Y'know, some friends of mine used to do this sort of thing to enliven the periods between emptying the beer and the next round arriving.

(Warning. Dubious logical fallicies used herein)

It's a GREAt "paranoia" argument. How do you, as a person, know for fact that a space vehicle landed on the moon and brought back toys? How do you, the informed consumer, know that what you bought from the store is actually as labeled? How do you know that someone's pegged YOUR life for amusemen an how do you know whos involved?

Done properly, you get your pints and start the cyclone of conspiracu running. Scoring is easy - if you come up with and defend a new 'secret society' that survives a night of drunken logical battles, you win the ability to not have to pay in on the next round. If you're society get shot down in the Illuminated attempts with no recourse, well, you're buying. And if you really don't have a clue, pour more beer down the ladies and gents nattering, and not only will you be liked, but the nattering gets a LOT funnier.

It IS a simple stream to go from "watched the launch" to "faked the launch". First, TV was really coming into its own. There were problems with adjusting to the fact that reality could just barge into your family room, kick your elderly Auntie out of the rocker for a place to sit, and trott out "up to the minute" updates.

From there... To begin with, there are a lot of people at the start of this who are not totally but increasingly convinced, an number who buy into it whole hog. The rest probably don't care enoug to look and accept what they see.

So... to the 'naysayers' any reports of difficulties can be blown far and beyond the hysteria needed for their campaign, and it gets vented over teh entire enterprise.

Years later, the Conspiracy still needs to have a human to keep feeding from. All it takes is one...

As long as The One True Believer sticks to his/her guns and runs with it at all costs, when the silliness recycles there's a ready made fight to boost awareness on the issue.

Sordid, Ugly, and has NO SPACE in science (beyond the varying psycho sciences)

Me? I know it's all true. NONE of our spaceflights or airflights occur, and there's Neptunian Time Scramblers on our cars and altering our heads. You're in a box. There's actually nothing further from you than 15 yards. It's just the space had to be packed in tightly, so it may take a while to get there.

And in years... when the Invisible Pink Unicorn opens her box of Invisible Pink Lucky Charms, I shall be bated in Invisible Pink Dust, and be happily retrieved.

Then eaten.

I'm working on that last bit.

M