Skeptoid episodes you'd like to see

[Safe-Keeper]

I thought it'd be interesting to have everyone list which Skeptoid episodes they'd like to see.


Chemotherapy -- for obvious reasons.
"More places I'd like to Visit" -- because I really loved the first one.
Another ghost story -- not for the "debunking", but just because I love stories about poltergeists, ghosts and general hauntings.

[Chef Fincher]

Drinking apple cider vinegar for health

Carb free diets, or whole grain diets and is eating white bread really that bad for you.

[Hampster]

IMO, MSG is the perfect nocebo. I've heard a lot of stuff about the harm it does, but these effects vary from person to person. WHen tested in double blind studies, nothing could be found. Of course, this was 15 years ago, so I don't recall a single source. It could be a good topic though.

--Dave

[carlitos]

Along the same lines, I don't think that I've heard one on organic foods? If that's a little thin, you could ad "genetically modified foods" for extra flavor.

Never mind, just unhid the iTunes and found that one. Will listen today at the gym.

How about a show on the Dunning-Kruger effect?

Or "Gang Stalking."

[Safe-Keeper]

Along the same lines, I don't think that I've heard one on organic foods? If that's a little thin, you could ad "genetically modified foods" for extra flavor.

Never mind, just unhid the iTunes and found that one. Will listen today at the gym.One? There are four:):

Organic Food Myths (http://skeptoid.com/mobile/4019)

Organic vs. Conventional Agriculture (http://skeptoid.com/mobile/4166)

Free Range Chicken and Farm Raised Fish (http://skeptoid.com/mobile/4047)

Genetically Modified Organisms: Jeopardy or Jackpot? (http://skeptoid.com/mobile/4112)

There's others along the same vein -- one discusses irradiation of foods, for example.

[M167A1]

I know this is not the highest caliber of source but the humor site cracked is running an article stating:

A European biotech company prepared to commercially release a genetically engineered soil bacterium for use by farmers. The bacterium was called Klebsiella planticola, and it nearly murdered everybody; you just don't know it yet. :eye-poppi

Sorry for the lack of a link. I'm too new to post one. Here it is in cut and pasteable form though.

cracked.com/article_18503_how-biotech-company-almost-killed-world-with-booze.html

Might make a good follow-on the GM food podcast if not complete Bullshido.

[kirk1168]

Satanic ritual abuse and killings in the early 1990's. I was employed in public safety (EMS) during that time and we were sent to several continuing education seminars to teach us how to recognize ritual abuse. I never ran across any satanic cults operating in my area. Recently (since becoming interested in the skeptical movement) I've read a couple of articles saying that the ritual abuse hysteria was trumped-up and in some cases was more or less a "witch hunt", but I've never found a podcast specifically about the subject.

[carlitos]

I listened to a couple of the organic food ones - good stuff. Very concise.

[Safe-Keeper]

Satanic ritual abuse and killings in the early 1990's. I was employed in public safety (EMS) during that time and we were sent to several continuing education seminars to teach us how to recognize ritual abuse. I never ran across any satanic cults operating in my area. Recently (since becoming interested in the skeptical movement) I've read a couple of articles saying that the ritual abuse hysteria was trumped-up and in some cases was more or less a "witch hunt", but I've never found a podcast specifically about the subject.My high school religion teacher said he knew a serious researcher who tried to do some research on serious Satanists in the Bergen area of Norway. He couldn't find any.

I listened to a couple of the organic food ones - good stuff. Very concise. He has one on biodynamics, too.

[Bismarn]

How about the living Vietnam War P.O.W. conspiracy theory? We all still see the black POW/MIA flags everywhere and remember Rambo II. The conspiracy theory that Vietnam kept American POW's after the war and that our own government knows about it and covers it up is what launched Ross Perot's political career. Just listing all of the crazy things Perot did in his quest to prove the conspiracy would make an interesting podcast.

[John Albert]

How about a show about this myth commonly circulated within the vegetarian/vegan/PETA crowd: that we humans are really herbivores by nature instead of omnivores, and the human body is biologically unsuited for consuming, digesting and metabolizing animal meat.

I've encountered many vegetarians, animal rights activists and the like who insist their diet is not only a personal preference, but is in fact the proper natural fodder of human consumption. They charge that the rest of us who eat meat are indulging in a hideous perversion of our own nature which is not only immoral and cruel, but also unhealthful and even downright poisonous to our bodies.

This argument is supported by a number of very well-crafted bits of pseudoscience. Here are just a few examples of this 'evidence' that supposedly proves humans have evolved as herbivores:


Humans are primates descended from apes, and nearly all apes are exclusively herbivorous
Archaeological investigations of early human remains have found that early man was not primarily a hunter, but ate a diet of mostly fruits and nuts
Humans do not possess sharp talons or protruding canine teeth as do other predatory carnivores
Humans have flat molars for grinding up botanical material, a type of teeth which carnivores do not have
The human mouth produces a lot of very alkaline saliva with powerful enzymes - similar to herbivores which need to break down plant cell walls to derive nutrition from plants, whereas carnivores produce relatively little, acidic saliva
Most carnivores have stomach acid that is 20 times stronger than that of herbivores, necessary for digesting meat, but humans have a more dilute stomach acid like that of an herbivore
The human digestive tract is of a similar length as that of most herbivores (in a ratio of alimentary canal length to body length), and carnivores generally have a much shorter digestive tract
Because humans have such a long digestive tract, digesting meat tends to decay inside our intestines, introducing harmful bacterial "toxins" into our systems


I've heard a number of other points to this argument, but these seem to be the most popular.

When researching this topic on the Internet, I found an astounding number of websites promoting these claims as fact. One website has a statement by a guy claiming an MD, who gives his professional opinion that a strict vegetarian diet is necessary for optimal human nutrition. Not surprisingly, just about all of these sites are openly dedicated to vegetarianism and other 'alternative' lifestyles.

People have been eating meat for millennia. Meat is consumed on every continent on Earth. The main reasons why people do not eat meat are economic, religious, cultural or personal. If meat is so bad for us, how come more people in the industrialized world aren't diseased and dying from all the dead animals we consume? Why don't vegetarians live much longer lives and vastly outperform weak, sickly meat-eaters in athletic competitions? Seems like this myth ought to be very easy to debunk, but I haven't found a single resource which addresses these claims critically, with citations of, you know, actual scientific data and such.

[John Albert]

Just thought of another one: non-stick cookware.

There's a movement asserting that Teflon is poisonous, and ingesting flaked off pieces of it are harmful to human health.

I read somewhere that inhaling burning fumes from Teflon can cause respiratory problems, but only when it's heated to over 500 degrees Fahrenheit. Reportedly, some unfortunate bird owners have had their beloved pets die after the owners left non-stick pans sitting empty on a lit stove for extended periods of time. The story I heard went that the empty pans absorbed so much heat that the Teflon coating (or the binder that connects it to the metal of the pan) overheated, releasing toxic fumes which quickly overwhelmed the birds' rapid metabolism. Supposedly, these stories have led to a growing mistrust of Teflon cookware.

Brian, beware: taking on this story might get you branded as a shill for the Dow Chemical Company.

[Hershele Ostropoler]

Myers-Briggs Type Indicator.

Also, though I don't know that this is exactly topical, the origins of homosexuality.

[Safe-Keeper]

Also, though I don't know that this is exactly topical, the origins of homosexuality. Excellent idea.

[Hershele Ostropoler]

Also, though I don't know that this is exactly topical, the origins of homosexuality.

I suppose the root of sexual orientation is intertwined with the idea that homosexuality is "curable," and that's certainly topical.

[Hampster]

I think the common myth is that homosexuality is a "choice". There are a lot of other popular myths: humans are the only animals that present homosexual behavior, it can be "cured", it leads to a less effective military, etc.

--Dave

[Mambo4]

I recently got suckered by the Big Bang Theory Denial nonsense:

I stumbled across this open letter to the "scientific Community" (Published in New Scientist, May 22, 2004)
The gist of it is that the The big bang today relies on a growing number of unobservable hypothetical entities...inflation, dark matter and dark energy by example.
The letter is signed by some 33 scientists (who must be legit, as they complain of a lack of funding)
I realize that indirect evidence for dark matter has since been demonstrated.
Inflation and dark energy have always struck me as pretty freaking weird, but not knowing the math I tend to take it on "faith"...

But check out some of the signers and you'll see that there is a high quotient of whack jobs...

[Safe-Keeper]

Welcome to the forums!

[Safe-Keeper]

Frivillous lawsuits, like the McDonald's Coffee case (http://forums.randi.org/showthread.php?t=151189). Or rather, one of them (scalding by too hot Mickey Dee's coffee has apparently happened many times).

[John Albert]

This is kind of gross, but how about one about colonic irrigation?

Lots of people claim this "alternative medical" procedure has definite health benefits, and say the procedure makes them feel healthier and more energetic. There are even stories of patients being relieved of toxic blood poisoning and terrifying intestinal parasites by having their butt power-washed by a "specialist" with no legitimate medical training. It seems to me that a procedure such as this could be very risky for dubious benefits.

[Safe-Keeper]

The one where you ingest snake-oil and then pass a long, rubbery snake the next time you go to the bathroom?

He's already done that one (http://skeptoid.com/episodes/4083);).

[tyr_13]

I'd love to see one on the origins of various Christmas and Easter traditions mostly because my own research into the matter is completely contradictory that I can't tell what's true and what isn't.

[carlitos]

This is kind of gross, but how about one about colonic irrigation?

Lots of people claim this "alternative medical" procedure has definite health benefits, and say the procedure makes them feel healthier and more energetic. There are even stories of patients being relieved of toxic blood poisoning and terrifying intestinal parasites by having their butt power-washed by a "specialist" with no legitimate medical training. It seems to me that a procedure such as this could be very risky for dubious benefits.

Skepchick had an excellent podcast on this not too long ago. I've never posted a podast url before, but try this (http://skepchick.libsyn.com/rss), and look at the april 1 show #4.

[murdocha]

I'd really like to see something done on "Big". Seriously, it should be it's own Logical Fallacy. I suppose it could be an offshoot of the Strawman, but whenever I hear someone mention "Big" anything in a conversation, I know I'm up against Woo or a conspiracy theory. Big Pharma, Big Oil, Big Corn. I mean, c'mon, what about Big Homeopathy, Big Organic and Big Vitamin?

[Safe-Keeper]

I'd really like to see something done on "Big". Seriously, it should be it's own Logical Fallacy. I suppose it could be an offshoot of the Strawman, but whenever I hear someone mention "Big" anything in a conversation, I know I'm up against Woo or a conspiracy theory. Big Pharma, Big Oil, Big Corn. I mean, c'mon, what about Big Homeopathy, Big Organic and Big Vitamin?Yeah, the ignorant double standard ticks me off, too. Though Brian already takes care to refer to these people as "the organic industry" and "alternative industry" whatever chance he gets, which always warms the heart:).

[Mrens]

I'd really like to see something done on "Big". Seriously, it should be it's own Logical Fallacy. I suppose it could be an offshoot of the Strawman, but whenever I hear someone mention "Big" anything in a conversation, I know I'm up against Woo or a conspiracy theory. Big Pharma, Big Oil, Big Corn. I mean, c'mon, what about Big Homeopathy, Big Organic and Big Vitamin?

This would lead well into how "Big" the producers of the alternative medicines are, he touched on Organic farming, but I wonder how Big the manufacturing of the most popular homeopathy or vitamins are, I wouldn't be surprised to find some of the companies are just as large as some of the pharmaceutical companies.

How many lobbyists must they employ compared to legitimate companies.

[MadMikeB]

I'd love to see one which challenges unfair prejudices against people who have been mentally ill, shows the effectiveness of medication and challenges the pseudoscientists who try to exploit sufferers.

[Hershele Ostropoler]

This is kind of gross, but how about one about colonic irrigation?

For some reason I read this as "colonic orgasm." I don't know why, something akin to pareidolia, most likely.

I'm not sure if the recent debate over the existence of the G-spot is a question of skepticism, exactly, but it would probably garner some angry comments.

[Red3]

Protocols of The Elders of Zion.

[Eligbak]

I thought it'd be interesting to have everyone list which Skeptoid episodes they'd like to see.
I guess you mean on video, not new episodes, like I and some other posters first assumed - I have created a new thread for that (Ideas for new Skeptoid episodes, or: Skeptoid episodes you'd like to hear).

* Ghost Hunting Tools of the Trade (Skeptoid #81) - I'd like to see how this stuff looks
* The Bosnian Pyramids (Skeptoid #140)
* The Mystery of Pumapunku (Skeptoid #202)
* Should Tibet Be Free? (Skeptoid #111)
* King Tut's Curse! (Skeptoid #106)
* The Crystal Skull: Mystical, or Modern? (Skeptoid #98)
* The Case of the Strange Skulls (Skeptoid #144)
* Mystery at Dyatlov Pass (Skeptoid #108)

... either for their value as eye candy, or where images can add to the historical narrative.

Another reason for video would be to update episodes with new, or previously unmentioned information.

[Safe-Keeper]

No, I meant episodes. Sorry for the confusion.

[Edwin Hodge]

I'd love to see an episode done on the whole 'DMT' fad - That DMT is some sort of mind expanding psychedelic which lets your mind travel to other dimensions or some crap. I've been hearing more and more about it from my more 'bohemian' type friends (of course) and I'm getting fairly frustrated with it.

Also, just for fun, I'd love to hear an entire episode devoted to better 'understanding' the true nature of the Reptiloid threat - or whatever those things that David Icke keeps talking about are. I think that would be hilarious.

[caniswalensis]

Have you guys done Noah's Ark yet?

I love that topic.

[RossFW]

Direct Down Wind Faster Than The Wind

[caniswalensis]

Also, just for fun, I'd love to hear an entire episode devoted to better 'understanding' the true nature of the Reptiloid threat - or whatever those things that David Icke keeps talking about are. I think that would be hilarious.

Ooooh! Second that!

[zomnificent]

I'd like to see an episode about whether the Nazi sniper Erwin Koenig/Heinz Thorvald was a real person. Koenig supposedly was killed by Russian sniper Vasily Zaitsev after a three-day duel. He is assumed to be real by the movie and book Enemy At The Gates as well as the book War Of The Rats, and I just watched a History Channel documentary that assumed he was real as well. Apparently there is some doubt.

[Policenaut]

Has there been one on sugar substitutes? Also has there been an in depth one about Kevin Trudeau and how this guy still peddles garbage on television? I haven't looked at many back episodes but I have been listening to the podcast for a few weeks now. I really enjoy it and I don't know why I just started listening recently. I think for too long I forgot why I originally joined this site. I wasted way too much time here talking about garbage in the politics forum and not nearly enough focused on what brought me here in the first place: I wanted to interact with other people who recognized the immense damage and destruction that woo artists, conspiracy theorists, religious zealots and extremists, myths, superstitions, fake medicine, and other such things are wreaking upon the world.

[Tomtomkent]

I would love a guide to bullshyte headlines. I can't make anywhere near enough people read Tabloid-Watch each day, so there are way too many folks at work who think the George Cross has been banned, the E U controls the shapes of bananas and the Muslims or Health and Safety or Political Correctness is effecting all manner of rediculous aspects of their lives.

Er, or I should just stop reading newspapers....

[Safe-Keeper]

For a change of pace, what about an episode about the pitbull? Are they the bloodthirsty killing machines people make them out to be, or is it "the owner, not the breed"?

[fishbait]

I'd like to see a program on the many health benefits of an all cheese diet.

[pk_boomer]

A few things that I would like to possibly see in a future episode:

1) CCSVI "liberation" treatment for MS

2) I know chiropractic has been done to death already, but I recently saw a bit on The Doctors about Upper Cervical Chiropractic. Is there anything to this?

3) A friend of mine recently sent me a link claiming that milk causes osteoporosis. To the best of my research abilities, all I could deduce is that excess protein may inhibit calcium absorption. But is there anything to the claim that excess calcium supplementation can lead to osteoporosis? And why do they single out milk itself?

4) A bit of a fluff piece, but might be kind of fun - "digital drugs".

[CompusMentus]

Big cat sightings in the UK.

A quick search of the BBC website gives plenty of examples (some with videos) of many "sightings" all over the UK. There was one local to me recently (Carmarthenshire) I'd like to know more on this phenemena.

Kincraig Big Cat (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/highlands_and_islands/10618078.stm)

The Berkshire Beast (http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/p0091943/Phil_Kennedy_The_Berkshire_beast_in_Henley/)

Big Cats in Gloucestershire (http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/gloucestershire/hi/things_to_do/newsid_8593000/8593364.stm)

Dorset Big Cat (http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/dorset/hi/people_and_places/nature/newsid_8533000/8533592.stm)


Compus

[Lina]

I really enjoy Skeptoid, but as a skeptic, I find that most of the shows discuss myths that I can't imagine believing in the first place. I can usually detect the warning signs of pseudo-science and that is why my proposed topic interests me.

According to a popular website (Skin Deep Cosmetic Safety Database), many of the products that I use daily contain carcinogenic compounds or neuro-toxins. This website seems to be incredibly thorough. It breaks down each product into its chemical compounds and then describes the risk associated with each along with what tests were used to come to this conclusion.

I'm still skeptical because I have trouble believing that these products could be released if they are unsafe, yet I don't have a sufficient scientific background to definitively say that they are safe.

I would really appreciate it if someone with a better understanding of chemicals could look into this website for me and help me have an informed opinion on its validity.

~Lina

Ps. I did not include a link to the website because I do not have that privilege yet. It should be an easy enough google search.

[fls]

I really enjoy Skeptoid, but as a skeptic, I find that most of the shows discuss myths that I can't imagine believing in the first place. I can usually detect the warning signs of pseudo-science and that is why my proposed topic interests me.

According to a popular website (Skin Deep Cosmetic Safety Database), many of the products that I use daily contain carcinogenic compounds or neuro-toxins. This website seems to be incredibly thorough. It breaks down each product into its chemical compounds and then describes the risk associated with each along with what tests were used to come to this conclusion.

I'm still skeptical because I have trouble believing that these products could be released if they are unsafe, yet I don't have a sufficient scientific background to definitively say that they are safe.

I would really appreciate it if someone with a better understanding of chemicals could look into this website for me and help me have an informed opinion on its validity.

~Lina

Ps. I did not include a link to the website because I do not have that privilege yet. It should be an easy enough google search.

That's a good suggestion as some of these places don't necessarily start off with the red flags (like hawking products).

http://www.cosmeticsdatabase.com/

One clue is to do a search for related topics already exposed as pseudoscience. Going to the Environmental Working Group and searching on "autism" finds a number of articles linking autism to mercury exposure, which suggests that it isn't valid.

Another clue is the absence of HONcode certification. HONcode is a non-profit NGO set up to provide guidance as to which sites provide valid and reliable health information.

http://www.hon.ch/

I also notice that their responses in the FAQ are quite misleading compared to the FDA website on cosmetic regulation, when it comes to giving the impression that cosmetics are unregulated.

http://www.fda.gov/Cosmetics/GuidanceComplianceRegulatoryInformation/default.htm

Linda

[AmandaM]

A recent episode of "Pawn Stars" featured an old Geiger counter that could search for oil. Apparently oil is radioactive? And caused Gulf War Syndrome?

The science is beyond my understanding, but if oil is radioactive (which to me just translates into "bad mutagen") then is there any possibility that exposure to this radioactive oil is contributing to what people call Gulf War Syndrome? Seems like an interesting idea for a show.

[John Albert]

Here's a fun one:

The myth that beehives are being abandoned because of excessive EM radiation from mobile phones (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colony_collapse_disorder).

[Dinwar]

I'd like to see an episode about what the crazies got right. Sort of along the lines of "What I Got Wrong", only in reverse.

This could go two ways. First, conspiracy theorists/Creationists/that sort of people who have made significant contributions to our understanding of X. There have been some. Second, ideas that looked crazy at the time (continental drift, for example).

[Frying Dutchmen]

Myers-Briggs Type Indicator.

Also, though I don't know that this is exactly topical, the origins of homosexuality.

Someone got their wished fulfilled today.


I would like to see skeptoid tackle Black eyed kids (http://from-the-shadows.blogspot.com/2010/08/black-eyed-kids-in-ohio.html)

Also go back to Crop circle jerks and do one about BLT's research (http://www.bltresearch.com/fieldreports/uk2009p2.php)

[Atwill]

A look into the historical accuracy of the stories surrounding Jesus Christ.

I'd like to see this, simply because I find the amount of popular opinions and occasionally contradictory information in this regard quite a bit overwhelming. I often hear people claim that, whether anything else in the Bible is true or not, at least Jesus himself has been proven to have been a real person, but is this actually true, and if so, to what extent? Basically, I'd just like Mr. Dunning to weed through the baseless claims and the real historical research, and then sum it all up in a convenient little package, sparing me the effort. That'd be swell ;)

Aside from that, another episode on medical myths in popular culture would be fantastic. I really enjoyed the previous two.

[John Albert]

Brian, considering your interest in music, I hope you might like this idea:

Psychotropic acoustics, the alleged technology to incite profound biological or psychological responses--or even illnesses--within unwitting subjects solely through the use of artificially-generated sound waves. There's no doubt that music has profound emotional and psychological effects, but what about barely detectable or undetectable low-level noises?

The "Feraliminal Lycanthropizer" is said to have been an device developed by the Nazis during the late years of WWII. It is said to have employed sine waves of varying frequencies, along with a combination of recorded animal and human vocalizations, to induce a variety of gut-level responses in humans. It was supposedly intended as an aid in interrogations, and also had possible uses in motivating troops before going into battle.

There have also been some stories of the Soviets using some sonic devices to bombard embassies and certain hotel rooms with low-frequency acoustic waves intended to cause physical and psychological discomfort in Western diplomats and ambassadors housed there.

The "Disco Dump" (aka the "brown note" from South Park) is said to be a subsonic tone (often identified as being in the 5Hz range) amplified to extremely high volume, that causes subjects to involuntarily lose control of certain bodily functions like bowel movements.

[Nobbit]

I'd like to see an episode on misconceptions about money, such as:

Banks lend their depositors' money to other customers (commonly accepted, but obviously not true: when was the last time you or anyone you know was unable to withdraw your money from the bank because it had been lent to someone else?)
The government (or central bank) controls the money supply (also commonly believed, but the money supply is actually driven by consumer demand for credit; governments and central banks typically only try to influence the demand for credit by tweaking interest rates)
The debt virus: because bank loans provide only enough money to pay off the principal and none to pay off the interest, banks are slowly draining the money supply, leading to economic collapse (flawed argument based on an incomplete picture of how money flows between banks and the public)
The ever-growing national debt will cripple future generations, and therefore should be paid off (no, only the interest on the national debt ever needs to be paid off; the national debt figure itself is pretty much a meaningless large number)

[Dinwar]

Banks lend their depositors' money to other customers (commonly accepted, but obviously not true: when was the last time you or anyone you know was unable to withdraw your money from the bank because it had been lent to someone else?) Actually, it IS true. First, banks are required to keep a certain percentage of their accounts on hand at all times. This was instituted in (I believe--if I'm wrong someone please correct me) the time after the Great Depression to prevent the devistation caused by bank runs in the wake of the stockmarket crash.

Secondly, banks must necessarily lend out a certain percentage of their income. They give their savings acounts a certain percentage (not much, but it's there). If there's no income other than more savings acounts it will eventually collaps under its own weight (it's akin to multilevel marketing). Not a lot of room to grow, at least in this country. So the other option is to have a pile of cash lying around. That'll run out ("If it goes out and doesn't come in, it's not there"). That leaves finding some sort of income. The only asset a bank has is cash. Well, a LOT of people want cash. They'll even pay you for it!

Either banks are really, really, really stupid, or they make money from loaning money.

the national debt figure itself is pretty much a meaningless large numberI'm curious: at what point does a number become meaningless?

[Nobbit]

Either banks are really, really, really stupid, or they make money from loaning money.
Of course banks DO make money from loaning money. The misconception is that they lend out their depositors' money, which is not true. When a bank lends $1000 (say) to a customer, that customer receives a new bank deposit of $1000, which he can then withdraw and spend. Everyone else's deposits are untouched.

If you still believe that banks lend out their depositors' money to other customers, you will need to explain how their depositors' balances are unaffected when the bank advances loans.

I'm curious: at what point does a number become meaningless?
I'm curious: why do you think there might be a specific point at which a number becomes meaningless? :)

[Dinwar]

I'm curious: why do you think there might be a specific point at which a number becomes meaningless?Because I'm used to dealing with big numbers, and astronomers deal in numbers that make our national debt look small. Besides, your argument is that we don't need to pay off the national debt because the principle is a meaninglessly high number (or at leas that's what I gathered from your statement). That means that your argument more or less hinges on that definition.

If you still believe that banks lend out their depositors' money to other customers, you will need to explain how their depositors' balances are unaffected when the bank advances loans.I already did. The deposits are NOT untouched. However, laws ensure that banks always have enough cash on hand to handle a reasonable number of withdraws--a certain percentage (don't know it off hand). And "reasonable number" here means more or less the maximum number of withdraws that can be expected barring catastrophies.

The only evidence you've presented thus far for banks NOT lending out their depositer's deposits is that depositors can withdraw their funds at any time. I've dealt with that. Got any other evidence?

[Nobbit]

Besides, your argument is that we don't need to pay off the national debt because the principle is a meaninglessly high number (or at leas that's what I gathered from your statement).
No, my argument is that only the interest on the national debt needs to be paid off, so focusing on the size of the national debt itself (as some do) is pointless.

I already did. The deposits are NOT untouched.
You are mistaken. Have you ever noticed your or anyone else's bank balance being decreased because the bank has lent the money to another customer?

However, laws ensure that banks always have enough cash on hand to handle a reasonable number of withdraws--a certain percentage (don't know it off hand). And "reasonable number" here means more or less the maximum number of withdraws that can be expected barring catastrophies.
You're referring to the reserve requirement, which is zero in some countries (e.g. Canada and the UK), and non-zero in others (e.g. the US). But how is the amount of cash a bank keeps in reserve, or the fact that it keeps cash in reserve at all, related to what might happen to deposits when a bank lends money? I don't see the connection you're trying to make.

The only evidence you've presented thus far for banks NOT lending out their depositer's deposits is that depositors can withdraw their funds at any time. I've dealt with that. Got any other evidence?
No, the evidence I've given is that the depositors' balances are unaffected by bank loans to other customers. That's all the evidence that's required. What more would you want to see?

For the details on how banks lend money, you can refer to any decent textbook on economics, or do some googling.

UPDATE: I've done some googling of my own, and discovered that decent, concise descriptions of how banks lend money are hard to come by. I'll keep looking, though. One economics textbook I can recommend is "Economics" by David Begg. I know it's unlikely you'll be able to get a copy, but the chapter on money and banking is pretty good. Finally, to show I'm not just pulling the idea that banks don't lend their depositors' money out of my posterior orifice, see the fourth item here:

wfhummel.cnchost.com/misconceptions.html

Actually, I recommend the whole website if the subject of money piques your interest. It's a very good collection of articles on money and how it works.

[Dinwar]

You are mistaken. Have you ever noticed your or anyone else's bank balance being decreased because the bank has lent the money to another customer?
This is an erronious way to test this. The bank acounts are records of funds. The accounting can get VERY complex, but in the end it amounts to taking in money, loaning it out, giving the depositers a portion of the income, and lending out the rest.

As I said before, either the banks are sitting on a pile of cash (an infinite pile), or they're ponzi scheams. The other option is that they're counterfitting money like crazy. If you have information about such illegal activities, it is your obligation to inform the Secret Service.

You're referring to the reserve requirement, which is zero in some countries (e.g. Canada and the UK), and non-zero in others (e.g. the US). Well, to be fair I had assumed that we were discussing United States banks. I suppose we need to confirm or deny that. In the united States banks need to have a certain amount of cash in reserve.

But how is the amount of cash a bank keeps in reserve, or the fact that it keeps cash in reserve at all, related to what might happen to deposits when a bank lends money? I don't see the connection you're trying to make.
It's simple. The ONLY time the actual, physical money in your bank acount is when you withdraw it. Otherwise it's all record keeping (and like I said, it gets complex; the average consumer only deals with the end result, ie the number in the checkbook).

Look, it's really simple. I take $100 from you (I'm the bank, you're the depositer). I invest $75 of your money into mortgages, personal loans, car loans, etc. at 15% APR. I give you 5% APR. I leave $25 in cash at the bank. At the end of the year, your account ballance is $105 and I pocket $10. I also re-invest the origian $75. So your account says $75 (the numbers on the paper don't magically disappear), but the money isn't technically in the account.

If it's just you and me this sucks. If it's five million people and a thousand corporations ranging from mom-and-pop shops to multinational corporations, the $2000 I put in the bank is more than covered by what the bank has on hand. So they can safely invest the money in some short-term loans, and if I pull my money out they have the cash on hand to handle it. This is what complicates the books--you've gotta keep track of a LOT of money changing hands.

The other complication is that you have multiple types of accounts. A savings acount is very liquid, and therefore the funds aren't good to use for long-term investments--which means that the bank's not going to give you much. Money-market accounts are less liquid, and get a better interest rate by virtue of the better investments that can be made. CDs are better yet, and get better yet. But the basic concept is the same.

Again, unless you wish to present evidence that banks are ponzi schemes, rappidly depleating, or criminals.

I've done some googling of my own, and discovered that decent, concise descriptions of how banks lend money are hard to come by. I've spoken to numerous accountants, bankers, etc. on this subject. I'll trust them more than random websites, thanks.

No, my argument is that only the interest on the national debt needs to be paid off, so focusing on the size of the national debt itself (as some do) is pointless.Okay. Fair enough.

[Nobbit]

This is an erronious way to test this.
Verifying that depositors' balances don't change when a bank lends money is an erroneous way to confirm that banks do not lend their depositors' money? I have to raise an eyebrow at that.

It's simple. The ONLY time the actual, physical money in your bank acount is when you withdraw it. Otherwise it's all record keeping (and like I said, it gets complex; the average consumer only deals with the end result, ie the number in the checkbook).

Look, it's really simple. I take $100 from you (I'm the bank, you're the depositer). I invest $75 of your money into mortgages, personal loans, car loans, etc. at 15% APR. I give you 5% APR. I leave $25 in cash at the bank. At the end of the year, your account ballance is $105 and I pocket $10. I also re-invest the origian $75. So your account says $75 (the numbers on the paper don't magically disappear), but the money isn't technically in the account.
Ah, now I see where your misunderstanding is. You think that the number reported as a depositor's bank balance is actually a lie, and does not reflect the "real" money that is in the account. This model makes sense if you assume that the only "real" money is the physical cash in the bank's vault. However, the generally accepted definition of money (which I'm using) includes bank deposits too. So I'm saying that if my bank balance is $1000, then I really do have $1000; the bank is not lying to me. If my bank lends $500 to someone else, a new bank deposit (new money) is created for them, leaving everyone else's deposits (money) untouched.

The problem with your narrow definition of money as "physical cash only" is that it leads to the absurd conclusion that if we moved to a completely cashless system - which is quite feasible - then there would be no "real" money at all, just numbers stored on the hard disks in banks. That's why I think it's reasonable to accept those numbers now in the definition of money: bank deposits already far outweigh physical cash in quantity, and are accepted as money (when we use cheques and debit cards, for example) in the same way as cash.

Again, unless you wish to present evidence that banks are ponzi schemes, rappidly depleating, or criminals.
There is no need to do this; I just need to point out that my definition of money (unlike yours) includes bank deposits.

[AdMan]

If my bank lends $500 to someone else, a new bank deposit (new money) is created for them, leaving everyone else's deposits (money) untouched.


Undoubtedly banks create money. When a bank lends money, that money can be deposited in other banks and can be the basis for those banks' loans, which can be the basis for other loans, etc., etc.

Here is a good article summarizing banking and "money mechanics":
http://web.archive.org/web/20070211221757/http://www.worldnewsstand.net/money/mmm2.html

[Nobbit]

Undoubtedly banks create money.
I agree, but as we've seen with my discussion with Dinwar, the statement is true only if you're careful to define "money" up front as at least including bank deposits. If that step is omitted, disbelief or disagreement may follow.

Don't most people regard bank deposits as a form of money, though? It would surprise me if they didn't, but I confess I've never done a survey.

[AdMan]

Don't most people regard bank deposits as a form of money, though? It would surprise me if they didn't, but I confess I've never done a survey.

I agree that it depends how you define money, but in its most basic definition, as a medium of exchange and a store of value, I doubt most people would disagree that bank deposits are money (to quote from the article I linked to above: "Since $1 in currency and $1 in checkable deposits are freely convertible into each other and both can be used directly for expenditures, they are money in equal degree."). If you get into more formal definitions used by economists (M1, M2 and M3), all of these include types of bank accounts.

I think it's only when you very narrowly define money as currency (just a part of M1) that there may be some confusion.

ETA: This graph may be helpful:

http://dollardaze.org/blog/posts/00578/TotalMoneySupply.png

[Nobbit]

I've just noticed that Dinwar actually hit on the fundamental truth about money without realising it:
The ONLY time the actual, physical money in your bank acount is when you withdraw it. Otherwise it's all record keeping
In fact, these days ALL money is just a matter of record-keeping. Cash (coins and notes in circulation) is just a way of keeping records using physical tokens. We should not be deceived into regarding it as somehow more "real" than bank deposits (another form of record-keeping) just because we can hold it in our hands. As I explained earlier, we could move to a system that doesn't use physical tokens, but that doesn't mean that money would cease to exist.

[AaronMHatch]

This whole time, I've been under this impression:

Person A deposits $100 into a bank. Person B deposits $100 into a bank. There is now $200 available for the bank to use. Say the bank loans out $100, leaving $100 on hand. Doesn't this mean that while the records show $200 in deposits, there is physically only $100 in the bank? Is this not how banks generally operate?

[Nobbit]

Person A deposits $100 into a bank. Person B deposits $100 into a bank. There is now $200 available for the bank to use. Say the bank loans out $100, leaving $100 on hand. Doesn't this mean that while the records show $200 in deposits, there is physically only $100 in the bank? Is this not how banks generally operate?
That's more or less it, yes. In more detail, assuming an empty bank to begin with:

Person A and Person B each have $100, making $200 in total. The money supply (bank deposits plus cash in circulation) is $200.

Person A deposits $100 (in cash) into the bank. Now the bank has liabilities of $100 in deposits, and assets of $100 in cash. The money supply is still $200 ($100 in deposits, $100 cash in circulation).

Person B deposits $100 (in cash) into the bank. Now the bank has liabilities of $200 in deposits, and assets of $200 in cash. The money supply is still $200 ($200 in deposits, no cash in circulation).

The bank lends $100 to person C, who immediately withdraws it as cash. Now the bank has liabilities of $200 in deposits, and assets of $200 ($100 cash and a $100 loan). The money supply is now $300: $200 in deposits, and $100 in cash held by person C.

The bank lent $100 to person C without touching A's and B's deposits (their money). In the process, it also expanded the money supply by $100 (the value of C's loan).

[Temecula]

I'd like to hear an episode of skeptoid about something alittle different than the normal type of topics. I'd like to hear one about... Rudy.

Rudy, the little wanna be Notre Dame football legend who currently makes millions in speaking tours on the back of his legend and a major motion picture... both of which are a bit inaccurate. Rudy didn't sack the QB, he got half a sack at best, and putting him in on the last play was NO BIG DEAL, it was typical of ND to try to get everyone a chance at the end, and The entire team DID NOT turn in their jerseys when the coach wouldn;t put Rudy in, that NEVER happened.

Recently Joe Montana made some comments about Rudy being less than truthful, and I have heard Rudy dodge questions about the actual game events many times. I'd like to hear this urban legend torn apart.

[jsullivan]

An expose on the retarded claims of the American rightwing "birthers" against Obama in the US would be funny.

[Nobbit]

Hey, isn't this thread supposed to be about money and banking? Don't derail it. ;)

I'd just like to add one more point to address in any "money misconceptions" episode that might happen. It's clear from the mention of "physical money" by Dinwar and AaronMHatch that some people think that money is cash, and cash only. So:

Money consists of coins and banknotes (in fact, money is pure information, such as the numbers reported on bank balances; coins and notes are just physical record-keeping tokens that are used instead of cheques and debit cards in some situations)

Any remaining scepticism on this point can be exorcised by imagining the move to a cashless system, where cheques and debit/credit cards are used exclusively. In that case, demand for cash would be zero, and so banks would no longer carry it in their vaults. But money would still exist.

[Nobbit]

OK, I'll get back on track too.

Hypnotism: True or Woo?

What is hypnotism? Does anyone really understand what it's supposed to be? Does it really create an "altered state of mind", or are the subjects of hypnotism just carried along and motivated by what they think is expected of them?

Also, hynotherapy. Does it work? Does it treat anything effectively? If so, what can it treat? Are there any theories on how it works, and do they make sense?

[AdMan]

Hypnotism: True or Woo?

What is hypnotism? Does anyone really understand what it's supposed to be? Does it really create an "altered state of mind", or are the subjects of hypnotism just carried along and motivated by what they think is expected of them?


This is a good one. I've seen some tests where subjects are brought into deep hypnotic "trances" and later swear they weren't just playing along. Then again, I've heard Randi (at this year's Skeptic Track at DragonCon, for example), say that he's done a hypnotism act, and it is exactly that--subjects just pretending and helping the performer put on a good show. Apparently I am the non-hypnotizable (or non-playing along) type, so have no personal experience. I think it would be great to have Skeptoid shed some light on the subject.

BTW, Randi also said that on the other hand, hypnotherapy may have some merit for some people by allowing them to "play out" things, if I remember correctly.

[Dinwar]

It's clear from the mention of "physical money" by Dinwar and AaronMHatch that some people think that money is cash, and cash only. So:I've never held that view, and none of my statements about how banks work indicate such a view. I merely pointed out that only the federal government can create money (others can create VALUE, but MONEY is another issue entirely). It does not matter, as far as my statements are concerned, whether a deposit is made via physical cash or via electronic transfer.

[AdMan]

I merely pointed out that only the federal government can create money (others can create VALUE, but MONEY is another issue entirely). It does not matter, as far as my statements are concerned, whether a deposit is made via physical cash or via electronic transfer.


I think there is still some confusion, maybe by differences in how money is defined (and I am not sure how you define 'value' vs 'money').

It is a generally accepted economic idea that banks do create money, simply by lending. Take a look at the article I linked to above (originally from the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago and worth a read): http://web.archive.org/web/20070211221757/http://www.worldnewsstand.net/money/mmm2.html

Changes in the quantity of money may originate with actions of the Federal Reserve System (the central bank), depository institutions (principally commercial banks), or the public. The major control, however, rests with the central bank.

The actual process of money creation takes place primarily in banks... As noted earlier, checkable liabilities of banks are money. These liabilities are customers' accounts. They increase when customers deposit currency and checks and when the proceeds of loans made by the banks are credited to borrowers' accounts...

Then, bankers discovered that they could make loans merely by giving their promises to pay, or bank notes, to borrowers. In this way, banks began to create money [emphasis added]. More notes could be issued than the gold and coin on hand because only a portion of the notes outstanding would be presented for payment at any one time. Enough metallic money had to be kept on hand, of course, to redeem whatever volume of notes was presented for payment.


The money that banks create (e.g., a loan I receive) is no less "real" than cash I may have in my pocket. Again, unless you define money as just physical currency.

[Dinwar]

Value: 1) that which one feels is good, right, or important (BGSU student handbook).
2) That which one acts to gain or keep (Introduction to Objectivist Epistomology. Yeah, yeah, I know, Rand and all. But I like this one because it provides a method for determining someone else's values, which is often useful.)

Money: A standard tool and unit of exchange.

I'm not going to continue with the other argument.

[Nobbit]

I've never held that view [that money is cash and cash only], and none of my statements about how banks work indicate such a view. I merely pointed out that only the federal government can create money (others can create VALUE, but MONEY is another issue entirely). It does not matter, as far as my statements are concerned, whether a deposit is made via physical cash or via electronic transfer.
OK. In that case it seems that your definition of "money" coincides with what's usually called "base money", which is cash in bank vaults plus bank reserves held at the central bank. For sure, only the government or central bank is permitted to create base money.

If you agree with that, you might want to look at the article linked to in the thread I started here:

forums.randi.org/showthread.php?t=185511

It's an article that tries to explain money creation by banks as something else: a circulation of base money. To me it seems like a tortuous attempt - for ideological reasons, perhaps - to avoid accepting bank deposits as part of the money supply. I wonder if it would jibe with your apparently similar view of money, though.

[Yithmas]

I would like to see an episode on the works of Charles Berlitz (his Bermuda Triangle and Atlantis stuff) and/or Erich von Däniken (the Swiss UFO wacko)

[phelix]

Some stuff I'd quite like to see discussed:

Shakespeare's plays
Commercial oxytocin spray "Liquid Trust"
The DSM
The youth of today (are they really worse than ever?)
Columbine conspiracy theories
Music piracy (does it harm or help the industry?)

[Nobbit]

Spontaneous human combustion

In many cases, the evidence that it is truly spontaneous is either scant or nonexistent, but it would be interesting to hear some theories on how people might be tricked into believing it's spontaneous.

[Dinwar]

Nobbit: I'm still curious as to how a bank can loan money it doesn't have (which is what necessarily must happen if the bank is creating money). However, I think there's at least one point you and I can agree on: This definitely would make a valuable contribution to the Skeptoid podcast library. Obviously it can generate a fair bit of discussion! :)

The youth of today (are they really worse than ever?) Always a good topic of discussion. And a very old one--the Romans were discussing it back when the Meditaranian Sea was called Mari Nostra.

[Safe-Keeper]

Spontaneous human combustionGets my vote.

[BibleWelt]

Female ejaculation. Or spontaneous human combustion. Or both.

[Tomtomkent]

Female ejaculation. Or spontaneous human combustion. Or both.

You know I'm sure there is a club in Soho that probably offers both...:D

[znhunter]

How about a show about this myth commonly circulated within the vegetarian/vegan/PETA crowd: that we humans are really herbivores by nature instead of omnivores, and the human body is biologically unsuited for consuming, digesting and metabolizing animal meat.

I've encountered many vegetarians, animal rights activists and the like who insist their diet is not only a personal preference, but is in fact the proper natural fodder of human consumption. They charge that the rest of us who eat meat are indulging in a hideous perversion of our own nature which is not only immoral and cruel, but also unhealthful and even downright poisonous to our bodies.

This argument is supported by a number of very well-crafted bits of pseudoscience. Here are just a few examples of this 'evidence' that supposedly proves humans have evolved as herbivores:


Humans are primates descended from apes, and nearly all apes are exclusively herbivorous
Archaeological investigations of early human remains have found that early man was not primarily a hunter, but ate a diet of mostly fruits and nuts
Humans do not possess sharp talons or protruding canine teeth as do other predatory carnivores
Humans have flat molars for grinding up botanical material, a type of teeth which carnivores do not have
The human mouth produces a lot of very alkaline saliva with powerful enzymes - similar to herbivores which need to break down plant cell walls to derive nutrition from plants, whereas carnivores produce relatively little, acidic saliva
Most carnivores have stomach acid that is 20 times stronger than that of herbivores, necessary for digesting meat, but humans have a more dilute stomach acid like that of an herbivore
The human digestive tract is of a similar length as that of most herbivores (in a ratio of alimentary canal length to body length), and carnivores generally have a much shorter digestive tract
Because humans have such a long digestive tract, digesting meat tends to decay inside our intestines, introducing harmful bacterial "toxins" into our systems


I've heard a number of other points to this argument, but these seem to be the most popular.

When researching this topic on the Internet, I found an astounding number of websites promoting these claims as fact. One website has a statement by a guy claiming an MD, who gives his professional opinion that a strict vegetarian diet is necessary for optimal human nutrition. Not surprisingly, just about all of these sites are openly dedicated to vegetarianism and other 'alternative' lifestyles.

People have been eating meat for millennia. Meat is consumed on every continent on Earth. The main reasons why people do not eat meat are economic, religious, cultural or personal. If meat is so bad for us, how come more people in the industrialized world aren't diseased and dying from all the dead animals we consume? Why don't vegetarians live much longer lives and vastly outperform weak, sickly meat-eaters in athletic competitions? Seems like this myth ought to be very easy to debunk, but I haven't found a single resource which addresses these claims critically, with citations of, you know, actual scientific data and such.

If humans evolved from "apes" as you say, then why are there still apes!? I find it hard to beleive anyone on this theory because of the lack of evidence. Just dimply saying "we both have apposable thumbs" isn't enough for me. And another thing, is it too hard to beleive that God created science. I am a christian and I believe in both science, and religeon.

In my veiw GOD CREATED SCIENCE!

[Dinwar]

If humans evolved from "apes" as you say, then why are there still apes!? I find it hard to beleive anyone on this theory because of the lack of evidence. Just dimply saying "we both have apposable thumbs" isn't enough for me. And another thing, is it too hard to beleive that God created science. I am a christian and I believe in both science, and religeon.

In my veiw GOD CREATED SCIENCE! An example of one of the Rules of the Internet (Poe's Law?). I genuinely cannot tell if the poster is serious or not.

[AdMan]

An example of one of the Rules of the Internet (Poe's Law?). I genuinely cannot tell if the poster is serious or not.


Yep, it is Poe's Law (http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Poe%27s_Law) you're referring to.

And as silly as that post sounds, I'm betting the poster is serious (unless you appose the idea).

[Safe-Keeper]

Something about circuses? I recently started a circus course at a folk high school (search for threads started by me in Forum Community containing "circus" in their title), and figure there must be as many myths, spooky stories, urban legends and whatnot related to circuses as there are to theaters. I did a cursory google search on "circus myths" and all I found was activist sites on animal abuse (then again, I suppose an episode on animals in circuses), but there's got to be stuff out there.

[Old Muley]

First post so be gentle. I don't know if these have been floated as suggestions, but here are some ideas:

1. "Off Label" use of hyperbaric chambers. I've seen these pushed as treatments for autism, obesity, ADHD and whatever else might be ailing you.

2. The Paulding Lights of Michigan's upper peninsula. Yeah, it's another headlights-mistaken-for-ghost-lights story, but it comes up here in the Midwest every now and then.

3. Finally how about the whole late 1980's, early 1990's satanism scare? I recall hearing a lot about this when I was in college and even went to a "training" for law enforcement and school personnel to spot signs of satan worship in the community.

Thanks!

[tyr_13]

Easter. Seriously confusing.

[Mambo4]

The true efficacy of flu vaccines, and weather or not they will actually give you the flu.

A friend posted on facebook asking if she should get vaccinated this year. The number of responses that discouraged her were surprising. usually the argument went something like this:
" each time i get a flu shot , it makes me sick."
"Last time I had a really bad flu was the last time I had a flu shot"
etc etc...

[BibleWelt]

Hemp! The Miracles of Hemp!

[tyr_13]

Hemp! The Miracles of Hemp!

Ohh, that's a good one! I'm for legalization of pot but the arguments for hemp I hear are always, frankly, stupid. Yes, I think it should be legal to grow as well, but not because it will do what pot heads claim it will do. This is evidenced by it not doing those things in countries where it is legal to grow.

[Mrens]

Pot should be legal for so many economic, social, and humanitarian reasons. But as for pseudo-science, I'm afraid the pro-legalization crowd doesn't have the high ground on that, the Medical Marijuana crowd has taken that away, I've seen claims of everything from ALS to AIDs can be treated with Marijuana.

[Eligbak]

Nobody should be allowed to express an opinion on the legalization of hash/marijuana/pot before he/she/it has at least tried it, once, or better, thrice. :D

I smoked a couple of cigarettes and pipes so long ago that I'd even forgotten what the difference was, exactly (here (http://www.crazynfunny.com/how-to-make-hash/stories/)'s a reminder and a funny little guide for you would-be homegrowers). I've always smoked in company, so I don't know what it does to your brainsalad when you're alone.

I don't have any other drug-related experiences, so I can't judge it against ecstasy & the like. But I imagine hash works like a milder form of the "love rush" you get from it - it's a great relaxetive. Emotional cramps get smoothed out, you can talk like a waterfall, and you can't remember exactly how you felt the next day (no problem remembering what you did :rolleyes: ). BUT you tend to lose control over your body - walking on a straight line IS a problem after a good joint. I've never tried sex on dope, maybe someone else can share his experiences. :eye-poppi

Fact is, it's much easier to be a traffic accident waiting to happen - just one smoke of good hashish is enough. If you'd want to legalize it, you'd have to bring down the allowed potency of a joint somewhat - which isn't going to happen when people can just grow and treat the stuff themselves anyway they like.

Cannabis isn't exactly legal (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legal_issues_of_cannabis) anywhere in the world, contrary to some oft quoted misinformation.

[M167A1]

This would be a great episode.

Examing "Pit Bull" hype.

[Mambo4]

title says it all.

Sure this has been implemented a number times since the Carter administration. What do the numbers actually reflect?

[Red3]

The common cold & rhinoviruses - myths and facts, causes and cures.

[sophia8]

How about the living Vietnam War P.O.W. conspiracy theory? We all still see the black POW/MIA flags everywhere and remember Rambo II. The conspiracy theory that Vietnam kept American POW's after the war and that our own government knows about it and covers it up is what launched Ross Perot's political career. Just listing all of the crazy things Perot did in his quest to prove the conspiracy would make an interesting podcast.
He's just done that one. (http://skeptoid.com/episodes/4254)

[ChalkiePerfect]

"Imaginary Middle Ages" (erfundenes Mittelalter)

This is a new one by me, and I'd love to see an episode on it! It's apparently much bigger in German-speaking Europe than it is here, but you can find the English Wikipedia article under the title "Phantom Time Hypothesis."

Just when you think you've heard every crazy idea, you stumble into this!
The hypothesis in brief is that about 300 years of the Middle Ages never happened. Charlemagne didn't exist, they say, and the years 600-900 A.D. did not occur.

For those who read German, the wikipedia.de article is significantly longer (look up "Erfundenes Mittelalter"). For those who don't read German, trust me, it's a lu-lu.

[whatthebutlersaw]

"Imaginary Middle Ages" (erfundenes Mittelalter)

This is a new one by me, and I'd love to see an episode on it! It's apparently much bigger in German-speaking Europe than it is here, but you can find the English Wikipedia article under the title "Phantom Time Hypothesis."

Just when you think you've heard every crazy idea, you stumble into this!
The hypothesis in brief is that about 300 years of the Middle Ages never happened. Charlemagne didn't exist, they say, and the years 600-900 A.D. did not occur.

For those who read German, the wikipedia.de article is significantly longer (look up "Erfundenes Mittelalter"). For those who don't read German, trust me, it's a lu-lu.

Ok. Just read that. :eye-poppi

[Bram Kaandorp]

"Imaginary Middle Ages" (erfundenes Mittelalter)

This is a new one by me, and I'd love to see an episode on it! It's apparently much bigger in German-speaking Europe than it is here, but you can find the English Wikipedia article under the title "Phantom Time Hypothesis."

Just when you think you've heard every crazy idea, you stumble into this!
The hypothesis in brief is that about 300 years of the Middle Ages never happened. Charlemagne didn't exist, they say, and the years 600-900 A.D. did not occur.

For those who read German, the wikipedia.de article is significantly longer (look up "Erfundenes Mittelalter"). For those who don't read German, trust me, it's a lu-lu.

I'm already intrigued (in the sense that one might be intrigued by a strangely shaped slice of bread).

Cheers

[Mrs.Sherman]

In reply to entry about bee losses: The website at Apis Molecular Systematics Laboratory at Washington State University has Resources links with Fact Sheets and information related to Colony Collapse Disorder. It doesn't include cellphone towers as one of the problems.

[KyunaKyuna]

Some of the episodes I have enjoyed the most are ones where Brian turned his "skeptical eye" towards something and discovered something he did not expect, or at least that was pretty unusual. The numbers stations for example, where the government really was up to something.

So my first suggestion for new episodes would be "talk about when you found out something that made you change what you thought."

Not having listened to every episode, more specific suggestions risk the "we already did that, why don't you search for things first" reply. But I will still suggest and cordially invite you to ignore me if it has been done!

Giving money to a charity like World Vision that claims you can change a child's life. Does it? And does it in the way they advertise it will? (full disclosure, I work overseas in aid)

Give away your old clothes to help the homeless in your town and/or poor people overseas. Does it really and does your old shirt really end up being given to a poor person?

The idea of those running shoes that try to be like you are running barefoot. Perhaps joined with the barefoot woman runner in the 84 Olympics and looking at sports records generally? Or perhaps a skeptical look at doping in sport, I see Lance Armstrong is in the news again.

And to close, thank you for the link to Buzz Aldrin punching the moon walk denier! The immediate response of a 72 year old combat veteran being called a coward made my day.

[CaCO3]

If humans evolved from "apes" as you say, then why are there still apes!? I find it hard to beleive anyone on this theory because of the lack of evidence. Just dimply saying "we both have apposable thumbs" isn't enough for me. And another thing, is it too hard to beleive that God created science. I am a christian and I believe in both science, and religeon.

In my veiw GOD CREATED SCIENCE!
Have you ever thought that maybe God is a scientist? That it's not just puffy clouds and angels singing but an actual hard science behind the beliefs of Christians that we just do not understand yet? Don't get me wrong, I am not a Christian and do not believe in any God but rather find it annoying that believers give a god credit for creating everything. If there is a god I would wager he is a scientist.

One topic I would love to hear about is the John Wilkes Booth getaway theory that basically proposes that the man shot and used as Booth's body was not Booth at all. I dismissed it at first, but upon hearing some of the arguments and reading physical documents, it seems to have some traction. At least enough to make me question the authenticity of the great capture of John Wilkes Booth. I think this would be an excellent tie in to what many are thinking in regards to the recent capture/killing of Usama bin Laden... ie did it even happen? Oh Science(believers read "God") I hope so.

[Tomtomkent]

The Two Oswalds My favourite JFK Myth, of Lee and Harvey Oswald being two different people.

The Royal Ripper Masonic |Conspiracy Because it is amazing some people started believing that stuff again when From Hell came out.

Speaking of which...

People who are certainly NOT Jack the Ripper Arthur Conan Doyle, Lewis Carol, Walter Sickert, etc.

Moon Landings Because, you know, there being lazer reflective plates on the moon detectable from earth isn't PROOF for some people.

The Satanic Witch Hunts Because the story has always had legs.

The Beast of Bodmin and other Alien Big Cats As the subject is very interesting, and I think others may enjoy mr Dunnings views on the matter.

[Safe-Keeper]

If humans evolved from "apes" as you say, then why are there still apes!?If helicopter technology is based on airplanes, why are there still airplanes?

I find it hard to beleive anyone on this theory because of the lack of evidence.You're right. I'll convert to Creationism instead because it has tonnes of... oh.

Just dimply saying "we both have apposable thumbs" isn't enough for me.Neither is "it's in this Holy Book of mine".

And another thing, is it too hard to beleive that God created science.Er, yes, when we know how science came about and I don't believe in God I find that really hard to believe.

[Tomtomkent]

Heh. If we evolved from apes why are there still apes? Erm, because minute changes to the genes of one ape offspring change one ape, not all apes. That ape passes the genes on, by having babies. Not all apes will mate with other apes carrying the new genetic model.

The better questionwould be; why do you think there could not be apes? Feel free to point to the flaw in the theory that you think suggests there can not be apes.

[Red3]

If humans evolved from "apes" as you say, then why are there still apes!?

Not that old chestnut again...

Humans didn't evolve from apes. How many more times does this need pointing out???

[Bram Kaandorp]

Not that old chestnut again...

Humans didn't evolve from apes. How many more times does this need pointing out???

Just as long as charismatic religious figures keep on saying that "darwinists claim we descend from apes/monkeys".

It doesn't help that we can't get through to these charismatic religious figures.

I simply shrug my shoulders and watch another "Golden Crocoduck Award" nominee.

Cheers

[phelix]

With regards to the missing time hypothesis mentioned above, there is a good article on it here:
http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/2992/did-the-middle-ages-not-really-happen

The straight dope frequently has interesting skepticism articles :)

Also does anyone know if Brian actually reads this thread? Because he's done a few of the ones mentioned (none of mine :( ) so I didn't know if that was just coincidence or what?

[Red3]

It doesn't help that we can't get through to these charismatic religious figures.


They don't want to be gotten through to, no matter what. Most of them are happy in their delusions.

[John Albert]

"Sovereign Citizen," "Freemen-On-The-Land" and other extreme anti-Federalist movements.

The anti-Federal Reserve movements and their origins in the antisemitic "Jewish Banking Conspiracy."

[AdMan]

Also does anyone know if Brian actually reads this thread? Because he's done a few of the ones mentioned (none of mine :( ) so I didn't know if that was just coincidence or what?


He's a member of the forum, so I imagine he has read this thread on occasion.

[SecUnd3r]

Well, I'm not allowed to post links, just because I am a lurker and haven't got the minimum posts required. That being said, I would like to bring up the topic of Starlite, a material invented by Maurice Ward that supposedly has incredible heat disipation characteristics. I am highly skeptical of it, due to the simple fact that if something was this revolutionary, it would be a household product by now, but there are plenty who believe that it is real. Their explaination is that Maurice just was not a very good buisnessman.

Only information I could find is that Maurice has passed away according to his youtube page, he once had a website which is now shut down, and he has a blog with government test videos linked from youtube. He had been interviewed by The Telegraph in 2009, that article can still be found online. His material was also presented on Tomorrow's World in the late 90s.

[Bigfooter]

I have to thank Brian for getting me into the whole "skeptical" thing a few months back. Since that time I've downloaded and listened to pretty much every Skeptoid episode.

One thing that I've become interested in knowing more about is this claim that "sugar is poison" - not HFCS, just plain old sugar. I've heard that thrown out in discussions at least a half dozen times over the past few months.

And, frankly, I'm skeptical.

[Safe-Keeper]

On the topic of sugar, I've heard from alternative/organic proponents that sugar often includes animal bones ground to powder, to enhance its white colour, and that you should buy organic produce because "only organic sugar is guaranteed to be free of animal bones". I'm wondering just how prevalent this practice is in reality.

[AdMan]

Well, I'm not allowed to post links, just because I am a lurker and haven't got the minimum posts required. That being said, I would like to bring up the topic of Starlite, a material invented by Maurice Ward that supposedly has incredible heat disipation characteristics. I am highly skeptical of it, due to the simple fact that if something was this revolutionary, it would be a household product by now, but there are plenty who believe that it is real. Their explaination is that Maurice just was not a very good buisnessman.



I had never heard of Starlite or of Maurice Ward, but I looked him up on Youtube and if this video isn't faked, as it doesn't appear to be, it's very impressive:

RxqFyDugqs4

ETA: Here's the article from The Telegraph:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/5158972/Starlite-the-nuclear-blast-defying-plastic-that-could-change-the-world.html

And here's a recent thread about Starlite:

http://forums.randi.org/showthread.php?t=211570

[Bigfooter]

On the topic of sugar, I've heard from alternative/organic proponents that sugar often includes animal bones ground to powder, to enhance its white colour, and that you should buy organic produce because "only organic sugar is guaranteed to be free of animal bones". I'm wondering just how prevalent this practice is in reality.

Wouldn't animal bones be considered organic?

[Bram Kaandorp]

Wouldn't animal bones be considered organic?

Well yes, but, as the quote says, "only organic sugar is guaranteed to be free of animal bones".

In other words, they aren't saying that bones aren't organic, they are saying that only sugar with the "organic" label on it is free of animal bones.

Any way, it's all semantics and word-games, and in the end it only matters if it's actually true. I am getting a bit curious nevertheless.

[BowlOfRed]

Wikipedia says they are used in the decolorization process and has a link to a PDF that I didn't read.

Bone_char

[BowlOfRed]

The linked PDF is an article from a vegan magazine. It seemed reasonable. It focused on the use of animal products in the manufacture (as the first filter stage, others are usually used later). At no point in the article did it ever even suggest that "animal bones" end up in the final product.

[Dinwar]

On the topic of sugar, I've heard from alternative/organic proponents that sugar often includes animal bones ground to powder, to enhance its white colour, and that you should buy organic produce because "only organic sugar is guaranteed to be free of animal bones". I'm wondering just how prevalent this practice is in reality. Not sure if it's true or not, but I do know that 1) animal bones aren't that white (got a few on my desk right now--most are a greyish off-white, and some are tanish off-white), and 2) osteophagy (eating bones) isn't that big of a deal. A lot of animals, and some humans, commonly do this. There's a lot of nutrition in bones. That, to me, would be the main issue--there's a lot of protein in them, which would likely be undocumented. In fact, I bet that'd be a way to test--bone dust won't disolve, and it WILL contain collogen. Burn it, burn what you know is pure sugar, and see if there's a difference in smell.

Here's a thought: What about an episode on things people generally consider too "out there" to be true (such as use of animal bones in processing), but turn out to be true? Troy is a classic example--long thought to be a myth, then they found the place! This wouldn't be a "Here's how skeptics are wrong" episode, either; rather, I think Mr. Dunning should spin it as "Here are examples of how skepticism is self-correcting."

[Soymilk420]

Not sure if it's true or not, but I do know that 1) animal bones aren't that white

It not about ground up white bone powder, its called BONE CHAR...its animal bone that has been completely carbonized (color ranges from black to greyish-brown). Its used as a filter and isnt present in the final sugar product but some vegetarians or vegans still take issue with it since it involves an unnecessary use of animal products whose purchase might economically support animal industries. It shoudl be noted that this process is only used on some cane sugar on the market (not beet sugar) so its not like vegans cant use white sugar at all, they just tend to check which brand it is.

If youre skeptical that this process is actually used you can contact a sugar company, C&H is one company I know that currently uses bone char but have said they will consider alternative filtration for the future.(there is an alternative ion exchange filtration method used by some producers)

[ImaginalDisc]

My grocery store stocks organic salt.

I don't want to live on this planet anymore.

[Red3]

The linked PDF is an article from a vegan magazine. It seemed reasonable. It focused on the use of animal products in the manufacture (as the first filter stage, others are usually used later). At no point in the article did it ever even suggest that "animal bones" end up in the final product.

I also believe they use animal/fish derivatives in the fining process during wine making.

[Wudang]

Seems like this myth ought to be very easy to debunk, but I haven't found a single resource which addresses these claims critically, with citations of, you know, actual scientific data and such.

Chimps hunt with spears (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/6387611.stm)

Our fruit eating cousins the chimps exhibit the virtue of a balanced diet
WDFh5JdYh7I

[The Central Scrutinizer]

Should there be an episode on how to stay out of prison while being sued by ebay at the same time? :)

[annieone]

A friend is doing it and i am very concerned. sounds dangerous.
An amount of venous blood is taken and reinjected in a muscle (from the same person). claims go from loosing weight (of course) to healing herpes, gout etc.

[plainskeptic]

I vote for the McDonald's coffee suit.

I would also like to see an episode on deductive vs inductive logic.

Specific to general and general to specific are not the essential characteristics for defining these forms of logic.

Deductive logic can go from general to specific,
but it can also go from specific to specific.

Here is a deductive argument that goes from specific to specific.

If Yale exists, God exists.
Yale exists.
Therefore, God exists.

I hear erroneous definitions given frequently. :mad:
Heard one last night on Star Trek Next Generation.
I have read them in college textbooks. :mad::mad:

Chris Rippel
Great Bend, Kansas

[whamji182]

so is 5 hour energy the real deal or just a placebo? ive used it and it seems to work for me, but i dont know if its just me thinking it will work.have it been tested to work?

[AdMan]

so is 5 hour energy the real deal or just a placebo? ive used it and it seems to work for me, but i dont know if its just me thinking it will work.have it been tested to work?


This is interesting and something I'd like to learn more about.

[annieone]

Hi,

I have seen religion being described as the belief that supernatural entities can and/or do influence the natural world. I went to check on definitions of supernatural, and found that most rely on what is visible or tangible. Of course this leaves huge margins for woo and religion believers to cobbler us with nano and quantum blabla. "you do believe in quantum, why dont you believe in energy, or god, or angels, or whatever", they say. 'There is stuff there that our eyes or technology cannot see", they say.
Please, could you give me a more useful definition of supernatural? what is the difference in believing in electrons and in angels?
thank you

[BowlOfRed]

so is 5 hour energy the real deal or just a placebo? ive used it and it seems to work for me, but i dont know if its just me thinking it will work.have it been tested to work?

It really has caffeine in it.

If you drink 4 cups of coffee a day anyway, it might not do as much as if you never touch the stuff.

[killgore]

Perhaps I've missed it, but I'm wondering why Brian hasn't tackled the grandaddy of all conspiracy theories, the JFK assassination.

[Bram Kaandorp]

Perhaps I've missed it, but I'm wondering why Brian hasn't tackled the grandaddy of all conspiracy theories, the JFK assassination.

Could be interesting.

But I think there might be a very good reason. Maybe it isn't as popular as many other myths already treated on Skeptoid.

[Checkmite]

I would like to see a treatment of the so-called "Hundredth Monkey" effect, the "Hutchison effect", the claims of Bob Lazar, and perhaps that Skinwalker ranch place in Utah.

Also, has he done a show on the 'Dulce base' or the 'Montauk Project' yet? Two of my favorite conspiracies.

[IdiotWhacker]

A conspiracy to drive some people to believe that major holograms are being used to conduct a return of Jesus Christ, the Virgin Mary, to alien invasions to bring the public to its knees. Some conspiracy theorist calls it project blue beam in junction with HAARP.

[AdMan]

A conspiracy to drive some people to believe that major holograms are being used to conduct a return of Jesus Christ, the Virgin Mary, to alien invasions to bring the public to its knees. Some conspiracy theorist calls it project blue beam in junction with HAARP.


This sounds pretty silly. Who believes this crap?

[IdiotWhacker]

This sounds pretty silly. Who believes this crap?


Well I see many things that some people will cite as a possibility like reptoids for instance, Judy Wood's theory of the 9/11 towers being vaporized by a giant lazer, to there was no plane on 9/11 to trick people with certain videos.

I know its sounds silly,but some people do believe in project blue beam and an example of 1 group that screams out for this is TFL also known as true forced loneliness movement which generally they are the people who are men rights activist and one of the groups who hounds on Youtube.

[Eligbak]

One recent episode I particularly enjoyed was on military dolphins. I'd like to hear an equally good one on identical twins.

I haven't hunted seriously for popular literature on this fascinating subject, but it clearly is an ideological minefield, much like "intelligence" testing. The Wikipedia article on twin studies (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twin_study) deals with methodology, not (un/)scientific results. All I really "know" about it is the stuff we've all been hearing on talkshows: how twins seperated at birth marry similar partners with matching first names, etc. It would be interesting to know how far the similarities really go, shaky statistics and media hype aside. Twin research and their alleged similarities are historically regarded as arrows in the quiver of nature versus nurture, also tainted as racist and immoral by Mengele's experiments in concentration camps.

And there is good movie/novel that just brought me onto this theme - The Prestige (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0482571/). Btw, the book by Christopher Priest has a good twist at the end that isn't in the movie... :D

[toddo0254]

That guardian of scientific inquiry, the History Channel, premiered a new program on UFO's "Secret Access: UFOs on the Record" during a series of new and repeat UFO shows today. Much of the last part of the program was spent on the "Belgian UFO Wave". The final piece of evidence was the famous Petit-Rechain picture. Five seconds on Google revealed a Wikipedia entry, with two references, that stated that the person who took the picture confessed on July 26, 2011, that the picture was a hoax. But the show must go on.

Investigating the rest of that series of incidents should be enlightening.

[M167A1]

I agree with Chris R

I would also like to see an episode on deductive vs inductive logic.

Another interesting one would be our vlunerability to Electromagnetic pulse either from an enemy attack or as the result of a solar storm.

Some folks are out buying canned food and shotguns over the fear.

[M167A1]

I was stationed at Bitburg AB in West Germany (Army Air Defense) at the time of the "Belgian UFO Wave."

I do remember discussing it in our Intel meetings, but we speculated it was some odd atmospheric effect producing a false or incorrect track. Bluntly put no one knew what it was so we changed some of our procedures to make potential targets less predictiable. Aliens were not even discussed except over beer.

[argalarga]

I'd love to hear Skeptoid episodes on:

The Prophecy of the Popes
Die Glocke
Rock n' Roll myths and legends (backmasking, subliminal messages, etc)
A more detailed look at the anti-vaccine movement

[Van00uber]

How about more crypto-zoology episodes, such as the loch ness monster or the Mongolian death worm?

There was a guy in bizarre magazine a while ago who suggests that there's an underground city below Moscow, he takes people on tours of the sections that haven't been sealed by the KGB. I don't know how much of this is true but I think that it would make a great episode

[toddo0254]

Freakonomics did a podcast on fecal transplants. They cited an Australian doctor 'treating' an MS patient. I asked one of my 'believer' friends and they said it is being discussed more and more in 'alternative medicine'.

[NomadicScribe]

I would love to see an episode about John Titor. I had only heard of this about six months ago, and I was surprised to see that there hasn't been an episode about it. Especially with the supposed "proof" floating around of designs for a time traveling machine. I can't post links yet, but if you google search "john titor time machine" you will find a link.

It's very detailed, but ultimately proves nothing. Still, a fascinating subculture has sprung up around these "John Titor believers". Could make an interesting episode.

[Safe-Keeper]

Stumbled upon the Titor myth a while back. Elaborate hoax, well worth an episode in my eyes, even if his predictions of course didn't come true.

[Chris L]

I'd like to see one on the works of Richard C. Hoagland. The whole "NASA is hiding evidence of artifacts on the Moon, Mars, and pretty much everything else they take pictures of" thing needs a nice going over.

[alphagaia]

I might be late to the party but I heard Graham Hancock on The Joe Rogan Podcast. Interesting ideas. Being very skeptical I started doing research on him and think he would make a good Podcast. Not really him, some of his theories.

I'm sure there are lost civilizations but highly doubt they had technology on the level of ours. I don't know too much about him and would like to hear the Skeptoid view.

[speedy2686]

I would like to see a skeptoid episode concerning peak oil, specifically, a response to documentaries like Collapse and Fuel.

[mudguts]

Red, you could have spent 3 minutes looking that up..albumin like proteins are used and have been used extensively in fining and clearing since the time folk preferred fined beverages and economies dictated that you got the stuff out as clean and quick as possible.

[mudguts]

Its hard to even look into what Brian comes up with...man, its impressive and extensive.

I'd really like Brian to whack the chemical industry a-la Ben Goldacre. the industry likes it two ways when it comes to our health. Either you buy maintenance drugs (for the most) or buy vitamins supplements and (h)erbal prducts. Many of these companies cross sell or manufacture.

It has to be perplexing for the least skeptical of us.

This was brought on by the fact that a company that makes alty products has a new deal in oz...with our pharmaceutical guild. Whenever you get a PBS script you may face harrassment into buying a supplementary scams product.


Personally, I would prefer a malboro over an ear candle.. am I just over out raged?

[Eligbak]

The long-running legends about twin research are waiting to be debunked, and I haven't seen/heard any skeptical podcast taking them on. Besides a very brief mention on the Skeptics Guide to the Universe that twins probably don't have a built-in psychic hotline. ;) Well, how fascinating is that? :D

Do they really marry spouses with the same first names, hair colors and speech impediments? Drive the same cars? Like the same music? After being seperated as babies? Enlighten me! My donations might roll in a bit faster! :D

I don't think we urgently need a(nother) podcast on the Kennedy assassination while presumably decent journalists still write books (http://newbooksinhistory.com/2008/10/09/david-kaiser-the-road-to-dallas-the-assassination-of-john-f-kennedy/) that contradict the official version of events. Classics like that always remain for a rainy day. As with the lastest health fads & magic ads, it's been done and is being done to death. I'd like to hear about one with two and a half kilos of truth to it. ;)

[briandunning]

How about putting your name on this, you seem to know a whole hell of a lot about it.

[grolar]

I recently became a vegan, not for ideological reasons, just because I heard the switch can make you lose a bit of weight. Plus, to be honest, I thought it would make me seem trendier. A few people suggested that I might become malnourished or miss out on some key vitamins or minerals, so I did a bit of googling and found out I was fine. But in my searching I came across a book called The China Study by T Colin Campbell, professor emeritus of nutritional biochemistry at Cornell University (argument from authority anyone?).

It discusses the health benefits of eating a diet with no animal products or processed food, which as well as a healthy weight range also included lower rates of certain cancers and autoimmune diseases. At first I was a bit concerned that this was some alarmist craziness, especially when the author appeared on Bill Maher's show, but the book makes reference to both correlative and causative studies from which these conclusions were made.

From listening to Skeptoid it seems Brian doesn't believe that diet (presuming you stick within the RDA and calorie limits) is much of a factor in health so I'd be interested to see an episode on this, or just generally on 'plant based, whole foods diets' as the book calls them.

If you want to know the basic claims and have an hour or so to kill, there's a new documentary out called 'Forks over Knives' which is based on this book. It doesn't really explain any of the evidence behind the claims though so it kind of comes off as just another alarmist "everything you know is wrong and you're going to die" film.

I know Brian is paid off by the big pharmaceuticals companies so he might want to keep this quiet, but then again he is also paid off by the reptile aliens from episode #46, and they'd want to keep us healthy and servile, so who knows?

[John Albert]

I would also like to see an episode on deductive vs inductive logic.

Specific to general and general to specific are not the essential characteristics for defining these forms of logic.

Deductive logic can go from general to specific,
but it can also go from specific to specific.

Here is a deductive argument that goes from specific to specific.

If Yale exists, God exists.
Yale exists.
Therefore, God exists.

I hear erroneous definitions given frequently. :mad:
Heard one last night on Star Trek Next Generation.
I have read them in college textbooks. :mad::mad:

Chris Rippel
Great Bend, Kansas


I second this. Could be a great episode, one of the fundamentals.

[John Albert]

I also believe they use animal/fish derivatives in the fining process during wine making.


Some beers, as well. The fining agent is called "isinglass," and is derived from the connective tissues of certain fish.

[mudguts]

Gelatins and albumins are used as well.


Process clearing is used a lot now.



A good conspiracy is that commercial beers are bad for you as they have "heaps" of chemicals in them.

I really dont know how to reply to these charges.


Heaps of chemicals is an astounding claim.

[mudguts]

The above logic request, I think a perusal of "logical absolutes" would quickly dispel the notion of absolutes, but I get argument like that quite often.

[John Albert]

Gelatins and albumins are used as well.


Process clearing is used a lot now.



A good conspiracy is that commercial beers are bad for you as they have "heaps" of chemicals in them.

I really dont know how to reply to these charges.


Heaps of chemicals is an astounding claim.


Huge macro-brewers use hop extracts (some which have been chemically-altered to prevent skunking) and fermentable adjuncts like rice and corn, that's about it, really.

Beer is its own preservative. The alcohol, low pH, and iso-alpha acids from the hops prevent anything real bad from growing in there.

[fuelair]

I'd like to see a program on the many health benefits of an all cheese diet.

Is that you, Wallace?

[The True Scotsman]

This one would be interesting. Ferdinand Waldo Demara was supposedly one of, if not the greatest, impersonator who ever lived. Purportedly, he changed identities regularly and became extremely competent in the fields he was pretending to be trained in. He even went so far as to successfully perform surgery on multiple patients with no previous training, save a surgery textbook he would glanced at before operating; or so the story goes. The wiki link is listed below:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferdinand_Waldo_Demara

[Bram Kaandorp]

This one would be interesting. Ferdinand Waldo Demara was supposedly one of, if not the greatest, impersonator who ever lived. Purportedly, he changed identities regularly and became extremely competent in the fields he was pretending to be trained in. He even went so far as to successfully perform surgery on multiple patients with no previous training, save a surgery textbook he would glanced at before operating; or so the story goes. The wiki link is listed below:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferdinand_Waldo_Demara

Yeah, that would be great! The TV series "The Pretender" was based on this guy (at least on the general idea), and I love to hear more about him. I mean, how much info is there on this guy (rhetorical)?

[The True Scotsman]

Yeah, that would be great! The TV series "The Pretender" was based on this guy (at least on the general idea), and I love to hear more about him. I mean, how much info is there on this guy (rhetorical)?

I can't imagine there is much info on him that isn't sourced by anecdotal accounts, but perhaps there is some conflicting evidence to the stories. Maybe he was in two different places at once or he was in the same place at the same time as the person he was supposedly portraying.

[Safe-Keeper]

The "Tehran UFO Incident". Saw a reference to it in a comment on skeptoid.com and it looks really fascinating. Would love to see a natural explanation.

[John Albert]

The "Tehran UFO Incident". Saw a reference to it in a comment on skeptoid.com and it looks really fascinating. Would love to see a natural explanation.


That's a good one!

[Paradox74]

I'd love to hear Skeptoid episodes on:

The Prophecy of the Popes
Die Glocke
Rock n' Roll myths and legends (backmasking, subliminal messages, etc)
A more detailed look at the anti-vaccine movement

Dunning has already done an episode on backmasking and one for subliminal messages. I still have yet to hear him tackle the holocaust denial movements and their arguments but I guess those things aren't as popular as Ancient Aliens and whatnot.

Here's backmasking:
http://skeptoid.com/episodes/4105

and on subliminal messages:
http://skeptoid.com/episodes/4063

[Safe-Keeper]

A more detailed look at the anti-vaccine movement You say "a more detailed look at", so you may be aware there's already podcats on vaccines on Skeptoid, but if you aren't, go search for "vaccines" :) .

[Bram Kaandorp]

A subject maybe not really in the public eye, but nonetheless very prevalent (and probably useful in certain cases);

Essentialism.

For example, is any book better than any other book of the same edition? I'd argue it isn't, and yet I don't think I'd exchange my copy of I Am Legend for any other copy of the same book (except maybe for an older edition, which is also due to essentialism).

It's a fascinating subject, and I'd love to hear your (Brian) take on it.

[Berlot7]

My girlfriend mentioned a documentary about cancer treatments and big pharma. She stated that if ever to unfortunately get cancer, she wanted to be treated by a guy named Stanislaw Burzynski because he has a record of curing cancer that medical companies don't want us to know about. She had apparently seen a documentary on this guy called "Burzynski - Cancer is Serious Business" and said it blew her away.

I'm seriously skeptical and the wikipedia page states the documentary is seen as simplistic, unethical, and paranoid.

Would like to see what Skeptoid thinks.

[Harknights]

Is there a measurable effect on Baseball players performance and steroid use?
So
What do steroids do?
Does that effect help the performance of a baseball player?
Looking back can we see that effect?
Could there be other greater effects, such as how the ball is manufactured, that has greater effects on performance?

[Bram Kaandorp]

Is there a measurable effect on Baseball players performance and steroid use?
So
What do steroids do?
Does that effect help the performance of a baseball player?
Looking back can we see that effect?
Could there be other greater effects, such as how the ball is manufactured, that has greater effects on performance?

Sounds interesting. Reminds me of the helium football myth in mythbusters.

[Tarot_Is_A_Card_Game!]

History of Tarot Cards
Dolphin Therapy
Compact Disc vs Vinyl Record
Ear Candles
Bogus American Indian Spirituality

[Digit]

Please cover salt therapy (or halotherapy as it is sometimes called). This therapy seems to have grown in popularity recently, particularly here in Australia. From what I have seen so far it has all the hallmarks of woo. There are some cited studies that look far from convincing. Mostly Russian and generally not very well designed. Those that are most convincing cover inhalation of nubilsed hypertonic saline, but this raises the question - if this method works well, why not use this instead of sitting in some salt room for long periods of time. Carrying around a simple nubilser would be much cheaper and more convenient.

[John Albert]

Now that the holidays are over, I'll let on about how cool I think it would be if Skeptoid did holiday-related themes.

You know, like Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah, etc. -related episodes around that time of year, addressing various holiday-related woo from around the world.

Maybe it's something that can be planned for next year?


ETA: Maybe something about all those dead birds that keep appearing every New Year's Day, and mass animal deaths in general...

Let's start off this 2012 Doom Year on the right foot!

[jeremydschram]

Talk about bpa is all over it's supposed to be in printer ink on receipts and in plastics. I even heard someone tell me it could rub off INTO you from a cell phone. LOL
Here's there proof www .ewg.org/bpa-in-store-receipts

[IdiotWhacker]

norway UFO that little strange spiral in the sky that some people think that it has something to do with UFO's

[justabloke69]

Would love and ep on massage. As a qualified masseur I heard a number of extraordinary claims will studying. That it can relieve stress in the short term and can be very relaxing are probably reasonable claims. But can it improve circulation? What are the affects of massage in general? What about the different types of massage?

I’ve just finished listening to all of Skeptiod, start to finish. Why does Brian no longer invite people to his clothes-optional spa :-)

[Safe-Keeper]

Oh! I know!
The fur industry.

I find this to be is a question that it's really hard to find objective information about. Would be awesome if Dunning could do a take on it, if only for the US.

[grunion]

The Man That Broke The Bank At Monte Carlo (really, I mean, what kind of amazing luck at roulette would it take to make a casino run out of money?)
The lack of historical evidence that Jesus actually existed
Second-hand cigarette smoke as a public health hazard (I know P&T tried to debunk this but it didn't sit ell with me)
Did James Earl Ray assassinate Martin Luther King?
Holocaust "Revisionism"
Steve Jobs was killed by his alt-med philosophy
Aum Shinrikyo
Clonaid
Freemen On The Land
Also, I know Area 51 has been flogged to death but what about the recent journalist's book claiming that Stalin sent mutant children in experimental saucer aircraft to strike fear into our hearts?

[Wildtime]

Here's a few suggestions:

Dr. Oz - is he a real doctor dispensing quack alternative medicine advice?

Deregulation - what's the rationale behind those who are in favor of it?

[John Albert]

Seconded on the Freemen On The Land/Sovereign Citizen movement(s).

[feinburgrl]

Does Alcoholics Anonymous really work? That's a topic I would like to hear about.

[Bram Kaandorp]

Does Alcoholics Anonymous really work? That's a topic I would like to hear about.

Even though Penn & Teller did an episode on this, I'd be very interested to see what Skeptoid makes of it.

[ratcat]

Is this really possible?

[Father Dagon]

The Man That Broke The Bank At Monte Carlo (really, I mean, what kind of amazing luck at roulette would it take to make a casino run out of money?)I think that Discovery Channel made a program on myths like this before they went full reality show. True, you can make a specific table run out of money. And for the sake of drama, the table is covered with a black shroud. But the rest of the tables have money left. So winning all the monies from an entire casino is highly unlikely.

Of course, the casino wants to attract more mar... er, visitors. So take great pains to obfuscate the difference between breaking a table and entire casino in the PR.

[Chris Slater]

Here’s one that falls into the Conspiracy Theory heading.

“There is a deliberate policy to Islamise Europe and the US.” This is based on a theory that two groups are combining forces to spread a dominant form of Islam throughout the world. Anders Breivik would have subscribed to this.

The first protagonist is formed of well-funded Islamic groups from the Middle East who want Islam to be the sole world religion.

The second protagonist, according to the conspiracists, is formed of European and US Marxists and anarchists who have, through the education system, convinced Western governments and the populace that Muslim immigration is necessary and that they will both assimilate and enhance the West’s culture. Part of the plot is that these groups want to bring down Western society in order to rebuild it along their lines, and are using conflict with Muslims that they consider inevitable to bring this about.

Of course, such a subject could be deemed “offensive to Muslims” and be withheld, but that would form part of the conspiracy!

[Wildtime]

Is photographic, or eidetic memory actually possible? I just watched a snippet of a documentary (called "Where Did I Put My Memory?") on TV about memory and they interviewed some of the contestants in the World Memory Championships (http://www.worldmemorychampionships.com/). Most of them used associative techniques to memorized names and dates, which, admittedly took months or years of training to refine. None of them claimed to have photographic memory. Are there people who possess the ability to perfectly recall events in detail, or is it a myth?

[Mrs.Sherman]

When I got my Asperger's diagnosis, I asked my Neuro-psychologist whether that would explain my memory. My memory is a symptom of my Asperger's Syndrome. I don't have the television-late-night-movie-version of photographic memory, but my memory isn't normal.

[Beerina]

When I outscored the other 450 students in Jr high on our common English test, and by quite a bit, he teacher asked if I had eiditic memory. I said I didn't think so.

[M167A1]

Electromagnetic Pulse as and "end of the world: scenario.
This has been something of a big topic among preppers for some time.

A detailed examination of "raw milk" this is big on both sides of the political aisle. I know this has been discussed as part of larger subjects but if you can find enough to talk about this would be good.

Reliability of polygraph "lie detectors"

An examination of the often repeated dangers of second hand smoke. there is much truth here but it it gets blamed for pretty much every ill. How much of it is true?

Thanks!

[Slughorn42]

I'd like to see an episode that examines the case of Kaspar Hauser, the young German man who claimed to have been brought up in total isolation. Was his story true? Was he part of the House of Baden? I think it's definitely worthy of a Skeptoid episode.

[xeroillusion]

Is there any validity to my friend's claims of how terrible soy is bad for you? I've been told that it creates a glue in your body. I've been told that it causes males to produce extra estrogen. Thus causing a decrease in your libido. They say it also contains anti-minerals. I honestly don't believe any of these claims. Just needed some scientific data to back it up.

[dlev]

My father is of the older generation i.e takes EVERYTHING that he reads on the internet or watch on youtube at face value and as an authority.

Recently, he has been a little obesessed about his jewish identity and heritage and keeps mailing me obscure studies about jewish genetics and how "all jews are related and all hail from the ancient hebrew as one united people".

I've been reading up on the subject from different resources and what I've been able to find out is that jewish genetics is a bit problematic and really hard to do as most people are in fact related to each other, certain gene flows across continents, population drift and so one makes it REALLY hard to make such research when it comes to tracking down and compare hablo-types in the gene pool of jews.

It would be interesting to learn more about this subject on an skeptoid episode! Love the show!

///Daniel Levy

[Slughorn42]

Here's another topic that may be worthy of a Skeptoid episode: Did John Wilkes Booth escape and live for decades under an assumed name? There have been several books that allege he did. I remember seeing an episode of Unsolved Mysteries that dealt with it. More recently, Brad Meltzer's Decoded investigated the claim and apparently descendants of Edwin Booth are trying to get his body exhumed for a DNA comparison. Then again, there plenty of "so-and-so didn't really die when we think they did" theories and Brian can't possibly address all of them. I don't expect him to do an episode examining the "Elvis is Alive!" phenomenon, for instance. Still, I think Booth is a fascinating enough figure that this might warrant an episode.

[Jontg]

Here’s one that falls into the Conspiracy Theory heading.

“There is a deliberate policy to Islamise Europe and the US.” This is based on a theory that two groups are combining forces to spread a dominant form of Islam throughout the world. Anders Breivik would have subscribed to this.

The first protagonist is formed of well-funded Islamic groups from the Middle East who want Islam to be the sole world religion.

How's this first bit a conspiracy theory? Anyone who actually believes in the rightness of their own perspective wants others to come around to it--there are well-funded Islamic reform lobbies all over Europe, just as there are hundreds of Christian outreach programs trying to save souls in Africa.
It's a natural consequence of shifting demographics--the faithful always harbor zealots, and zealots always try to corrupt the rule of law with scripture. In a sense, skeptics are the same--who here wouldn't toughen up consumer protection laws and reform the public school system if they could? It's human nature, and in a twisted way proof of the intrinsic goodness of humanity, that makes us want to help people who are so unfortunate as to be wrong.
ETA: Actually, don't answer that. I forgot there are Randians amongst us.

[grunion]

It seems as if Brian is checking in on this thread as a number of these seem to have been covered recently.

I'd love to hear an episode on Mass Hysteria - events like the Tanganykan Laughing Disease outbreak, Salem Witch Trials, St. Vitus' Dance, The Blackburn Fainting Fits, Koro, or the Strawberries With Sugar panic in Portugal. They seem to be universal in nature - though the victims are preponderantly teenage girls all groups and cultures have been afflicted. Who's to know whether we are in the throes of one? How can you tell?

[Checkmite]

How about an episode on the "green children" of Woolpit?

[DuvalHMFIC]

I would love to see an episode about John Titor. I had only heard of this about six months ago, and I was surprised to see that there hasn't been an episode about it. Especially with the supposed "proof" floating around of designs for a time traveling machine. I can't post links yet, but if you google search "john titor time machine" you will find a link.

It's very detailed, but ultimately proves nothing. Still, a fascinating subculture has sprung up around these "John Titor believers". Could make an interesting episode.
I actually just read through the entire thread to see if this had been mentioned yet. While it's certainly a hoax, it would be a fun episode for Brian. Going back and reading through the forums where "John" used to post is pretty funny.

No Olympics after 2004 (or maybe 2008). I was especially surprised he made this prediction since it was so soon after his postings. The rest were a little further out, and are just now being debunked. Of course, we must have changed something to make this happen!

[Checkmite]

No fate but what we make, etc.

[Temecula]

I don't know if suggestions in this thread turn into actual episodes, but I have 2 suggestions.

First and foremost, the dreaded Brown recluse spider. I have them in my new home, and a weekend of research has found that they are not even 1/100th the threat to my health that the media would have me believe, and most of the popular mythology associated with them is exactly that. Most reports of brown recluse bites are misidentified, often in areas where they do not inhabit such as California, while the effects and frequency of their bites is also not even close to what is widely believed. please, do an episode about the brown recluse, there is a ton of real info out there contrary to popular belief.

Second, I keep hearing the same two rehashed reports of a Bull Shark attacking someone in lake Michigan in the 1950s, as well as one's body being found in 2008 in lake Michigan, but I can never find anything even close to confirming either. There are a lot of unbelievable bull Shark stories for other bodies of water also. This would make an interesting episode.

[Graham2001]

How about the claims that the 2004 Boxing Day Tsunami was triggered by a nuclear weapon. There was a man in Australia called Joe Vialls who claimed that he had 'proof' that the CIA/Mossad were behind it.

This link leads to a copy of his (apalling) article:

http://www.reformation.org/joevialls.html

[klaus18]

I'd love to hear one about sinking of the Russian submarine Kursk, lost in 2000 with all hands from a large explosion near the torpedo room. What makes this so compelling to me is that the incident occurred in seas shallow enough that the hull didn't collapse, and several of the crew survived the initial explosion. The official story is the the survivors died several days later when the emergency equipment keeping them alive caused a fire which consumed all of the available oxygen from asphyxiation, even as rescue was being attempted.

Even with a story as interesting as this, there are a half dozen very confident conspiracy theories. The accident occurred during a naval exercise, and the US government admitted that they had submarines observing, most notably the USS Memphis. Memphis' sonar logs were provided for the investigation as the only witness record for the explosion, and rumors are rampant that the submarines collided, or even attacked each other with live rounds.

The rescue operations have their own cloud around them. Some believe that the Russian government deliberately stalled the rescue to sacrifice the crew for national security. Given the nature of a nuclear missile submarine, this is not implausible. Others believe that the US threatened or bought off the Russians because they did not want sailors to report a US aggressive attack. Some even claim that the crew survived all the way up to the point the rescuers breeched the ship, deliberately murdering them for the same reasons.

There are the usual smattering of claims about reptillians, UFOs, and energy vortices.

Thanks for reading!

[Socrates]

An episode about how every new age cult leader (or follower)comes up with a sophisticated "documentary" every now n then, full of misinformation and quote-mining. Or an episode about how easy it is to form a cult ( The Carlos Hoax, Kumare etc)
Or an episode about How to make a Crop-Circle ;) (see Rod Dickinson)

[Safe-Keeper]

Would love to see one on the alleged Aurora aircraft.

[fmhummel]

Before I switched to medicine I studied european ethnology. One of the more traditional subject of this cultural science was the history and socio-cultural evaluation of traditions, holidays and customs.
Wherever we look, we see claims that the Christmas tree is a pagan tradition (even James Randi said that once in an interview!), that the Easter Bunny and the Easter Eggs are pagan fertility symbols, and so on and so on...
The first thing I got taught in my studies back then was, that this information is based on pseudo-science and that there is nor a single historic proof for a connection between those things and pagan mythology. For example: There is no record of Christmas trees before the 16. century - a millenium after the death of pagan religions in central Europe. The Easter Bunny is even later - it gained fame through children's books in the 19th century.
Still, few people know that. Every Christmas or Easter (just the two examples) we get drowned in this information based on the fantasies of Jacob Grimm. It would be really nice to hear an episode about that.

[Caper]

I would love to listen to an episode about the Brian Dunning defense...... Where Dunning steps back, pretends he is a neutral observer and rips his own flimsy claims of innocence (or ignorance) apart...... that would be a spectacular ever.... and I truly would respect you for it.

[DuvalHMFIC]

Too late, he already plead guilty a week ago...

[deadendmind2013]

the Lightbulb conspiracy :)

[TommyG]

Hiya! Long time listener, first time poster here. I've just got a few potentially interesting ideas for future Skeptoid episodes to suggest.

PET FOOD WOO - It seems you can't hardly watch TV without someone barking about how the cheap crap you're feeding your beloved furry children is killing them. If you would only buy them some specific brand of overpriced kibble then they would love you even more. What does the science say?

THE KECKSBURG UFO A.K.A. Pennsylvania's Roswell - Is there any convincing evidence that ANYTHING actually crashed there?

PROBIOTICS - What exactly are they and do that have any value as supplements for general health or as treatment for specific conditions?

Ignore or discuss as you see fit.

[DuvalHMFIC]

Brian touched on the Kecksburg UFO in episode a listener feedback episode, #158 back in April.

[TommyG]

Brian touched on the Kecksburg UFO in episode a listener feedback episode, #158 back in April.

Yes he did but it was in episode #358, not #158. Dunning merely touches on the question of whether or not some government agent may or may not have coerced one or more witnesses into silence. I was hoping there might be enough material and interest to be worthy of a more in-depth, full length show.