Did you know that Helen Keller was a military sniper and NASCAR driver? That reggae was invented in the 1880s by a drunken Irish bagpiper? That Abraham Lincoln used a magic whip to fight pirates and free the slaves in the 1980s? These are the sorts of facts you can find on Twitter today. In honor of Wikipedia’s blackout in protest of SOPA, #FactsWithoutWikipedia is trending nationwide. The tweets show the danger of a world where internet users no longer have an easy way to fact-check what they read in their online travels. Here are some examples of the hilarity that ensues when people realize they can get away with saying pretty much anything:
#factswithoutwikipedia Stairway To Heaven was written about Oprah.
#FactsWithoutWikipedia The full stop was first used in. the 1690s. when ink drops from. quill pens became fashionable as. ornamentation.
#factswithoutwikipedia Wikipedia is a reliable reference tool and is accepted by professors, other educators worldwide.
#FactsWithoutWikipedia Marilyn Monroe once married a Doctor she met at a party. #doctorwho
#FactsWithoutWikipedia The first woman was created when a man was bitten by a radioactive wo.