• Skip to main content
  • Skip to header right navigation
  • Skip to site footer
  • WordPress
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
Science Update

Science Update

Sharing Science | Satisfying Curiosity | Debunking BS

  • Spotlights
  • Reality Check
  • Why Is It?
  • Radio Archives
  • Sciup @ School

Reality Check

Home » Reality Check
Snopes Newsfeed
  • Don't sleep on this story about English town canceling fireworks show to let walrus rest
  • Looking back on 2025: Rumors that took us down research rabbit holes
  • Was Christmas song with lyric 'Santa came down my chimney' once banned for being too risqué?
  • Shaking up rumor that first snow globe was invented by accident
  • Trump took Epstein's jet 'many more times than previously reported,' according to assistant US attorney
  • A brief history of the Christmas tree
  • Snopes' Christmas playlist: Holiday song rumors we've fact-checked
  • Coca-Cola didn't invent modern image of Santa Claus. Here's how centuries of Christmas tradition shaped it
  • Did John Legend pull music from Amazon over Bezos' ties to Trump?
  • CBS pulled report on Salvadoran prison CECOT because it was a 'blatant hoax'?
Skeptical Inquirer Newsfeed
  • We’re Celebrating Our 50th Anniversary in Every Issue This Year
  • Fifty Years of the Modern Skeptical Movement
  • Blind Victoria’s Secret
  • My Memories of The Amazing Randi: Part One
  • What Would the World Look Like without the Modern Skeptical Movement?
  • Get the Most Out of CSICon: Celebrate Our History … Chart Our Future!
  • Did The Anti-Newtonian Inspire the Flat-Earth Movement?
  • Predicting the Next Paranormal Creature
  • Revolutionizing Science: Jane Goodall and the Challenge to Conventional Wisdom
  • What Do Kids’ Magic Shows and Social Media Have in Common?
FactCheck Newsfeed
  • Makary, RFK Jr. Exaggerate Chronic Disease Benefits of Menopausal Hormone Therapy
  • Trump’s Native-Born Job-Creation Claim Based on Questionable Figures
  • Sorting Out Competing Claims on Air Traffic Control
  • Trump, FDA Make Misleading International Vaccine Schedule Comparisons
  • FactChecking Trump’s Rapid-Fire Prime-Time Address
  • The Whoppers of 2025
  • FactChecking Trump’s Economic Speech
  • Trump Confirms His Disparaging Remark About ‘Shithole Countries’ at Immigration Meeting
  • Probing Trump’s Verbal Attack on Somalis
  • Vance’s Misleading Claims on Housing Prices and Illegal Immigration

Are Avocado Pits Edible?

December 6, 2024

  What is it about fruit pits? Science Update listeners called and emailed about them frequently over the years with two opposite questions: Will …

Read moreAre Avocado Pits Edible?
Concerned boy blowing large bubble

Chewing Gum Myth

October 17, 2018

Does it really take seven years to digest chewing gum?

Read moreChewing Gum Myth
Open microwave oven with metal parts inside

Metal in Microwaves

July 8, 2016

If metal isn’t supposed to go in microwave ovens, why do some of them have metal racks?

Read moreMetal in Microwaves
Bread, flour and wheat grains

Fear of Gluten

June 24, 2016

Gluten-free diets are all the rage, but only a small percentage of the population is truly sensitive to the wheat protein.

Read moreFear of Gluten
Photo of singer Janis Joplin

27 Club Myth

May 1, 2014

Statisticians test whether famous musicians are really more likely to die at age 27.

Read more27 Club Myth
Toddler brushing teeth while bathing in green bucket

Baby Tooth Cavities

September 5, 2013

Baby teeth fall out eventually. But that doesn't mean cavities in baby teeth should be ignored.

Read moreBaby Tooth Cavities
Brightly colored candy

Artificial Dyes

August 14, 2013

Some people argue that food dyes are harmful to human health, but do decades of safety research back up these allegations?

Read moreArtificial Dyes
Barbecued ribs in front of fire

How Paleo is “Paleo”?

August 1, 2013

Did our hunter-gatherer ancestors really eat a “Paleo” diet?

Read moreHow Paleo is “Paleo”?
Monochrome image depicting apocalyptic urban skyline

2012 Apocalypse Myth Exposed – Encore presentation

December 21, 2012

The world is not ending today. Find out why in this Science Update encore presentation.

Read more2012 Apocalypse Myth Exposed – Encore presentation
An avocado, sliced in half, in a white bowl

Poison Pits

March 1, 2011

A listener asks whether it's safe to eat fruit seeds and pits.

Read morePoison Pits
Hand holding a pen left-handed, writing in an application formn an application form

Left-Handed Brains

February 8, 2011

Left-handers suffer more from learning disabilities but can also excel in spatial visualization.

Read moreLeft-Handed Brains
Science Update
  • About Science Update
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • YouTube

Recent Posts

Diagram showing Earth's tilt
Image of computer screen depicting an orange cat with a variety of alphanumeric scientific data superimposed on the the screen.
Spotted skunk performing handstand to threaten predators

Copyright © 2025 · Springtail Media LLC · All Rights Reserved · Powered by Pongos