Schuylkill notes

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Example of a Schuylkill note found in February 2024

Schuylkill notes are a phenomenon regarding pieces of paper with a paragraph of symbolism-oriented conspiracy theories printed on them which have appeared in many locations in different forms. Authorship of the notes is unknown, with them often being found inside food packaging, hanging from trees along hiking trails, and state parks. They have been discovered primarily in northeastern and central Pennsylvania.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7]

History

Amateur investigators on Reddit initially dubbed the messages Schuylkill schizo notes because of their locations seemingly focused around Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania and their word salad-type content, but the usage of the term schizo became unfavorable due to ableist connotations. Reddit has a subforum dedicated to investigating the notes and their distribution, with over 24,000 members as of May 2024.

After a report on 28/22 News in December 2023, emails and phone calls were made to law enforcement about the notes, with many reporting them as being found in sealed food packages and beauty products. Local, state, and federal authorities initiated investigations, including the Food and Drug Administration, since tampering with food products is a federal crime. Congressmen Dan Meuser and Matt Cartwright expressed their concern about the notes worrying the public.[3][8] A crowdsourced Google Map suggests that at least 139 individual notes have been discovered as of February 2024.[9]

The earliest social media report of a found note was in 2019, and media reported their existence in 2020.[4] Red Web podcast investigating the notes mentions first notes found as early as 2015.[10]

Description

A Schuylkill note found attached to a tree branch in February 2024, still in its original packaging

The notes are pieces of paper sized approximately 2 by 3 inches. They are found folded in product packaging, the pockets of store bought clothes, or packed into plastic bags closed with a string and attached to trees along trails.[2] Messages printed on Schuylkill notes vary greatly. They usually contain 19 lines of text printed in narrow writing, commonly linking symbolism from business, culture, nations, history and government to secret societies, and seeming to combine multiple conspiracy theories, purporting that secret societies have a global level of influence.[2][6] Some Schuylkill notes have large corners of the paper taken up by one word - typically "lies" - written in all caps with a larger text size.[7]

Governmental themes appearing in the notes include the New World Order conspiracy theory,[3][2] Nazism, the CIA,[3] the FBI,[1] the federal judiciary of the United States, the Drug Enforcement Agency, the European Union, the World Bank,[2][1] Hamas,[3] Vladimir Putin,[2] John Fitzgerald Kennedy,[1] Barack Obama,[7] Donald Trump, the British royal family, the Dalai Lama,[7] "Dragon Kings"[7], and the pope.[1] Popular media and companies mentioned on the notes include Disney,[2][4] Fox News,[2] CNN,[4] Google,[1] Bing,[2] Pfizer,[1][2] AstraZeneca,[1] Bayer,[4] Ford,[1] Toyota,[3] Audi, Mazda,[2] BMW,[3][7] Subaru,[3] Pillsbury, Aquafina, Folgers, Nescafe, Domino's,[2] Exxon,[4][2] Sunoco, Lord of the Rings,[2][3] Oprah Winfrey[1][7] and Elon Musk.[4][3]

Locations

The notes have been reported found from as far east as Easton, to as far west as Johnstown. Northernmost report of a note was from Lackawanna State Park, whereas southernmost report comes from Gaithersburg, Maryland.[7]

They have been discovered in a variety of products such as Lucky Charms,[11] Lindt chocolate,[6] Nature's Path Panda Puffs, Belvita cookies,[4] Milk Duds,[4] Hot Tamales candy,[4] Duncan Hines cake mix,[7] Tylenol medication[7] and Velveeta.[12] The products containing the notes were purchased in multiple grocery stores such as Walmart, Target, GIANT, Weis Markets, Wegmans, Trader Joe’s, Dollar General, CVS, Kohl’s, Goodwill, Lowe’s, Cabela’s and Aldi.[5]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Cryptic notes found across Pa". Huntingdon Daily News. Retrieved 17 February 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Sword, JD. "Gideon's Groceries: Conspiracy Messages Found in Grocery Items". Skeptical Inquirer. Retrieved 17 February 2024.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Deciphering 'Mystery Notes' found across PA". Yahoo! News. Retrieved 17 February 2024.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Secret Societies Messages Keep Appearing in Food Packages in Eastern PA". Coal Region Canary. Retrieved 17 February 2024.
  5. ^ a b "Mysterious notes reported in food items, state parks, trails across Pennsylvania". TribLive. Retrieved 17 February 2024.
  6. ^ a b c "Reports of cryptic notes pouring in from around PA". PA Homepage. Retrieved 18 February 2024.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Schuylkill County Residents Keep Finding Bizarre Printed Message in Grocery Items". Coal Region Canary. 4 June 2020. Retrieved 18 February 2024.
  8. ^ "Reports of cryptic notes pouring in from around PA". Yahoo! News. Retrieved 18 February 2024.
  9. ^ "Schuylkill Notes". Google Maps. Retrieved 17 February 2024.
  10. ^ "Cryptic Notes in Groceries Go Viral Online - Schuylkill Notes". Red Web podcast.
  11. ^ "'It bothers me!' Pennsylvania man finds 'mystery note' inside box of cereal". WJAC TV. Retrieved 18 February 2024.
  12. ^ https://vm.tiktok.com/ZGeHKLA3K/

External links

Retrieved from "https://mdwiki.org/wiki/Schuylkill_notes"