I don't know if the age of social networking sites has lessened the amount of the spam or just redistributed it, but I, for one, feel less inundated with trash messages about help finding missing teenager Ashley Flores, how California wildfires will lead to a shortage of toilet paper, or how a kid is doing a "science experiment" about first names and needs yours on their list.
Which makes them that much more irritating when they do show up. Just the other day I received a forwarded message about a "trailer park wedding" complete with a photograph of the happy toothless couple. Skeptical, I immediately went to my favorite modern urban-myth-busting website, Snopes, and soon found this picture and story to be a complete fabrication!
I've used this site before and been surprised to find that the claims of the forwarded message are indeed true, or not far off from the truth. I remember an email of sports-related trivia once that claimed the Matterhorn in Disneyland housed a basketball court. I checked with Snopes and it turns out that that top of the faux mountain does indeed contain a hoop and floor markings, although the term "court" is a bit exaggerated!
The site does a great job of giving readers the possible versions of the rumor that are out there, and then either confirming or refuting the claim. Often times a detailed explanation or why the rumor exists or how it came into being is also included. This is definitely a site to have bookmarked for the next time someone sends you a message informing you that Applebee's in giving away $50 gift certificates.
Sergio del Limonar
No comments:
Post a Comment