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When the researchers began dying, it was so mysterious and intertwined that outside observers determined it had to be done with intent.
First the project’s biggest funder died preposterously, of an infected wound from shaving. Soon death came for others linked to the inscrutable and important work — a visiting diplomat, the lead funder’s half-brother, and a string of scientists involved with the project. They died of suicide, of strange illnesses, in a gruesome murder. There were so many deaths that there was no way they could not be connected. Finally, the project’s lead scientist and most famous face died unexpectedly, years after the project’s completion.
Anyone following the news lately might think the above paragraphs are about the “disappearing scientists” story, alleging that a number of researchers and scientists connected to the defense industry or astrophysics have all died of unusual causes over the last year, with some vanishing while on walks and others horrifically murdered in seemingly random shootings.
This conspiracy theory has jumped from obscurity to global coverage in just weeks, with more names being added to the “death list” every day.
But the opening anecdote is actually about the so-called “Curse of King Tut,” which saw a number of people connected to the opening of the tomb of Egyptian monarch Tutankhamun in 1922 die in short succession. When the patron of the excavation, Lord Carnarvon, died of an infection caused by accidentally cutting open a mosquito bite while shaving, it kicked off a run of newspaper stories and whispers that the opening of the tomb had unleashed an ancient curse. Sure enough, more people linked to the excavation died in the years after, including the archeologist who opened the tomb, Howard Carter.
For decades, both curse believers and skeptical scientists struggled to explain why so many people died after visiting or participating in the opening of Tut’s tomb. A variety of causes were put forth: toxic fungi in the tomb, radiation, the awakening of ancient demons. But none could be proven. And an honest look at the “victims” proves there wasn’t a spike in mysterious deaths at all.
https://talkingpointsmemo.com/cafe/whats-really-underpinning-the-missing-scientists-conspiracy-theory
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What’s Really Underpinning the ‘Missing Scientists’ Conspiracy Theory