Category: Internet

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Astronomy Hoaxes Internet

Thursday Night Internet Hoax Hall-Of-Shame

Mars
Mars

The Red Planet is about to be spectacular !

This month and next, Earth is catching up with Mars in an encounter that will culminate in the closest approach between the two planets in recorded history. The next time Mars may come this close is in 2287. Due to the way Jupiter’s gravity tugs on Mars and perturbs its orbit, astronomers can only be certain that Mars has not come this close to Earth in the last 5,000 years, but it may be as long as 60,000 years before it happens again.

The encounter will culminate on August 27th when Mars comes to within 34,649,589 miles of Earth and will be (next to the moon) the brightest object in the night sky. It will attain a magnitude of -2.9 and will appear 25.11 arc seconds wide. At a modest 75-power magnification Mars will look as large as the full moon to the naked eye.

Mars will be easy to spot. At the beginning of August it will rise in the east at 10 p.m. and reach its azimuth at about 3 a.m.

By the end of August when the two planets are closest, Mars will rise at nightfall and reach its highest point in the sky at 12:30 a.m. That’s pretty convenient to see something that no human being has seen in recorded history. So, mark your calendar at the beginning of August to see Mars grow progressively brighter and brighter throughout the month.

Share this with your children and grandchildren.

NO ONE ALIVE TODAY WILL EVER SEE THIS AGAIN

This widely-circulated perennial E-Mail defies all astronomical logic, and it is of course an Internet HOAX !

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Categories
Hoaxes Internet

Thursday Night Internet Hoax Hall-Of-Shame

This is not a MASSIVE Tsunami wave that’s a half a second away from destroying this residential neighbourhood in Southeast Asia:

Tsunami Hits Sumatra
Tsunami Hits Sumatra

1/2 A SECOND BEFORE TSUNAMI

The last picture !  There are people who believe in God, there are others who don’t believe, but we must understand that we are small when nature hits.This picture was taken on the banks of Sumatra Island (the height of waves was of approx. 32 m = 105 ft). It was found saved in a digital camera, 1 1/2 years after the disaster.

We cannot know for sure, but very likely the one who took the picture is not alive any more (it was just a matter of seconds). Today we can see the last image he / she saw before ending life on Earth !

(This of course is an Internet Hoax.)

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Categories
Hoaxes Internet Politics

Thursday Night Internet Hoax Hall Of-Shame

This didn’t happen like this:

Obama On The Telephone

And this didn’t happen like this either:

George On The Telephone
George On The Telephone

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Categories
Computers Hoaxes Internet

Thursday Night Internet Hoax Hall-Of-Shame

It’s by far the most-read weekly feature here on this blog. It’s what everyone talks about on Friday. It’s the ‘Thursday Night Internet Hoax Hall-Of-Shame. It’s ON !

This week’s outrageous hoax is brought to you by the land of make-believe:

Subject: ****** VIRUS WARNING ******

Please read the attached warning issued today.
PLEASE FORWARD THIS WARNING AMONG FRIENDS, FAMILY AND CONTACTS:

You should be alert during the next days:

Do not open any message with an attached filed called “Invitation” regardless of who sent it.

It is a virus that opens an Olympic Torch which “burns” the whole hard disc C of your computer. This virus will be received from someone who has your e-mail address in his/her contact list, that is why you should send this e-mail to all your contacts. It is better to receive this message 25 times than to receive the virus and open it.

If you receive a mail called “invitation”, though sent by a friend, do not open it and shut down your computer immediately.

This is the worst virus announced by CNN, it has been classified by Microsoft as the most destructive virus ever.

This virus was discovered by McAfee yesterday, and there is no repair yet for this kind of virus.

This virus simply destroys the Zero Sector of the Hard Disc, where the vital information is kept.

SEND THIS E-MAIL TO EVERYONE YOU KNOW, COPY THIS E-MAIL AND SEND IT TO YOUR FRIENDS AND REMEMBER: IF YOU SEND IT TO THEM, YOU WILL BENEFIT ALL OF US.

There is not a single speck of logic or truth in this widely circulated E-Mail (or its numerous variants through the years). Someone with extremely limited computer and Internet technical knowledge obviously created this E-Mail way back in the day (late-1990s), and nearly a decade later it is still circulating all throughout cyberspace.

Would you believe that I actually received this E-Mail this past week at work from a coworker who actually thought that it was legitimate ?  She sent it to dozens and dozens of people too, but I’m not angry about it at all. She unknowingly provides me with lots of material for this weekly feature. (If she only read this blog …) 

Read more about it.

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Read still more about it.