At the Corner of True and False

Thought for the day:  Don't believe everything you read on the Internet.  [Abraham Lincoln]

Even George Washington, who allegedly never told a lie, would tell you not to believe everything you read online. Just because your pal is one smart cookie doesn't mean all the stuff in that amazing facts email (s)he forwarded to you is accurate, either. But some of the stuff in those emails is interesting enough to merit further investigation, dontcha think? And that's just what I did for today's post. Ready?

[morguefile]

#1 Brass door knobs automatically disinfect in about eight hours. 

Whatcha think? True or false?

Actually, it's true. The oligodynamic effect, first discovered by a Swiss scientist in 1893, is a process in which certain metals have an antimicrobial effect on viruses, bacteria, and other living cells, like molds, algae, fungi, and the like. And while brass may be a more aesthetically pleasing choice for door knobs and knockers, it does, indeed, kill germs in about eight hours, making it a healthier choice than stainless steel or aluminum, as well.

[morguefile]

#2  Netherlands is closing nineteen prisons due to a serious prisoner shortage. 

Again, this one is true. Inmates in the Netherlands typically only serve 2/3 of their sentences, and even after those closures, there are still more guards and other prison staff than there are prisoners.  (Wow! What a great problem to have.)

Claim #3 is rather astounding, and kinda cool, regarding the Vatican's Women's Rifle Team. Supposedly, in 1936, for the first and only time in history, Vatican City participated in the Olympics by entering said team. As I investigated, this same picture kept popping up on website after website, along with pretty much the same story. The pic shown here came from an amateur radio site, and is supposedly a QSL card. (Which amateur radio operators exchange after making contact with other stations.) The basic story: although the gun-slinging nuns failed to win any medals at the Games, they became minor celebrities, and in 1937, Nuns With Guns did a tour of Latin America and the United States, where they allegedly wowed the crowds at places like the Iowa State Fair.  In 1938, the Pope disbanded the group, because he decided they were bad for the Church's image. Sister Juliette, at the far right in this photo, left the order in 1942 to join the French underground as a very effective sharpshooter, and in 1949, returned to the convent.

So whattaya think? Is this story crazy enough to be true? Maybe, but unfortunately, I think it's a bunch of hooey, because I couldn't find any actual facts to support it, no matter how many sites kept reiterating the same story. There was nothing to verify it on the IOC website about the 1936 Olympics, and nothing about it on the Vatican's sites, either. Likewise, I came up with nothing after doing a search on Sister Juliette, the French Resistance,  and Mother Superior Maria Grazia, who allegedly led the rifle team. Nada. Plus there's this inconvenient fact: the International Olympics Committee only allows countries with a recognized National Olympic Committee to participate in the Games. Vatican City does, indeed, have such a committee... now, but not in 1936. Their NOC was recognized in 2010, and Vatican City participated for the first time at the London games in 2012. Still... if anyone has any facts to support the shooting nuns story, I'd love to hear it.

[wikipedia]

Now, for #4, we're gonna go from the nun side of things to the less-than-heavenly side, and check on the existence of something called the Door to Hell. Guess what? This one is true. Not saying it's actually a door to the netherworld, but that's what it's called... because that's what it looks like. Also called the Gate to Hell, it is located at a natural gas field in Derweze, Turkmenistan. In 1971, it collapsed into an underground cavern, forming a natural gas crater, which scientists set on fire, hoping to prevent the spread of deadly methane gas. They expected it to burn for several days, but it is... still burning. 

[morguefile]

Although those of you from Australia most assuredly know about this already, others may be a bit skeptical about the amazing fact #5, claiming that a baby kangaroo can fit into the bowl of a spoon.

A spoon? Have you seen how big mama kangaroos are...?

[morguefile]

I mean, just look at them! It'd have to be a pretty doggone big serving spoon, huh?

Or would it... ?

Nope... because this claim is also... true.




Wanta see one of those itty bitty roos?

[wikimedia]

Now let's jump right into #6, which claims the Diving Bell Spider spends most of its life underwater.

TRUE! These spiders, which are found in Northern and Central Europe, and Northern Asia, don't have gills, and some of them may surface once a day, but for the most part they live underwater. How do they do it? They trap air in a bubble, which is held by hairs on its abdomen and legs. Females build underwater diving bell webs, which they fill with air. In well-oxygenated water, replenishment of air is unnecessary, because the bell allows a gas exchange with the water: oxygen in, and carbon dioxide out. Wanta see one of these spiders in action?

The last item we're going to explore involves a claim that a tribe in India has created a system of living bridges. 

Really... living??? As in... alive??? 

Yep. Absolutely true.

[wikimedia]

Most of us think of a ficus as an attractive, and easy-to-grow houseplant.

But in the wild, the ficus elastica is something to behold...

[wikimedia]

I don't think this ficus is gonna fit into any flower pot, do you?

India's honest-to-goodness living bridges aren't so much built as they are grown. In an area that typically gets about fifty meters of rain a year, a normal wooden bridge would rot, but because these bridges are alive and still growing, they actually get stronger with time. Tribal members guide roots and vines across rivers, using hollowed trees to create a root guidance system, which eventually allows them to take root in the soil on the opposite bank. It can take as long as ten to fifteen years for the roots to become a functioning bridge, but once they do, some of these bridges are more than one hundred feet long and can support the weight of fifty or more people. This clever way of using the ficus tree to grow bridges has been done for more than five hundred years. Okay, one last video to show you what some of these bridges actually look like:

                                                                 Pretty clever, huh?

Bottom line? All of these amazing facts were true, except for the one about the nuns' rifle team. Too bad. That one was kinda cool.

But this is a fact: Nude Nuns With Big Guns was an actual movie, made in 2010. Pretty funny, huh?

Well, actually, I don't know if it's funny or not. We never saw it, because I've never, um, been in the habit of watching movies like that...


Okay, now for a bonus fact check: Smarticus married me when I was still a zygote. TRUE! It must be... how else could you explain the fact that our 47th anniversary is coming up on the 24th? It simply must be true. Only old people have been married that long... and it's been a terrific ride so far.



Until next time, take care of yourselves. And each other.