Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Just the facts ma'am

I cant tell you how many emails and forwards I get a day from friends and family.
Some of them are funny, some are sweet and poignant.
Others are "forward this on and make a difference" or "Write to your Congressman to get this changed" or "Boycott Pepsi". These are known as E-rumors.
Now although I appreciate you forwarding some of these on to me, I have something to say...

http://www.snopes.com/
OR
http://www.truthorfiction.com/


My cousin is the WORST offender. Every day i get 6 to 8 emails from her. AT LEAST 1/3 of her messages are those pesky e-rumors.

SO to break it down, here are some of the Hottest E-rumours going around, past and present:

1. Bill gates is not going to send you money or to Disney World for forwarding emails to "track" them for his new Beta Program. I dont care if the message said "my attorney friend looked at this and said they have to do it." or "I personally saw the check". IT ISNT GOING TO HAPPEN.

2. If you get an Amber Alert, before jumping in and passing them along, check out the veracity through Snopes or through center for Missing or exploited Children. Many of them are hoaxes.
BUT some are real.

3. The Cancer Society or Heart Association is not going to pay money for every email or card or forward some sick child is going to receive. They will not donate 3 cents per each forward towards cancer research, and AOL is not going to pay 32 cents for every 3 people that open or forward a message.

4. In God We Trust is NOT being taken off of the coins. Nor did a WWII memorial leave off So Help US God from the monument.

5. Don't Boycott Pepsi because they left off "under God" on their patriotic cans . Boycott Pepsi because their soda tastes like a$$.

6. (and my fave) THE CLINTON BODY COUNT... Every person that has opposed the Clintons has wound up dead, either through suspicious circumstances or "suicide". hmmm.
Political E-rumours are the hottest thing right now, especially with the upcoming election. I personally like the newest Obama endorsement from those morons in the KKK.

7. Andy Rooney, George Carlin, Jay Leno and Paul Harvey did not write essays or remarks about immigration, political correctness, Church vs state etc. On the Flip Side, Ben Stein, Bill Cosby and Charlie Daniels have. And on a personal note, the Dixie Chicks STILL suck.(verified through snopes)

8. Plastic Water bottles...dont get me started.

9. Starbucks refusing to send coffee to the troops because they didnt support the war...Do you know how many people boycotted Starbucks over this rumour? It all started when One worker at a starbucks in New York charged Ground zero workers $130 for 3 cases of water(true). People started jumping on the "we hate starbucks" bandwagon and next thing you know they are killing babies, and eating puppies for lunch and being called every other deplorable name in the book.

10. The Planet Mars is not going to pass so close to earth that it would be the size of the moon...

11. Your local gang will not have an initiation to kill someone who flashes their lights, gets bumped in an intersection or is wearing the color red

12. The Last Photo from a camera found at the World Trade center, Photos of The space shuttle blowing up upon re-entry and waves frozen into place are usually photoshopped, or taken from another source(Kind of Like Al Gores Inconvenient truth)


Now some E-rumours are Partly True, like This one about redeeming your gift cards from stores entering Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Partly true e-rumours tend to be more believeable, because SOME PARTS are true, automatically making this recipient think the rest is true.
Gas Boycotts, Cheating Gas Pumps, Barak Obama and #77 on your cell phone to avoid rapists have multiple status, meaing parts are true, but the rest are false or undetermined. The one about the tax payers costs of illegal Immigrants is a very popular one circulating right now(this one has sources backing it up making it seem very believeable) oh and Denzel Washington and the medical center is a pretty popular multiple status rumour too.

Other E-rumours ARE true : flip flops from Wal-Mart, Hand Sanitizers making kids drunk, and Strawberry Quick Meth and certain destructive computer viruses.


So next time you get that e-mail that appeals to your patriotic side, the one that tells you "boycott because of such and such" or "So and So wrote this about americans" PLEASE for the LOVE of all that is good and holy, CHECK THEM OUT before hitting that Forward button.

SAY NO TO E-RUMOURS!!

Thank you for your time.

8 comments:

Scott Bulger Photography said...

This blog should be copied and pasted into emails to every single person everyone of us has in our address book.

Like David Hannum said, there is a sucker born every minute.

Rosebud Collection said...

Thank you for all the information..It is amazing what gets sent in an email. Most I don't read anyway.

Jezabels Jewels said...

wait, wait, wait...you mean i'm not getting a check from Bill Gates?

*stunned silence*

;P

The Mom Jen said...

Phew! Every time I hit delete I felt I was missing out on something big! Then there are all those God-centered emails...those freaked me out...if you don't forward to 654 people in the next five seconds, God will know, you will go to he!!. I feel so much better.

Anonymous said...

I take exception to your statement that Pepsi tastes like ass! Harumph!

Hey Harriet said...

It's a crazy world we live in. I really like the suggestion from 'scott bulger'

Double D said...

You have no idea how many times I have be ridiculed for actually sending out the link from snopes stating that person's email is basic crap. I've come to the conclusion that people don't want to be told they're ignorant for forwarding dribble like that, so I kindly keep my mouth quiet and delete the email.

I would have SO much less junkmail if people were a little more conscience.

Double D said...

And I double Sarah's comment that Pepsi does indeed taste like a$$...sorry Linds.

Day trip from Boise- Hells Canyon and Dam , and Owyhee Reservoir

"Hells Canyon, North America's deepest rover gorge, encompasses a vastly remote region with dramatic changes in elevation, terrain,...