The Sprinkler Rainbow Conspiracy: What the Hell?
Posted by mattusmaximus on October 16, 2009
Okay, I was shown the following Youtube video by a physics teaching colleague. I cannot do it justice by attempting to write a description, you just have to watch it for yourself. Just… wow…
I really hope this is a joke or a spoof, because if not, this is one of the most whacked out displays of scientific ignorance & conspiracy mongering that I’ve ever seen. My favorite line: “This cannot be natural.”
Because she doesn’t understand how rainbows form – they are essentially an optical illusion based upon the physics of sunlight refraction & reflection with water droplets – she makes an incredible argument from ignorance and implies there must be some kind of government conspiracy to… poison/mind-control us? In addition, note how she throws in the bit at the end about how “They” want to take away our constitutional rights and freedoms for extra added spooky effect.
This, of course, is an excellent display of how necessary it is for people to have a basic scientific education that teaches not only certain facts but also methods of logical & critical analysis. Because, though you and I may laugh at the silliness of this video, there are those out there who are ignorant, paranoid, and – well – crazy enough to take what this woman is saying at face value. And while we can laugh or giggle at the stupidity of this woman’s argument, what isn’t a laughing matter is that this exact same method of argumentation is employed time and time again by a variety of conspiracy theorists & pseudoscientists, whether they be Holocaust deniers, creationists, 9/11 Truthers, Birthers, New Age gurus, alt-med quacks, anti-vaccinationists, physics cranks, etc. And there are plenty of people who buy into that crapola.
And one more thing: they get the same vote as you and me during election time – that’s what I find scary!
The Skeptical Teacher 
humorousreview said
It’s all about Noah you know. He’s the one who left the dinosaurs out of the ark.
Jake K. said
The rogues over at The Skeptic’s Guide discussed this a while back (don’t remember the episode number, sorry). Steve found the original channel where it was uploaded and watched some of this lady’s other videos, and said (gotta paraphrase from memory here) that she’s clearly mentally unstable in some way, not just a run-of-the-mill scientific illiterate. Something about seeing messages from the CIA in the singles on her house, or something like that. While it’s good that a “normal” person isn’t THAT stupid, it’s also kinda sad that she clearly needs help that she isn’t getting.
anaglyph said
Prodominatly sausage meat instead of brain, would be my diagnosis.
BU2B said
I do believe those sirens in the background just might be coming for her!
Autonomous said
Look into Chem Trails dont let this nutty broad take away from the truth. Look up the biologist up in Mt. Shasta who has recorded amounts of aluminum oxide & other metals over time. Its not a new thing in a sense the military uses chaff for scrambling radar and what not. Dont let the idiots hide the real story.
Dmoney said
I seen this vid and it isobviously making fun of conspiracy theorists !! No need to make an article making fun of her for wanting to make us laugh ! 🙂
Jess said
Autonomous is correct. This may seem funny to many of those who watch this video, but there is truth to the fact that our water and air are being poisoned. Chemtrails are a reality, as if the fact that vaccines are very dangerous and you absolutely cannot believe everything the government tells you about 9/11. This is an example of mental instability and lack of knowledge or understanding, it is very harmful to lump this in with ‘conspiracy theories’ . I do not believe in conspiracy theories, I believe in conspiracy facts.
kate b said
So you ‘believe’ in facts? You don’t ‘believe’ facts, you know facts.
And if all the things you mentioned are fact, then where is your evidence? How can you prove they are factual? If you can’t prove it, or there’s no way of proving it, or you think it’s true because you read it on natural news or whale.to then it’s not a fact.
wap said
the youtube user is ,,,,, dbootsthediva ,
but i cant find her original vid 😦
The Sprinkler Rainbow Conspiracy « Uncle John's Bathroom Reader said
[…] The Skeptical Teacher says: […]
CTobias Clary said
(>_<)
After the third lap through this one (and getting my giggles back under control), I have to concur w/ Jake K. — this woman is obviously unstable.
stitch jones said
i effin love this woman … i hope she exposes all of the rainbows and the little leprechaun that are causing global warming