Lois Edwards
Apr 12 min
It’s April Fool’s Day!
What is the slickest trick you have ever pulled on anyone? I’ll bet it doesn’t match what the BBC did to their listeners on April 1, 1957. At that time, the BBC had a program called Panorama. On April Fool’s Day, BBC produced a segment for Panorama, in a very serious tone, about “the annual spaghetti harvest in Switzerland.” Most people thought it was a hilarious hoax but a few people actually called in to the BBC and asked how to plant their own spaghetti trees. Can you beat that?
The link to the YouTube video of the actual broadcast is https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8scpGwbvxvI.
The WeCanReason Webinar Series will be on hiatus for a couple of months because the WeCanReason Conference is coming up on May the Fourth. There is a stunning list of speakers ranging from the Friendly Atheist to the Sweary Historian. We will be telling you a lot more about it in the May Newsletter. For now, take a look at the speaker’s list. For more information, go to https://wecanreason.com/. Get your tickets now.
Lois’s Pick
My pick for April is the Skeptoid podcast (https://skeptoid.com/) with Brian Dunning. A couple of months ago, the movie we watched at Movie Night was The UFO Movie THEY Don’t Want You to See so it only seems appropriate to learn more about the hoaxes and myths that Brian Dunning has debunked. Brian has been producing the podcast since 2006 and has won many awards such as “Best Education,” “Best Science,” and “Fact Behind the Fiction.” Not only does Brian debunk myths, but he also gives information about how to detect fake news and misinformation, such as his podcast on “How to Spot Fake News.” Check out Skeptoid, you will probably enjoy it.
Note: Some events might not appear on this list because they are not yet confirmed. Check the Meetup page to find any new events that might be planned during the month.
To find the location or Zoom link, go to the Meetup page.