Here is a rundown of the top stories in pseudoscience, paranormal and anomaly news from the past week courtesy of Doubtful News  

There were several stories reflecting anti-science sentiment in the U.S. this past week.  

A new Gallup poll on Creationism belief shows that nothing has changed, 46% of Americans hold this belief.  Several laws attempting to undermine the teaching of evolution were proposed in the last year. One became law, in Tennessee. The other state who has a law that undermines evolution, Louisiana, proposed to allow voucher to pay for Bible-based schooling.  And, it's not just in the U.S., South Korea has a serious problem with anti-evolution sentiment.  

In related legislation news, North Carolina passes a ridiculous bill that hamstrings scientists from predicting sea level rise effects for their shoreline. Many heads hit desks with this one. As if ignorance can stop the truth.   

Fictional monsters are becoming real thanks to the media. Animal Planet succeeds in confusing people over mermaids.  A web developer spreads a rumor about a real zombie virus.  Archeologists uncover graves of what Bulgarians believed were vampires at the time.  In Africa, people continue to blame misfortune on goblins and mythical creatures.   

You can help an Indian skeptical activist charged with debunking a miracle by signing a petition in support.  

But, sadly we can't help these teens killed while scaring themselves over a ghost legend.  

In medical news, a piece in the British Journal of Medicine outrages chiropractors by calling neck manipulation "clinically unnecessary" and potentially dangerous.  

And, just to show that every major terrorist act WILL grow conspiracy theories no matter how clear cut the evidence is: Norway's July 22, 2011 attack.   

Finally, for the “people really believe this stuff” story of the week: Here is an example of how poor we humans are at observation and the news at taking advantage of that.   

Visit Doubtful News for more stories, updated every day. Be sure to check out the comments on the stories for some additional info and add yours!  

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See me at this year's Amazing Meeting where I will be presenting a workshop about talking with others who may not share your worldview. Can we agree on something? Can we make progress? Come learn some practices to help improve your understanding and communication skills with real world examples.  

 

Sharon Hill runs Doubtful News, a unique feed of news stories about the paranormal, pseudoscience, the weird and the unexplained with questioning commentary.