And by that, I’m referring to the likes of Boing Boing, for thinking the “thousands of Japanese people buy sheep, thinking they are poodles” story is anything but tabloid pap.
Feh.
Poodle-type update: Tony Blair has felt unable to pick up his US Congressional Gold Medal of Honour for four years partly because the ceremony would reinforce the prejudices of those convinced he was “some sort of poodle”, says Sir David Manning, Britain’s Ambassador in Washington.
Actual related update, via Conrad: Media flock to report on Japanese poodle scam (Cerebral Soup)
And, from the comments there: Poodle scam story a hoax
Well, thank goodness someone has taken the time to investigate this important and controversial story. You can count on me to do the same the next time some tabloid prints a story on how THINGS FALL UP. Yeah, baby.
(Just ’cause I’m snide doesn’t mean I don’t actually appreciate the investigation. Good work, guys.)
I hear that many, many visitors to Tijuana purchase giant diseased Mexican sewer rats thinking that they are chihuahuas, too!
I monitor the Japanese papers, and I didn’t see shit about this. And gimme a break—Japanese people can’t tell a sheep from a dog? Pah!
On the other hand, back in the seventies, Bubble Yum totally had spider eggs in it! And I was so sad when Mikey drank the 7-Up after eating Pop Rocks and exploded.
This is why I don’t believe anything I see on the internet for a few days.
This story had classic urban legend elements such as:
-making rich people or a particular race look foolish so that the reader can feel superior.
-FOAF (friend of a friend) corroboration.
-pseudo-facts to lend plausibility.
Do we think that even the media shoving this story around actually thought it was true?
It’s on Snopes now. Someone please start up the next round of bullshit.