In This Episode: I love watching others and recognizing signs of Uncommon Sense. I’m going to tell you about another friend of mine (who has no idea I’m going to talk about this), since it’s a great example of taking something you see with a grain of salt, and calling B.S. when it’s necessary. And then, I take on the universe.
Obliviots/Idiots
Desperately Seeking Attention
In A Follow-up about the woman who said a man had tried to drag her daughter away at a mall, the Huntington Herald-Dispatch editorialized that the false accusation “brings shame to the entire area,” and notes that if she is convicted, Santana Renee Adams faces a $500 fine and up to six months in jail.
027: Think… or React?
In This Episode: One of the This is True mantras is ‘Think first, react later …if at all.’ But what does that really mean, and how can we learn something from an example of doing it ‘wrong’?
023: Why Uncommon Sense Matters
In This Episode: Whether you “need” a monkey (wait… what?!) or “want” something for nothing, scammers are eager to take your money from you. Here are a few stories of those who fell for it and (more importantly) how you can reduce your chances of being conned.
Allergic to Obliviocy
Today’s Randy’s Random Meme is My Take on recent headlines, like “Disregarding Health Warnings, Arizona Lawmakers Move Forward On Vaccine Exemptions For Kids” and “Texas Lawmaker Hays He’s Not Worried About Measles Outbreak Because of ‘Antibiotics’” and “Measles Returned To Costa Rica After Five Years By French Family Who Had Not Had Vaccinations” — which are all recent.
Make Truth Matter Again
There has been a significant update in a story from this week’s issue (12 August 2018). Let’s start with my original story:
“…But You Can’t Make Them Think.”
Yesterday, I created a fun True News, or Fake? quiz (“5 questions, not easy. 
”), and introduced it in the free edition of the newsletter this way:
A Very Bad Gamble
I have a little bit to say about a story this week, so let me start with that story — from the 26 November 2017 issue:
The Basic Laws of Human Stupidity
In recent reading, I’ve stumbled on a paper by Carlo M. Cipolla. An Italian, Cipolla taught economic history at the University of California at Berkeley.
Jay Jay is Cray Cray
Sometimes it’s fun to poke at obliviots — especially when they’re truly oblivious to their idiocy.
“Ridiculous Reactions”
Nick in Arizona recently re-subscribed after an absence. He wrote:
Dangerous in the Wrong Hands
Some Readers Seem to Want to top recent examples of “Stupid Reasons for Protest Unsubscribes”.
Can’t Cure Obliviocy
Every Month, There’s a Tagline Challenge in the Premium edition — an extra story without a tag at the end, and readers can submit their best ending for the story. This month, the story was about a robbery that went bad at a drug store: the obliviot managed to defeat himself by pepper-spraying …himself.
A Pride of Obliviots
MSgt USAF (retired) Joe Ohio inquires, “As a multi-decade reader I find readers’ comments almost as entertaining as the stories. This brings me to my question. Being an English major I would like to know what the collective is for ‘obliviot’?”
“Never-Ending Pledge-Week”
After years and years on this distribution, Jeff in Virginia unsubscribed last week, complaining there were “too many ads for the premium edition — it like [sic] a never-ending pledge-week on PBS.”
The Nigerian “419” Scam
If someone — probably a friend — sent you to this page, read it carefully! This is a true story, from This is True’s 15 January 2012 issue.
Seeing Red
Another story where you just have to see the accompanying photo — an instant classic!
(Warning: It looks a bit intense, but it’s fake: the woman is not only not dead, she’s not at all injured.)
Don’t Forward That Warning!
Old jokes clogging your inbox are bad enough. Stupid “warnings” about the most unlikely hazards are worse: they irritate the smart people and panic the dumb ones. Now and then, when someone forwards an urban legend to a bunch of people, they really pay a big price.
His Motto
Another classic story that is so nicely served by the photograph referenced in the story. From True’s 15 May 2011 issue.
I Want to Complain, But…
It happens once in awhile that someone really wants to whine at me for something, but doesn’t have the guts to sign their name. Normally, such complaints are summarily trashed: if they can’t even sign their name to their opinion, then really, what’s that opinion worth?