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December 28, 2009
 
"Did you Know?" Fact-Checking Your Emails

Not all emails are true or accurate. The following is what happened when I fact-checked a common "Did You Know?" email with 28 claims. 14 were false, 7 were in between, and 7 were true.

Through fact-checking, I was able to roughly date the email to 1995-1997 (the boat names claim). This means that some of the references for articles on these subjects have been circulating false information since that time. In one case (the p's and q's case), the Wikipedia article cites a "did you know" website for reference, that originally got its erroneous information from this very same email!

So don't go believing everything you read, whether it's in a newspaper, on TV, in a book, or definitely if it is online. Snopes.com is a great reference for this. Wikipedia can be spurious at times, so always check the original sources.

And if you're going to spread an email, spread this one, not ones that cite no references or sources for their claims.

Blessings, Ora Uzel

Claim: "Many years ago in Scotland , a new game was invented. It was ruled 'Gentlemen Only...Ladies Forbidden'.. .and thus, the word GOLF entered into the English language."

False. History of Golf. Origin of the word Golf.

Claim: "The first couple to be shown in bed together on prime time TV was Fred and Wilma Flintstone."

False. Snopes.com provides the correct answer.

Claim: "In the 1400's a law was set forth in England that a man was allowed to beat his wife with a stick no thicker than his thumb. Hence we have 'the rule of thumb.'"

False. Wikipedia says this theory has been discredited, but be sure to check the sources for the article.

Claim: "Every day more money is printed for Monopoly than the U.S. Treasury."

False... This was a toughie to find a credible source, but the U.S. Patent office came through on points to ponder. This may be disputable since there are plenty of versions of Monopoly with higher value and foreign value notes.

Claim: "Men can read smaller print than women can; women can hear better."

Vague claim. Here's a few reasons why:
Neuroscience in the service of sexual stereotypes
wiki.answers.com discussion

Claim: "Coca-Cola was originally green."

False. In debunking this one, Snopes.com references this very same emailed "Did you know?" list.

Claim: "It is impossible to lick your elbow."

False. Youtubers prove this on video both here and here.

Claim: "The State with the highest percentage of people who walk to work: Alaska."

True? If you believe a funding request to the State of Alaska for rehabilitation of sidewalks and bikepaths...

Not a lot of credible evidence to support this, but perhaps there is actual census data that could be searched if you *really* wanted to know? I don't live near a library with all that info anymore.

Claim: "The percentage of Africa that is wilderness: 28%. The percentage of North America that is wilderness: 38%."

Uncertain. Just what *defines* "wilderness?" Here is one group's site about this subject. And here is a list of several sites related to definition of wilderness, a pretty large subject actually.

On top of that remember that this isn't as spectacular a claim when you factor in the amount of wilderness in Mexico, and *especially* in Canada's largely uninhabited northern regions. Canada's overall area is slightly larger than the Sahara desert. Africa is only 20% larger than North America, but has a population 50% larger than North America, and has more than twice the number of countries (North America includes the Caribbean and Central America). High population with a lower proportion of land available, combined with the more complicated politics of 53 nations (and counting) means the population of Africa is scattering and much more lawless than in the Americas. This means African wilderness, even if this claim is false, is still in more danger.

Claim: "The cost of raising a medium-size dog to the age of eleven: $16,400."

True... and False... Let's look at some cost estimates of owning a dog.

Claim: "The average number of people airborne over the U.S. in any given hour: 61,000."

Uncertain, but believeable. According to the International Air Transport Association's top ranking domestic airlines, I come to a total of 46691.895 passengers per hour (total of American-based airlines' domestic passengers divided by 365, divided by 24). This doesn't even count international flights or airlines that don't rank in the top 10.

Additionally, the FAA states there are 7,000 aircraft in the air at any given time. This means the average number of people per flight would only have to be about 8.7 to make this claim true (61,000 divided by 7,000). Last, here's probably the best source to find this information for sure, if you've got the money to blow.

Claim: "Intelligent people have more zinc and copper in their hair."

Credible proof lacking. There is a Dr. Jeremy E. Kaslow who makes claims relating copper and zinc in hair to brain function (with no citations), but he is a controversial figure in his field.

Claim: "The first novel ever written on a typewriter, Tom Sawyer."

False. It was "Life On the Mississippi" by the same author, Samuel Clemens (aka Mark Twain). Here's a simple explanation. Here and here are sites written related to and by the man who first pointed this out.

Claim: "The San Francisco Cable cars are the only mobile National Monuments."

False. The cable cars aren't National Monuments. They're National Historic Landmarks. And they're not the only vehicle that's a National Historic Landmark. The U.S.S. Constitution was refurbished for her 200th birthday in 1997 and is currently a fully commissioned ship of the U.S. Navy.

Claim: "Each king in a deck of playing cards represents a great king from history: Spades: King David; Hearts: Charlemagne; Clubs: Alexander, the Great; Diamonds: Julius Caesar."

False. This was just what an 18th century French card publishing company did with one of their decks. It's no more true than the king in chess representing Homer Simpson. It just depends on what deck/set you're using.

Claim: "111,111,111 x 111,111,111 = 12,345,678,987,654,321."

True!

Claim: "If a statue in the park of a person on a horse has both front legs in the air, the person died in battle. If the horse has one front leg in the air, the person died because of wounds received in battle If the horse has all four legs on the ground, the person died of natural causes."

False. The statues say otherwise.

Claim: "Only two people signed the Declaration of Independence on July 4, John Hancock and Charles Thomson. Most of the rest signed on August 2, but the last signature wasn't added until 5 years later."

Unsure... Research for yourself if you have the time. Find out more about the signing of the Declaration of Independence, or read in depth from a credible 1903 book about the subject on pages 208-219.

Claim: "Half of all Americans live within 50 miles of their birthplace."

No credible proof available (?).

Claim: "Most boat owners name their boats. What is the most popular boat name requested? Obsession."

True, for 1997 & 1995. Top Boat Names 1991-2002.

Claim: "If you were to spell out numbers, how far would you have to go until you would find the letter 'A'? One thousand."

True (for whole numbers).

Claim: "What do bulletproof vests, fire escapes, windshield wipers and laser printers have in common? All were invented by women."

False. The bulletproof vest was commissioned and created by men in the 16th century. However the fire escape was patented by a woman. Windshield wipers were thought up by a man and a woman independently in the same year, but the woman patented her idea. Laser printers were unquestionably invented by a man named Gary Starkweather.

Claim: "What is the only food that doesn't spoil? Honey."

False. Nothing lasts forever, however it does last a long time.

Claim: "Which day are there more collect calls than any other day of the year? Father's Day."

True. Snopes.com confirms this.

Claim: "In Shakespeare's time, mattresses were secured on bed frames by ropes. When you pulled on the ropes, the mattress tightened, making the bed firmer to sleep on. Hence the phrase...'Goodnight, sleep tight.'"

True. Here's some pictures.

Claim: "It was the accepted practice in Babylon 4,000 years ago that for a month after the wedding, the bride's father would supply his son-in-law with all the mead he could drink. Mead is a honey beer and because their calendar was lunar based, this period was called the honey month, which we know today as the honeymoon."

No credible proof available, but mostly true. Rather than a 4,000 year old tradition, Wikipedia and its sources say it seems to come from more recent European traditions.

Claim: "In English pubs, ale is ordered by pints and quarts... So in old England , when customers got unruly, the bartender would yell at them 'Mind your pints and quarts, and settle down.' It's where we get the phrase 'mind your P's and Q's'."

False (most likely). Note that the Wikipedia article includes the claim as a possible origin, but the problem is that the source probably got the idea from this very same circulated email, considering the age of the email (1995 or 1997). Wikipedia can be wrong, and the explanation of movable type printers of the pre-industrial era minding their p's and q's sounds much more accurate.

Claim: "Many years ago in England, pub frequenters had a whistle baked into the rim, or handle, of their ceramic cups. When they needed a refill, they used the whistle to get some service. 'Wet your whistle' is the phrase inspired by this practice."

False. And the source that disproved it disproves several other claims in this email.

P.S. See here for other false "Life in the 1500s" claims.