I have this conspiracy theory, to be fair it's not that crazy, accounting for all those QAnuses thinking JFK jr. was going to reappear from death with the MAGA hat and all on the 4th of July, and that every-time there's a hiccup in the Japanese computers processing area/extent, two or three respectable members think some government is playing foul, when it's clear that JAXA still uses Windows 98.
Anyway, my theory is: the minimum of 2012 did not happen. I mean, JUST LOOK AT THE GRAPHS!
It was a fabulously fabricated lie conjured by the US and Japan governments, to avoid the pressure of environmentalists for a decade and so help delay the transition to carbon-free economies. They set the bar so low... to mute the alarmists! And they succeeded! Because every time there's a second low, or a third low in September, which should have been a record first, or a second, alarmists get terribly disappointed, and shut up for another year.
The NOAA guys are half-brothers of those NASA people that fabricated the Apollo XI, so that's easy. The university guys (Colorado, Illinois) accepted succulent bribes,..., I mean, funds and scholarships to play along and doctor the area and extent maps.
Shit, they even got the GAC for free, it was like nature wanting to cooperate with the dark side.
In reality, it was a rebound from 2011, sort of a 2013/2014 with a GAC. By looking at the tendencies, it is the most reasonable outcome..
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