It all started with what appears to be a harmless vine of two young men playing a little basketball:
Except watch it again, and keep an eye on the basketball:
Naturally, this affront to the laws of physics has led to a lot of difficult questions. Chief among them... where does the ball go?
Tumblr's best and brightest minds have been grappling with that question, but have come up empty-handed.
Conspiracy theories are beginning to spring up all over the Internet as the world's attention turns to this troubling mystery.
The shot-blocker himself – Vine user Gucci Messiah – offers a clue, and a challenge:
"Alright, if you can locate the basketball that I hit into heaven, I will award you with a million dollars. Hit me up."
Countless hours studying the video and tracking the ball's movement in After Effects has led me to a theory that involves the character I'm calling "The Yellow Man":
Is the mysterious Yellow Man deliberately obscuring the egress of the ball from the frame as this highly scientific Vine appears to demonstrate? Many remain unconvinced.