MetaFilter posts tagged with snopes

a complete history of gerbiling so far

flex — Wed, 02 Jan 2013 08:36:56 -0800

Gerbil-stuffing, urban legends, celebrity gossip, and homophobia: Jane Hu in The Awl with A Complete History Of Gerbiling So Far. Crushable - 5 Facts About The ‘Richard Gere Gerbil’ Urban Legend Snopes - From Gere To Eternity The Straight Dope (March 28, 1986) - Is it true what they say about gerbils? After Elton - From Twinkies to Gerbils: The History of the Gay Urban Legend Michael Zeleny - A study of felching and gerbiling in language, culture, and popular imagination (via wikipedia) previously on MeFi: rectal foreign bodies Jane Hu previously: the shape of things to come - don't open the elevator

Those Dam Beavers!

the man of twists and turns — Thu, 09 Aug 2012 22:59:27 -0800

In December of 1997, a Michigan man received a letter from the Department of Environmental Quality informing him that he was prohibited from the 'Construction and maintenance of two wood debris dams across the outlet stream of Spring Pond. A permit must be issued prior to the start of this type of activity. A review of the Department's files show that no permits have been issued. .... The Department has been informed that one or both of the dams partially failed during a recent rain event, causing debris dams and flooding at downstream locations. We find that dams of this nature are inherently hazardous and cannot be permitted. The Department therefore orders you to cease and desist all unauthorized activities at this location, and to restore the stream to a free-flow condition by removing all wood and brush forming the dams from the strewn channel.' He replied: 'Regarding Your Dam Complaint.' The original letter, hosted on Mr. Tvedten's site. Of course, it didn't stop there. And various overlapping state and local authorities ensure that wasn't the last time the dam beavers were an issue ... One blogger runs down the development and changes to the letters made, like a game of 'chinese whispers' or 'telephone.' Snopes!

But Do You Recall The Most Famous Reindeer Of All

briank — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 06:27:45 -0800

Last year, an archivist at Dartmouth College discovered a forgotten scrapbook donated to the school by Robert L. May, the writer and illustrator of the original story of "Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer", documenting the origins of the now-classic holiday story. The book was written in 1947 on commission from Montgomery Ward's, which was looking for a Christmas promotional item. Detailed in the scrapbook are May's list of possible names for the character, including "Rollo", "Reginald", "Romeo" and you-know-what. Ward's actually turned over the copyright to Rudolph to May, who became a millionaire when, two years later, his brother-in-law Johnny Marks wrote the song which became a huge hit for Gene Autry. Snopes.com adds more details to the tale, including debunking the myth that the song was written by May to comfort his daughter while her mother lay dying.

Firewater

Halloween Jack — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 14:58:44 -0800

There's a fairly old urban legend [Snopes; pop-ups galore] regarding the feasibility and/or incidence of young people getting drunk via the insertion of tampons that had been soaked in vodka into body cavities. Snopes was skeptical of the claim, but apparently no one had gone on record as having tested the method... until Danielle Crittenden stepped into the breach. (HuffPo) Crittenden, the wife of David Frum, described the experience as "a very inefficient, not to mention unpleasant, way to get drunk." (Snopes notes that the ostensible purpose for using the delivery method--avoiding alcohol on the breath--wouldn't work in real life, as alcohol is excreted in breath from the bloodstream.) The sherry enema story, on the other hand, seems to be real. (Previously on the blue)

What attire can I wear to the polls on election day?

cashman — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 10:26:46 -0800

A dress code at the polls? Many states have 'electioneering' laws in place that can be broadly interpreted to mean that clothing with political messages is not allowed. Snopes put a page up advising voters to check with their board of elections. Some election officials have released statements attempting to clarify [pdf] the enforcement of their state's electioneering laws, though those statements aren't legally binding. Other election officials are suing to keep the broad definition of electioneering in place. If rules are interpreted to include campaign shirts and buttons, you will likely need to cover the item up, remove it, or otherwise conceal it. With so many new voters, folks who have relocated, differences between the primaries and the general election and rules in flux in many states, I removed the state-by-state listing I originally began constructing in favor of having this post be a place where people can add the most recent state-specific updates as they become available. Reference - 2006 document [pdf] linked from Snopes page with state-by-state information.

"Redneck mansion."

kmennie — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 07:25:15 -0800

Dream-like "redneck mansion" is (disappointingly) actually a theatre set, but still a great bit of architecture.

The State Department vs. Misinformation

blahblahblah — Sun, 05 Feb 2006 19:23:51 -0800

The State Department's campaign against misinformation and propaganda. Before you comment on the irony of it all, it is worth a read. Included are a careful, Snopes-like debunking of various rumors: Hugo Chavez's "Plan Balboa documents," the old 4,000 Jews and the WTC rumor, the use of chemical weapons in the Korean War, and some I hadn't heard of (the US to take over the rainforest?). Also information on how to spot disinformation, and attacks on the credibility of a few sites. Too bad that the US information services don't have the credibility they used to, but still worth reading.

Boo!

LarryC — Mon, 31 Oct 2005 08:44:46 -0800

David Skal talks about the Origins and Myths of Halloween. [MP3 file] The author of Death Makes A Holiday was interviewed in 2004 for the radio program Talking History. The Skal interview runs from 4:47 to 18:20 of the program. Skal briefly addresses some Halloween urban legends, which are more thoroughly debunked at Snopes Halloween page.

The Jihadmobile, Small but Tough

digaman — Tue, 18 Jan 2005 17:23:14 -0800

Is this any way to sell Volkswagens? [note: QT link] This "viral ad" for the VW Polo has been making the rounds, leaving a trail of exasperated disgust, outrage, and guilty snickering in its wake. VW's ad agency, Doyle Dane Bernbach, however, claims that it's bogus. (I asked them). Paging Snopes.

Where's the Cup Holder?

fenriq — Mon, 13 Dec 2004 11:02:07 -0800

My Wife, The Coffee Table (Google cache)
Geocities Original (with awful Google Adsense ads covering the text on the right).
While I feel bad for the guy losing his wife at such a young age, I'm not sure that having her interred for all eternity in the living room isn't just a little damned creepy. Especially if he started dating again.
"Some of his friends and relatives, filled with fear, stop visiting Jeff. His true friends respected his decision and continue visiting him." No mention of whether his true family respects his decision and visits him still.
But if you think this is how you'd like to spend eternity or how you'd like your loved on to spend eternity then go hit up CasketFurniture (who now have a cool casket shaped pool table too), previously discussed in the Blue 1st here and again here.

zell reads his spam? amazing.

tsarfan — Fri, 03 Sep 2004 14:10:19 -0800

Zell Miller obviously doesn't read Snopes or else he would have known that Kerry didn't ever intend on arming our military with ~~sticks and clubs~~ spitballs. the Martini Republic reminds us that in July snopes debunked the heart of miller's attacks that he delivered in his keynote on wednesday.

A Whole New World

_sirmissalot_ — Wed, 14 Apr 2004 13:10:43 -0800

A .psd is worth a thousand words. As images are used more and more as propaganda, and Photoshop becomes ever more available to the masses, where are we headed? How can you continue to believe your eyes?

A fool and his money are soon scammed out of it

mathowie — Sat, 10 Apr 2004 09:08:38 -0800

There's a lot of scammin', griftin', and chicanery going on in the world and Snopes has always been there, but they usually take some time to do their investigations. But for the quick hit, they've just launched a new daily scam page carrying just that day's latest scam news from around the country. It's really amazing how many major scams take place every day, and it helps to know how to spot a scam when you hear about it.

The funniest and most disgusting story ever.

BobsterLobster — Tue, 30 Mar 2004 00:03:06 -0800

The funniest and most disgusting story ever. This personal story on the forums of a bodybuilding website looks like it is on the way to becoming an Internet classic (warning... SFW, but scatological). Snopes doesn't have this one... the nearest we get is this.

The Skeptic's Dictionary

chrisgregory — Fri, 06 Feb 2004 06:01:49 -0800

The Skeptic's Dictionary is a wonderful resource for all sentient individuals: 'A Collection of Strange Beliefs, Amusing Deceptions, and Dangerous Delusions (and how to think critically about them)'. It's where I send people when they start telling me nonsense. It is also a jolly good read: try the entry for natural, for example. And some entries, like the entry for IQ and race, verge on the profound. There is a print edition, but the extensive internal and external site linkage makes reading the collection online a particular joy. While The Skeptic's Dictionary has been referred to before on MeFi, the link made the site out to be a cornucopia of Urban legend-style oddities, like Snopes. Which I thought was a shame: not dissing Snopes, but the Skeptic's Dictionary delivers a firm grounding in critical thinking as well. This post is dedicated to all of my relatives who chipped in to buy shark cartilage tablets and several fifty-dollar pamphlets full of testimonials after my father had been diagnosed with terminal cancer, and who probably still think the worse of me for not contributing to their folly.

Politically correct hardware terminology:

sixtwenty3dc — Tue, 25 Nov 2003 06:25:09 -0800

LA County, leading the charge: Equipment vendors who do business with Los Angeles County received a message in November 2003 from the county's Internal Services Department (ISD) informing them that "based on the cultural diversity and sensitivity of Los Angeles County," labeling or describing equipment with the term 'master/slave' is no longer acceptable. (via snopes.com)
the slashdot comments on this...

Pudding for frequent flier miles.

gottabefunky — Fri, 13 Dec 2002 12:04:20 -0800

Fly the creamy skies. One man’s flash of inspiration (and frantic legwork) translates 12,150 cups of chocolate pudding into 1,215,000 frequent flier miles. Total cost: $2,235 - including an $815 tax write-off to charity. Photo proof here. [via boing boing (via cardhouse)]

Get on the love train

mr_crash_davis — Thu, 05 Sep 2002 21:54:18 -0800

Get on the love train and ride the singles car: "Thousands of New Yorkers are now forwarding an anonymous e-mail to each other informing them that from now on, every first subway car has been declared 'the singles car.'" Any New York Mefites want to claim responsibility for this?

Glurge.

mr_crash_davis — Mon, 27 May 2002 14:03:51 -0800

Glurge. We're all familiar with glurge. It's that sickly-sweet inspirational message forwarded by someone who wants you to know they're "thinking of you", or the chain-letter story of the little girl with cancer who supposedly gets three cents for treatment every time you forward the message.

I prefer anti-glurge for snappy writing like this: "Dear world, My name is Jessica Miller and I am 7 years old. When I was born, my mother left me with my father, who locked me in the trunk of his Lumina for 7 years without food and water. While there, I got head cancer and second hand smoke. And fetal alcohol syndrome. And the flu." Via memepool and my mother.

Just a follow-up

PWA_BadBoy — Wed, 30 Jan 2002 13:22:36 -0800

Just a follow-up on this MeFi thread, because the link has been making its rounds around the Internet. It's a hoax, folks. Sorry.

Break the Chain

headspace — Sun, 13 Jan 2002 15:15:05 -0800

Break the Chain has all kinds of nifty resources for stopping the neverending flux of chain mail wandering through your e-mail box, though if you're like me, you'll probably just read through the chain archives for their amusement. A nice companion to Snopes for your hoax-debunking needs.

mathowie — Mon, 26 Nov 2001 16:16:58 -0800

The day after Thanksgiving is the biggest shopping day of the year in America. False. This and many other popular xmas legends debunked at snopes (also notable: Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer created by the Montgomery Ward store chain).

Terrorists Target malls on 10/31 hoax

DragonBoy — Fri, 12 Oct 2001 16:39:11 -0800

Terrorists Target malls on 10/31 hoax
I have received seven e-mails today about the 'mall attack' and I have had enough. I am sorry, but now is not the time to blindly forward on anything about terrorism without checking the facts. Even a simple Google search will prove most hoaxes false.

The only thing we have to fear is 'forward this to all your friends.'
The FBI has something to say about this also.

The Darwin Award wining story

jcterminal — Thu, 04 Oct 2001 20:08:41 -0800

The Darwin Award wining story straight from the horse's mouth. Sorry Darwin. Looks like you posted another urban legend. Thanks for playing tho.

Urban Legend, I choose you!

iceberg273 — Tue, 24 Apr 2001 10:37:50 -0800

Urban Legend, I choose you! Pokemon is being banned in several Muslim countries because of rumour that it is anti-religious. What's your favorite urban legend that resulted in widespread societal changes? (You need not limit yourself to religious edicts . . . an sort of change made by people in power because of an urban legend will be fine.) Why do you think that urban legends have this power? What does this say about human cognition?