Urban Legends, Myths and Truths
Alright. Is anyone sick of getting emails saying that is that time of year to look at Mars as it will be the closest to earth that it has been in 100,000 years or ever will be again? Or that next Friday is boycot Exxon/Mobil gas? Or that little Matty is doing a school project to find out how many people have the same name. Well I for one am getting sick of it. None of these are real and the way I know is because before I sign any petition or dance with the devil by the pale moonlight I go to www.snopes.com.
Snopes is a website devoted to debunking, proving or just laughing about email pranks and scams. You can go to their front page and search any keyword and it usually will come back with choices including what you are looking for.
For example, I just searched "iceberg" because I have gotten a picture a couple times of an iceberg - above and below the surface of the water. Well, I hate to tell you, but that is a 'composite of 4 different pictures' (see this). It makes the term "can't believe everything you see" come to life!
So visit with snopes before you believe what was sent to you and before forward it on to others.
Along these same lines is a fun television show on the Discovery Channel called MythBusters. This is a fun show about busting or proving myths and urban legends. One of my favorite episodes is when Adam gets his tongue pierced in the name of science. (Alright, it was gross to watch). They were trying to see whether people with tongue piercings were more likely to get hit by lightening. Very interesting stuff! And it is educational too...who knew learning could be funny.
And anytime Buster the crash-test-dummy gets used is usually amusing.
The show is on quite often...check the schedule for a date/time you can catch.
Snopes is a website devoted to debunking, proving or just laughing about email pranks and scams. You can go to their front page and search any keyword and it usually will come back with choices including what you are looking for.
For example, I just searched "iceberg" because I have gotten a picture a couple times of an iceberg - above and below the surface of the water. Well, I hate to tell you, but that is a 'composite of 4 different pictures' (see this). It makes the term "can't believe everything you see" come to life!
So visit with snopes before you believe what was sent to you and before forward it on to others.
Along these same lines is a fun television show on the Discovery Channel called MythBusters. This is a fun show about busting or proving myths and urban legends. One of my favorite episodes is when Adam gets his tongue pierced in the name of science. (Alright, it was gross to watch). They were trying to see whether people with tongue piercings were more likely to get hit by lightening. Very interesting stuff! And it is educational too...who knew learning could be funny.
And anytime Buster the crash-test-dummy gets used is usually amusing.
The show is on quite often...check the schedule for a date/time you can catch.
posted by Liz at 1:16 PM
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