10 Things The Government Doesn't Want Us To Know

What isn't the government telling us? Probably more than we think. Here are a few things we're pretty sure they don't want us to know. And get caught up with Mermaids: The New Evidence, Sunday, May 26th at 10pm on Animal Planet.

1. That time travel is possible

Roberdan / Via Flickr: roberdan

There are many stories of people who successfully traveled back in time. But chances are the government passes it off as impossible because they don't want us to go back to a time where taxes were less, or something. So they go about winning our affection for the present day by giving us things like iPads and dog weddings.

2. What the Department Of Homeland Security is going to do with 1.6 billion rounds of ammunition

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In a hearing, the DHS essentially claimed that like everything else, weaponry is cheaper to buy in bulk, and that the materials from the purchase in question would be used to train law enforcement officials. But since estimates show 1.6 billion rounds would be enough for 24 Iraq wars, questions linger.

3. That zombies exist

Melissa Cowan / Via facebook.com

The government has dismissed all claims that zombies are real. But if they're not real, how come we know enough to write so many television shows about them?

4. That mermaids exist

Animal Planet

The government has dismissed all claims that mermaids are real. But why do mermaids have similar features to whales, dolphins, and other sea creatures?

5. What caused the financial crisis

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Even though the government initiated an "investigation" into what led to the collapse of our finances in 2008, they are keeping the findings under wraps. In 2011, the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission concluded its report but only released a few of the source documents.

6. That they're poisoning us

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Aside from all the chemicals and pesticides in our food that make us want to eat in unhealthy quantities (and therefore spend more money), the government probably wants us to forget it's not above poisoning us in more obvious ways. During prohibition, the Treasury Department snuck methyl alcohol in booze to make people sick so they'd stop breaking the law by getting drunk.

7. That they can control our minds

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In 1953, the CIA launched project MKUltra. The goal was to develop tactics to get Soviet spies and foreign leaders to divulge information, and because the CIA didn't want to test the techniques (many of which involved various forms of torture) on its own agents, they used average citizens as their subjects. The program was technically shut down in 1973, but that's probably what they want us to think.

8. That UFOs or aliens are real

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We signed a petition asking for the government to acknowledge the existence of extraterrestrials. A representative from the White House Office of Science & Technology responded and said statistically, there could be other life forms out there — but that the distance between our planet and theirs is so great that we'll never get the chance to interact.

9. That they use mosquitos as weapons

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In 1955 and 1956, the government dropped a total of 930,000 mosquitoes over Georgia and Florida as "test weapons." Though they did not carry any infections, the military wanted to determine the insect's capacity to function to... well, spread disease.

10. Who they're using as informants

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In 2009, the government released documents that indicated the The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act was being enforced in circumstances where there was little or no cause for its use. The ACLU filed a lawsuit based on the information in those documents, and the government responded with papers that maintain it's better for people who they're using as informants to not know that they're informants.

Inspired By "Mermaids: The New Evidence"

Via animal.discovery.com

A news station in Russia recently aired underwater footage of a creature that looks unlike anything we've ever seen before. What could it be?