Read This, Or Be Eaten Alive

It is really hard to know what to believe or not any more. The Internet is an incredible resource, but it is also full of erroneous information. Worse yet, hardly a day goes by where I don’t receive at least one email warning me about something. Is it true or not?

I know most of you are savvy enough to have heard about snopes.com, but I figured it is worth mentioning again anyway. It is a website dedicated to identifying and tracking urban legends and myths and clarifying what is true or false, or even just partially true.


I once received a photo of a man getting his picture taken on one of the Twin Towers on 9/11, right before the plane crashed into it. False. I once received a photo of a shark about to eat a British Navy diver. False. I once received an email that John Kerry’s wife owns Heinz, which supposedly outsources much of its work abroad. False. I recently received an email that my cell phone needed to be registered on a no-call list. False.

Snopes. com is a fascinating site to explore. Their list of urban legends will keep you entertained for hours. More importantly, the next time you get an urgent email and feel the need to pass it along, you will have a source to check it out first...