On Nov. 28, 1953, Dr. Frank Olson died on impact after falling 13 floors from his room in the Statler Hotel in New York City. After a police investigation, it was determined that Olson either jumped or fell to his death — a tragedy that was not entirely uncommon in New York City. When Olson’s family was informed of his unexpected death, they were discouraged from viewing the body as it had allegedly suffered significant facial disfiguration. The case was closed, then, until 22 years later in 1975 when a news story was published concerning further information related to Olson’s death. 

Olson was a U.S. Army scientist who specialized in work with biological toxins, germs and aerobiology, using his skills to work in biological warfare laboratories to produce technology that sprays chemicals onto enemy combatants. He began working in a special operations division during the Cold War, shortly promoted to the chief of the division, and was given the task of collecting any relevant information on microbiology that could be used in warfare and coordinating with the CIA to share the information. 

He continued to specialize in aerobiology, inventing and manufacturing weapons disguised as every-day items, such as lipsticks and shaving creams containing deadly chemicals that killed within instants. He later stepped down from his position as chief and began working directly in the CIA research facilities, where he met Sidney Gottlieb and Robert Lashbrook, two of the most prominent figures in the secret CIA project involving extreme interrogations and non-consensual LSD experiments. 

The nature of Olson’s death is complicated and foundationally involves a secret organization funded by the CIA that was initiated after the end of the Second World War. This organization, known as MKUltra, came about due to the CIA’s paranoia concerning the Soviet Union and their alleged “mind control” and “brainwashing” warfare. The rumors of such warfare began as American Prisoners of War returned from Europe having been allegedly converted to communism due to brainwashing techniques. 

Sidney Gottlieb, the CIA chemist at the head of MKUltra, was inspired by his fear of this new weapon and began tormenting and dehumanizing forms of experimentation on both consenting and non-consenting people with the goal of analyzing the effects of LSD on the human mind. Gottlieb was obsessed with discovering methods of destroying the existing mind of a person, then replacing it with a new mind and personality under his own control. These methods of behavior modification included sensory isolation, electroshock, a variety of drugs and chemicals and much more. Gottlieb performed these experiments on American soldiers, prisoners, European detainees and even the mentally-impaired youth.

Olson began working with Gottlieb after stepping down from his position as the chief of the special operations division in the U.S. Army. He worked at a CIA research station, where the top-secret organization of MKUltra would be run by him, Gottlieb and his deputy, Robert Lashbrook.  Olson witnessed extensive animal and human suffering during his time working in the CIA research station, something that apparently affected him to a greater degree than the MKUltra CIA agents had expected. Gottlieb performed brutal interrogations exercising methods of hypnosis, torture and mass-dosage of LSD and other toxins. 

On Nov. 18, 1953, 10 days before his death, Olson was invited to a retreat of CIA agents and scientists exclusive to the MKUltra project. Shortly into the trip, Gottlieb drugged each of their drinks with a dose of LSD. This experience reportedly altered Olson’s behavior since, afterward, he started showing signs of doubts concerning his line of work. Olson began expressing desire to quit the MKUltra project, undoubtedly as a reaction to the horrific scenes of torture and to the unexpected hallucinations and significant alteration to his mind. This reaction to his experience of LSD, if the conspiracy is true that he was secretly murdered by the CIA, was the turning point in Olson’s life, which lasted only another week. 

His expressions of concern alarmed Gottlieb and other MKUltra agents as the project was top-secret and destined to fail if any information were to be leaked from the few members that had any knowledge of the organization. Olson spent much time working around research centers and knew more about the inner workings of MKUltra than most others. His desire to leave the project, or expose the secrets of the organization, could only be devastating, and Gottlieb viewed the failure of his project as the inevitable downfall of the United States to communism. 

Over the course of the few days before Olson’s death, he was referred by Gottlieb to an MKUltra-affiliated physician, Harold Abramson. Abramson was a loyal agent that could be trusted by Gottlieb to delve into Olson’s mind and determine to what degree he was a threat to the project. Abramson, in his meeting with Olson, convinced him to voluntarily submit himself to a sanatorium until he was better oriented. Olson agreed, and later that day, he got a room in the Statler Hotel on the 13^th floor with Lashbrook, where he would spend his final night. 

Olson’s death was temporarily covered up to prevent exposure of the MKUltra as a malicious, highly illegal project. However, Frank Olson’s story and suicide was published by the Washington Post nearly 22 years later. The article sparked controversy concerning the actions of the CIA and Gottlieb, who admitted to dosing Olson with LSD in the days before his death, which clearly caused his resulting disorientation and panicked state. 

However, it was noted that Olson was not feeling depressed or seemingly suicidal up until his death but rather frantic and doubtful of his line of work. It was clear that Olson was afraid, whether it was his unstable state of mind due to his drug experience, or from the very real potential actions of the CIA against him. Gottlieb and the CIA had great motive to remove Olson from the picture as someone who would likely destroy the past 10 years of research and experimentation toward the twisted end of succeeding the Soviet Union in “brain warfare.” 

Perhaps the best evidence of the conspiracy theory, however, is the re-examination of Olson’s body by his son, who suspected more than a drug-inspired tragic suicide. The body of Olson did not reveal severe facial disfigurement but rather showed a suspicious wound above his left eye, despite landing on his back from his fall, or push, from the window. It is more likely that Olson has been struck in the face by a person or object and then thrown to his death outside the window. The apparent suicide was the perfect cover-up, something that the CIA has mastered to protect its malicious inside-operations. 

Frank Olson’s death was not investigated further after his re-examination, however, as his family was paid off by the CIA with a fund of $750,000. They could not sue the CIA and force them to declassify the information on Olson, and the case was once again closed. However, the conspiracy theory remains strong, including murder concerning biological warfare and a man likely to reveal information that would interfere with the CIA’s private agenda.

Note: This article accounts for only one theory about the event discussed and should not be taken as fact. The Hilltop Monitor encourages our readers to undertake independent research into the event discussed in this article to come to their own conclusions.

Some of you may be fortunate enough to be blissfully unaware of this natural – or potentially fabricated – phenomenon, but I’m here to enlighten you on the enthralling tale of the Rat King. Dating as far back as the 1500s and resurfacing in recent pop culture, rumors of this mysterious Franken-like creature bound together by nature – or perhaps human hands – have puzzled numerous audiences. Whether fact or fiction, it has certainly captured our attention with its gruesome appearance and chilling backstory.

A Rat King is a mess of entangled rats warped and knotted together, essentially creating one mega rat. Rat Kings are usually found with tails tied and tangled up, forming a rouet de rats or a “wheel of rats.” A large number of them happen to be found in the winter, suggesting this may occur as a result of a group of rats tying their tails together in an attempt to huddle for warmth and then becoming matted or frozen together. There have also been reports of potential sap, blood or feces adhering the rats to one another, creating the super rat. Many others believe this spectacle is born out of human intervention or cult activity. Whichever the case, this conspiracy has a lot of history.

According to a scientific study conducted in Estonia, there have been at least 58 reliable Rat King sightings recorded over the past five centuries. In 1973 biologist Maarten ‘t Hart tracked down nearly all of them. The first of these being in 1576 when Johannes Sambucus – a Hungarian historian – released the fourth edition of his Emblemata. This 16th century picture book contained a description of seven rats with knotted tails discovered by servants in Antwerp, Belgium. From that point on the story grew and evolved with more instances of the Rat King arising, particularly in Germany.

A popular mythology spread around Germany told of a rat leader demanding to be sat atop a throne of lower peasant rats. Naturalish, a popular podcast that deep dives into conspiracies like this. 

 “A rat king is a tangled, mangled nest of lesser rodents becoming a living dominion of nastiness, representing the twisted and evil nature of the one king sitting high atop his suffering legacy,” said Alex Duckles, host of Naturalish. “The story initially spread across Europe in the late 1500’s during an era of reformation in Germany after the rise of Lutheranism and a Peasants’ Rebellion in 1524.” 

 Lower class Europeans fed up with the ruling few took to the idea of the Rat King, as it resonated with their views on the exploitation of the common people. This is reasonable for a popular story, but it doesn’t explain the repeated findings of real – and occasionally live – Rat Kings throughout history.

You can find these monstrosities in several museums around the globe. One housed in the Otago Museum in Dunedin, New Zealand is said to have been beaten to death after falling from the rafters of a shipping office. It sits in a vat of preservatives with its twisted tails suspended for all to see. The Guinness World Record of the largest ever recorded Rat King is available in Altenburg, Germany. The whopping heap of 32 total individual rats was found in 1828 in a miller’s chimney in Buchheim, Germany. There are many other Rat Kings that have been lost in time, from museum fires to burglaries.

The most burning question is whether these Rat Kings are truly forming naturally or just born out of some twisted joke. This is honestly inconclusive. There have been several lab attempts to create a fully formed Rat King from start to finish, but none have been successful. Thus it is impossible to definitively say this morbid miracle could occur naturally. The conditions that are thought to form the Rat King are tricky to replicate, and Rat Kings are rarely found alive. Recently a video did circulate of a bundle of live squirrels bound together by their tails eerily similar to the Rat King, but there was no evidence that this occurrence wasn’t set up before clicking record. So if they are man-made, why?

One argument has to do with the potential monetary value of such an extreme oddity. During the Middle Ages it was popular for some merchants to glue bat wings onto lizards and pass them off as dragons. Others sewed the tops of monkeys onto the tails of fish and called them “Feejee Mermaids.” The Rat King could potentially be a mythical invention like these, made to entice gullible customers. Some also believe the Rat King is a cult symbol, created to give threat or warning, as rats have never been a particularly favorable animal, and a mangled swarm of them screams imminent danger. However, there have been no solid reports of anyone being caught winding rat tails together, so like most of the Rat King conspiracy, it’s a mystery.

One thing is for certain, while there may never be an answer to the Rat King myth, it will continue to thrive in a society obsessed with the paranormal and supernatural, forever haunting the nightmares of the unlucky souls who happen upon its gruesome images. Long live the Rat King.

The R.M.S. Titanic is a well-known ship due to the tragedy surrounding the situation and, of course, because of young Leonardo DiCaprio. But the ship is also known as a vessel for several conspiracy theories in modern popular culture.

The Titanic sank April 14-15, 1912 after hitting an iceberg – a startling revelation, as the public had heard since its creation that it was “unsinkable.” A total of 1,517 passengers and crew members died in the event, meaning that only 42 percent of total people on board survived. This great loss caused a huge change in people’s attitudes regarding lifeboats and preventative measures for sea-travel, as the Titanic only had 20 lifeboats on board – just enough to save half of the passengers. But this great loss also left many with questions about what actually happened.

One of the most well-known conspiracies surrounding the R.M.S. Titanic is that it never actually sank. This is a favorite when it comes to conspiracy theories: the moon landing never happened, 9/11 was a hoax, etc. However this one differs, as people believe that a ship sank, it’s just a question of which one.

Believers testify that the White Star Line, the institution responsible for the Titanic, switched the ship with their other ship, the R.M.S. Olympic. It is said that the Olympic was damaged on a voyage in 1911, and therefore, White Star Line came to a difficult situation, as they allegedly thought that the ship was too damaged to be recovered or to be profited off of. Therefore, the conspiracy is that the company switched the two ships, passing off the Olympic as the Titanic, a seemingly harmless switch at the time, which eventually proved to be deadly.

Proof for this varies from claims that the Titanic could then be deliberately sunk for an insurance payout in order to avoid threats to the company’s financial standing the damage of the Olympic caused, to the idea that not much needed to be done and that the two ships were remarkably similar.

The Titanic cost $7.5 million and was only insured for $5 million, meaning that it was under-insured. Furthermore the White Star Line actually insured their own ships.

“Were there a conspiracy, one would expect that the insurance policy would have been changed to cover the entire value of the ship,” stated historian Mark Chirnside. “As it was, White Star could only expect to recoup two-thirds of the ship’s value.”

With regards to the ships being easy to switch, even changing the names would have been difficult – if not impossible with the time frame. The names were not simply painted on but actually engraved into the plates – a half inch deep. Changing this would have required a total switch of the plates, not to mention the other physical aspects that would have needed to be altered. These claims are based on their similarity when seen at a macro scale, but several things do not add up with this conspiracy theory when looked at more closely.

They also differed in ways that passengers would have been able to note. The Titanic had a large dining room and cafe that was specifically unique to the ship. The ship was actually changed based on feedback from the Olympic and was made to be a better, more luxurious version. Steel plates were also added on to the Olympic’s engine bedplates. In 1911 when the Titanic was under inspection, no such plates were found or reported.

This “switch” theory first came into the spotlight in 1996 when Robert Gardiner and Dan Van Der Vat published “The Riddle of the Titanic.” It quickly became a bestseller in Japan, Germany, Italy and England. With the introduction of the internet into modern culture, the theory has spread and created further discourse. Yet Gardiner himself, while still believing certain aspects of his theory, admits that a full switch was not possible.

Gardiner created an epilogue, “Grave Doubts,” where he recants previous statements and goes into detail about how the ship at the bottom of the Atlantic must be the Titanic. In this testimonial, Gardiner then gives an explanation for why society creates these other realities to believe so strongly in.

“A conspiracy theory arises after a disaster because many people find it impossible to believe such a tragedy could just happen. Indeed for some a conspiracy theory is a psychological necessity, to help them come to terms with a shocking event,” Gardiner wrote.

It’s a difficult thing to believe that so many lives could be lost in such a quick event, especially one where few had any control. With conspiracies such as the “switch” theory, people find solace in knowing that it was the fault of something or someone – not just a “freak accident.”

While questions may arise about the sinking of the R.M.S. Titanic and what exactly led up to her fateful demise it is a sure thing that it was a tragedy that has been assured to never happen again. We may not be able to determine when a ship hits an iceberg, but we can make sure that safety measures are put into place, and Titanic showed the world the importance of that – whether or not you believe that it was the Titanic that sank.

With just a cursory look at the Pryor Learning Commons (PLC), one can see the writing on the wall. This school is composed of iconic individuals. You can scarcely walk through the quad, eat in the caf, attend class or study in the PLC without encountering a unique member of Jewell royalty.

The fact that there was a Student Senate debate centering on Chicken Tender Thursdays? Iconic. Ian McBride never wearing shoes? Iconic. Jewell’s birthday signs being stolen? Iconic. Swimmers wearing speedos to distract basketball opponents during free throws? Iconic.

The designated areas of the PLC? Iconic. Jewell-specific memes? Iconic. People Juuling at Jewell? Iconic. There being a cemetary at the center of campus? Iconic. There being a campus-wide text about an aggressive male deer on campus? Iconic. People calling Jewell the Harvard of the Midwest? Iconic.

LCA hosting Watermelon Bust? Iconic. Fiji trucking in sand for Fiji Islander without approval? Iconic. Oxbridge even existing? Iconic. Every student getting a very expensive iPad? Iconic. Hilltop Monitor quizzes becoming a school-wide sensation? Iconic.

The music playing in the PLC and the Union? Iconic. Being THE Critical Thinking College? Iconic. All of the same people being involved in every organization? Iconic.

Now how does one conclude that this is systematic process, rather than a simple fluke? There are simply too many icons in one condensed location for there to be any other answer.

The Monitor has not asked admissions for a comment.