What do the skull of a “lost” hominid, a tree that produces spaghetti and vaccines “hidden” in mayonnaise have in common? You will find out in the unique April Fool’s Day episode of the series devoted to factoids.
This text is part of a series dedicated to factoidom, i.e. anecdotes that we like to share, especially as “scientific” curiosities. Once duplicated, they become almost immortal. Why? Because they have fantastic social potential: it’s nice to throw out some smart, intriguing thesis in company.
Be factual not always are completely fake sometimes they are simply simplified, exaggerated, “enhanced” by subsequent messages and the emotions that accompany their transmission.
Today we invite you to a unique episode of the series. We will not focus on one specific factoid, but we will describe why even absurd, seemingly unbelievable content (e.g. that shared on April Fool’s Day) can have far-reaching consequences.
April Fool’s Day customs are widespread
Traditions related to April making jokes and fooling interlocutors are enough widespread. The equivalents of April Fool’s Day include: In Germanywe Francew Great Britainw Denmarkw Finlandw Sweden or v Norway. Each of these countries has individual customs that distinguish them from other countries and cultures. For example, in French-speaking countries, jokes concern usually… fish. The holiday itself is called anyway April fish (fr. poisson d’avril).
The carousel of laughter in these regions revolves around who gets it was attached imperceptibly a paper fish on his back. Sometimes the tradition occurs in a slightly smoother version and consists, for example, in the fact that on April 1, customers can buy chocolate fish.
Some Spanish-speaking countries they have traditionswhich are similar to the Polish April Fool’s Day, but are related to another one the date. Residents of Spain and some South American countries celebrate at the end of December Day of the Holy Innocents i do each other jokes similar in style to Polish ones.
Even something that starts as an absurd hoax can have far-reaching consequences
Commonness traditions similar to the Polish April Fool’s Day results among others because of laughter and jokes are important binders human communication. It’s good sometimes leave the realities of everyday life and immerse yourself in an imaginary world where mysterious creatures live, puzzles waiting to be solved and extraordinary civilizations. But the consequences of “innocent” jokes can sometimes be very far-reaching.
For example: it’s hard to take existence seriously the Loch Ness Monster (zoology she didn’t recognize it existence of this animal, so it is so-called cryptid). And yet it is estimated that a business that is based on mythology Nessie, is currently worth ok. 80 million dollars (That is over PLN 300 million).
It also happens that the consequences of mystification go beyond economics. This was the case, for example, with the so-called skull. Piltdown man. In 1912 Charles Dawsonbrytyjski amator archeologii i paleontologii, He introduced employee British Museum an extraordinary find. It was hominid skull with a brain and facial part typical of modern humans and a prominent lower jaw – the same as that of other primates, e.g. orangutans.
Occurrence he signed in into the then idea of what intermediate forms looked like between modern humans and their evolutionary ancestors. He was not true though.
The “Piltdown Man” hoax endured for four decades and is still in a museum today
Dawson glued fragments of a human skull with an orangutan’s lower jaw and part of a chimpanzee’s teeth. Additionally he surrendered the “find” underwent several procedures that were supposed to improve its credibility (e.g. he filed down the canines to fit the bite, chemically “aged” the bones). His hoax was exposed only in the 1950s, when analytical techniques were advanced enough to expose the forgery.
Until unmasked, the skull of “Piltdown man” was considered for an important paleontological specimen. Its history and level of advancement of forgery they are so interestingthat London Natural History Musem it still has a special one exhibition on this topic. You can get on her get acquainted not only with the history of the artifact and photographic documentation, but also with the correspondence that Dawson conducted with contemporary scientists.
Absurd content can also be taken seriously
Even unbelievable stories can be considered credible, as long as the source of the information is respected by recipients. Yes it was even when respected and considered credible TV BBC released in 1957 program regarding… trees on which spaghetti grows.
The hoax was broadcast under April Fool’s Day joke. However, part of the audience she believed in that – how given – in the south of Switzerland, the spaghetti harvest is underway.
Even theories that seem irrational can be used to spread disinformation
The common factoids we often discuss in this series, as well as the stories described above, have several things in common. The intention of their creators is often to arouse interest, to appear, to attract someone’s attention, even for a moment. However, the consequences of such actions may be difficult to predict. In Demagogue’s editorial office, we often deal with content that seems too irrational for anyone to believe (e.g. 1, 2, 3, 4), and yet their creators manage to use it to create false narratives.
For example, the claim that vaccines are allegedly smuggled in mayonnaise has been used to spread false information about health, COVID-19 and preventive medical programs. Theories about Antarctica (that it is a gateway to other continents, and that it does not exist and instead there is a huge wall at the pole) are often an excuse to deny global warming.
Such connections – between what is seemingly absurd and what constitutes an element of harmful disinformation – make it worth paying attention to any content that is misleading. This includes: that’s why in Demagogue we sometimes deal with topics that seem frivolous. Because we are aware that they can also be used to spread disinformation.