HOLLOW EARTH: My favorite quasi-conspiracy hoax has been around for a long time. The story goes like this: The Earth is hollow, has many inhabitants within, who exit and enter via a hole in terra not-so-firma at the North Pole and who come and go among us. And here you thought flying saucers were from outer space! OK, I'm still inclined to believe that Lee Oswald was not a lone lost-soul assassin. With shoes tied and watching my step as I cross Abbey Road in fear of falling into the Twilight Zone …

Click here to sign up for news, weather and sports text alerts.

UFO COVER-UP: My favorite conspiracy theory concerns the supposed government cover-up of a UFO crash near Roswell, N.M., in the 1940s. As a teenager, I was enthralled with the possibility of UFOs visiting our planet. Dozens of movies followed the Roswell incident, which at the time fueled the public's interest in visitors from outer space. I went to see most of those movies. But as an adult, I quickly accepted the Air Force's explanation of the Roswell UFO being no less than a high- altitude balloon. It was fun at the time to believe that UFOs were real and our government was covering up its contact with alien beings. I accept that most conspiracy theories are based on our human nature to distrust government, corporations or those in authority. But I still look into the starry sky and wonder.

Frank Hurst,

MOON LANDING: My favorite conspiracy theory would be that NASA and other organizations faked the 1969 moon landings. There are various allegations that have floated around for a number of years — the Apollo astronauts never set foot on the moon, that NASA tampered or simply destroyed evidence, or that the whole excursion did not take place and was staged by Hollywood. Even more chucklesome are some of the reasons provided as proof the moon landing was faked: 1. No stars are visible in photographs taken from the surface of the moon. 2. When the astronauts are putting up the flag, it waves and there is no wind on the moon. 3. If you speed up the film of the astronauts walking on the moon, they look like they were filmed on Earth and slowed down. Many conspiracy theorists believe to this day that NASA is still hiding something. I believe the moon landing did take place.

Amber Genett,

Kaukauna

PEARL HARBOR: The one conspiracy theory that I have to shake my head about is Pearl Harbor and whether President Franklin Roosevelt allowed it to happen. I've studied it in depth and even studied the Japanese decision-making process. Trust me, FDR did not know about it "and let it happen" just so we could get into World War II. I read one book from a conspiracy theorist and it was so full of holes to be laughable. But it wasn't funny that people actually believed it. It seems conspiracy theorists jump on the lack of info as being proof of their conspiracy. That is some pretty twisted logic. It's sad that people fall for it all the time.

Jeff Spoehr,

Neenah

WATCH OUT: The universe is out to get me. It may be out to get you, too. I don't know. I'm really only concerned those I care about and myself. If you got struck on the head with a small meteorite, I'd probably read about it, but I don't think it would affect me in any particular way. If I got struck on the head, I'd consider it a personal affront by the universe. When I was younger, the theory was that the universe ignored me, which made me lonely. My favorite poem on the topic was by Stephen Crane: A man said to the universe: 'Sir, I exist!' 'However,' replied the universe, 'The fact has not created in me a sense of obligation.'" Now that I'm older, I miss the days when the universe wasn't concerned with me. But at least I have someone with whom to share my lunacy.

Matt Demers,

Menasha

SATANIC ORGANIZATION: My favorite conspiracy theory has long made the rounds by word of mouth and by the Internet, and someone is probably posting it this minute. Allegedly, Procter and Gamble is a satanic organization; the proof is its logo. The man-in-the-moon and the 13 stars are obviously sinister in their implications. The e-mails always mention a nonexistent tape of "The Phil Donahue Show" in which the president of Procter & Gamble states that the company serves Satan, and that he doesn't care what Americans think of that. Of course, the recipient of the e-mail should boycott the company and urge all his or her friends to do the same. One wonders when this particular theory will die away. Snopes.com is a great Web site for checking on conspiracy theories, urban legends and the like. It makes for some amusing reading.

Cathy Kuehl,

Waupaca

NO CURES: I love conspiracy theories and they make me question a lot of events. The ones that hit home involve the pharmaceutical companies: that no one is truly seeking a cure for diabetes, cancer, (fill in the blank) because the pharmaceutical companies make money from the illnesses and that the pharmaceutical companies even fabricate diseases (we are so gullible) to sell drug treatments. But I would say the one most chilling for me is that George W. Bush and Dick Cheney were behind the 9-11 disaster, targeting a non-existent Osama bin Laden so they could declare war and reap profits.

Carolyn Dargevics,

Neenah

ALIENS: Call it a theory; call me a skeptic. Label me whatever. There is life out there, my friends; Buzz Aldrin, Neil Armstrong and Mike Collins have been the closest to it of anyone thus far. I'm speaking of life existence in the universe. Now if you hear a "du du du du … du du du du," I can understand your memory rewinding to "The Twilight Zone" (if you're old enough). By Jiminy, some form of life does exist on other planets. Of course, this old codger will not be a witness to its discovery. But when it does happen, just remember where you heard about it first!

Walt Ziemke,

Neenah

OIL: My favorite conspiracy theory is how an inventor created a carburetor that gets 90 miles to the gallon and the oil companies bought it and put it on a shelf because it would cut into their profits. That was during the last oil embargo in 1974, when we had shortages, dropped the speed limit and turned down the thermostats. I'm thinking it's a bit outlandish.

Lou McKellar,

Hortonville

ATTACKS: The conspiracy theory that's my favorite is that the U.S. government, i.e. Bush, Cheney and Rumsfeld, orchestrated the 9-11 attacks on the United States. That this conspiracy theory exists at all indicates how far some people will stray from their own good judgment to rationalize the actions of an irrational world. The theory, in a nutshell, is that the militaristic overlords in the White House joined forces with the military, military suppliers and the oil industry to orchestrate the 9-11 attacks. The result of the attacks would be widespread public support for an expansion of our military aggression and presence in the Middle East to control its oil reserves. Come on, you have to admit that this type of complex, secretive, carefully planned and coordinated project simply could not be pulled off by the talent U.S. citizens have been electing to office in Washington.

Dale Walker,

Hortonville

KENNEDY: The conspiracy theories of the Kennedy assassination have always been the most numerous and most interesting, especially since a shred of evidence in their favor has yet to be found. As much as I'd like to believe that there was more to it than the "lone gunman," there has been no substantial proof. The most entertaining theories, however, are the attempts to reject the moon landings. They just amount to another example of people who apparently have a little too much time on hand.

Zachary Fannin,

Hortonville

WWII: One of the most outlandish conspiracy theories I've come across has to do with America's entry into World War II. This theory proposes that President Franklin Roosevelt and Prime Minister Winston Churchill knew (courtesy of British intelligence) the date and place where Japanese forces were going to attack America but withheld this information from U.S. military leaders. As the theory goes, Roosevelt reasoned that allowing the Japanese their "surprise attack" would reverse the American reluctance to get involved in the world war that had begun in 1939. Churchill was in on the plan because England stood alone in Europe against Germany and was in desperate need of American assistance. That anyone would champion such a theory is beyond belief and it appears to have taken it rightful place on the scrap heap of conspiracy theories.

Steve Dahms,

Appleton

RIDICULOUS: I find the idea that the government was somehow behind the 9-11 attacks is the most far-fetched and ridiculous. I do enjoy all the angles and twists surrounding the death of Marilyn Monroe, however. Anything that has ties to the Kennedys seems to hold America's interest. Not that the Monroe story needs any more possibilities, but I'm thinking that David Letterman may have been involved.

Vic LeClair,

Kimberly

ROSWELL: As in many of these conspiracies, I believe there are irregularities that cause the public to question the complete results of government's final reports. But my personal favorite is Roswell because it's in man's nature to explore and wonder about other worlds and alien species. Our mind is our only limitation as to wonder and question about the possibilities of alien culture and science. We assume they're more advanced, which leads us to marvel at what's out there in the universe. The Hubble telescope has only made this speculation more possible. Thus, one can ruminate about aliens, their possible contact with earth and what happened at Roswell. This has left some very compelling unanswered questions.

Leo Nickasch,

Town of Neenah