Chris Higgins
The Snopes.com “25 Hottest Urban Legends”
by Chris Higgins - April 7, 2010 - 4:18 PM

I love Snopes. It’s my go-to resource when someone forwards me an email and I know it’s fake, but I don’t have time to type out a response explaining why email forwards are always hoaxes. The folks at Snopes have already done the legwork, in well-researched articles that validate all sorts of hoaxes, urban legends, and crazy internet stuff. Sending someone a Snopes link is the digital equivalent of calling BS.

To make Snopes even better, its authors (the Mikkelsons) actually reply to their email. Last year I wrote an article for mental_floss involving MacGyver, and was using a Snopes article as a source. Being good journalists, they had actually cited their own sources — but I couldn’t find those source articles through my local library system. So I went ahead and emailed the site owners asking if they had tips on finding the articles. To my surprise (and delight) I got a personal response the next day, including PDFs of the articles in question. Now that’s awesome.

So I thought I’d point you to a super-useful page on the Snopes site: their 25 Hottest Urban Legends. Among the top hits that have been personally sent to me by family members and friends are a bogus cell phone telemarketing alert, Microsoft/AOL giveaway, and an alleged Facebook virus, though my favorite from the list is Cut Onion Contamination, in which a claim is made that onions are overwhelmingly responsible for food spoilage, and various claims are made about mayonnaise. Just read it, it’s complicated.

Another favorite: the Fauxtography page, which determines the authenticity of all kinds of photos circulated online — including the photo of a woman hand-feeding hummingbirds (true!) shown above. (Photo copyright 2006 Sam & Abigail Alfano)

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Comments (20)

  1. LOVE SNOPES!

    posted by Katie Rose on 4-7-2010 at 4:40 pm

  2. Such a useful site. I wish their website looked a little more professional, then maybe people would take it more seriously when I inevitably forward them the link to a Snopes article in response to their wild claims.

    posted by Lynnie on 4-7-2010 at 4:57 pm

  3. @Lynnie: Here, here!!

    posted by tambalina on 4-7-2010 at 5:16 pm

  4. Here’s my favorite Snopes article ever. Be sure to click the “More information about this page” link after reading… the follow up is brilliantly written.

    http://www.snopes.com/lost/mistered.asp

    posted by Johnny Cat on 4-7-2010 at 5:27 pm

  5. Why. oh why, does that cell phone thing keep popping back up?

    And why don’t people check Snopes before passing along hoaxes?

    posted by G on 4-7-2010 at 5:32 pm

  6. The website kills me.
    It’s like they paused their internet in 1998.

    posted by Steve on 4-7-2010 at 6:10 pm

  7. The HR department sent around that cell phones email. I almost sent them a link to Snopes, but decided not to be the jerk the higher ups feel stupid. Someone else must have though, because they sent an apology later in the day.

    posted by April In Autumn on 4-7-2010 at 6:40 pm

  8. I love snopes, but I hafta agree that it really could use a little… updating. The condescending tone in every article is a turn off, I dont really go to this site anymore becuase of it.

    posted by ashley on 4-7-2010 at 6:44 pm

  9. I have mixed feelings about Snopes. I think sometimes the conclusions they draw are inaccurate, but even they say don’t just take our word for everything we print.

    That’s why I would love it if they had a comment section, like we have here, so that there could be debate about some of the articles and their conclusions.

    posted by TheBear on 4-7-2010 at 6:47 pm

  10. Love that picture – - i had a pretty good idea it was real, as my Grandfather taught me to do that when i was a kid – - it is very zen, as you have to stay absolutely still for a long time before they begin to trust you. Also it is a very strange sensation to have their little claws gripping your hand – and you can tell why they need such a high-energy diet – you can actually feel the heat radiating from their little bodies.

    posted by Andrew on 4-7-2010 at 7:12 pm

  11. Maybe they’re too busy tracking down the latest BS to update their site…? It went through a major overhaul a few years back, and this version is much better.

    posted by Helenann on 4-8-2010 at 10:15 am

  12. I LOVE Snopes.com and I’m one of those people who sends the Snopes link every time some ignorant person forwards me some ridiculous email. You’d think that the third time I did that to them, the person would think to check snopes before forwarding to me, wouldn’t you? But no! At least I am kind and send the link privately, rather than replying to all and embarrassing the original sender. I don’t care how the site looks — the content is great. They perform a great public service.

    posted by Lady G on 4-8-2010 at 11:57 am

  13. I wish they would put some warnings on the photo links!! I was browsing through the fauxtography section and clicked on some graphic accident scenes. I would have preferred to not view that while eating lunch. A little notice would have been nice!!

    posted by Jaime on 4-8-2010 at 12:13 pm

  14. Snopes has been a go to source for me for a very long time. If I have gotten several BS emails from the same person, I have no problems replying all with a snopes article. Makes me hope they think twice before sending it along. Embarrasment can go a long way in stopping the spam. :)

    posted by tinkerschnitzel on 4-8-2010 at 1:11 pm

  15. I visit Snopes all the time. I should also point out though that my other go-to site is truthorfiction dot com. I usually check both places just to check each other. Over the years I have found a few things that were on one site but not on the other.

    posted by crocostimpy on 4-8-2010 at 1:32 pm

  16. My grandma gets snopes links from me all the time.

    posted by AP on 4-8-2010 at 1:58 pm

  17. @TheBear I agree that some of their conclusions are inaccurate and sometimes their research is not thorough. When you want to tell someone that an urban legend is true or false, it helps if your own research isn’t full of errors, misinterpretations, and incomplete information.

    A comment section would be a wonderful addition, although probably cumbersome for a couple to police.

    posted by littleAK on 4-8-2010 at 2:35 pm

  18. @littleAK

    I guess it depends on your readers. I don’t think any polices Mental Floss but maybe that’s because we’re all just rational, mature people :)

    Ever read CNN or USATODAY comment section? If any site is in need of policing their comments it’s them. Some people can get just downright nasty.

    posted by TheBear on 4-9-2010 at 12:08 pm

  19. @TheBear

    I can’t even read news comments anymore because they are so ridiculous. Snopes seems fairly rigid about its content, so I assumed they would want to control comments, too. In addition to inappropriate comments, I am sure there would be concern that comments containing inaccurate information could be reiterated, claiming the information is from the snopes site. Snopes does have a separate message board.

    posted by litlleAK on 4-14-2010 at 12:16 pm

  20. God, if you people have such an issue with how the website LOOKS, you really need to get your priorities straight.

    posted by BL on 5-5-2010 at 8:16 am

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