The Biggest Junk Science of 2014

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#5. Pyramid at Giza Vandalized for a Conspiracy Theory

In February, two German archaeology "hobbyists," Dominque Goerlitz and Stephan Erdmann, faced criminal charges in their home country after it came to light in late 2013 that they had vandalized and stolen artifacts from the Great Pyramid at Giza in Egypt earlier that year.

As Skeptical Inquirer deputy editor Benjamin Radford reported, the two men stole the objects in the hopes of proving a conspiracy theory:

"The men are apparently convinced the cartouche identifying Khufu as the creator of the Great Pyramid at Giza is a fake, and they hoped to do an analysis on the pigments to prove they were not as old as the pyramids themselves. In essence, they claimed, pharaoh Khufu simply put his name on (and took credit for) pyramids that had been built thousands of years earlier by people from the legendary city of Atlantis."

For the record, all credible archaeologists agree that the Egyptians built the pyramids. In fact, this year, researchers explained how the Egyptians were able to able to move the multi-ton stone blocks that comprise the massive structures: by wetting the sand and using ginormous sleds.

(Image: Shutterstock)

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