Yes
Is it reasonable to believe Epstein might have been murdered? Also yes
Is it reasonable to believe that there MIGHT be an evil pedo cabal? Yes
Is it reasonable to believe that there IS for sure an evil pedo cabal? Maybe. This depends a bit on what we think cabal means.
Is it reasonable to believe that there is an evil pedo cabal that eats babies for their adrenocrome so that they live longer? No not at this point.
1
frmr0001 day ago
+1
But this is exactly why I asked the question. The very term is a problem because it has lost its meaning. My original reply (which was downvoted into oblivion for even asking the question) was asking the user what a conspiracy theorist is, because they said it was sad that Wilcock was a conspiracy theorist. I do not see that as remotely sad, it should have no emotional attachment whatsoever. So I was asking what their definition of the term was. The term has taken on a new life to just be synonymous with crazy person, and that's not helpful. The reason why this is relevant now is because there is literally a massive conspiracy unfolding in the US government right now, which by definition, if you believe, you are a conspiracy theorist. But you would have to be a total simpleton to believe the official narrative. So that's why I asked in the first place, because OP was using the term negatively, while if looked at from a different perspective, it would be a negative NOT to be conspiracy theorist with current global events. And as always, nobody knows what they don't know and at any given time, something that was once deemed crazy, could be proven true if new information comes to light.
1
kaizoku2221 day ago
+7
Katma farm bot account. Report/block please.
7
blue_sidd1 day ago
+4
Sunlight is ok. You can go out into it for a bit.
4
Schroevendraaier1 day ago
+3
Born in Rotterdam (New York), died in Nederland (Colorado). As a Dutch person, I had to read it twice. Strange coincidence.
3
Low-Opening251 day ago
+3
he was a mental health crisis for long time before now
3
Coilspun1 day ago
+12
RIP you absolute grifting fraudster.
F****** "History" Channel...
12
SpaghettiNCoffee2 days ago
+7
Just heard about this earlier. I always liked his contributions on AA. You never know what people are going through inside. Very sad. RIP
7
masterdizastah1 day ago
+3
I was into this guy in 2009ish I think. I thought his stuff about the pineal gland and a giant mechanical version that can bring consciousness through time and space was really cool but never believed it,
3
Icy_Alternative_39621 day ago
+7
What's crazier is there is a yt channel dedicated to shitting on him. IHIP. They were even joking about him committing suicide the day or day before he did.
7
wild-thundering1 day ago
+2
Robert Phoenix talks about him a bit extensively on his 15minutes of flame show. I think it’s pretty tragic
2
doctor_sleep1 day ago
+1
That's the second History Channel personality to die by suicide this week.
1
iiSpook1 day ago
+4
If someone is injured you send an ambulance because it's a health issue.
If someone has mental health issues you send the cops because?
4
Lfeaf-feafea-feaf1 day ago
+1
Because he has a gun?
1
iiSpook1 day ago
+1
Everyone in your god forsaken hell hole of a country has one, that's not an argument.
1
pdjudd1 day ago
+1
Well no not everyone does. But that is the answer. The standard response to someone threatening violence is to call the cops.
1
LaserWeldo921 day ago
+4
Sounds about right for alien c***. So many conspiracy theorists just have mental issues or deep seated paranoia
4
lynivvinyl1 day ago
+7
Is everybody who has any interest in aliens and a platform going to die?
7
DraperPenPals1 day ago
+37
Well, everybody is going to die….so….
37
the__ghola__hayt1 day ago
+6
Speak for yourself, mortal.
6
darsynia1 day ago
+1
We'll really find out if it's 'any' interest if Miniminuteman bites it (hope not!), as a debunker
1
Trump-is-the-pedo1 day ago
+4
Almost like obsessing over something as inconsequential as the distant possibility of aliens on earth is a sign of mental illness. Big overlap with new agers in the hobby-to-mental breakdown tragedy pipeline.
4
HanSolo1001 day ago
+2
Really sad. I remember watching him so many times on ancient aliens.
RIP.
2
Underwater_Karma1 day ago
+2
"alien researcher" is a hell of a way to spend your life.
it's worth taking the lesson here that some of these people aren't just grifters and hoaxers, some of them are genuinely mentally ill and providing them a platform to perform is the opposite of what they need.
2
mr90251 day ago
+1
Whaaaaaaaaaat???
1
Top-Translator39201 day ago
+1
It's a sobering reminder that behind every wild theory is often a person struggling with real demons.
1
Frangipani_x16 hr ago
+1
Also, his biographer, Wynn Free, died 2 days before David. Same cause of death.
1
Acidhive16 hr ago
+1
I seriously don’t understand the comments here. He’s mentally ill because he thought thousands of years ago that the earth was visited by other beings of intelligence? And that there are people who believe in a parallel religion of negativity. What’s wrong with that? I think people here are mentally ill for not taking into consideration how warped of a planet we live on and the things people do for money and power. RIP.
1
QCfatNugZ11 hr ago
+1
Les moutons vont se complaire en parlant de théories du complot plutôt que d'ouvrir les yeux
1
Demerzel6910 hr ago
+1
It was aliens.
1
Affectionate_Try14691 day ago
+1
Another victim of the suicide epidemic. I suppose we should assume another coincidence.
1
prison---mike23 hr ago
+1
Sometimes, it’s the ones you most expect
1
Somebody2318 hr ago
+1
This was suicide like Epstein.
1
Roofiesnductape240961 day ago
+2
is this a nice way of saying the police killed him?
2
Underwater_Karma1 day ago
+4
> "Within minutes of deputies' arrival, he used the weapon on himself," local police reported.
I can see not reading the article, but you didn't even read the headline.
4
Devilofchaos1080701 day ago
-1
Sure sounds like it
-1
Roofiesnductape240961 day ago
+1
so sad it happens all too often. something similar happened to a gentleman in my town having a mental health crisis. nearly 2 months later not even a follow up.
1
SupermarketEmpty7892 days ago
-9
Dang. This dude was awesome on ancient aliens
He had his own show for a while that went for many seasons called "wisdom teachings" was pretty out there
-9
Kundrew11 day ago
-5
I wonder who really got em. Could be the Mayans but I wouldnt count out the aliens.
-5
Calverish1 day ago
-3
Some ancient astronaut theorists believe it
-3
MatthewSWFL2291 day ago
-4
Did he realize he threw his life away researching aliens and figured he didn't have enough time to start over?
-4
Kind-Pea5781 day ago
Not only are Aliens real, you have some of their DNA 👀 should be thankful.
0
IAmJustAVirus1 day ago
HE KNEW TOO MUCH
0
gin-rummy1 day ago
-3
Oh phew. I thought you meant Canadian rock and roll legend David Wilcox 😮💨.
I USED TO THINK THAT COKE. CAME IN A BOTTLE OR CAN
-3
sanctaidd1 day ago
-24
Very much connected to all the other scientists “suiciding” lately. Up to 11 or 12 now. He did alot more than ufos.
-24
picknicksje851 day ago
+28
Very much connected to his wife having left him. Dog dying. People pointing out his grifting lies with receipts. About to lose his nice house. Angry scammed Stavatti investor coming after him. That’s his fake aerospace company. Losing everything, being in debt, court cases and probably jail time looming.
I think also decades of his own lies might have done something to him. Ascension deadlines and end of the world deadlines that never came true. Claiming he’s Edgar Cayce reincarnated. Ra speaks to him. Archangel Michael speaks to him suddenly. Go buy the Michael prophecy books people! Peddling any and every conspiracy out there. Reptilians. 20 and back. Q. Med beds. Anything he could ride and grift from. Millions he earned this way. Also used charity money for personal use.
He was never any scientist or truth teller. You are as much a scientist or in the know as he was. During the last years he was bathing in his ow pee because Michael told him to.
RIP. But we have to also look at the facts. Saying he won’t kill himself might have been a way to save face. So people wouldn’t think cowardly of him, but as a warrior of “truth”. I’m sure he did tell some truths. Some universal ones, and some he got right by accident. But we can’t forget all the rest. Scamming gullible, desperate people out of their money.
28
PM_CUTE_BUTTS_PLS1 day ago
+1
Nah, must've been the government for reasons we'll make up later /s
1
God_illa1 day ago
Isn't this how Bill Cooper died?
0
MarkDue83151 day ago
All of you involved in this thread need to open your minds. Firstly, your focus on "shit shows" like ancient aliens... tells me more about how you have never read any of David's material or truly invested in what he had to say outside of that show. His body of work is incredibly interesting. This is an incredibly sad situation and very fishy. He is now 1 of 12 scientists that have "gone missing" or "died" within the last few months... Have some compassion. 2 days before this event he was repeatedly saying he loved his life during his stream and how grateful he was. He was excited for next week's episode as well... Don't be dense and accuse everyone of mental illness just for exploring out-of-the-ordinary theory and ideas. Without exploring the unknown you literally denounce science in itself - the very thing you all are claiming gospel in this comment section.. That is all. RIP David. You were a truly kind and brilliant man that was obviously misunderstood.
0
DJC_Kowalski1 day ago
I'm not surprised the History channel was boosting people in mental health crises for their alien and conspiracy shows. I liked the good ol' days when they actually showed history on the History Channel.
0
saraaaabeeee10 hr ago
I’m not sure if the people in the comments are being genuine or if it’s people pretending, but that man had said countless times he was not suicidal. He was adamant about that. Everyone on Listnook so quick to say it’s a mental health issue and just conspiracy theories. Are you living under a rock? Or do most of you skimp the surface of a topic so you can feel self important enough to make a comment you hope gets upvotes? Do you always read a news article and believe it at face value? God help us.
191 Comments