5 Creepy Forms of Mind Control You're Exposed to Daily

I always enjoy articles from CRACKED. They are generally informative and amusing.

This particular article is about subtle ways to influence a persons perceptions and decisions. This opened my eyes to some things I was totally unaware of. I'm offering some excerpts from each section as a summary. You should read the whole article to really get the point.

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#5. The Color of a Pill Can Trick You into Thinking It's Working

Did you notice how the red pill would let Neo "wake up" to the real world, but the blue pill would let him stay "asleep" in the dream world? Now go to your pharmacy. What color are all of the sleeping pills?

Blue, blue and blue -- if not the package, then the pill itself. That's not coincidence; researchers have found that the color of a pill makes a difference in how it works. In one study, every patient was given the exact same sedative, but some patients received it in a blue pill and others in an orange pill. The blue pill takers reported falling asleep 30 minutes faster, and sleeping 30 minutes longer, than the orange pill takers.

This section talks about why grocery stores have floral shops at the entrance

#4. "Priming" Can Play Us Like Puppets

The idea behind the flowers is that, as we've touched on elsewhere, hitting you with a product that is highly perishable yet fresh will "prime" you into thinking of freshness, and that you will carry that "freshness" mindset with you all the way back to the discount meat case.

#3. Our Views on a Subject Depend on How It's Phrased

In this study, social psychologists sent out surveys to several hundred registered voters before an election. Half the recipients were asked if it was "important to vote." The other half were asked if it was "important to be a voter." With this one difference, the people who read the word "voter" were nearly 14 percent more likely to actually vote on Election Day. The researchers suspected that using the word "voter" caused people to identify themselves with the word. Since these people considered themselves to be voters, they were more likely to get out and vote.

#2. You Emotionally Bond With People You Sing With

Ever been to a sporting event in America? A football game, baseball game, an anything in a stadium? What did you do first, once you found your seats and got your drinks and settled in for the game? You stood back up and sang the national anthem with everyone else. Guess what? Scientists have discovered that when we perform synchronized activities such as singing songs, reciting chants or even as simple an act as walking together, we end up feeling more connected to the people we're performing these activities with.

#1. Cars Have Facial Expressions, and We Buy Accordingly

It's easy to see it -- every car has two headlights (eyes), a grill (mouth) and maybe something that looks like a nose. So, knowing we assign emotions to objects, you'd think that most of us would pick the happiest-looking cars we could find. Like we'd all be clamoring for vintage Volkswagen Beetles.

You'd be wrong. When we drive, we're not out there to make friends, unless you're a hippie, and then shouldn't you be on a bike or a donkey or something? Nope, what we want to convey is toughness, speed, aggression. So we want our cars to have the face of a monster. Or at least a mean dude. Researchers found that lower, wider cars with a wide air intake and angled or slit-like headlights give a picture of power. Not sleepiness, as you'd expect, but power. And that's what drivers are looking for when picking out new vehicles. At least, when picking out certain kinds of vehicles.

There are a couple of related articles that are referenced:

5 Ways Stores Use Science to Trick You Into Buying Crap
6 Brainwashing Techniques They're Using On You Right Now

I really thought the car one was funny. There may be something to that. My father-in-law has an old pickup, with the spare on the front, and every time I drive that thing, I turn into crazy lady, wanting to know what it would be like to "push" someone out of my way when they aren't driving fast enough.
Thankfully, I haven't given in to that urge.

Very interesting.

I was also reading the "6 Brainwashing Techniques They're Using On You Right Now" one, and they say this is a "relatively new" form of brainwashing.

I would have to disagree with that.

Dividing and compartmentalizing any alternative viewpoints has been a staple of politics and religion since... Well, the dawn of both politics and religion. All a Christian has to do is, say, call any non-Christian reading material "of the devil" and they won't even dare look at it. This is why many Christians haven't even bothered reading the Quran, and end up making sweeping generalizations about things IN the Quran that aren't actually in the Quran. Muslims do the same with the Bible, Anon did it with Scientology and Dianetics, Christians do it with the Hindu and Buddhist literature, etc.. Doubts are ultimately put to the rest under the guise of, "They worship false gods and Satan."

reply to post by chiefsmom


I think the Camaros are perfect examples of that.

reply to post by N3k9Ni


Nice thread

The one that stuck out the most to me was the look of a car.

If i'm buying a new motor it must look 'evil'

It must!

We really are a strange breed us humans.

There is very much a method to the car design. But not always aggressiveness, remember when the new beetle came out? It is cute and the commerical was obviously geared to cute as the car would beep and go "hi!"

There is a lot of design that goes down to even car logos.

Humans find the oval shape appealing, which is why the majority of car manufacturer logs are val. or circles.

reply to post by N3k9Ni


You forgot to mention the most important form of mind control. The education system, over the past 150 years or so the schooling has been drawn out to an agonizing and ineffective 12 year plus long torture session inflicted by law upon children.

A person can sue a doctor or lawyer for malpractice but you can't sue the (location) USD for screwing up your kid. That was the original intention they the string pullers want your child as confused as possiblebecause such mentaly pliant subjects are fine to be cogs in the machine they will not trust their memories of five minutes ago and willingly sign that ticket when they did not in actuality turn on a red arrow that they will forget that the light was in this reality green or that the housing codes actually do allow red trim on houses and they pay the code enforcement fine of XXX.XX$ and without question or research repaint the trim to the acceptable color for 'this year'.

And Yet...All of the US states will grant drivers license after a test and 15 minutes or less under the supervision of one of the DMV test judges. A car is more dangerous than a gun and they just hand you a licensce in less than a 30 minutes (Discounting line wait time) now why would that be? Without as many people as possible licensed as a driver and actually driving hopefully our economy would plunge the petroleum industry would take a huge hit (Somewhere hidden in the archives there was a thread about the trolly lines -do a search) but it is in the intrest of big business to get as many people with a pulse behind the wheel of a smog spewing gas guzzler as possible safety of the public be damned. they need to sell gas, 'maintain'(what a joke (you want to know why asphalt roads turn to gravel over time? They evprorate! and at thee end of it all. the EPA has the gall to tell the public it's their fault for the excess hydrocarbons- nervy little (fill in the blank)s!!!!

200 years ago a young man (not being sexist but women didn't rate very highly*- they still don't. How many of the forbes 500 and the hidden PTB are female?) was done with schooling by age 12 and by age 16 was expected to start preparing to start a family. Similar to the amish schooling. Match an 8th grade amish schooled person to the newly degreed college educated person in how to make something of themselves and you will find the college student sorely lacking
Why you ask?
The Education system is not about turning out problem solvers or innovators (A problem solver would see through lies and an innovator would cut them out of their piece of the pie) the education system is geared to turn out unthinking unquestioning slaves If your child was told the color of the sky is red or 2+2=5 and if they put the sky was blue or they would have to be put back a year what do you think they would answer? The one that gets them out of whatever grade they are in and into the next level towards the light towards mindless drone work that affords them the smallest amount of security.

I am not a blind advocate of home schooling simply because the average parent themselves after five generations of intentionally confusing teaching cannot themselves teach a child how to think but with freedon of access to knowlegable persons around the globe through the internet a parent or relative can find a knowlegable tutor or site online (Why do you think they 'really want to shut down the internet- internet first books second- just watch)

reply to post by VforVendettea

Sorry you're upset, but I didn't write the article.

reply to post by N3k9Ni


I didn't think voicing my clear view on reality would be viewed as being 'upset'. . I am not but perhaps you should take some SOMA and forget anything as thought provoking as what I had posted.
I did not mean to by accident drag people out of their state and corporate induced slumber. Go back to sleep now and forget any ramblings I may have induced. Those children associated with the “My child is a (good Student/Honor child/Good Citizen / etc) will have to fight off the job offers after graduation because goodness knows an employee with a high self esteem will further the company’s bottom line far more than someone who can actually figure out sums or comprehend the basics of grammar or write with a pen not a keyboard. (Of which I am admittedly abysmal )

reply to post by N3k9Ni



Only simple minds fall for such things. Sadly most people are simple minded. Heck even the correct tone can heavily influence someone more then how/what is said. Most people are capable of understanding body language at a "sub-conscious" type of level that leaves them unaware of it themselves.

I really wished more people would free themselves via self reflection and rationalism...

lol the car one's pretty funny
explains why i fell in love with, and ended up getting the 2012 mustang. that "mean", "aggressive" expression is definitely dominant on that car

i've always said that the "aggressive" look on a car is captivating lol

Great thread, these are all not only possible but very likely. Especially how they design cars.

You always have to remember these guys have huge, smart, well paid think tanks that come up with every possible combination and scenario with every possible customer type to yield maximum profits. They have a proven track record I'm sure, you see it ever day it the product they sell. These goofy new grotesque bulbous psuedo-useful minivanSUVawdXCrossFlexpooHybrid. The cars are getting uglier and butt uglier, and dumber and dumberer names. I honestly wouldn't be surprised if they didn't think of a car that had a Jim Carey face that appealed to moron lovers in every ethnic demographic within the 3-65 year old age brackets.

As a kid I spent a LOT of time in the back of a car as my parents drove around looking for a place to live. But my world revolved around the lifestyle of cars, my dad had some real winners that he got every ounce of life of for his money. In those days the ads were telling you were getting an honest deal, a real well built piece of service-able machinery. Even those words alone are gone: where's the 'service' in service station. No, now its a convenience mart (ooh sounds spacey). Things aren't machines anymore and made from sturdy, lasting materials with character. Now they're 'devices' with a million useless features and 2 month till obsolete lifespan. Don't get me wrong, you can do some cool and useful things with those devices, but they need to be cautiously observed as to if they are harming or helping our social evolution in the long run.

These marketing wizards know that they get to start programming children to have attitudes and opinions about cars at the earliest age possible, all as future clients! I was raised watching the original Speed Racer cartoon. I had Hot Wheels. Slot cars. I've owned several cars and when you realize the cars... all those cars. It makes me sigh, because all that money you spend on expensive, ugly, malfunctioning, built to break cars, it could be saved for just one simple, clean fueled, multipurpose vehicle. This has been a hard train of thought to switch over to, being being raised in the combustion engine's "glory years".

I also think they might make public transportation look intentionally like mobile jail cells, lots of vertical bars?

There's a brilliantly funny movie that displays the mind behind an advertising genius, and as you can guess he's an absolute lunatic, in my opinion one of the best movies made: How to get ahead in advertising