# Chemtrails **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 11, 2012, 10:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chemtrails/634385 "2012-09-11T10:44:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2012, 10:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chemtrails/634385/1 "2012-09-11T10:44:07Z")
It’s come to my attention of late there are a vociferous minority of people around here who believe that aeroplanes’ vapour trails are actually chemical sprays. It’s a common enough conspiracy theory “chemtrails” [Chemtrail conspiracy theory - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chemtrail_conspiracy_theory). Anyone you know express belief in it? There’s something bizarrely cargo cultish about the whole thing. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2012, 11:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chemtrails/634385/2 "2012-09-11T11:06:42Z")
One of my friends believes in chemtrails, that the earth is six thousand years old, that there is no such thing as evolution, and that Jesus saves. Some folks just gotta believe in something. Reason doesn’t come into it. She insists that the sky is less blue each year due to chemtrails. Her proof is what she thinks she sees. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2012, 12:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chemtrails/634385/3 "2012-09-11T12:03:48Z")
I think we’ve seen chemtrails argued here at the SDMB once or twice, by various short-lived nutballs. It’s most often coupled with any number of other conspiracy theories (people that believe one tend to believe them all, even if they conflict - there’s some science backing that up, but I’m too lazy to find a link). We had one that claimed chemtrails condensed out and settled as filaments or gelatinous blobs, I seem to recall. ---
**Author:** ![Gagundathar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a183cd/32.png) [@Gagundathar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gagundathar)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2012, 12:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chemtrails/634385/4 "2012-09-11T12:08:12Z")
You recall correctly. One of my acquaintances was absolutely convinced of this and she said that the oozes that are commonly found on the rotting trees around here (in a subtropical rain forest) were the result of the chemtrails. When I was younger, I would have tried to correct her. Now, I just say something like, “Well, that’s interesting,” and go on from there. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2012, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chemtrails/634385/5 "2012-09-11T12:37:19Z")
How did chemtrails come to your “attention”, OP? Is someone paying you to trash the [conspiracy](http://beforeitsnews.com/conspiracy-theories/2012/08/the-great-culling-has-begun-will-your-genetic-lineage-survive-2443804.html)? Hmmm? Just asking questions. You’ve got to connect the dots. 😕:eek::mad::smack: ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2012, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chemtrails/634385/6 "2012-09-11T14:08:11Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > We had one that claimed chemtrails condensed out and settled as filaments or gelatinous blobs, I seem to recall. The gelatinous blobs are not created by chemtrails. They are created by officials making speeches over public address systems at public gatherings. The the fine mist of gelatinous blobs is aspirated by the audience, and numbs their minds, which is why when they leave their eyes are vacant, making it impossible for them to see the darkening sky caused by the chemtrails. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2012, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chemtrails/634385/7 "2012-09-11T14:11:09Z")
I don’t know what the skepticism is about. It’s well established that chemtrails are composed of the deadly compound DHMO (dihydrogen monoxide). ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2012, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chemtrails/634385/8 "2012-09-11T14:31:34Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > I don’t know what the skepticism is about. It’s well established that chemtrails are composed of the deadly compound DHMO (dihydrogen monoxide). Did you know that dihydrogen monoxide has been found in the lungs of every drowning victim since 1947? THE SAME YEAR AS THE ROSWELL CRASH! ---
**Author:** ![scootergirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e99b99/32.png) [@scootergirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scootergirl)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2012, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chemtrails/634385/9 "2012-09-11T14:33:34Z")
You ask, “Anyone you know express belief in it?” Oh boy do I! My ex-husband – hence ex. Not solely for that reason, of course, but I find that once one goes down that road, the conspiracies tend to start multiplying like a nasty germ. It baffles my mind why someone who seems like a perfectly intelligent person starts convincing themselves that shit like this is fact. ---
**Author:** ![brujaja](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4af34b/32.png) [@brujaja](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brujaja)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2012, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chemtrails/634385/10 "2012-09-11T14:40:34Z")
There is a misconception here. Airplanes’ vapor trails are just vapor trails, and everyone knows what they look like. Chemtrails are laid out, typically, in a cross-hatch pattern, and disperse far more slowly than regular vapor trails. Seriously, there’s no way that they would let regular commercial airliners fly across each others’ paths repeatedly in such a way as to make a pattern like that. I make no claims about their contents or consequences, because I have no idea. But they are very distinctive; if you had seen one, I think you might say the same thing. I have noticed a seemingly higher incidence of cold/ allergy/ sniffles type conditions in the days immediately after I have seen them. Not necessarily me, but in those around me. In fact, this happened just last week. ---
**Author:** ![Sicks\_Ate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Sicks\_Ate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sicks_Ate)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2012, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chemtrails/634385/11 "2012-09-11T14:45:36Z")
I would love to see an authentic picture of this crosshatch pattern. I see no reas that vapor trails couldn’t meet or cross each other. The obviously persist for some time…and the great thing about flying waaaay up in the sky is that you can have thousands of feet of separation between aircraft. It’s not like these mysterious sniffle-inducing chemtrails must be at exactly the same altitude. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2012, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chemtrails/634385/12 "2012-09-11T14:47:21Z")
> [@brujaja](#): > > Chemtrails are laid out, typically, in a cross-hatch pattern, and disperse far more slowly than regular vapor trails. Seriously, there’s no way that they would let regular commercial airliners fly across each others’ paths repeatedly in such a way as to make a pattern like that. Are you aware that airspace is three dimensional? ---
**Author:** ![scootergirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e99b99/32.png) [@scootergirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scootergirl)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2012, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chemtrails/634385/13 "2012-09-11T14:50:16Z")
When my ex tried to have my then 14 year old son and me ride in his bandwagon (it was loaded with ridiculous theories) I had enough. That conspiracy, in particular, was the pivoting moment when I realized that we couldn’t be more different. Just thinking about this puts me in a bad mood, but then again I had a rotten afternoon and night yesterday and in a couple of hours I’m getting my 2 wisdom teeth removed…and my stomach is talking to me…OMG! My dentist! He is an alien and wants to remove my teeth for …for…research, or worse yet, implant something in my gums for who knows what! Nooooo! :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2012, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chemtrails/634385/14 "2012-09-11T14:52:40Z")
I’ll restrict myself to observing that most people who believe in this sort of thing believe in a whole raft of other elaborate conspiracies…and even if one or more of them are by some weird coincidence true, it’s _beyond certain_ that they can’t ALL be true (many of them conflict with each other). Therefore such people must know, on some level, they “believe” at least some things that _cannot_ actually be true. It’s irritating. ---
**Author:** ![redtail23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/3e96dc/32.png) [@redtail23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/redtail23)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2012, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chemtrails/634385/15 "2012-09-11T14:54:35Z")
Yeah, my mom was big into that for quite a few years. She got it from right-wing AM radio, and/or whatever scammers were sending her junk mail and magazines. She got better once we finally got her into an appropriate living situation. But that was like 15 years ago, is this just now turning up across the pond? ---
**Author:** ![scootergirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e99b99/32.png) [@scootergirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scootergirl)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2012, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chemtrails/634385/16 "2012-09-11T14:57:06Z")
[QUOTE=Sailboat;15479501l] Therefore such people must know, on some level, they “believe” at least some things that _cannot_ actually be true. It’s irritating. [/QUOTE] Yes, irritating like an itchy rash. ---
**Author:** ![Sicks\_Ate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Sicks\_Ate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sicks_Ate)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2012, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chemtrails/634385/17 "2012-09-11T15:02:25Z")
> [@scootergirl](#): > > Yes, irritating like an itchy rash. Irritating like an itchy rash that you tend to notice a higher incidence of after you seen Chemtrails? ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2012, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chemtrails/634385/18 "2012-09-11T15:04:37Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > I think we’ve seen chemtrails argued here at the SDMB once or twice, by various short-lived nutballs. It’s most often coupled with any number of other conspiracy theories… A chemtrail shot Kennedy from the grassy knoll, but the evidence is being concealed at Area 51 by the satanists at Proctor & Gamble. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2012, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chemtrails/634385/19 "2012-09-11T15:13:36Z")
> [@brujaja](#): > > Chemtrails are laid out, typically, in a cross-hatch pattern, and disperse far more slowly than regular vapor trails. Seriously, there’s no way that they would let regular commercial airliners fly across each others’ paths repeatedly in such a way as to make a pattern like that. And…you’ve just demonstrated that not only are you not a pilot, you’re poorly to completely uninformed about aviation. As alluded to by another poster, airliners are separated by several thousand feet of space vertically which is not apparent from the ground. Traffic flying in one direction is directed to stay at particular set altitudes, traffic flying the opposite direction is assigned different altitudes. This results in a safe crossing of paths, and also results in a “cross hatch” pattern of contrails. I’ve also seen chemtrail conspirators finding “rings” and so forth to be suspicious when, in fact, they are just perfectly ordinary holding patterns. These things are about as “suspicious” as stop signs and traffic round-abouts. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2012, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chemtrails/634385/20 "2012-09-11T16:09:22Z")
> [@friedo](#): > > Are you aware that airspace is three dimensional? Furthermore, a crosswind will cause sequential flights on the same path to render a series of neat, parallel trails. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chemtrails/634385.md?page=2)