Urban Legend: Student mistakes unsolvable math problems for homework and solves them.

True. This legend combines one of the ultimate academic wish-fulfillment fantasies — a student not only proves himself the smartest...

Would you Adam ‘n’ Eve it … dinosaurs in Eden

The razor-toothed Tyrannosaurus rex, jaws agape, loomed ominously over the gentle Thescelosaurus, looking for plants to eat. Admiring the museum...

Urban Legend: Eating carrots results in improved vision

Status: False (I love this legend, btw) Carrots have long been touted for their efficacy in improving eyesight, and generations...

The 10 best ghost stories in Wales

Wales is arguably the most haunted country in the world, say Richard Holland, the author of a new book called...

The Evolution of Creationism

The latest struggle over the teaching of evolution in the public schools of Kansas provides striking evidence that evolution is...

Belief in sex-mad demon test nerves in Zanzibar

Mohammed Juma starts to sweat and fidget as he recalls his rape by Popo Bawa, the most feared spirit-monster of...

9/11 Conspiracies

Interesting commentary by John Rennie on a skeptic column appearing in the upcoming issue of SciAm: “But apparently somebody within...

Urban Legend: President Eisenhower said “a few Texas oil millionaires” wanted to “abolish social security.”

Status: True. One favorite tactic in political debate is to put words in the mouth of a respected elder statesmen...

Friday the 13th awakens age-old superstitions

When Ashley Ocampo booked a flight for a conference this weekend in Tampa, she opted to leave today instead of...

Junk Science: David Bellamy

David Bellamy’s inaccurate and selective figures on glacier shrinkage are a boon to climate change deniers. For the past three...