Snopes.com

My continuing entries about places on the web I like to visit!

Although I don't traffic Snopes as much as FARK, since the content doesn't change that much, I find it to be an extremely valuable resource. Still, I like to check it once a week at least.

Snopes is a website that debunks urban legends. Sometimes it even proves them right. From time to time, you've probably heard outlandish things from forwarded emails and whispered comments from coworkers that seemed far fetched. My rule of thumb is, if I ever get a forwarded message describing some particular warning or outrage and wants me to forward it on to everyone I know, I head to Snopes and do a search on the particulars. More often than not, I'll run into an entry about the very subject, and discover that not only is it false, but it has been around for over five years and is only rearing it's ugly head once again to prey on our fears.

Barbara and David Mikkelson do an excellent job describing the legend and talking about it in unbiased terms, and I'm always impressed by the amount of research they do to discover the validity of some of the strangest claims. Some legends even claim more than one thing, and they'll even break it down to explain.

The main Snopes link I placed up there actually takes you to a "What's New" page, which I find is a great way to keep up to date on stuff that's "making the rounds" before you even get asked about it.