Monday, September 14, 2009

Hoaxes, Trivia, and Gullibility

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True or False? These are a couple of stories you’ve no doubt heard countless times. But if you were put under the gun, and had to answer true or false – “I don’t know” is not an option here – how well would you do?


- The toilet was invented by Sir Thomas Crapper.

- Eskimos have over a hundred words to describe snow.

- Around the time when Columbus discovered America, most Europeans believed that the earth was flat.

- One of the innovations Marco Polo introduced into Europe after his travels to China was ice cream.

- Sharks do not get cancer.

- Lemmings commit mass suicide by periodically marching into the sea.


Got these from a book called The Museum of Hoaxes that I was thumbing through a couple of days ago. The author also has an addicting website where I wasted too many hours a few years back. Oh, and the answer to each of the six little tidbits is false. But you knew that, didn’t you?

Why this post on hoaxes?

Because I am guilty of (attempting) a hoax of potentially epic proportions.

More on this tomorrow …

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