Factoid

A factoid is a questionable or spurious—unverified, incorrect, or fabricated—statement presented as a fact, but with no veracity. The word can also be used to describe a particularly insignificant or novel fact, in the absence of much relevant context.[1] The word is defined by the Compact Oxford English Dictionary as "an item of unreliable information that is repeated so often that it becomes accepted as fact".[2]

Factoid was coined by Norman Mailer in his 1973 biography of Marilyn Monroe. Mailer described a factoid as "facts which have no existence before appearing in a magazine or newspaper",[3] and created the word by combining the word fact and the ending -oid to mean "similar but not the same". The Washington Times described Mailer's new word as referring to "something that looks like a fact, could be a fact, but in fact is not a fact".[4]

Factoids may give rise to, or arise from, common misconceptions and urban legends.

Contents

Examples

The following are many examples of well-known factoids, and the facts which clarify or debunk them.

Other meanings

The word factoid is now sometimes also used to mean a small piece of true but valueless or insignificant information, in contrast to the original definition. This has been popularized by the CNN Headline News TV channel, which, during the 1980s and 1990s, used to frequently include such a fact under the heading "factoid" during newscasts. BBC Radio 2 presenter Steve Wright uses factoids extensively on his show.[16]

As a result of confusion over the meaning of factoid, some English-language style and usage guides recommend against its use.[17] Language expert William Safire in his On Language column advocated the use of the word factlet to express a "little bit of arcana".[18]

The term was also used in the original introduction[19] to the Friend of a Friend Semantic Web project, introducing a technical use of the term grounded in RDF technology: "Each new home page that appears on the Web tells the world something new, providing factoids and gossip that make the Web a mine of disconnected snippets of information."

See also

Footnotes

  1. ^ Steve Wright's Book of Factoids. Harper. 2006. ISBN 978-0007240296.  As read on his hit BBC Radio show "Steve Wright in the Afternoon".
  2. ^ Simpson JA & Weiner ESC, ed (2008). The Compact Oxford English Dictionary, Second Edition. Clarendon Press. ISBN 0-19-861258-3. 
  3. ^ Mailer, Norman (1973). Marilyn: A Biography. Grosset & Dunlap. ISBN 0-448-01029-1. 
  4. ^ Wesley Pruden, Editorial in Washington Times
  5. ^ Mount Isa City Council page suggesting their city is the second largest city in the world
  6. ^ Beware the Selling Machines
  7. ^ Michael J. Doucet (October 2004). "The Anatomy of an Urban Legend: Toronto's Multicultural Reputation" (PDF). CERIS - Metropolis Toronto Centre of Excellence for Research on Immigration and Settlement. http://ceris.metropolis.net/PolicyMatter/2004/PolicyMatters11.pdf. Retrieved 2007-05-23. 
  8. ^ UNESCO Best Practices for Human Settlements: Metro Toronto's Changing Communities
  9. ^ Clyde H. Farnsworth, "Toronto Journal: To Battle Bigots, Help from South of the Border," New York Times, Friday, 12 February 1993, 4.
  10. ^ City of diversity, Economist City Guide: Toronto, [1] (retrieved May 24, 2007)
  11. ^ See Great Wall of China's visibility
  12. ^ Norberto López-Gil. "Is it Really Possible to See the Great Wall of China from Space with a Naked Eye?". Journal of Optometry 1 (1): 3–4. http://www.journalofoptometry.org/Archive/vol1/pdf/02%20Vol1-n1%20Letter%20to%20the%20Editor.pdf. 
  13. ^ Cecil Adams, "Are cats and dogs really color-blind? How do they know?" May 1, 1987, The Straight Dope website. Accessed November 22, 2010.
  14. ^ Paulette Clancy, "Cats, dogs can see some color: Are cats and dogs colorblind? Do cats' eyes glow in the dark?" Ask A Scientist! October 22, 1998. Found at Cornell University website. Accessed November 22, 2010.
  15. ^ barrypopik.com
  16. ^ Wright, Steve (2005). Steve Wright's Book of Factoids. HarperCollins Entertainment. ISBN 0-00-720660-7. 
  17. ^ Brians, Paul (2003). Common Errors in English Usage. William James & Company. ISBN 1-887902-89-9.  [2]
  18. ^ William Safire, "On Language; Only the Factoids," New York Times, Sunday, 5 December 1993.
  19. ^ foaf-project.org

External links