Print

Here is a rundown of the top stories in pseudoscience, anomalies and just plain oddball stuff from the past week courtesy of Doubtful News

Celebrities were being very ridiculous this week. National Football League ex-player Bernie Kosar hypes a mysterious brain treatment

Former actress, now turned health "advocate" Suzanne Somers spouts complete nonsense about toxins

These stories have a common thread, the idea that toxins are affecting your brain. I wouldn't consider this health advocacy.

Sandy Hook conspiracies and fringe ideas were running rampant on the internet this week. There is a movement of Sandy Hook "truthers" (a poorly descriptive work) who are convinced something nefarious is going on. 

A professor is at the forefront. 

The DNA of the shooter is undergoing complete mapping. To find what? The mass shooter gene? This could be problematic. 

CNN decides that the man who never met a conspiracy he didn't like, Alex Jones, would be a good person to talk about gun control

Several studies out this week in the press did a craptastic job with science. Serious skepticism was needed in this piece that linked sweetened drinks to depression

Several headlines reporting a study was suggestive that a poor diet contributed to allergies, but again, it was correlation, not causation. 

And, the media and marketing companies LOVE the word "antioxidant" and consider it synonymous with "healthy". That's not accurate. 

Media outlets went wild with speculation about these curious structures that appeared suddenly in the Gobi desert in China. They really weren't that interesting but add the word "mystery" to the story and suddenly it's newsworthy.

A story appeared promoting another mystery triangle myth without foundation: the Los Roques curse. 

In other media news, the fall of the house of the Australian Vaccination Network continues as they cease publishing their magazine and president Meryl Dorey leaves. I suspect that's not the last we shall see of her though as we might expect such an ideological base to regroup. 

An anti-vaccination, pro-measles kids book faced serious scrutiny. That's right. I said PRO-MEASLES as if measles is a good thing to catch. 

In another facepalm moment, a man is arrested, accused of attempted harm to his friend, when he gives her an alternative treatment that is marketed as a MIRACLE but is really industrial bleach. Yep, you read me correctly there too. 

The most ridiculous story of the week was the Wyoming legislature honoring the jackalope - a jackrabbit with antlers. The real story behind the jackalope is FAR more interesting. 

Finally, you can do your part against pseudoscience and to actually HELP legitimate research for childhood cancer by donating to the St. Jude's Hospital in this skeptical activism charity drive

Join us over at Doubtful News for more stories, updated every day. 

And, we have leftover links of interest posted every night at midnight.

We love getting news tips. Send us YOUR tips. Mail to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

The BEST way to follow us is on Twitter. All the links are posted there immediately and additional comments and stories are also included. Go to @Doubtfulnews on Twitter.

You can also find us on Facebook.

 

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