Test your acuity on these urban legends/facts.

Did we fool you? Check the answers and see.

True or false?

1. In 1922, the New York Times downplayed the seriousness of Adolf Hitler's antisemitism. True. They said the (then) would-be Führer was 'merely using anti-Semitic propaganda as a bait to catch masses of followers.' Alas, they were wrong.
2. When the United States is at war, the eagle on the Great Seal faces the other way. False. We know you 'saw it on The West Wing', but they were having us on.
3. A 1949 Singer sewing machine manual advises ladies to wear makeup while sewing. True. Amazingly, the manual suggested that you'd sew better if you looked your best.
4. The sister ship to Titanic was originally supposed to be named Gigantic. True. Later, the White Star Line opted for the more reassuring name Britannic.
5. Winston Churchill was born in a ladies' room during a dance. False. Though his mother may have gone into labour in a cloakroom.
6. Taking LSD more than seven times will render you legally insane in some US states. False. No such law exists. (We didn't say dropping that much acid was a good idea.)
7. A misplaced comma once cost the US government about a million dollars in revenue. True. It was in a law about tropical fruit imports. Let that be a lesson to you, comma-deniers!
8. A Russian spy ship was spotted off the coast of Delaware on Valentine's Day, 2017. True. It made some people nervous.
9. A Kentucky state legislator once introduced a bill for the state to buy a submarine. True. It was a joke, but the legislator was mad about riverboat casinos.
10. A new word has appeared in dictionaries: the word 'trumpery' is defined as 'deceit, fraud, trash, lies'. False. Oh, the definition is true. But it's been in English dictionaries since at least 1780.

We bet you were pretty perspicacious. Remember: Snopes.com is a good fact checking source. But beware: even they can fool you sometimes. They do it to keep you on your toes. (Read their disclaimer.)

Dmitri Gheorgheni

13.03.17 Front Page

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