5. Insider traders got a heads up
Stock traders on Wall Street stay schemin’, but although some trades that went down in the days before 9/11 involved stock options betting against airlines of the hijacked flights, they were each investigated and found to have nothing to do with al-Qaeda or the attacks.
4. The attacks were controlled demolitions
Two of the most well-known theories involve how the Twin Towers and World Trade Center Building 7 came down due to explosives on the scene. “Jet fuel can’t melt steel beams!” they say. “It was an inside job!” they insist. “Google it!” Scientists have spent years explaining how the buildings actually fell using, you know, science, and reports that were updated after the initial findings.
3. The U.S. military stood down
Did former Vice President Dick Cheney order the military not to respond to the attacks or engage with the hijacked planes? Nope. In fact, although there was some confusion between the military and commercial air control, they were in constant communication, and Cheney himself ordered the airliners to be shot down if necessary.
2. Commercial planes weren’t used in the attacks
Some truthers believe that it was actually refueling tankers or guided missiles that hit the Twin Towers — not commercial planes. Some claimed amateur and surveillance footage were doctored with CGI; one guy wrote a whole-ass book claiming there were no planes involved in 9/11 at all. Popular Mechanics got photographic researchers to set this one straight.
1. Back to the Future predicted 9/11
Stop assigning so much meaning to a Michael J. Fox movie! If you must, find all of life’s secrets in Teen Wolf instead.