It all started with a casual reply from a student who was not believed to be dating someone from the West German city of Bielefeld.

"Das gibt's doch gar nicht," or "not possible," said Achim Held, an IT student in 1994. And so the Bielefeld conspiracy was born.

The comic theory that Held started with and discussed with his friends was a game where participants had to use their abilities to convince others that Bielefeld, Germany's 20th largest city, does not actually exist, but is the product of imagination. .

25 years later, the theory is more popular than ever, largely thanks to the internet. Held, now a computer expert, believes that his theory does its job: mocks all other conspiracy theories. Those offended by the chosen city should know that it was completely accidental.

This has not prevented the city's marketing department from using the theory to boost Bielefeld's once-popular, never-to-be-promoted popularity.

Around 2000 people took part in the 1m-euro race that has only one condition: it takes irrefutable proof that Bielefeld is a fabrication. The race invites any participant to be creative and leave no doubt that the city is invented.

The application deadline was Wednesday and the winner will be announced on September 17. "We're having a lot of fun," said a spokesman.

Cars with BI plates, which mean they come from Bielefeld, are sent out to drool just to make people believe the city exists. The CIA, Mossad and aliens are cited as the cause of the conspiracy and are accused of using the city as cover for the secret entrance of Atlantis, the fictitious island mentioned by Plato.

Even Angela Merkel has participated in this mass conspiracy. In 2012, she referred to a meeting she held in Bielefeld and added, "... if it exists as a city in the first place." She said: "I have the impression that I have been ... I hope to be able to come back. "

Source: The Guardian