Decemystery (2024) 22: The Day the Earth Screamed

 

Okay, let’s see. I’ve got Queen playing. It’s a quarter after noon. I’ve barely eaten. I have a bit of chocolate milk and Pepsi…

And it’s the first day of December.

For the sixth time around—five if you wish to count the Decemystery duology as one entity (as I’ve said in the past: I don’t)—writing Decemystery has dragged into December. This series has siphoned my love for the final month of the year because of how often I find myself looking at the clock while cursing my brain for being as metaphorically blended as a milkshake.

Lucky for you and me, dear reader, I happen to love writing, so I’m not upset. I’m only deeply pissed off on a very personal level that I don’t wish to discuss because that anger is between me and something that was outside of my control. All I’ll say is that it’s like being mad at the weather—if the weather were controlled by the biggest jerk you knew.

Anyway, what does that have to do with today’s write-up? Well, oddly enough, quite a lot. When I began working on Decemystery 2024 back in mid-August, I knew that it was going to carry into December. The only way it wouldn’t is if I approached it half-heartedly. That wasn’t something I intended to do. I did that in 2020, and it remains one of my greatest regrets because I think the quality of most of the write-ups is horrendous.

However, I had a contingency plan for this year, and it was similar to the one I had for last year. That was to make the final stretch of stories simple; they’re ones that I knew I could cover without much trouble. If anything had to be changed, I had even easier ones to fall back on (which, as of writing, I may have to do, albeit begrudgingly).

That brings us to today’s write-up. I consider it a part of that contingency plan. It’s simple, straightforward, and hails from the Conspiracy Iceberg. It’s also one that I don’t believe was ever considered for last year. If it was, I have no way to find out since I deleted the finalized schedules for both Decemysterys. How fitting that the plans I had for a blog dedicated to mysteries are becoming mysteries themselves.

Oh well, I digress. It’s time for the fourth Conspiracy Iceberg entry to be examined, and it’s one of the best-named out there. It’s known as The Day the Earth Screamed, and it’s appropriately named because all I want to do right now is scream. God, please, let 2025 be the year I can spend this month in peace.

No One Can Hear You Scream

And that’s because I’m doing it internally.

I briefly summarized this conspiracy in my second Megalist back in 2021; it’s placed at #234 if you want to see the summary I gave. Although it’s included in that Megalist, its exact origins are a total mystery to me, as are countless other Conspiracy Iceberg entries.

That said, there’s one place that I can always trust to fill me in on the details: 4chan! Well, kind of. I went to 4plebs, a 4chan archiving site; it’s my go-to site for when I’m writing about anything related to the Internet’s equivalent of a Wild West saloon.

Anyway, it’s on 4plebs that I looked up “The Day the Earth Screamed” to begin my search for what in the world this conspiracy was about. Honestly, I didn’t expect much. With the name it sports, I consider it one of the weirdest entries on the Conspiracy Iceberg. So, I expected to rake in about a dozen results at the most.

Boy, I was wrong—very wrong. And very shocked.

Upon receiving my results, I was met with 155 results, spanning seven pages, for the phrase. It was somewhere between :0 and :O, for the record.

Oh well, whatever. Thanks for the early Christmas gift, 4plebs.

Okay, admittedly, I included every board 4plebs archive in this search. I did this since entries from the Conspiracy Iceberg have been discussed on boards out of /x/, which is 4chan’s paranormal board. They’ve also been talked about on /pol/, the site’s infamous politically incorrect board.

Because of this, many results weren’t about the conspiracy but other topics. However, when I first saw the number, I briefly wondered if this was going to be akin to The TED Talk “There is Nothing” Incident” from last year. Thankfully, it wasn’t.

Now, let’s get into the conspiracy. The earliest mention of the conspiracy can be found on page five. The post, which was made on September 20, 2018, is part of a thread about a conspiracy iceberg. It was from someone who, to my bewilderment, opted to use a display name. In this case, they referred to themselves as “Human Of The Light UNCHAOS.” This isn’t important, but it surprised me since it’s not terribly often that I see people on 4chan use a screen name.

Anyway, our “UNCHAOS” friend wasn’t fortunate enough to receive a response. To make matters even more heartbreaking, two other users made posts that same year on October 4 and October 9, respectively. While they went on to get responses, neither was provided information about the story in question. I haven’t been this sad since I accidentally dropped my shampoo bottle.

On a more serious note, this may seem like a pointless detail, but I assure you it’s not. I want you to remember these three posts in mind when we get to the theories—trust me.

Okay, let’s get back on track. Over a year later, a fellow going by “Kurt” posted in a thread on February 6, 2020, asking about a handful of conspiracies. Once more, this was a thread related to a conspiracy iceberg. Additionally, a couple of the theories Kurt inquired about are on my to-do list. I won’t reveal which ones, but feel free to guess!

Half an hour later, another user responded with answers to Kurt’s questions. The one related to the so-called “Day the Earth Screamed” was that Earth—the planet and not the synonym for dirt—“is a living organism.” Thanks to us mean old humans drilling (presumably for oil and gas), we’ve made the planet “scream” in pain. As a result, it “now fights back with climate change.”

The 4channer proceeded to add that this theory originates from a short story by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. If his name sounds familiar, he created Sherlock Holmes.

The story in question is a short one known as When the World Screamed. It was published between February 25 and March 3 of 1928 in Liberty magazine. The story centers on a character named Professor George Edward Challenger, who thinks the Earth is a living creature. As such, he intends to drill down to the planet’s mantle.

It goes about as well as you can imagine.

If you want to read it, Gutenberg.net has it available for free. I believe there are also readings of it available on YouTube.

This idea is one of the most commonly put forward by 4channers, so I won’t point it out every time it pops up. That said, it’s not the only answer Kurt received. Another user replied and asked if Kurt had ever heard of something called “The Pigs Began to Speak.”

That’s another entry on the Conspiracy Iceberg, and it’s a whole other can of worms. From what I know, its origins can be traced to Farmgate Zoo by legendary author George Orwell (writer of Nineteen Eighty-Four and Animal Farm). Apparently, in the book, pigs begin to revolt and cry out, “Two legs bad! Four legs good!”

This story’s premise somehow found its way onto the Conspiracy Iceberg, where people theorized that all non-speaking beings on Earth would learn how to talk and ask why we’ve hurt them. Even grass would scream when we stepped on it.

I have no idea if I’ll ever cover it because it seems blatantly obvious that its origins are tied to Orwell’s book. If I ever began doing literature reviews, though, I might consider it. For now, let’s get back on track.

The next post I want to draw attention to was made on March 14, 2020. Here, we get another variation of the story: It was an art project. More specifically, it was an art project made by someone who “turned the seismic vibrations” recorded on 9/11 and made them “into a musical composition.”

This, apparently, did happen. The 4channer linked to an article by The Guardian from February 13, 2004, entitled “The Day the Earth Screamed.” I don’t know if that was the headline the article’s writer, Mark Oliver, decided on or if it’s what the “musical composition” was entitled.

According to the article, Mark Bain, who was 37 years old at the time, took the seismic vibrations from when the World Trade Center fell and turned it into a 74-minute-long musical piece. I swear, there’s an art project for everything. I guarantee there’s one out there where someone uses blades of grass as musical instruments.

While I’d love to go over a possible connection now, I don’t want to digress too much, especially when we’re going to have a ton of different variations to discuss. However, it is interesting that the headline sports the same name as the conspiracy. Anyway, let’s move on to the final version of the day the Earth went “AHH!!!”

On August 19, 2020, a 4channer explained that the supposed “Day the Earth Screamed” took place on January 22, 2007, at 6:00 p.m. (18:00 for my 24-hour time readers) UTC (Universal Time Coordinated). For me, someone who lives on the East Coast of the United States, that would be 1:00 p.m. That’s 13:00, so this incident occurred right when plenty of people were having lunch here in the United States!

Anyway, it was at this time that the “entire Earth released an infrasonic wail” that was “reminiscent of agonized sobbing.” This continued for seven minutes before suddenly stopping. Where this sound was originally picked up isn’t stated in any of the archived posts. Additionally, no explanation has ever been found for the sound, so it’s possible that it wasn’t even produced by the Earth (contrary to the conspiracy’s name).

Personally, I’m unfamiliar with audio engineering and sound frequencies. The extent of my understanding is related to whales and how sound is affected by water. This is because I wanted to be a marine biologist when I was a child; I’m still captivated by oceanic life. However, if you asked me to explain the specifics of sound, I’d draw a massive blank.

That said, I did look into what the heck an “infrasonic wail” is, and I was met with the Wikipedia page for “Infrasound.” A simplified version is that it’s sound that’s 20 hertz and lower. There’s more to it, but infrasound includes frequencies produced by earthquakes (among many other things). It’s also apparently been used by Mark Bain when he makes music. I’m not sure how that works, but like I said, I’m not an audio engineer.

Now that I’m done giving half-baked explanations about how sound works, there’s one final thing I want to make a note of. On December 31, 2020, a very minor variation of this theory was made when a 4channer claimed that the sound was made on an unspecified date. Trust me, this will be relevant later.

After this, I tried to seek out additional information; I know it may seem odd, given I said that the previous iteration of the conspiracy was the final one, but I tried nonetheless. And, to my surprise, I did. However, I want to save what I found for the theories section because I think it’s better suited for my own research.

As for the remaining 4chan posts, there were results from after 2020, but they either echo what I’ve already touched upon or have nothing to do with the titular conspiracy. It’s a shame, honestly, since I was thoroughly enjoying the rabbit hole that is this story (even if my hypomania’s becoming increasingly worse).

Anyway, I think it’s about time we round off this section. If I had to make any closing thoughts on it, I’d say that this is one of the most intriguing Conspiracy Iceberg entries out there. It’s highly reminiscent of an old-school science-fiction story in all the best ways. I totally did not just spoil what my take is right there.

Oh well, whatever. There are quite a few theories for us to dig into, and I’m not about to waste time yapping about my mental health or time constraints. So, come along; let’s show the Earth that we humans are superior at screaming by running into the next section while hitting octaves higher than Steven Tyler!

Theories

1. It’s real

This theory is self-explanatory. However, as we’ve seen in the previous section, there’s a lot of ambiguity regarding how this could be real. Because of that, I’m going to give each possible way this could be real its own section. Trust me, it’s a lot better if I do that. If I don’t, this is going to look like one of the theories from The Hawaiian Chupacabra.

1b. Earth is alive

The first and easily most fantastical is that the Earth is alive. There are three ways you can look at this since two 4channers provided inconsistent accounts. The first is that Earth screamed in pain and is now using climate change to punish us. The second relates to the supposed event that took place on January 22, 2007. The third is that both are true; the scream occurred on the given date, and the increased devastation brought about by climate change was what happened afterward.

This theory reminds me a great deal of how ancient civilizations viewed the Earth as a living being. As someone who’s half-Greek and has an interest in Greek mythology (thank you, my dear family and God of War), my mind immediately went to the legends of Gaia, the goddess of the Earth and all life. She’s also the mother of the Cyclops. Don’t ask how that works; Greek mythology’s weird.

In a sense, the foundation for this idea isn’t that absurd. Nowadays, some belief systems still view the Earth as being alive. However, my knowledge is limited; I couldn’t tell you how much they fall in line with what we’re discussing today. I believe most of them view the Earth as more spiritually alive than an actual flesh-and-blood organism. Should I be wrong, feel free to correct me.

Regardless, I’ll be refraining from this viewpoint until I get to my take. All I’ll say is that if this is your takeaway from this story, more power to you. I’m not going to browbeat and say that you’re wrong for thinking such a thing. That’s not what this blog is about; unless I can verifiably prove that something is a hoax or untrue, I won’t criticize you for thinking otherwise.

That said, the way that 4chan posts were worded made it sound like the Earth is physically living, much like you and me (unless you’re a ghost reading this over someone’s shoulder). So, it sounds like we’re dealing with a living, breathing planet. That sounds like a Lovecraftian nightmare if I’ve ever heard of one!

It also leaves me deeply uncertain of how to continue this with theory.

Let me get one thing out of the way. There’s a theory known as the Gaia hypothesis that I did my absolute best to understand. However, it’s one of the most confusing things I’ve ever tried to read through. Maybe I’m not in the right mindset; as I said earlier, my hypomania is getting increasingly worse.

From what I can gather, the Gaia hypothesis puts forward the idea that Earth and the life on it co-exist and have become so intertwined that it’s like the planet itself is alive. This has garnered a great deal of criticism, and the theory isn’t viewed seriously nowadays.

That’s about the closest to any theory that Earth is a physically living being—and it’s not even positing that Earth is literally living. It’s, yet again, more on a metaphorical level. If I’m wrong, Earth-themed tomatoes are 25 cents a pop. All proceeds will go toward environmental groups spearheaded by Captain Planet villains.

Does anyone remember that show? No? Just me? Darn.

Needless to say, this version of events doesn’t really have much going for it. I’m sure there may be a niche belief out there that thinks Earth is a living, breathing organism. However, I’m not only running short on time, I genuinely don’t know where to look to find information to support this theory. The only things I can think of that align with this idea are works related to cultural folklore (such as the World Turtle) and the Marvel character Ego the Living Planet.

I’m not wagering a single penny that our planet is like either of them. Personally, anyway.

That said, you may have noticed that I left something out: The supposed events of January 22, 2007. I did that on purpose because there’s nothing online about it—absolutely nothing. I tried looking it up on Google, Bing, and even carrier pigeon. However, I got nothing.

The only thing of merit that I could find is that the High-frequency Active Auroral Research Program (HAARP) was completed in 2007. Despite that, the facility was operational several years earlier, first being used in 1999.

If you’re unfamiliar with HAARP, there’s a famous theory that claims the United States uses it to manipulate weather, among a plethora of other things. The laundry list of things that people have pinned on it is fascinating.

As an aside, if you’re looking to read about conspiracies but don’t know where to start, HAARP would be an interesting one to begin with. Even if you think they’re all nonsense, the history surrounding the facility is worth a read.

Beyond that, there’s nothing else I can find. The only other thing I can think of is the Large Hadron Collider (or LHC, as it’s sometimes called), which was constructed between 1998 and 2008. Despite being first tested on September 10, 2008, I suppose you could hypothesize that there was a super-secret test in 2007 that led to the 7-minute-long wail.

The LHC is its own can of worms that deserves its own write-up. Some claim it’s being used to summon demons in our world, while others think it’s being used to bring interdimensional beings in. Some even theorize that the demons and interdimensional beings are one and the same. I think this sounds like the plot of a Doom game.

If there are any other notorious government facilities or particle colliders out there that I’m forgetting, I’m sure you could try to tie them to the supposed 7-minute-long cry from 2007. However, as it stands, I’d say that this is the weakest theory (or version of a theory) we’ve seen across the whole of Decemystery 2024. As harsh as that may be, there’s a staggering lack of information to back it up—and it’s the basis for this entire story!

And it’s that reason that makes the following theories all the more interesting to me. Unlike a lot of the more obscure Conspiracy Iceberg entries, the supposed “Day the Earth Screamed” is mostly rooted in the realm of the metaphorical—barring the next theory, which is an obligation to my past self. For the record, I disapprove of his actions.

Anyway, with all of that said and done, it’s time to take a drastic left-turn from theorizing that our beautiful planet is alive and instead put on our thinking caps. I know that was short, but so are nematodes. You don’t hear them complaining! Oh well, whatever; let’s get interdimensional now!

1c. Some interdimensional sound

Through Hell or high water, I can and will use the concept of interdimensional somethings or others every day this month!

This theory has the same flaws as the previous one—namely, the lack of documentation—though it differs in one aspect. The sound didn’t originate from Earth. Rather, it was a recording of another world in some way, shape, or form.

Given the idea behind the LHC being used to create doorways to other worlds, you could try to tie that to this theory. Maybe the recording was that of a world where misery reigns supreme. Heck, if you want, you can argue that it was even a recording of Hell (more on that later, though).

Personally, I do believe there have been clandestine experiments and tests done at secret bases to see if there are other dimensions. After all, one of our most basic qualities as humans is curiosity, and we’re all looking to satisfy it.

Now, some may ask why they’d be secretive; what’s the point in hiding it? I think that’s an easy answer to provide: Every nation on Earth isn’t all buddy-buddy. There will naturally be a lot of skepticism surrounding these experiments. If there was an attempt at obtaining audio from another dimension, I can imagine that many countries would be nosey about it and want to know if the country (or countries) doing it had ulterior motives.

Of course, this is purely speculation on my end. I’m merely providing food for thought since I believe it’s worth thinking over the possibilities of something like this. While the case may be fantastical, I approach all stories with the intention of treating them seriously. If I don’t, then I don’t think you’ll receive worthwhile content. It’ll just be me throwing shade for thousands of words before rounding off by saying, “Stay happy, stay healthy, and thank you for reading!”

Thinking about it, that’d come across as really jerkish.

Additionally, as I said, there’s nothing available online whatsoever. As much as I’d love to go full-blown conspiracy theorist and try to tie a story called “The Day the Earth Screamed” to various scientific experiments and machines, there’s nothing to work with. All we have are the 4chan posts, and trusting 4chan at face value is a reckless move.

Given that this was a minor offshoot of the previous theory, I think it’s safe to say that it, too, is flimsy. So, instead of loitering and making ourselves look suspicious, let’s move on to the next theory and begin to ponder if the so-called “Day the Earth Screamed” wasn’t meant to be taken literally—and we’ll start off in the world of art!

1d. An art project

Out of every theory, this is the one that leaves me the most puzzled. The idea that Mark Bain’s art project is what the Conspiracy Iceberg entry is referring to is just baffling.

I tried looking up the piece, and while there are a few articles and forum posts that can be found if you look up “Mark Bain 9/11 audio” on Bing, there’s nothing insidious. It’s just the guy’s experimental music. Whether you find it offensive, weird, intriguing, or pointless doesn’t matter. It’s just a thing that exists.

That ultimately makes this theory one of the most obnoxious to write. In fact, when I first began typing it, I straight-up didn’t want to do it. While the rest of the article has been easy (barring the points when my mood swung heavily), this one left me staring at my screen, going, “How am I supposed to theorize about something that is verifiably true?”

Well, it’s been a few days since I began this write-up, and I still have no clue.

I tried my best to think of a way this could work, and the best I could think of is that it somehow tied into one of the innumerable 9/11 conspiracies. If I had to guess, it would be that the seismic readings that Mark Bain used proved the attacks were acts of controlled demolition.

However, let me stress that I didn’t read this anywhere online. No forum post brought it up. That’s me speculating since I don’t want this theory to be as hollow as a vase.

If I’m wrong about my assumption (which I wouldn’t be shocked), the only thing I can guess is that Mark’s art project was added because the person who made the iceberg chart (whichever one it was first included on) because the chart’s creator because:

1. They learned about Mark’s project and believed it was something far more sinister.

2. They enjoyed Mark’s work and slipped it onto the chart in hopes that it’d draw more attention to his work.

3. They wanted to mess with people by including it. I’ll elaborate on this possibility in a later theory.

These three possibilities are all technically likely in some way, shape, or form—in my eyes, anyway. However, like nearly everything related to this write-up, there’s nothing available online.

I know that I keep bringing up the lack of information, but it’s especially troublesome here because we’re talking about a theory that has ties to the 9/11 attacks. They are, without a doubt, one of the most widely talked about and scrutinized events in not just American history but human history. People have examined every little detail to Hell and back.

There’s no way that Mark’s project wouldn’t be tied to a major 9/11 truth theory, no matter how absurd it may be—and, trust me, there are some wild 9/11 theories out there. Just take a look at the one about how it was an effects mishap during the filming of Sam Raimi’s first Spider-Man movie. I might do a write-up on that one day, but I’m also hesitant to dip my toes into the world of 9/11 theories due to how volatile they are. I digress, though; let’s focus on the present.

Aside from all of that, I won’t deny that the headline of The Guardian’s article on Mark’s project does make me raise an eyebrow. There’s no denying that having it be entitled “The Day the Earth Screamed” is an interesting coincidence.

At the same time, that’s all I can call it: A coincidence. There’s nothing that outright dictates otherwise. Why do I say that? Well, the article was written and posted in 2004. The earliest mention of the conspiracy came 14 years later. As far as I’m concerned, that gap is impossible to overlook. If they were tied together, they would’ve been associated far sooner.

Anyway, I think I’ve said more than enough here. Personally, I’m inclined to weigh this theory as very iffy. Could there be something there? Sure, of course. Compared to the previous two theories, this one’s got a lot going for it. However, it hinges on a newspaper headline being the reason for something that was added to an image format prevalent on the Internet 14 years later. That’s a massive leap in logic.

But, hey, weirder stuff has happened, right? We’ve seen time and again that people can take a few words in a headline or from a book and craft their own narrative. It’s but one of the many factors that make up this wild world of ours.

Heck, it doesn’t even need to be something like that. Personally, I’ve remembered some innocuous nonsense from my childhood that, for all intents and purposes, serves no purpose. So, maybe there was someone out there who wanted to include this because they thought it sounded ominous. Oh well, no matter; let’s move on to the final theory variation. Cue up BFG Division, dear reader!

1e. The sounds of Hell

This is one of two ideas that I thought of myself. I mentioned earlier that the sound could’ve been from Hell itself, and I figured it’d be worth bringing up as a micro theory of sorts.

While stories exist of people who claim they’ve gone to Hell during Near-Death Experiences (NDEs) and have provided some descriptions of it, there’s never been an audio recording of it. Needless to say, I doubt there are many who want to record, let alone listen to, the sounds of Hell.

Nevertheless, human curiosity is a wild thing, and it wouldn’t stop our best and brightest minds from trying to record the sounds of the eternally damned. Why would they do such a thing? Don’t ask such silly questions, dear reader. It’s not like this would be the most ridiculous idea that humanity has ever had. After all, we once considered nuking the Moon.

Well, if this theory were to be correct, I imagine that somehow, somewhere, a gateway, portal, rift, or some other synonym for “door” was made. After that, some scientists lowered a microphone to Hell to record sound, and upon hearing it, they also screamed. Therefore, “The Day the Earth Screamed” was closer to “The Day a Bunch of Poindexters Screamed.”

As you can tell, this isn’t the most serious theory. So, why’d I bring it up? Well, I thought it was an intriguing angle to look at the story. Given how every theory outside of the initial one points to the sound originating from anywhere but Earth, I figured I’d throw my two cents in with this and another idea. What? I can’t have fun? Come on, cut me a break. I’ve had a long year!

Bah, whatever. With that, the theory comes to an end. Suffice it to say, there are many ways you can interpret “The Day the Earth Scream.” However, by and large, they’re all on shaky ground in one way or another. And from here on out, that ground’s not going to get any less shaky because the next theory relies heavily on an age-old question that I hate asking: Why?

2. It was a tribute to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s short story

If the theory surrounding Mark Bain’s art project was the most confounding, this is the most frustrating. The idea here is that the so-called “Day the Earth Screamed” was a tribute to the earlier-mentioned Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s short story “When the World Screamed.”

That’s all well and good. I’ve made a plethora of references to countless in my writing; I love including jokes about things that I enjoy. However, when there’s a significant difference between my writing and an iceberg chart. Namely, I reference the thing by name.

As such, if I were the one behind this iceberg chart, I would’ve likely named the entry something like “When the World Screamed is Real.” That name is one that I made up on the spot, but it’d provide enough context clues so readers could discern that the Earth is a living being.

However, with the entry being presented as is, there’s no apparent connection between the two. Yes, the names are similar, but as you’re going to see in the next theory, there are other things that are similar—including a significantly more famous piece of media that bears a similar title.

I digress, though. Despite the names being similar, Doyle’s short story is something that a lot of 4channers brought up when giving other users an explanation about “The Day the Earth Screamed.” Of course, one of them said that the theory originates from it. However, I can find no evidence to support this claim.

For that reason, I’m going to assume that the person looked up the entry, got a result for Doyle’s story, and figured it was based on it. From there, other users ran with the explanation for one reason or another. Really, your guess is as good as mine when it comes to something like this. I’d surmise that it’s due to not wanting to create alternate narratives (more on this later).

Beyond that, there’s one other major issue with this theory: I have no idea if Doyle expressed any interest in the idea that the Earth was alive.

I’ll say upfront that I know extremely little about Doyle himself. I know he was close friends with Harry Houdini (a very famous magician) until they had a falling out due to fraudulent psychic mediums. However, beyond that and his literary works (namely Sherlock Holmes), I can’t say I’m well-versed in Doyle’s life.

Because of that, I have no idea if Doyle’s intention was to use his short story as a way to convey his belief that Earth was alive or if it was just a tale he wished to tell. If it was the latter, then I cannot fathom there is an iota of merit behind this theory.

While you can argue that Doyle didn’t want to ruin his reputation, I’d argue back that people in 1928 weren’t living in the most hygienic of times. As I’ve pointed out a few times, a century ago—and even further back than that—people liked to bathe once a week. Needless to say, I think their minds might’ve been short-circuiting due to their body odor.

Anyway, let’s move on. Is there anything that works in this theory’s favor? After all, I usually start with what works in its favor before picking it apart. I didn’t do that this time; I have a feeling some of you may be wondering why that’s the case.

Well, that’s because there isn’t anything. The 4chan posts are all there is. As far as I can tell, that’s all this has going for it. Like I’ve said, not only in this write-up but in other ones as well, trusting 4chan is reckless. If you’re a gambling man, then I have a house to sell you down in New Orleans called the Rising Sun. 

Ultimately, I believe that this theory is—yet again—on shaky ground. At the same time, I can, in some sense, see it as an ode to Doyle’s story, but I don’t understand why it would be done in a cryptic manner. If you like the story, why would you leave it intentionally vague? If I like something and I want others to know about it, I’d include its name.

But, hey, this was an iceberg chart. It’s possible that the person did want it to be a puzzle of sorts. I can’t speak on behalf of everyone. If I could, I’d have everyone demand EA remaster Burnout Revenge.

That said, I still think it’s unlikely this theory is the answer is the case. But if you subscribe to it, I can understand why. It’s a rational enough explanation at its core, and the idea behind the titular “Day the Earth Screamed” does bear some similarities to Doyle’s story (namely, the idea of retaliating after being drilled into). However, coincidences happen. Just take a look at 2013, when Olympus Has Fallen, and White House Down were released within a few months of each other. Both had remarkably similar premises but were in no way associated with each other.

Also, Olympus Has Fallen didn’t suck like White House Down.

Speaking of movies, I think it’s about time we move on to the next theory. It’s one that I came up with on my own by complete accident. I considered leaving it out, but I figured there’s no way I’m not discussing the very thing that originally made me fall in love with writing. So, come along; let’s go to the movies!

3. It was a tribute to a movie

To expand upon the previous paragraph, I initially fell in love with writing because I wanted to be a movie critic. As you can tell, that didn’t pan out. I now operate this blog and talk about conspiracies where our planet screams because we poke holes in it like it’s getting perpetual bloodwork. Now, isn’t that just dandy?

When I was looking up Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s short story early in this write-up, Google had a result for a movie I’d never heard of. It’s a British science-fiction and horror film called The Earth Dies Screaming, and it was released in 1964. It sounds like it received mixed reviews. I didn’t bother watching it because I was lazy; I wasn’t feeling up to spending 62 minutes of my life watching a movie.

Despite not recognizing the movie, I’m familiar with the director, Terrence Fisher, because he helmed the 1958 version of Dracula, which gave us Christopher Lee’s performance of the legendary vampire. How cool is that?

My nerdiness about cinema aside, the film sounds like a standard film that uses an alien invasion as a stand-in for the horrors of nuclear warfare and the aftermath of nukes themselves. At least, that’s what it sounds like; it’s possible Harry Spalding (who wrote the film under the pseudonym of Henry Cross) wanted to write something so he could get paid.

So, how does this movie relate to today’s write-up? Well, in this case, the two have similar names. I know how weak of an argument that is, but if I’m going to include the previous theory, I see no reason to exclude this one.

Additionally, just like the previous film and how literature buffs are prone to sharing their favorite stories and books when given the opportunity, I also know there are numerous cinephiles who love sharing obscure and niche films for the sake of it.

That said, I have no idea if this movie’s really “obscure.” The Wikipedia page has a section dedicated to the movie’s influence on popular culture, saying that it inspired a video game for the Atari 2600 along with two songs. So, it’s possible I’ve been living under a rock.

I’m very good at living under rocks. Trust me on that.

Anyway, “The Earth Dies Screaming” isn’t the only movie that could’ve influenced today’s topic. There’s also a chance the entry was a reference to the 1951 science-fiction film The Day the Earth Stood Still, which is widely regarded as one of the greatest science-fiction movies of all time. The 2008 remake with Keanu Reeves, on the other hand, leaves a lot to be desired. Trust me, I saw it in theaters and only remember the special effects being kind of neat.

My opinions on movies aside, there is something about “The Day the Earth Screamed” and “The Day the Earth Stood Still” that, once more, strikes me as oddly similar. In some ways, it makes me wonder if the iceberg chart’s creator merged the names of Doyle’s short story with Robert Wise’s adaptation of Harry Bates’ 1940 short story “Farewell to the Master.”

Of course, there’s no proof to back this up, and I dislike that because it means that every single theory lacks anything to back it up. All I can really do is say that, yes, some things sound similar, but there’s nothing definitive. Out of every Conspiracy Iceberg write-up, I think this is the only one where everything comes across as circumstantial.

Nevertheless, I wouldn’t be surprised if a die-hard science-fiction buff wanted to reference one of the greatest sci-fi movies of all time. But as I said in the previous theory, one has to wonder why they’d make it vague.

Then again, I’m using 4chan as a source, and I’m sure that many iceberg charts originate from there. The idea of keeping things vague for the sake of driving someone up a wall sounds in line with the site’s sense of humor. So, hey, it’s probable that my reaction is what they wanted. If that’s the case, then well played.

Anyway, with that, let’s move on to the next theory. It’s one that I’m sure you’ve noticed has been missing, and there’s a very obvious reason for that. Here’s a hint: I didn’t want to kneecap this theory and the previous one. That would’ve been mighty cruel of me.

4. It was made up for the Conspiracy Iceberg

This theory is among the most prevalent on not only the Conspiracy Iceberg but iceberg charts as a whole. If you watch any “Iceberg Explained” videos on YouTube, you’re bound to find countless videos where the narrator is left saying, “I couldn’t find anything about this theory online, so let’s move on to the next entry.”

Funnily enough, there have been times when I’ve been tempted to comment that I know the answer to an entry they knew nothing about. I didn’t, though, because I’m a devilish individual.

Anyway, earlier in the write-up, I mentioned that the post from December 31, 2020, would be relevant. This is why. It’s possible that it was a purposeful distortion on the user’s part. However, it’s also possible they genuinely forgot the previous date of January 22, 2007. If that were the case, then how do we know that this theory holds any merit?

Well, dear reader, that’s a very simple question to answer. If you remember, no explanations were given until 2020. The posts from 2018 lacked any answers—barring the user who posted on October 9. If you didn’t click on the link, this is what their post said:

I know these are probably meme conspiracies but

>day the earth screamed

>FORK 2006 signal

>Moon split in two 1178

For the record: “Meme conspiracies” are deliberately fake conspiracies added to conspiracy icebergs that are designed to mess with people. As I’ve said in the past, I’ve partaken in threads on /x/ that involved making up fake conspiracies and other 4channers making explanations for them. It was a ton of fun!

Anyway, let’s get back on track. One user responded by mentioning that the “Moon Split in Two 1178” was about a story for Islam wherein Muhammad is said to have split Earth’s moon in two. As another 4channer pointed out, though, this isn’t what the entry is referring to. It’s actually about some monks who claim they saw the Moon get split in two back in 1178 (centuries after Muhammad had died). I’ve had plans to cover this story for a long time now, but I’ve never gotten around to it. Maybe 2025 will be its year!

The other two stories were left without answers. Nobody in the thread spoke about the other two theories; I tried looking for what the “FORK 2006 signal” was and got a whopping two results on 4plebs. It’s definitely getting a write-up next year because it’ll be short and easy.

The lack of explanations given in 2018 is, to me, the perfect example of how the Conspiracy Iceberg leads other users to create their own interpretations. You can see that since the answers provided by 4channers changed as the write-up went along. The theories reflect that as well. 

This is the theory’s greatest strength. It’s clear there was a progressive evolution of the story—much like how urban legends get distorted and expanded upon as they’re passed down from person to person. The legend of Skinned Tom, which I mentioned earlier this month, is a good example. You can find variations that feature details exempt from others, effectively making them stories with endless possibilities.

That said, there’s one major issue with this theory, and that’s that I don’t know the exact iceberg it first appeared on. I don’t even think I could find it if I tried. There are hundreds of iceberg charts on the Internet, and I’m one person. The mere thought of scouring through them and trying to date them sounds like a task that would drive me to the brink of madness.

Of course, it’s possible that the thread the conspiracy was first mentioned in could be where it originated from. 2018 feels like a relatively safe bet, but—again—I have no proof. Without proof, my word holds as much weight as the words “Trust me, bro” do in a court hearing.

To round this theory off, I do think it’s the most plausible of them all. While I have a feeling that plenty of people are disappointed by that since the vast majority of Conspiracy Iceberg write-ups typically end on this note, I do have one surprise in store for when we get to my take. But before we do that, let’s discuss the meme theory. I put a lot of thought into it this time!

Okay, I lied. I spend about ten seconds thinking about it. But that’s about nine seconds longer than most of them!

5. It’s the sound of me when Decemystery draws ever-closer

Despite the sound having been recorded in January of 2007, my subconscious was already dreading the ever-looming deadline 11 years out. It’s incredible the noise hasn’t been picked up since then!

My Take

You know, I was tempted to give this write-up a new tag of “The Whole Planet” for the heck of it. Alas, I felt that would be pointless, so I opted for “Unknown Location” in honor of the supposed events of January 22, 2007. I figured this was this was the best place to mention that.

Anyway, my take on this is a bit odd. For the most part, I think it’s yet another entry that was made up for the Conspiracy Iceberg. There’s nothing online about anything that was described by 4channers (including the aforementioned incident on January 22). That, to me, is the non-existent smoking gun that points to this being a load of nonsense.

However, there’s a small part of me that’s bothered by one thing: Mark Bain’s art project that used seismic readings from the 9/11 attacks and the fact the headline of The Guardian’s article on it was “The Day the Earth Screamed.” I’m a firm believer in coincidences (I see reason why they can’t exist; the law of probability dictates they can), and it’s perfectly logical that this is a case of one.

At the same time, there’s something in my head that’s telling me there’s a bit more to it. As I said earlier, we’re talking about the events of September 11, 2001. There are so many theories about what happened that I could write a small book about them. Everything from the official report to lasers being used to the earlier-mentioned pyrotechnics accident during the filming of Sam Raimi’s first Spider-Man movie.

Of course, I once again have to ask why I haven’t seen this art project mentioned in any theories. At least, I don’t think I have. I’ve watched plenty of 9/11 truth documentaries because I find the claims fascinating, and my entire childhood was reshaped by the events of that day. Also, I’d considered doing a write-up on the event but opted not to because I shifted away from heavily covered (and highly sensitive) topics.

Although I can’t recall Mark’s work being brought up in any of the videos I watched and listened to, I wouldn’t be shocked if I’d forgotten because of my poor memory. As such, if anyone out there can tell me if it was brought up in a paper or video about the controlled demolition theory, I’d be more than happy to add a footnote about how that changes my opinion (should I read or watch the cited piece[s] in my spare time).

Oh well, whatever. As it stands, I think this is another case of an entry being made up for the Conspiracy Iceberg. While Mark’s art project throws a wrench in my unwavering belief that assessment, I think it’s the safest and most logical stance.

Or, hey, maybe the Earth sobbed because way too many people were at the drive-thru of their local fast-food restaurant that day. That’s what happens when you watch Morgan Spurlock’s 2004 documentary Super Size Me without a big bag of McDonald’s next to you!

I digress, though. That’s my take; there’s nothing available online, and I’m not up for taking a leap of faith by trusting the word of 4chan. Not today, anyway. Maybe another time. Maybe sooner than any of us expect. Who knows?

Conclusion

 

While this may be yet another Conspiracy Iceberg story that I’ve dismissed, I have to admit that writing about them remains one of my favorite things to do. There’s something about them that’s a great deal of fun; scouring the archives of 4chan and speculating on what they could be referring to is a surprisingly enjoyable brain exercise.

Unfortunately for this one, it took far longer than I ever anticipated to write about, thanks to my mental health problems. I had no idea that I’d be blindsided by my bipolar during the home stretch of this year’s Decemystery, and my concerns about finishing it have made things all the more difficult.

It’s funny in a dark way; it all began with a story entitled “The Day the Earth Screamed.” I couldn’t have planned that if I tried!

Oh well, no matter. I’m a stubborn man who will do whatever it takes to finish this month, even if I have to cut more corners than I do when I race on a road course in a NASCAR game. I disregard your chicane violation and substitute it with my own rules!

Anyway, while the race officials wave the black flag for me, I ask you this, dear reader: What do you think the truth behind the so-called “Day the Earth Screamed” is—or was? Is our planet truly alive? Or was it a reference to a piece of media? Or do you agree with my judgment and believe it to be something made for the Conspiracy Iceberg? Leave a comment telling me, and, as always, stay happy, stay healthy, and thank you for reading!