ScienceToday

9. Johnny Gosch was kidnapped from Des Moines, Iowa, in 1969, and his disappearance has been followed by conspiracy theories for years.

On September 5, 1982, a 12-year-old boy named Johnny Gosch disappeared without a trace from Des Moines, Iowa, while on his morning newspaper run. Without any proof or evidence, the case went cold and remained unresolved, although there were a variety of conspiracy theories about what had happened to him.

Many people say he was forced into a child sex ring from Nebraska. His mother, Noreen, received pictures of a man locked up in a basement, leading her to believe that the theory was valid, but the man in the picture did not claim to be Gosch, and there was no other proof to support the theory.

In 1997, Noreen said that her now grown-up son and his kidnapper visited her. She said he assured her that he was all right and that he was still alive, igniting even more conspiracy that he was still alive. However, the police haven’t been able to verify the mother’s story. Ultimately, there’s a rumor that White House reporter Jeff Gannon is Johnny Gosch, since they have similar political characteristics. This theory has never been confirmed, however.

10. There were a lot of Mattress Firm stores in Illinois all within a few miles of one another, leading some to assume it was a money-laundering operation.

In 2018, a Reddit user pointed out that there was a high concentration of Mattress Firm stores in certain regions of the US, particularly in Chicago. The Reddit post soon became viral, with thousands posting pictures and maps showing Mattress Firm stores within a mile of each other and often even across the street. This led people to speculate that the retailer is a money-laundering business.

“Mattress Firm is some sort of giant money-laundering scheme,” one Reddit user wrote. “I remember seeing four mattress firms all on each corner of an intersection once, and there is no way there is such a demand for mattresses.”

The conspiracy theory gained even more traction when in October 2018, Mattress Firm filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and announced it would be closing as many as 700 stores in the United States. So perhaps there might be some weight to this peculiar story.