In a particularly testy exchange on the conspiracy theory subreddit, two hairstylists clashed over Mangione’s eyebrows.
One user wrote, “I used to be a hairdresser for 20 years, and I’ve never seen anyone grow eyebrows this quickly in 3 days.” “It was a state board test. The hair on your head grows a quarter of an inch a month. Eyebrows grow slower.”
Another user replied: “I’m also a hairstylist and I work with models.” “Due to different lighting and different facial expressions, the shadows in the photo will be different. This man is trying to start a revolution. Don’t involve people in conspiracies for the sake of the people.”
However, this is just one of the conspiracy theories swirling around Mangione. Another popular theory involves the number 286 and its multiple connections to the shooter.
In his X profile, Mangione introduces the 286th Pokémon, the Pokémon Breloom. Mangione had posted exactly 286 times on X at the time of his arrest. 286 is also the code used by health insurance companies “if the deadline to dispute a medical claim is not met.”
Other TikTok users pointed out a possible connection to the Bible, as Proverbs 28:6 states, “Better is a poor man who walks in integrity than a rich man whose ways are crooked.” did.
Finally, some people online claimed that the distance between the shooting scene and the McDonald’s where Mangione was seen is 456 miles. However, according to Google Maps, the actual distance is 479 miles.
Whatever its distance from Manhattan, the location of this McDonald’s itself can be seen in the work of a Reddit poster who has taken time to document the many connections between the board game Monopoly and the mass shooting. This has given rise to conspiracy theories.
First, police pointed out that the backpack they found in Central Park contained gaming money. They also noted that Altoona was home to the Pennsylvania Railroad. The Pennsylvania Railroad is one of four railroads sold in the standard US version of the game. Finally, the poster notes that McDonald’s has been running a promotional campaign for the game for decades, but it was temporarily suspended in the early part of this century following a massive fraud scandal involving key insiders and Gennaro “Jerry” among others. He emphasized the fact that the event had been canceled. Columbo claimed to be a member of the Columbo crime family.
