2006-09-29 06:06:49 · 7 answers · asked by John G 5 in Computers & Internet ➔ Internet
there are alot of idiots in the world.
This misinformation constantly makes the rounds in e-mail.
Before the Internet, rumors spread by word of big mouth. Every president from FDR to Ronald Reagan had syphilis, or so I heard, but the media refused to report it. I suppose all the presidents have AIDS now.
The widely known but never documented castration in the rest room - the one that occurred at a half-dozen malls in as many states - was one of the first rumors to be identified as an urban legend and predates the Internet. Of course, the media never reported the attack.
Media failure to report is a signal to investigate further.
Some legends sound plausible and help a cause if true, so they stay in circulation. Gun owners like to cite the well-known fact that Hitler disarmed German civilians immediately upon taking power. Since he didn't ban gun ownership for German Jews until four years later, that seems unlikely. Service personnel were required to keep their rifles with them on leave, so the "fact" that German society was disarmed is overstated at best, but it never will go away.
Some legends, you have to believe, spread for competitive business purposes. The health and beauty aid company that supposedly used a satanic symbol has apparently spiked the rumor about it, but now, the satanic symbols are showing up on another company's products. Apparently, the story was just too good to let go even when too many people knew there was nothing to it in the first version. The untruths about one popular soft drink are so numerous that they deserve a Web site all their own.
If you get an e-mail with a string of "Fwds" before the message, suspect it. If it has to do with what the media won't tell you, suspect it. When you suspect it, check with www.snopes.com or urbanlegends.about.com.
I was going to say that if you find out that you're looking at an ancient and bogus message, inform the sender. But I wasted an hour last week doing just that with three of the items in this column, and life is too short to keep up with canards that can reproduce in midflight. So just file the message under "delete." Please, please, please don't forward it to me for my edification.
2006-09-29 06:15:41 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
People with no lives.
2006-09-29 13:09:08 · answer #2 · answered by JS 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Same way they did before the Internet - by liars - all that's changed is the WAY they get spread.
2006-09-29 13:14:27 · answer #3 · answered by Strangerbarry 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
someone posts it and spreads it around!! They have nothing better to do but lie about someone else's life. if you think you have a lie then you can go to snopes.com and see if it is true or not. They do really really good research.
2006-09-29 13:13:12 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yahoo Answers :)
2006-09-29 13:34:49 · answer #5 · answered by suthyrngrl 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
People that have no lives or are bored, sit around and think these things up.
2006-09-29 13:13:55 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
because people are stupid.
2006-09-29 13:14:23 · answer #7 · answered by lacy_mali 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋