If that headline sounds like it can’t possibly be true, that’s because it isn’t. But British comedian John Oliver did recently give Americans a great lesson in bad “science,” during a segment of his show, Last Week Tonight.
Oliver often uses humor to take on serious social issues. And what could be more serious than the news that smelling farts might prevent cancer?
Lots of things, actually, as it turns out that claim — reported by TIME magazine on July 11, 2014 — is completely unproven. The actual research supposedly referenced in the article has nothing to do with either farts or cancer. But that’s Oliver’s very serious point. Many media reports (and Facebook or Twitter posts) citing attention-grabbing results of scientific studies are at best gross exaggerations or misunderstandings of the findings, and at worst completely untrue. Not just incredible but uncredible, as Oliver’s segment concludes in a mock TODD Talk (a send-up of TED talks, hilariously highlighting Trends, Observations, and Dangerous Drivel).
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