From eggs to cake to pasta to breakfast burritos, eggs are used in just about everything. Recently, though, the price for them has increased drastically. This has led to many theories, including a very popular one that involves the famed multi-billionaire Bill Gates.

The theory states that Gates, who owns a large number of the farms in America, has been keeping the eggs for himself, resulting in raised prices. This has been a common business practice used by monopolies in the past.

Though this theory has been debunked by many reliable and trusted sources, there are those who still believe in the theory — or at least that Gates is somehow involved.

One of the possible causes for the shortage of eggs is the dreaded avian flu. Those who think that Gates is involved with this have said that he flooded Africa with vaccinated chickens and caused the avian pandemic.

An interesting fact that some have brought up is the fact that the flu mostly affected big agriculture and not the local, small farmers we get our eggs from. If true, this would throw a wrench in the avian flu story — and at those who believe in it.

GC students like freshman marketing major Jared Smith do not believe any of these theories hold any validity. 

“Personally, I don’t believe in that theory, but I wouldn’t put it past him,” Smith said. “I think it’s probably inflation is just happening, and the prices of eggs are just going up because of that.”

Though many share the same sentiment as Smith, there are those like freshman marketing major Jake Garrett, who believes the complete opposite. 

“Of course I believe that,” Garrett said. “I think he’s a scumbag for buying all the eggs and making the prices go up.” 

He believes Gates is going to great lengths to control the egg market.

“He’s going to his local Publix, his Kroger,” Garrett said. “He’s getting all his workers in, buying all the eggs and reselling them. It’s not cool.”

Unlike Smith and Garrett, there are some that are not fully committed to either side, like freshman nursing major Jenna Hemingway. 

“It sounds like something he could do,” Hemingway said.

The whole egg situation has also opened the door for other conversations about conspiracy theories as well. Smith said that one conspiracy theory that he believes in is one that involves the government. 

“The government does a lot of things that they don’t want us to know about,” Smith said.

Garrett, too, has others that he believes in as well. 

“Kurt Cobain didn’t kill himself, Zuckerburg is a reptile man, and the Earth is rectangular,” Garrett said. 

His message to non-believers is simple and direct. 

“They’re dumb,” Garrett said. “They need to grow up and get educated.”

Freshman mass communication major Gracie Hagen said that she doesn’t believe in the Gates theory, though she did have one about the moon landing. 

“I think the moon landing might be fake,” Hagen said. “Just when you look at all the things about it, and you realize that they would do it just to get there first — they just have a lot of reasons to fake it,” Hagen said.