Would you believe that loons on the internet have claimed that the flu epidemic of 1918 was caused by a) vaccinations, and b) aspirin? It seems to be part of a common set of myths promoted by cranks like Mercola and Mike Adams and John Scudamore and various randos on the intertubes. Fortunately, Harriet Hall takes ’em all down.
Pharyngula
Evolution, development, and random biological ejaculations from a godless liberal
“Would you believe that loons on the internet have claimed…”
Yes. Probably.
Aspirin? Really? Jesus Fuck, I hope these idiots don’t ever figure out the source, they’ll probably start campaigning to kill off all Willows. Idiots.
Also, when the next plague hits, I hope to hell they all die first.
I blame the Spanish for the Spanish Flu ,reading a book in which it says Influenza comes from the word Influence .
Hell, at this stage, I’d believe that loons on the internet have claimed that the flu epidemic of 1918 was caused by cellphones and hipsters.
This kind of stupidity is incurable I’m afraid.
And here I thought it was caused by all that gay trench sex.
And here was me thinking that the “Stephen Hawking died many years ago and is currently being portrayed by an impostor” thing I read the other day was Peak Stupid.
(My response was “so where did they find another paralysed physics genius to impersonate him?” if you wondered.)
Oh good grief. This is so stoooopid I checked with Generalissimo Google™, and for fecks sake, that nonsense really is out there. I won’t link to any sites, but the general ghist seems to be that Dr Hawking has lived with ALS for decades when most people supposedly don’t, therefore he hasn’t lived that long, therefore he died and is now being impersonated. Why? Because, loosely quoting one site, and a well-known individual is needed to keep up the alleged bamboozling and and and cows are not spherical.
ALS is a complicated and poorly-understood condition with many different forms. Whilst I think it is correct that with what happens to be the most-common form, people don’t live for decades after diagnosis, Dr Hawking has a much rarer & slower-progressing form.