• 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
  • Did US states ban 'aimless driving' via 'House Bill 626'? Hit the brakes before sharing claim
  • Don't fall for story about Barron Trump telling Artemis II astronaut Christina Koch to 'sit down'
  • Were 28 Disney cruise employees arrested in child sex exploitation bust? What we know
  • Fake image shows Trump, Musk and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang with fists up in front of CCP flag
  • Why Trump aide Natalie Harp is at the center of unproven affair rumor
  • Did police arrest woman for posing as Costco employee, handing out meatball samples?
  • Posts claim 700K New Yorkers signed petitions asking to recall Mamdani. There's no proof
  • Was Florida woman arrested after riding shopping cart down highway? Not so fast
  • Trump isn't both plaintiff and defendant in lawsuit against IRS, but case raises conflict-of-interest concerns
  • Does 'hanta' mean 'scam' in Hebrew slang? Social media users confused similar words
Skeptical Inquirer Newsfeed
  • The Nature of Pseudoscience, How to Fight It, and Why It Matters
  • The Apparent Mental Causation of Science and Pseudoscience
  • The United States of Pseudoscience
  • My Memories of The Amazing Randi: Part Two
  • The Fourth Decade of CSI: Change, Renewal, and the Launch of CSICon
  • The Many Faces of Skepticism
  • Freud’s Greatest Critic: The Legacy of Frederick Crews
  • Map Wars: Mercator, Peters, and Cartographic Controversies
  • In Memory of Lee Nisbet, CSICOP’s First Executive Director
  • A Photograph Exposes EMDR’s True Origins
FactCheck Newsfeed
  • What Will Happen To Gasoline Prices When the Iran War Ends?
  • Who’s Paying for the White House Ballroom?
  • Republicans Repeat Problematic Estimate of Medication Abortion Harms
  • Kennedy Denies the One Big Beautiful Bill Act’s Spending Cuts to Medicaid
  • Democratic Ad Attacks Collins on Healthcare, Iran War
  • RFK Jr.’s Unsupported Claims About Tylenol-Autism Study He Called ‘Garbage’
  • Definition of ‘86’ at the Heart of Comey Indictment
  • Providing Context for Leavitt’s Examples of ‘Violent Rhetoric’
  • Project 2025 Series Wins National Headliner Award
  • The Persistent Misleading Claim That Vaccines Aren’t Properly Tested for Safety

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

Photo of lily pads and white flower on pond
Image with photo of 1997 Nokia mobile phone and actor Rhea Seehorn
Photo of chocolate fudge with headline Sonic Boom: Chocolate Pounds with inset photo of science reporter Rhea Seehorn

Copyright © 2026 · Springtail Media LLC · All Rights Reserved · Powered by Pongos