John Stossel - Myths, Lies, and Downright Stupidity : Get Out the Shovel--Why Everything You Know is Wrong

On my ride home from work yesterday, John Stossel from ABC News was being interviewed by a local radio station regarding his new book, Myths, Lies, and Downright Stupidity : Get Out the Shovel--Why Everything You Know is Wrong. I found the interview fascinating because a lot of the myths he exposed are things that we have been led to believe are the truth. Some examples he gave in the interview are:

• Global Warming is causing the increase in hurricanes, etc. - According to his research, there is no evidence that global warming is causing more hurricanes. In fact, if you look at the cycle of hurricanes over the years, we are just in the middle of an active cycle.
• Second-Hand Smoke is just as harmful as Smoking - While I do not like the smell of smoke and am glad it has been banned in most restaurants and offices, the research that was done on second-hand smoke was done on people who lived with a smoker for many, many years. And, even then, the research wasn't conclusive.
  
• Pesticide residues in food cause cancer and other diseases - The research shows that the residues are largely harmless.
  
• Schools are more violent these days - Violent crimes in schools dropped by half between 1992 and 2002, although reporting about school violence increased.

These are just a few of the topics he covered during the interview. I find it fascinating how quickly the public will pick up on a story in the media and immediately assume that it is completely true.

Good luck today and make it a great one!

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