# What are your Favorite Unsubstantiated Theories! **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 26, 2005, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favorite-unsubstantiated-theories/305656 "2005-05-26T20:03:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2005, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favorite-unsubstantiated-theories/305656/81 "2005-05-28T22:01:09Z")
**continuity eror** , eating disorders are cross-cultural. ---
**Author:** ![davenportavenger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/5f8ce5/32.png) [@davenportavenger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davenportavenger)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2005, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favorite-unsubstantiated-theories/305656/82 "2005-05-28T22:32:19Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > **continuity eror** , eating disorders are cross-cultural. Not really. [Sharp rise in eating disorders in Fiji following introduction of television.](http://www.hms.harvard.edu/news/releases/599bodyimage.html) Granted, that study is about the influence of television in general and not food-obsession/diets specifically, but it’s all a rich tapestry. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2005, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favorite-unsubstantiated-theories/305656/83 "2005-05-28T23:16:22Z")
> [@continuity eror](#): > > Not really. Doesn’t the fact that 3% of girls were doing it before television indicate that it IS cross-cultural? ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2005, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favorite-unsubstantiated-theories/305656/84 "2005-05-29T01:16:22Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > My favorite: lee harvey oswald (assassin of John F. kennedy) was a double agent for the CIA. Mine is that J. Edgar Hoover ordered JFK’s assassination because he couldn’t stand one more term under a President who was Catholic, sexually promiscuous, unafraid of the Soviet Union, and whose brother was Attorney General. I also believe that conservatives capitalize random words way, way more often than liberals. ---
**Author:** ![davenportavenger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/5f8ce5/32.png) [@davenportavenger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davenportavenger)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2005, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favorite-unsubstantiated-theories/305656/85 "2005-05-29T01:32:33Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > Doesn’t the fact that 3% of girls were doing it before television indicate that it IS cross-cultural? Well, like I said, there could be a genetic link to eating problems in a very few cases (Praeder-Willi syndrome, self-starvation induced by autism or depression) but it’s nothing like the epidemic we have in the industrialized world. Isn’t there a big difference between 3% and 35% (roughly the percentage of Americans who are obese and/or have an eating disorder… as far as I’m concerned obesity and anorexia/bulimia are two sides of the same obsessive-compulsive coin)? If it was cross-cultural, wouldn’t the numbers be a little closer? IANANutritionist, though. ---
**Author:** ![Nic2004](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/4491bb/32.png) [@Nic2004](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nic2004)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2005, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favorite-unsubstantiated-theories/305656/86 "2005-05-29T02:04:34Z")
I think that those who diet commit an antisocial behavior to wit: When someone “loses weight” it is in fact never “lost” but becomes airbourne and is sucked in by the next passerby. These little floating fat cells are drawn to sweet-shops and delicatessens from nearby workout room/gyms as demonstrated by many peoples ability to gain weight by simply walking past a doughnut shop. The very scent of pastries is loaded with these fat-cells. When that certain little skinny woman in the office loses a few more pounds, just watch. They will afix themselves to some innocent person in a nearby cubicle. And those who say “_Oh, I can eat anything I want and never gain a pound_” are simply carriers! I say, stop dieting and working out for the good of humanity!!! It’s the right thing to do! ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2005, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favorite-unsubstantiated-theories/305656/87 "2005-05-29T15:13:17Z")
Okay, how about this? I think that you haven’t made it in Hollywood/the entertainment industry until: As a guy, you’ve been accused of being gay, and As a chick, you’ve been accused of having costmetic surgery/breast enhancement/liposuction and/or have a legimate eating disorder. Note that the above doesn’t guarantee success, only that a lack thereof still means you’re up-and-coming, not an A-lister. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![raz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@raz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/raz)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2005, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favorite-unsubstantiated-theories/305656/88 "2005-05-29T16:41:58Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > Hefting Heifers If you pick up a calf every day, eventually you’ll be able to lift a cow. This is interesting. I like that idea. Here’s a couple of mine: That the government has actually created a car to run on water (or some other alternate cheap source) but will never tell us about it. That time continuously starts and stops, but there’s no way of knowing because when time is stopped, well…it’s stopped. Not like you would know anyway. That Wal-Mart plays a huge role in the obesity epidemic. They give those motorized carts to fat people, so they can roll around the store in style while loading up on donuts and twinkies, thus the cycle continues. Yes I know some people have limited mobility and need to use the carts but I work at Wal-Mart and the percentage of people that use the carts is just staggering. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2005, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favorite-unsubstantiated-theories/305656/89 "2005-05-29T17:01:56Z")
> [@kimera](#): > > Are you serious? The more unsubstantiated a theory is, the greater the chance that someone will think you actually believe it. ---
**Author:** ![sleeepy2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@sleeepy2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sleeepy2)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2005, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favorite-unsubstantiated-theories/305656/90 "2005-05-29T17:43:24Z")
The more you use Chap-Stick, the more you need it. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2005, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favorite-unsubstantiated-theories/305656/91 "2005-05-29T19:08:43Z")
> [@sleeepy2](#): > > The more you use Chap-Stick, the more you need it. The more you use **anything** , the more you need it. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pseudotriton_ruber_ruber)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2005, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favorite-unsubstantiated-theories/305656/92 "2005-05-29T20:32:26Z")
Chronic back pain, for which no one has yet come up with a diagnosis nor a cure, is caused by a virus, whose effects can last months or years but which remains unaffected by lying on heating pads, sitting in different positions, taking muscle relaxants, sleeping hard beds, etc. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2005, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favorite-unsubstantiated-theories/305656/93 "2005-05-29T20:58:13Z")
> [@Ranchoth](#): > > I sometimes suspect that there’s only a finite amount of “greatness” in any given family line. The more any single individual—say Abraham Lincoln, or Mozart—uses up, the less of it there is for his or her decendants to use, and it’ll be much harder for them to measure up. I’m pretty sure Lincoln has no descendants. Most of his sons died in childhood. Only Robert Lincoln reached adulthood, and I don’t think he ever had any children. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2005, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favorite-unsubstantiated-theories/305656/94 "2005-05-29T21:00:58Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > I’m pretty sure Lincoln has no descendants. Most of his sons died in childhood. Only Robert Lincoln reached adulthood, and I don’t think he ever had any children. Good info from an authoratative source, backing this up. [http://www.nps.gov/libo/lincolns\_descendents3.htm](http://www.nps.gov/libo/lincolns_descendents3.htm) ---
**Author:** ![delphica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9a140/32.png) [@delphica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/delphica)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2005, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favorite-unsubstantiated-theories/305656/95 "2005-05-29T21:15:41Z")
It’s my firm belief that in addition to cramps and bloating, clumsiness/lack of physical coordination is a symptom experienced by some women during menstruation. It boggles my mind how clumsy I get during my period. My scientific self-study here involves my good china – I know how many pieces I’ve broken because I smack myself every time I pay to replace a piece (plus there’s a credit card record), and every single one was during menstruation. I had to truncate the study, however, when it became too costly, and now I don’t handle the good china at that time. It’s also my impression that I’m less coordinated in general – tripping over my own feet, banging my shin on the coffee table, that sort of thing – but since that doesn’t cost me money, I don’t have a paper trail on that aspect. When I’ve mentioned this to other women, some knew what I was talking about right away. A guy once told me that I simply had a selective memory about when I dropped things … yeah, and it used to be a “fact” that cramps were all in my head, too. I also think that Billy Bob Thornton is the devil, but I don’t have a study to back that up (yet, I’m working on it). ---
**Author:** ![Khan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3ab097/32.png) [@Khan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khan)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2005, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favorite-unsubstantiated-theories/305656/96 "2005-05-29T22:56:59Z")
I’ve pondered starting up a great debate about this, but I have nothing to contribute nor any place to start looking for cites beyond this: Humans became agriculturalists to make beer rather than bread. I first heard about this from an archaeology prof at a seminar I ultimately didn’t take, but it’s a damned interesting proposition. Think about it: it’s easy to find that a particular kind of seed needs to be kept dry or it will spoil, but if it does, it’ll give you a buzz. It’s a lot easier than figuring out that you can grind it up, mix it with water and bake it into a cracker or something like that. It seems to me that the former is a much more likely accidental discovery. ---
**Author:** ![dogbutler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dogbutler/32/428_2.png) [@dogbutler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dogbutler)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2005, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favorite-unsubstantiated-theories/305656/97 "2005-05-30T03:04:19Z")
> [@Beware of Doug](#): > > I also believe that conservatives capitalize random words way, way more often than liberals. We Do not! ---
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2005, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favorite-unsubstantiated-theories/305656/98 "2005-05-30T03:05:13Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > I’m pretty sure Lincoln has no descendants. Most of his sons died in childhood. Only Robert Lincoln reached adulthood, and I don’t think he ever had any children. That hurts my theory how, exactly? 😉 Anyway, Robert Lincoln _did_ have children, [but his last decendant, Robert Beckwith](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abraham_Lincoln#Marriage) (Lincoln’s great-grandson) died childless in 1985. (Nope, never heard of him otherwise, either. Again, I don’t think that hurts my “theory” much. 😉😃 ) ---
**Author:** ![Nic2004](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/4491bb/32.png) [@Nic2004](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nic2004)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2005, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favorite-unsubstantiated-theories/305656/99 "2005-05-30T03:06:16Z")
> [@dogbutler](#): > > We Do not! Funny, That Was Funny! ---
**Author:** ![Crowbar\_of\_Irony\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f08c70/32.png) [@Crowbar\_of\_Irony\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crowbar_of_Irony_3)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2005, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favorite-unsubstantiated-theories/305656/100 "2005-05-30T04:05:09Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > I like the one that says (something to the effect) that _ideas_ are metaphysical entites (note, this is different from meme theory) and that they can be caught like fireflies, if you’re in the right place at the right time and you sieze them just right. This has been offered as an explanation for various odd synchronicities such as simultaneous inventions and things like classified D-Day codenames appearing in a newspaper crossword. I believe something along that vein too. Ideas and inspirations are like ‘particles’ or ‘ray of particles’. If you are at the right place at the right time they pentrate your brain and you thought of them. Of course, I wound’t bet money on this theory. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favorite-unsubstantiated-theories/305656.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favorite-unsubstantiated-theories/305656.md?page=6)