The basis of conspiracy theories shows trends of repetition throughout history that implement fear into everyday life. True or untrue, conspiracies are still followed, almost religiously, by many people. Theories that are wrong are still being pursued by people, and the choices they make based on those theories influence how they live their life. Conspiracies start from a source that is displeased by a particular group or activity. The source of the conspiracies usually makes them to slander the group that they are displeased with. The global catastrophe, which was known as the end of the world, compelled fear into the minds of people everywhere. For decades, 2012 was prophesized as being the end. The Mayans had carved a calendar that mysteriously stopped on December 21, 2012. Because the Mayans were such a highly respected and omniscient civilization, people instantly believed that the world would end based on their predictions from thousands of years ago. “The Maya invented an accurate calendar almost 2,000 years ago which measured time in 394-year periods known as baktuns and some anthropologists believe the 13th baktun ends on December 21. While some experts say the calendar never actually predicted an apocalypse, it has been interpreted that way by doom mongers all over the world.”(“End” N.A.). Others believed that a massive planet, four times the size of Jupiter, called Nibiru would collide with the earth or come close enough to shift the world’s polar axis and cause a worldwide pandemonium. It was first predicted to strike Earth in May 2003.The date passed and the collision never happened, so the conspiracy was moved to late 2012 to match up with the Maya calendar. “The story began in 1976, when Zecharia Sitchin wrote "The Twelfth Planet," a book which used Sumerian cuneiform to identify a planet, Nibiru, orbiting the sun every 3,600 years.”(Redd N.A.). During both of these prophecies, many people had thrown away their life savings in hopes of surviving the devastation of these events. People spending their money expecting life to end or the use of money being irrelevant to survival were also issues. The fact that there are multiple prophecies from different sources saying the end is near only makes the theories more believable and easy to jump on board with. Thought to be a terrorist attack, September 11th not only serves as a day of mourning, but also spreads suspicion about the government throughout the United States. Terrorism has been an increasingly important concern since September 11th, but some believe that the government was behind it all. Many speculate that the World Trade Center was in fact blown down by carefully placed bombs. The way demolition contractors take down buildings with explosions looked very similar to how the two towers had fallen. “Some witnesses accounted hearing explosions inside the building as they attempted to escape. Many architects and scientists even maintain that a planes fuel cannot produce enough heat to melt the steel frame of the two buildings that collapsed.”(“Most” N.A.). The World Trade Center wasn’t the only target of the attack; the Pentagon was also hit that day. “Theorists maintain that the impact holes in the pentagon were much smaller than a commercial American Airlines plane. They also question why the plane was not shot down prior to impact, as well as why the plane impacted into a section of the Pentagon that was vacant due to renovations.”(“Most” N.A.). The hole and exterior damage that was left by the plane was far too small to be made by the large commercial airplane, believed by many conspirers. Terrorism affects a majority of Americans because it is happening in their back yard. They may feel the need to rely on the government to protect them. There has been an increase in National Security September 11th. Because this attack had started a war, people believe that the terrorist country will be a direct threat to them. If they are distracted by possible terrorist attacks and the imposed need of more security, the government can hide other plans they may be making to the nation. Although the happenings of 2012 and September 11th are controversial topics, both have proven that conspiracies are often suggestions that are led a bit too far. Conspiracies can be made from any subject or activity and most of the time they are focused solely on the negative side of things. Just because a conspiracy is thought up and highly supported, like the end of the world, doesn’t mean that it is true and should be believed. Many conspiracies are made up just to get the attention of the public, to depreciate a specific group, person or activity, or are made up just to make money off of the situation. Falling prey to conspiracies, like the ones who have spent their life savings expecting the world to end, may cause your everyday life to change based upon how committed you are to that conspiracy.