Snopes

[Whickerman]

How believeable is Snopes? i used to think it was the reference of note, until i came across their story claiming that Mr. Ed was a zebra. I mean please.

[Whickerman]

http://www.snopes.com/lost/mistered.asp

See?

[kempie]

You should have looked at the parent page.

http://www.snopes.com/lost/

[kempie]

BTW the second line of the Mr Ed page reads...

Status: False.

[Whickerman]

Kempie - that's my point. They claim that the statement "Mr Ed was a horse" is false, when it clearly wasn't. Mister Ed started his days as a parade and show horse named Bamboo Harvester. He was foaled in 1949 in El Monte, California. I found that info in seconds - so is the standard on Snopes slipping?

[kempie]

No... they are saying that the entire article (which argues that Mr Ed was a zebra) is FALSE.

[kempie]

...and since you do not appear to have clicked the link I provided I shall copy some of the text here;

The Repository of Lost Legends

These legends aren't really lost -- we've known where they were the whole time! We created The Repository of Lost Legends (TRoLL for short) for those of you who don't let the truth get in the way of a good story. If you have a taste for the unusual and arcane (and can suspend your disbelief just a little), sample some of these precious gems.

The entries indexed on this page are preceded by colored bullets:

● identifies a true statement.
● identifies a false statement.
● identifies a statement of ambiguous or (((((undetermined veracity.

Note: Any relationship between these ratings and reality is purely coincidental.


...and to further highlight that the entries are spoofs, here is one that should instantly ring alarm bells;

● When the Titanic hit an iceberg in the north Atlantic, the silent version of the film The Poseidon Adventure was being screened aboard ship.

[Whickerman]

I did read it - you obviously haven't. They mark 'false' statements with red. The statement is 'Television's Mr Ed was a Horse'. It's labelled false. The article then goes on to claim that the zebra was in fact used. Read other Snopes pages for comparison, for instance:

http://www.snopes.com/language/notthink/strawberry.asp

[Whickerman]

..and then I reread it and saw that line about the relationship between rating and reality.

My deepest apologies. Really.

[kempie]

No harm done.

I hope this restores your faith in Snopes (although I tend to not believe "facts" I find on t'internet unless I can find multiple "reliable" sources).