One of my favorite Web sites is Snopes.com. Here's a description of the site from Wikipedia:
The Urban Legends Reference Pages, also known as snopes.com, is a Web site dedicated to determining the truth about many urban legends, Internet rumors and other such stories of uncertain or questionable origin. Snopes is run by Barbara and David Mikkelson, a California couple.
I find it especially useful when you get one of those emails warning of some new horror to watch out for, like the "bonsai kittens" or the drugged travelers who awaken in ice-filled bathtubs only to discover one of their kidneys has been harvested by organ thieves. When ever I get any email that seems the slightest bit hinky, I check snopes first to see if they have already debunked or authenticated it.
These are some of the new entries from this week:
* Pat Tillman's brother Kevin wrote an essay about U.S. policy in Iraq (true).
* Hillary Clinton was named after famed mountain climber Sir Edmund Hillary (false).
* A song appearing on the final Byrds album was sung by a roadie (false).
You can also learn on Snopes about Club 33, the private club housed in Disneyland's New Orleans Square.
Great advice as I never ever forward anything without checking it out first at Snopes.com or my other great favorite Hoaxbusters.com
Also Microsoft and Symantec, the maker of Norton software run checks on Internet Hoxes as well.
It seems that 99% of the time these are chain mail that have been floating around the Internet for years and not only valid but a bit outdated. I just got one last month telling me how to protect my computer prior to Y2K. Just slightly outdated, and not even true in the first place. I'm glad that there are sites like these Hoax busters to keep one's Inbox just a bit more empty.
"It seems that 99% of the time these are chain mail that have been floating around the Internet for years and not only valid but a bit outdated."
Did you know that 78.6% of all statistics are just made up out of thin air?