Folks. Don’t believe every article, email and piece of advice on the interwebs. Check if it comes from a reliable source. Do your research before sharing. It’s actually quite easy.
Examples? There wasn’t a 160-foot squid found off the coast of California. Southwest is never giving away two tickets as long as you share it on Facebook. Not every blogger can give solid advice about dating that applies to your specific situation. Not every list claiming to know a random number of awful things “all guys do” actually represents all guys. You will never find out from an email that you have cancer. Little Mikey of LIFE cereal fame didn’t die from explosive effects of mixing Pop Rocks with soda. Need I go on?
There is, however, a town in Austria called “Fucking.” So that’s funny.
I learned the “don’t believe everything you read” lesson when someone once shared a photo and “fact” claiming that the ocean is salty because male blue whales produce 400 gallons of sperm and only 10% is used for baby making purposes, meaning we swim in the salty rest of it. I was horrified to read this and believed it for the better part of an hour. I know. Almost a full hour. There were a few drinks in my system, okay? Jeeze.
Have you ever believed something not true that has been distributed on the internet? A scam? Satire? Photoshoppery? Some ridiculous media thing that was just trying to get page views to make money? Sure you have. Tell me about it.
tales of a charm city chick 
A Nigerian prince almost made me rich once…
LikeLiked by 1 person
You and my mom, both. 😉
LikeLike
Last year I shared a story from CNN’s Facebook page (yes, CNN) about a woman who refused to give out candy to overweight trick-or-treaters. She gave them notes instead, talking about the importance of weight loss, etc. I figured if CNN was the source, I should be okay. Turns out it was a hoax. On all of us. At least I didn’t feel too badly since all the news sources were covering it!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Man, that would be really mean.
LikeLike
Really, really mean.
LikeLike
I believed a politician once.
LikeLike
Oh no. I’m so sorry to hear. 😉
LikeLike
I’m too much of a skeptic and I have a feeling that one day it’s going to bite my ass. Loving your lessons. 🙂
LikeLike
Go with it! It seems like most things bite us in the ass these days, anyway.
And thank you, that’s very uncool of you to say. 😉
LikeLike
I would like to go to Fucking Austria.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Please! Not so fast!
LikeLiked by 3 people
Also don’t believe what that sign says. Fucking too fast does not result in twins.
😀
LikeLiked by 1 person
Just today my Mum sent me the thing going around that the planet Mars is going to be so close to the Earth today that it will appear to be the same size as the Moon. I held my head in my hands.
FM
LikeLike
Hahaha, moms over 50 are the biggest offenders.
LikeLike
I’m a huge skeptic. I check out almost all my forwards, and then email the person who sent it with the actual fact that it was NOT true. However, I recently searched for a health symptom I had on the internet and have been sure I’m dying of a torturous disease ever since.
The town “Fucking” reminded me of a baseball player who used to play on the Chicago, Cubs. He was Asian and his last name was Fukudome. I couldn’t help but giggle every time I saw his name on his shirt. Fuk-u-do-me. 😉
LikeLiked by 1 person
My favorite comment you’ve ever made.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Heh, and my husband always thought I was weird when I saw his name and giggled.
LikeLike
I don’t know if anything beats an ocean full of whale sperm.
LikeLike
I got the email scam from someone needing money in Africa or somewhere. There’s that one. Making thousands of dollars for working an hour a day. I’d like to believe that one! Not true. Dammit. But the ocean full of whale sperm. I can’t beat that one, La La.
LikeLike
I unfortunately don’t even believe the things when they ARE true. I tend to never go along with anyone on anything so naturally doubt everything. Good at times. Annoying at times.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I once believed that there was a funny, talented, gorgeous woman called LaLa who wrote a blog… but it turns out that LaLa was just a fat, middle aged Austrian man from a town called Fucking. I felt used, and hurt… until I realised that I have a strange fetish for fat middle aged Austrian men. His real name is Fritz. Big shout out to you, Fritz! ❤
LikeLike
Fat middle aged Austrian men are so in right now. Good luck with Fritz!! It sounds like he might be the one.
LikeLike
The Blue Whale one isn’t true?
LikeLike
Isn’t. Sorry to tell you.
LikeLike
But… But Steve Perry urges us to DON’T Stop Believing! What do we do now??
—–
I have FB friends who share things that are hoaxes, but when called on it, they get pissy and grumble that it’s the sentiment/message of the hoax that’s important. Like those neverending G/D F—ING glurgy “Professor challenges his class to PROVE that God exists!!” things that have even somehow been made into a movie. That’s just one example of the kind of stuff they share.
I got flack from someone who’d forwarded some “Immigrants from the turn of the century (1900s, that is) were awesome! Now they suck!” declaration. Snopes listed many reasons that people – not just “immigrants” – of all eras suck. Her response was to the effect of, “Well, well, now they suck more!”
LikeLike
People don’t like getting tricked by the internet…You can believe in other stuff! Steve Perry didn’t know the internet was going to take off, so the internet is excluded. 🙂
LikeLike
I’ve become very fond of Snopes. I just saw some story about Robin Williams contractually requiring venues to hire homeless people for his shows. It’s a nice thing to do but there has been no verification of it so I left it alone.
My ex-husband told me his barber’s name was Nelson Nelson and I believe it for years. There was no Snopes then.
LikeLike
There needs to be a Snopes for significant others.
LikeLike
Is there a problem or is that just a general observation?
LikeLike
Well it certainly would have gotten us through the frogs/weeds a little faster. 😀
LikeLike
OK but the frogs are behind you?
LikeLike
Hope so!
LikeLike
I once believed political posts that a friend made because I felt he was studious and had fully researched the topics. Come to find out, he found things he liked then searched till he found somewhere that supported it. Big difference.
LikeLike
That’s annoying. Politics like…lies to itself so people will react.
LikeLike
Yeh.. too many ways to spin politics. Wish it were cut and dry.
LikeLike
Agreed!
LikeLike
We have a coyote problem where I live. And a bunny problem. I think you can see where this might head. Quite often I will find piles of fluff on the trails that I run on in the wee hours of the morning. So I started my own internets thingy that all the estrogen that is in our water from women on the pill peeing into the sewer system is causing bunnies to explode without warning.
You heard it here first. Let me know if the rumour makes it to your neck of the woods.
LikeLike