Dutch newspaper Trouw set out a poll, in collaboration with Kieskompas, to investigate the belief in several conspiracy theories. One of the results they reported is that ‘almost one per cent of the Dutch, 0.9 per cent to be exact, think that the Earth is not round, but flat.’ This would amount to about 150.000 […]
Category: Fact-checking
The exceptional accurate experimental approximation of pi by Lazzarini was a joke, not fraud
It is possible to approximate pi with throwing needles on a grid, but the result Italian mathematician Mario Lazzarini published in 1901 seems too good to be true. But was it fraud? A close look into his original paper sheds some new light on this issue.
Ronald Bernard of the B of Joy on Child Sacrifices and the Protocols of the Elders of Zion
Without any proof whatsoever, Dutchman Ronald Bernard tells about his former career as a financial specialist for a dark elite of Luciferians, claims he was invited to child sacrifices, and encourages to read the Protocols of the Elders of Zion, the antisemitic hoax.
Fabricated history by Bertrand Russell?
According to Bertrand Russell the Spanish conquistadors used to baptize infants before killing them in cruel ways as to save at least their souls. But did such things actually happen?
Disappointing outcome of Bardens vs. Lanka: measles proven to exist, but anti-vaxxer Lanka keeps his money
A victory for Stefan Lanka, only because of legal subtleties, not because the courts finds the proof for the existence of the virus lacking.
More Santilli Shenanigans
Fringe scientist Ruggero Santilli isn’t pleased at all with a couple of articles I’ve written about his activities. He tried to scare to scare me off with a peculiar letter from his attorney, Joe Parrish from Fortis Law.
Wim Hof’s Cold Trickery
Wim Hof is well known for setting some stunning records in the cold, but in the last couple of years changed his focus to selling his method as a tool to get better health. What is plausible of his claims? And what is true about his claims that his method has gained scientific recognition?
‘Iceman’ Wim Hof over the top
Another world record is added to the list of ‘Iceman’ Wim Hof. But what does this performance actually come down to?
Oliver Sacks’s Twins and Prime Numbers
In his book “The Man Who Mistook His Wife For A Hat” (1985) Oliver Sacks describes an intriguing case of savant syndrome. He tells the story about his encounter with the twins John and Michael, who had been in institutions since childhood, variously diagnosed as autistic, psychotic or severely retarded. Others before Sacks had already investigated these boys and […]