Scientists witness huge cosmic crash, find origins of gold

This illustration provided by the Carnegie Institution for Science depicts the collision of two neutron stars detected on Aug. 17, 2017. The explosion threw matter, light, radiation and gravitational waves into space. The discovery was reported on Monday, Oct. 16, 2017. (Robin Dienel/Carnegie Institution for Science via AP)

WASHINGTON (AP) — It was a faint signal, but it told of one of the most violent acts in the universe, and it would soon reveal secrets of the cosmos, including how gold was created.

Astronomers around the world reacted to the signal quickly, focusing telescopes located on every continent and even in orbit to a distant spot in the sky.

What they witnessed in mid-August and revealed Monday was the long-ago collision of two neutron stars — a phenomenon California Institute of Technology's David H. Reitze called "the most spectacular fireworks in the universe."

"When these things collide, all hell breaks loose," he said.

David Reitze of the California Institute of Technology and the executive director of the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory, or LIGO, speaks at the National Press Club in Washington, Monday, Oct. 16, 2017, during an announcement on one of the most violent events in the cosmos that was witnessed completely for the first time in August and tells scientists where gold and other heavy elements come from. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

Measurements of the light and other energy emanating from the crash have helped scientists explain how planet-killing gamma ray bursts are born, how fast the universe is expanding, and where heavy elements like platinum and gold come from.

"This is getting everything you wish for," said Syracuse University physics professor Duncan Brown, one of more than 4,000 scientists involved in the blitz of science that the crash kicked off. "This is our fantasy observation."

It started in a galaxy called NGC 4993, seen from Earth in the Hydra constellation. Two neutron stars, collapsed cores of stars so dense that a teaspoon of their matter would weigh 1 billion tons, danced ever faster and closer together until they collided, said Carnegie Institution astronomer Maria Drout.

The crash, called a kilonova, generated a fierce burst of gamma rays and a gravitational wave, a faint ripple in the fabric of space and time, first theorized by Albert Einstein.

"This is like a cosmic atom smasher at a scale far beyond humans would be capable of building," said Andy Howell, a staff scientist at the Las Cumbres Observatory. "We finally now know what happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object and it's a kilonova."

The crash happened 130 million years ago, while dinosaurs still roamed on Earth, but the signal didn't arrive on Earth until Aug. 17 after traveling 130 million light-years. A light-year is 5.88 trillion miles.

David Reitze of the California Institute of Technology and the executive director of the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory, or LIGO, speaks at the National Press Club in Washington, Monday, Oct. 16, 2017, during an announcement on one of the most violent events in the cosmos that was witnessed completely for the first time in August and tells scientists where gold and other heavy elements come from. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

Signals were picked up within 1.7 seconds of each other, by NASA's Fermi telescope, which detects gamma rays, and gravity wave detectors in Louisiana and Washington state that are a part of the LIGO Laboratory , whose founders won a Nobel Prize earlier this month. A worldwide alert went out to focus telescopes on what became the most well-observed astronomical event in history.

Before August, the only other gravity waves detected by LIGO were generated by colliding black holes. But black holes let no light escape, so astronomers could see nothing.

This time there was plenty to see, measure and analyze: matter, light, and other radiation. The Hubble Space Telescope even got a snapshot of the afterglow.

Finding where the crash happened wasn't easy. Eventually scientists narrowed the location down to 100 galaxies, began a closer search of those, and found it in the ninth galaxy they looked at.

Vicky Kalogera, a gravitational-wave astrophysicist at Northwestern University who contributed to the historic detections of gravitational waves, speaks at the National Press Club in Washington, Monday, Oct. 16, 2017, during an announcement on one of the most violent events in the cosmos that was witnessed completely for the first time in August and tells scientists where gold and other heavy elements come from. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

It is like "the classic challenge of finding a needle in the haystack with the added challenge that the needle is fading away and the haystack is moving," said Marcelle Soares-Santos, an astrophysicist at Brandeis University.

"The completeness of this picture from the beginning to the end is unprecedented," said Columbia University physics professor Szabolcs Marka. "There are many, many extraordinary discoveries within the discovery."

The colliding stars spewed bright blue, super-hot debris that was dense and unstable. Some of it coalesced into heavy elements, like gold, platinum and uranium. Scientists had suspected neutron star collisions had enough power to create heavier elements, but weren't certain until they witnessed it.

"We see the gold being formed," said Syracuse's Brown.

Calculations from a telescope measuring ultraviolet light showed that the combined mass of the heavy elements from this explosion is 1,300 times the mass of Earth. And all that stuff — including lighter elements — was thrown out in all different directions and is now speeding across the universe.

Perhaps one day the material will clump together into planets the way ours was formed, Reitze said — maybe ones with rich veins of precious metals.

"We already knew that iron came from a stellar explosion, the calcium in your bones came from stars and now we know the gold in your wedding ring came from merging neutron stars," said University of California Santa Cruz's Ryan Foley.

The crash also helped explain the origins of one of the most dangerous forces of the cosmos — short gamma ray bursts, focused beams of radiation that could erase life on any planet that happened to get in the way. These bursts shoot out in two different directions perpendicular to where the two neutron stars first crash, Reitze said.

Luckily for us, the beams of gamma rays were not focused on Earth and were generated too far away to be a threat, he said.

Marica Branchesi, an astronomer who has been part of the LIGO and Virgo collaborations, talks in Washington, Monday, Oct. 16, 2017, during the announcement about one of the most violent events in the cosmos that was witnessed completely for the first time in August and tells scientists where gold and other heavy elements come from. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

Scientists knew that the universe has been expanding since the Big Bang. By using LIGO to measure gravitational waves while watching this event unfold, researchers came up with a new estimate for how fast that is happening, the so-called Hubble Constant. Before this, scientists came up with two slightly different answers using different techniques. The rough figure that came out of this event is between the original two, Reitze said.

The first optical images showed a bright blue dot that was very hot, which was likely the start of the heavy element creation process amid the neutron star debris, Drout said. After a day or two that blue faded, becoming much fainter and redder. And after three weeks it was completely gone, she said.

This almost didn't happen. Eight days after the signal came through, the LIGO gravitational waves were shut down for a year's worth of planned upgrades. A month later the whole area where the crash happened would have been blocked from astronomers' prying eyes by the sun.

Julie McEnery, an astrophysicist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., speaks at the National Press Club in Washington, Monday, Oct. 16, 2017, during an announcement about one of the most violent events in the cosmos that was witnessed completely for the first time in August and tells scientists where gold and other heavy elements come from. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

Scientists involved with the search for gravitational waves said this was the event they had prepared for over more than 20 years.

The findings are "of spectacular importance," said Penn State physicist Abhay Ashtekar, who wasn't part of the research. "This is really brand new."

Almost all of the discoveries confirmed existing theories, but had not been proven — an encouraging result for theorists who have been trying to explain what is happening in the cosmos, said France Cordova, an astrophysicist who directs the National Science Foundation.

"We so far have been unable to prove Einstein wrong," said Georgia Tech physics professor Laura Cadonati. "But we're going to keep trying."

___

Follow Seth Borenstein on Twitter at @borenbears . His work can be found here .

10 Amazing Facts About the Money in Your Wallet

Money. It's a part of our daily lives and it seems like we can’t live without it. We use it to buy food, pay rent, and we save it — or even borrow it — to buy the newest clothing and technology trends.

Throughout history, money has become an indispensable part of society, trade, and commerce. And like history and society, it has come a long way with lots of stories to tell us how it got into our wallets today.

So here are the 10 Amazing Facts about the money in your wallet.

 

#10 — A Grain of Salt

Starting off with number ten, we travel back to the time of the Roman Empire. We all know that at the height of their civilization, the Romans have introduced many advances and innovations regarding economy and trade. They have also been known to use coins when trading.

However, despite this fact, physical currency is still less valuable than gold and gold is - surprisingly – less valuable than spices. Spices are hard to come by and require a lot to harvest and transport. One of the most expensive spices during that time is salt. Back in those days, salt was mined like precious stones and gems, only affordable to the wealthy. Salt was more than just a spice. It also preserves food! Imagine back when there were no refrigerators, you could make your food last longer with some salt. So, because of its high value, ancient Romans called it Salarium Argentum or “Golden Salt” and origin to the word “salary.”

#9 — Breaking Tables

Fast forward to the Renaissance, is our Number Nine spot. Bankruptcy. The mention of the word can send a chill down anyone’s spines. I mean, who would want to be in a position where you may end up with a terrible credit rating or are unable to manage your finances and be in a mountain of debt?

But bankruptcy did not always have the meaning we associate with it today. Originating in Florence during the Renaissance and at the height of power of the most influential family in the city, the Medici, money lenders would set up tables in the middle of busy markets and bazaars where people could borrow money at a set interest.

At the end of the day, or when the merchant has run out of money to lend, he will break his table in half to close shop. Florentines would call it “Banca Rotto,” meaning, broken table, hence the term “Bankrupt.”

#8 — North Carolina’s Golden Boy

We all remember the Tech Boom and the whole “.com” craze when businesses would greatly invest in almost anything and everything coming out of Silicon Valley. This inflated the American economy, which crashed when the fad faded.

However, the Tech Boom cannot compare to the height of the U.S. Gold Rush in the 1850's. Basically, back then a dozen eggs cost $90.00 of today's money, and the cheapest lodging would cost you at least $300,000!

What’s interesting about the gold rush was when it started in 1803, Conrad Reed, a 12-year old boy from North Carolina, found a 12-pound gold nugget in his father’s farm that supplied all the gold for the country’s mints until 1829. You could say that Conrad Reed was perhaps the richest 12-year old of that time, funding the nation for a whole 25 years!

#7 — Fabric of the Economy

Paper currency, believe it or not, originated in China in 910 AD. In one of his travels to Asia three centuries later, Marco Polo was amazed by the system and noticed that the Mongol Emperor, Kublai Khan, exercised a lot of his power and printed so much bank notes. Unfortunately, due to an excessive amount of paper notes in the region, inflation skyrocketed at an alarming speed, and the paper money system was quickly abolished in the 15th Century and would not return until centuries later.

In the United States, it was a different story. In the 18th Century, people were already using paper currencies with a well-placed system of controlling a number of notes circulating in the market. But that’s not the interesting fact. Back in those days, when paper money was ripped or damaged, people sewed it together with cotton threads. This led to changing today's cash into 75% cotton and 25% linen to endure daily wear and tear.

#6 — Credit Where Credit is Due

Credit Cards are essential. Who could argue against its convenience and, well, inconvenience? A study has shown that there are more credit cards in the United States than there are people but that was not always so when it was first introduced as a form of currency.

It was a blunder that became the inception of the plastic currency. A man by the name of Frank McNamara took a few of his friends out to dinner in 1949. When it was time to pay the check, McNamara discovered that he did not have any cash with him. Because of this embarrassment, he created the first credit card in the history of banking and finance: The Diner’s Club Card.

It was first made out of cardboard and listed 14 participating restaurants on its back during that time. Anyone who wanted to be a Diner’s Club Card member needs only to pay an annual $3.00 fee.

#5 — Vend-O-Cash

Speaking of cards, next to credit cards, another indispensable piece of currency is the ATM card. Over the years it has gone through a lot. First built and introduced in London in 1967 for Barclay’s Bank, the Automatic Teller Machine, or ATM was invented by a Scottish man named John Shepherd-Barron and was based on the concept of a dispenser for chocolate bars.

However, at that time, plastic ATC cards have not yet been introduced or invented, and these first machines only accepted checks laced with radioactive Carbon-14 as a means for it to be identified electronically.

The radioactive check worked pretty much like the magnetic strips in modern ATM cards. Once identified by the machine, the user only has to enter a four-digit PIN to complete the transaction. To subdue the fears of radioactive contamination in humans, Shepherd-Barron claimed that users “would have to eat 136,000 checks” for the radioactive element to give the body negative and harmful effects.

#4 — In God We Trust

The invention and introduction of money made theft much easier, especially between the 16th and 17th centuries before technology. There were no banking systems or Federal Laws in place for the safeguard of currencies, nor secure places to store them.

Local temples, then, became the logical places to store them because of their superior structures, high foot traffic, and would supposedly deter thieves with the fear of God. When money lending slowly became part of the cycle of currency, priests from a Babylonian Temple in 1750, branched out into issuing loans to locals.

#3 — Rich Aromas

Cash gets passed on from one hand to the next on a daily basis. This cycle of transferring does not stop as long as people have to purchase things or pay for services. And with transferring from one hand to another, you can be sure that the money you have may come with a special bonus.

In a recent study, researchers discovered that the most common residue found on US currency is cocaine than on any other currency. And tied for second place are staphylococcus bacteria and fecal matter. For a time, around 1916, people have the option to bring their cash to Washington DC to have it washed, ironed, and reissued.

On the same note, a farm in Delaware is known for mulching almost four tons of US currency into compost. These currencies are either worn out or have been taken out of circulation. In earlier decades, worn out bills are destroyed by piercing or burning to avoid being reissued.

#2 — The Color of Money

Modern US bank notes are printed on a $7 million Swiss Super Orlof Printing presses. One of the machine’s prized features is that it exerts no less than 60 tons of pressure to force and embed ink into the fibers of the note. US bank notes are also known all over the world for their finest, top quality engravings and, of course, its signature green color.

Every currency around the world has a distinct color, and each color has its own characteristics. For the US dollar, green was chosen because it is a color that resists fading, flaking, and discoloration more than any other hue.

This signature green tint also prevents the currency from being counterfeited since fakes can be easily detected due to appearing more “perfect” than the authentic bills.

#1 — The Richest Game Ever Played

Legal tender is printed and destroyed on a daily basis. You would think that at the rate banks produce money since its inception, the world would already be swimming in cash and people would not need to work a day in their lives. But that is not the case because the printing of money is controlled by some factors including gold reserves and inflation.

However, what is surprising about the money that was legally printed and circulated and have ended up in your wallet right now is that it is outnumbered by Monopoly Money. Yes, you heard that right. Parker Brothers, creators of the game Monopoly, revealed that they print about $30 billion worth of the fictitious currency each year. The US government — supposedly — only prints money to replace old or worn-out bills, about $974 million according to CNBC. The iconic board game, therefore, not only out prints the Federal Reserve, it is printing 30 times than what the US government is.

---

Sources:

http://discovermagazine.com/2009/apr/20-things-you-didnt-know-about-money

http://mentalfloss.com/article/62091/12-fun-facts-about-money

http://www.rd.com/culture/money-facts/

https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2014/07/26/crazy-money-facts/13107853/

8 Legendary Shipwrecks Still Waiting to Be Discovered

When the remains of the RMS Titanic were discovered in 1985, it marked a milestone in underwater archaeology that ended years of the famous hunt for the sunken ship.
However, in the history of seafaring and oceanic travels, there are hundreds if not thousands of ships that have been lost or claimed by the sometimes treacherous waters of the ocean. From the expeditions of Christopher Columbus and Ferdinand Magellan to the ships that sailed to defend freedom during World War II, these giant vessels may have been built to outlast long journeys or heavy bombardment. Yet, as many of them have been witness to, none of them have ever won a fight against crashing waves and, well, sinking.

While we do mark the Titanic as one of history’s greatest underwater finds since its sinking, in today’s list, we are counting down to other notable ships that have also gone the way of the Titanic. Whether by bad luck or by enemy fire, here are 8 Legendary Shipwrecks that are still waiting to be discovered!

#8 — The Flor De la Mar

Translated as “Flower of the Sea,” this 400-ton Portuguese carrack was built in 1502. It was one of the ships that were instrumental in aiding Portugal to capture the island of Malacca in the Battle of Diu. 

What makes the Flor De la Mar one of the most sought-after shipwrecks in history is its rumored cargo of precious gems and gold, rare artifacts, metals, and much more treasure than a normal ship could carry. The treasure was intended for Queen Dona Maria and King Manuel I of Portugal. 

The story was that after the successful invasion and capture of Malacca, the ship’s crew loaded the Flor with whatever precious treasure they can get their hands on and fit on the ship as gifts to the King and Queen. 

In 1511, on its way back to Lisbon from Malacca, a violent storm smashed into the Flor head on and shipwrecked it somewhere off the coast of Sumatra. The storm was said to have been so strong that the ship was split in two, spilling its priceless cargo into the sea before it completely sank. To this very day, the exact whereabouts of the Flor de la Mar remains a mystery. Even renowned American diver, Robert Marx, reportedly shelled out millions of dollars to find the Flor and its sunken treasure calling it, “The Richest Vessel ever Lost at Sea!”

#7 — Las Cinque Chagas

Sailing from Goa, India to Lisbon, Portugal with a cargo of 3.5 million Portuguese Cruzados and 22 chests filled with diamonds, rubies, and pearls (worth over $1 billion in today’s standards) the 1,200-ton Las Cinque Chagas sank into the sea while it was nearing its final stretch home.

Measuring about 150 feet long and 45 feet wide, the Chagas, along with its rich cargo, carried with it more than 1,000 people, 400 of whom were reported to be slaves. The long voyage of the ship was almost completed, according to accounts, when, near the coastlines of Portugal, the Chagas was intercepted and attacked by three British privateer ships: The Mayflower, The Royal Exchange, and The Sampson. These privateer ships were captained by pirate entrepreneurs who modified and old warships or merchant ships to suit their needs.

The skirmish that followed their meeting lasted two days of nonstop bombardment from both sides. Unfortunately for the Chagas, despite its monolithic size, the battle fell in favor of the privateers. The Chagas caught fire after trying to defend itself, and on July 13, 1594, it sank off the coast of Portugal’s Azores, never making it to safety.

Just like the Flor de la Mar, the Chagas is sought-after by divers and modern-day treasure hunters for its promising haul. However, expert salvage operators believe that the remains of the ship, as well as its treasure, could be in waters as deep as 2500 feet.

#6 — Shackleton’s Endurance

Ernest Shackleton was an Irish-born explorer who hoped to successfully make an overland crossing of Antarctica, making it his first Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition to the South Pole.

However, the expedition met an abrupt end when his ship, the Endurance, was trapped in the Weddell Sea because of heavily packed ice, preventing the ship from even making it to the continent.

Like a defiant behemoth, the Endurance managed to survive 10 whole months in the ice before heavy amounts of pressure pressing down on its hull finally cracked it and sent the ship tumbling down the ice and into the cold waters below.

Shackleton and his crew managed to survive and made a perilous, yet almost legendary, 800-mile voyage back to England in a lifeboat.

Today, the Endurance remains lost deep in icy waters. Experts believe that the ship is now sitting at a depth of 10,000 feet, but before anyone could get to it, there is still the matter of breaking through a 5-foot layer of solid ice. One salvage expert named David Mearns and the man who discovered the Titanic, Robert Ballard, have expressed their interest in diving for the remains of the Endurance. Unfortunately, though, a team is yet to be assembled as well as raising enough money to fund the expedition.

#5 — SS Baychimo

Like a page out of a ghost story, the fate of the SS Baychimo is of particular interest. Constructed in Sweden in 1914 and owned by a German shipping company until the beginning of the First World War, the SS Baychimo is a 1322 ton steam-powered sea vessel.

After it was purchased by The Hudson’s Bay Company, the Baychimo went full-steam ahead as it made voyages across the North Atlantic from Scotland. It also made frequent visits in and around the areas of Alaska and British Columbia.

Unfortunately, the gigantic Baychimo went on its last voyage in 1931. While on its way to Vancouver, it fought against the harsh waters of the North Pacific, battling the wind and giant waves that knocked it from side to side. Fearing for their lives, the crew of the Baychimo chose to abandon ship and evacuated on lifeboats.

According to stories and legends surrounding the ship, the Baychimo did not exactly sink, and there were no eyewitnesses to confirm that the North Pacific devoured it. Thus, over 38 years since its mysterious disappearance, alleged sightings of the ship were reported by various captains, fishers, and Inuits; many of whom say that the ship was plodding along fine even without a crew. Other stories also include sailors failing in their attempts to board the ship. Later on, the sightings stopped and, after more than 20 years without even a whisper of the Baychimo, people have concluded that the abandoned ship had finally sunk. The last known sighting was in 1969 and efforts are being revived to find the so-called ghost ship as of 2006.

#4 — USS Indianapolis

After successfully delivering components of the first atomic bomb to an American base in Tinian on July 30, 1945, the USS Indianapolis met its demise a few days later after being torn apart by torpedoes from a patrolling Japanese submarine called I-58.

The cruiser seemingly disappeared instantaneously after the attack. It plummeted in the waters of the Philippine Sea, taking with it about 300 of its crew.

The survivors, some 900 of them, were left helpless in the shark infested waters of the region and by the time they were spotted and rescued by a Navy plane days after the attack, only 317 of them were left after the rest died from exposure and attacks from prowling sharks.

It was called the worst American Naval Disaster of World War II, and despite efforts to salvage what’s left of the Indianapolis, the wreckage cannot yet be found by sonar or underwater vehicles. The problem is that the cruiser may be resting in a depth of over 12,000 underwater.

#3 — Bonhomme Richard

Donated by France to the Patriot Cause, the Bonhomme Richard was one of the few Continental Navy ships that had a distinguished and remarkable combat record in the late 18th Century.

Captained by John Paul Jones, the Bonhomme was able to capture 16 British vessels in a matter of weeks when it was first acquired.

However, it was on September 23rd when the Bonhomme and its captain bit off a little more than they could chew. Locked in a battle with the HMS Serapis and another ship from the Royal Navy, Jones brushed off calls to surrender and relentlessly bombarded the two Royal Navy ships with as much firepower as the Bonhomme can. Several hours later, Jones was able to capture the Serapis, but unfortunately for the Bonhomme, the ship sustained a considerable amount of damage in the skirmish and suffered several shots below its waterline. Unable to keep the now burning ship afloat, the captain and his crew had no choice but to abandon ship and let it sink in the merciless waters of the North Sea.

Centuries later, salvage expeditions were launched to find the wreckage of the Bonhomme. A few salvage teams have identified wrecks matching the Bonhomme’s description, but none of these discovered wrecks are yet to be confirmed as the fabled ship itself.

#2 — HMS Endeavour

It is a ship that is as famous as the captain who commanded it. The HMS Endeavour was the first European vessel in history to sail to the east coast of Australia and circumnavigate New Zealand successfully under the captainship of James Cook.

Sadly for the Endeavour, it was sold years later to a private buyer and was tragically renamed The Lord Sandwich. Later on, the British Royal Navy chartered the ship to ferry troops to New England at the height of the American Revolution. One night, while it was moored in Rhode Island’s Newport Harbor in 1778, it was intentionally sunk along with 13 other sea vessels as part of a blockade against an incoming French fleet.

Today, the Endeavour is one of the many ships that are part of ongoing research by the Rhode Island Marine Archaeology Project and the Australian National Maritime Museum. Taking several years to map and explore the silt-heavy waters of Newport, the combined team has discovered the remains of the sunken ships but, sadly, the Endeavour remains to be elusive even after its demise.

#1 — The Santa Maria

No ship is more legendary than those that sailed with Christopher Columbus into the New World. Sailing from Spain, Columbus took with him three ships: the Niña, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria. The three successfully arrived in the Americas, but during the journey back, only two were able to return to Spain.

The story goes that on Christmas Eve 1492, the sailor that was charged to steer the Santa Maria ordered an inexperienced cabin boy to do the job for him. Almost immediately, the cabin boy ran onto a coral reef in what is now modern-day Haiti and gave the ship some serious damage.

Fortunately for the crew, they were able to empty the ship of its cargo with the help of the natives. However, the ship sank into the sea the next day and, over the years, may have been buried deep in sediment.

In 2014, underwater explorer, Barry Clifford made the news when he claimed that he had found the wreckage of the Santa Maria with the help of Columbus’ journals. It may have cause to celebrate, but after a closer examination of the alleged wreckage by UNESCO, it was found out that the remains discovered belonged to a ship from the 17th or 18th centuries. To this very day, the precise location of the flagship Santa Maria remains lost to history.

---

Sources: 
http://www.history.com/news/history-lists/6-famous-shipwrecks-still-waiting-to-be-discovered
https://www.thevintagenews.com/2016/06/29/top-six-ships-searched-today/
http://www.thedailybeast.com/the-greatest-shipwrecks-still-out-there
http://asiasociety.org/blog/asia/lost-sea-four-famous-shipwrecks-waiting-be-discovered

5 Families that Control the World

TopInfoPost

In the name of progress, human civilization, during its period of Renaissance, began to orient its political and economic philosophies toward the establishment of financial and commercial entities. Since then, these entities have now morphed into the most powerful corporations on the face of the Earth.

But behind these large corporations and beyond the complicated framework of politics and business, there lies, according to some people, a hidden dominating force that controls the world’s political, economic and military systems. And at the helm of this unnoticeable hegemonic power, there are allegedly five influential families that constructed the current world as we know it according to their design and continues to dictate its ways without the notice of the common man.

And so, according to some historians, scholars and many conspiracy theorists, here are five of the most powerful families that control the world today.

ARTICLE CONTINUES AFTER SCRIPT

5. The Rothschild Family

ronaldwederfoort - WordPress.com

The story of the Rothschild Family is one of money, and its beginning can be traced back in the 18th century, to the rise of the financial genius that was Mayer Amschel Rothschild. From an apprentice at a small bank in Hamburg, Mayer Rothschild rose to become a prominent figure in the international transactions and manipulation of money. Eventually, he installed each of his five sons to be his agents in the five major financial centers of Europe, and their sons were also sent to other financial centers to head new offices.

Throughout the 19th century, the Rothschilds were responsible for stabilizing the currencies of major world governments, a role now fulfilled by the International Monetary Fund. While they provided important international service, they also profited heavily from it. At the height of their family’s business empire, the Rothschilds’ wealth would have been the largest single fortune in world history.

However, according to some conspiracy theorists, the Rothschilds, driven by their quest for money, have orchestrated the assassination of US Presidents and created every war since the 1800s to finance both sides and profit from such conflicts. Some even claim that the Rothschilds funded the operations of Nazi Germany and caused the Holocaust. There also those who claim that they were the true figure behind the creation of Israel.

Since then, it is believed that the Rothschild family has remained at the top of the world’s oligarchy system, and maintains a powerful and determining influence on the US Federal Reserve, and the British financial system.

4. The Rockefeller Family

In the 19th century, John Davidson Rockefeller effectively started to solidify his American empire after buying out several partners who owned Cleveland’s largest oil refinery in 1865. Later on, this became the foundation for the formation of the Standard Oil Company of Ohio in 1870, and John D. Rockefeller established a large monopoly on the industry the controlled around 90 percent of America’s pipelines and refineries. However, some historians say that labeling Standard Oil as a monopoly is an understatement, downplaying the covert and savage tactics utilized by John Rockefeller to maintain its control over American oil.

In 1911, the Rockefellers’ monopolistic oil company was broken up under anti-trust legislation, but the family continued to retain a large share of the business and continued to profit from it. According to Forbes, at the time of John D. Rockefeller’s death in 1937, his net worth amounted to as much as $340 billion in today’s money, around four times more than that of Bill Gates.

Since their financial prime in the early 20th century, the family’s wealth has dwindled down to an estimated combined net worth of $11 billion. Nevertheless, the Rockefeller family is the subject of various conspiracy theories. They allegedly committed such atrocious acts as funding the invention of the Zika virus, funding patentable pharmaceutical medical model to crush natural medicine and cures, orchestrating the assassination of John F. Kennedy, and for being the hidden force behind the destruction of the World Trade Center during the 9/11 attacks.

One prevailing conspiracy theory about the Rockefeller family is their association with the idea of a secret global government, called the New World Order. They have been accused of establishing institutions such as the Trilateral Commission and the Bilderberg Group among other organizations to advance their interests nationally and globally.

3. The Morgan Family

Econproph [US Economic History]

Toward the end of the 19th century, John Pierpont Morgan established the J.P. Morgan & Company, a financial company that has played a prominent role in the economic history of the United States and, therefore, the whole world as well.

Panic swept the nation back in 1893 partly because the flow of the country’s surplus gold to foreign nations put the U.S. economy in danger. Following his father’s footsteps in the baking industry, Morgan seized the opportunity to save the economy by restoring the confidence in the dollar and rescuing the gold standard.  To do this, Morgan led a syndicate of bankers, which included the Rothschild, to see U.S. bonds to buy back gold from foreign investors.  

According to some people, that gold and bond exchange allowed Morgan to control the U.S. gold supply, which in turn, gave him the flexibility to finance the creation of U.S. Steel and gain control of the emerging electric light industry by forming General Electric. Morgan accomplished these feats by employing unethical and cutthroat business practices, which involved the elimination of competition, slashing jobs and reducing wages, and neglecting workplace safety – a greedy process which became known as “morganization.”

There are also those who believe that America entered World War I, not for political and policy concerns, but for the profits of the banking and munitions industries. Apparently, U.S. banks, including Morgan’s, lent over 100 times as much money to allied countries than they had to their adversaries. To protect those loans and their interests, financiers like Morgan urged the Wilson administration to aid their allies by participating in the war.

At present, rumors suggest a far-too-comfortable relationship between what is now the leading global financial services firm JPMorgan Chase & Co. and the U.S. Federal Reserve. There is even a theory that a tunnel exists connecting the two gold vaults of the New York Fed and JPM, and allegations that the Morgan family is heavily involved with war profiteering.

#2 – The DuPont Family

The New Times Holler! - NEWS!

The Du Pont family is an American family descended from Pierre Samuel du Pont de Nemours, and has been one of the richest families in the country. Pierre Samuel du Pont de Nemours was a French economist who emigrated from France in 1800 to the United States with his sons, Victor Marie du Pont and Éleuthère Irénée du Pont.

Éleuthère Irénée du Pont initially established E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company, commonly referred to as DuPont, as a gunpowder manufacturer, which eventually became a chemical empire responsible for ubiquitous inventions such as nylon, Teflon, and Kevlar, and many other polymers.

DuPont became the largest supplier of gunpowder to the U.S. military in the early 1800s, and soon enough, it began manufacturing dynamite in incredible proportions. However, its monopoly on the industry was broken up under the Sherman Antitrust Act. But just like J.P. Morgan, the Du Pont family still managed to maintain dominance over the munitions industry, having supplied nearly 40 percent of all munitions used by Allied forces during the First World War.

DuPont also played a significant role in the development of the Manhattan Project and the production of the first atomic bomb during the Second World War, designing, building and operating the Hanford plutonium producing plant in Washington. DuPont also reportedly produced as much as 4.5 billion pounds of military explosives used over the course of that war. Then in 1950, DuPont agreed to build the Savannah River Plant in South Carolina in cooperation with the effort to create a hydrogen bomb.

Rumors still circulate about DuPont’s involvement in the prohibition of hemp and cannabis in 1937 to protect its breakthrough patent for nylon and its process of using wood pulp to make paper. Since hemp could efficiently replace both products, some argue that it would have severely limited DuPont’s massive profits if it wasn’t prohibited.

#1 – The Bush Family

LaRouchePAC

The Bush family is considered as among the newest family to join the world elite and began their legacy with Prescott Sheldon Bush, a US banker and senator who was accused of obscenely profiting from the Second World War, and for establishing businesses with large corporations that financed Adolf Hitler’s government.

Documents declassified in 2003 revealed that Yale University's Skull & Bones Society member Prescott Sheldon Bush – father of U.S. President George H.W. Bush and grandfather of President George W. Bush – could have been prosecuted for providing aid and comfort to the country’s enemy by engaging in nefarious business dealings prior, during, and after World War II.

As reported by The Guardian back in 2004, the National Archives documents “show that even after America had entered the war and when there was already significant information about the Nazis’ plans and policies, [Prescott Bush] worked for and profited from companies closely involved with the very German businesses that financed Hitler’s rise to power.”

Prescott’s descendants have not escaped scrutiny as well, having been accused of utilizing their power during their stint as the commander-in-chief of the United States to profit from the wars the country participated in. Conspiracy theorists even went so far as to claim that George W. Bush knew of the 9/11 World Trade Center attacks and used it to justify a preemptive attack on a nation that has not attacked the United States in the name of a much broader war against terrorism.

To many conspiracy theorists, these five powerful families are the puppet masters that hold the strings of the highest echelons of society. With their immense wealth, unlimited resources, and far-reaching influence, these families have been rumored to have occult satanic connections, a secret network in the gold trade, a mysterious and not-so-well-intentioned agenda, and a secret plan to establish a new world order.

Whether these accusations indeed have a grain of truth in them or not have yet to be either summarily proven or thoroughly debunked. Nevertheless, it cannot be denied that there is a clear socio-economic disparity that places a great divide between the citizens of the world, and an overall political and economic climate that favors the wants of the select few over the needs of the many.

View fullsize

---

Sources:

https://youtu.be/G3bn24qdZ7c
http://www.ancient-code.com/meet-5-families-control-world/
http://skeptoid.com/episodes/4311
http://thefreethoughtproject.com/illuminati-amateurs-facts-shows-families-rule-world/
http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Rockefeller_conspiracy_theories
http://www.activistpost.com/2016/05/the-illuminati-were-amateurs-the-facts-show-these-five-families-rule-the-world.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rationale_for_the_Iraq_War
https://www.antiwar.com/blog/2013/03/18/911-and-iraq-the-wars-greatest-lie/
http://digitalcommons.wku.edu/dlsc_fac_pub/18/