Sometimes internet stories get rejuvenated for no apparent reason. I have no idea how or why this happens but it can be fascinating to see what is ‘trending’ at any point in time. And todays story is one about fridge magnets and how they can become killers. Now I am the first to admit that there are a few fridge magnets in the house although they actually reside on the front of the oven. A spaceman from the US, a cocktail menu from Singapore and a polar bear make up the current contingent. I don’t know where the polar bear came from but he seems happy.
However while the polar bear is happy I am wondering if I should be anymore – until today I had never considered the polar bear and friends could be a killer.
The article, for those of you that haven’t actually read it (I am here to do everything for you?) was written in 2006 and references a neodymium magnet. As a new type of magnet being used in fridge adornments some research had been done into the health effects of getting too close to said magnet. Specifically, in this case what happens when your pacemaker gets up close and personal with your fridge and its new magnet menagerie. So far so good and even I have seen the warning signs at airports that advise people with pacemakers not to go through the security devices but to have a full body search instead. Which must be one of the few benefits of having a pacemaker other than of course staying alive. So researching the health affects of a new strong magnet seems like a good idea.
Anyhow I digress. So in 2006 there was a lot of worry about pacemakers and this new magnet – or Death Magnet as it has been called. Being curious I took a look around and tried to see if I could find any connection between this 2006 article highlighting a risk of death and anything that actually might have happened.
From what I can see, and I am not claiming this as science fact, there have been no deaths ascribed to magnets. Research done in 2007 and 2008 again highlighted the risk of a pacemaker being affected but there is seemingly no documented evidence of this being anything other than a risk. The risk has not occurred. There has also been some research undertaken into children ingesting magnetic toys which in some cases has led to serious injury but it is difficult to say whether it was the magnet itself or the fact that the child ate it that caused the problem. Eating metal is never a great idea.
So we have a 2014 trending story written in 2006 with a headline referring to ‘Killer Fridge Magnets.’ And yet we find little evidence to suggest that this poor little picked on magnet has ever actually caused anyone a problem; other than children where it seems to be less the magnet and more the fact your kid is chomping on metal.
Sensational headlines used to last for a short period of time and then fade away. But now with the power of the internet and its ability to keep regurgitating the past we can repeat the same stories over and over again. It doesn’t make the story any more true than it was, just makes it even more obvious that a sensational headline is little more than that. The advantage of the internet is that it now gives you and I the opportunity to check the veracity of a claim more easily. I don’t need to rely on the idea of the journalist as a trusted adviser as I can now go and check myself.
Journalists as trusted advisers is an old concept, seems to have fallen out of fashion recently but maybe, with the power we have to check the detail behind the headline, maybe we can change that. It might not work in today’s world where news is 24/7 but a focus on the content over the headline might actually be a good thing.
For me, my favorite headline came from a UK newspaper back in the ’80s which trumpeted that they had discovered a Second World War Plane on the Moon. I have yet to find evidence that this might be true.
Please tell me the most ridiculous headline you’ve ever come across.
The Burble 