I remember a couple years ago there was that rumor that skittles all tasted the same. I immediately called bullshit, because of course they fucking taste different, and went digging for the source, only to find it was a claim made in a scientific paper showing how the internet is quick to latch on to and spread false information. Somehow this made me even more upset.
I remember a couple years ago there was that rumor that skittles all tasted the same. I immediately called bullshit, because of course they fucking taste different, and went digging for the source, only to find it was a claim made in a scientific paper showing how the internet is quick to latch on to and spread false information. Somehow this made me even more upset.
That’s actually the origin of the “average person eats 8 spiders per year” myth. Started for the reason of showing how fast false info spreads.
Fun fact. It kind of was, and it kind of wasn’t. At least not in the sense that most people think.
The base claim is “people eat 8 spiders in their sleep”
Which was debunked by snopes in 2001, citing someone who make up that claim as an example, which then spread as misinformation
But that’s not the end of the story
spoiler
Snopes themselves fabricated that citation, making this whole story very meta
the real spoiler...
it’s actually more than just 8 spiders
I heard it’s 8 per night.
8/hour actually.
For real. Rookie numbers.