BlockBuster Coupon for Free Movies, Popcorn, and Coke-Once Truth! Now Fiction!

Summary of the eRumor: The eRumor includes what looks like an official coupon from BlockBuster for a promotion called BlockBuster Night. It offers two free movie rentals, a tub of popcorn, and 2 Cokes.

The Truth: This began circulating on the Internet in the summer of 2007 and said that it would expire in December, 2007. The BlockBuster offices told TruthOrFiction.com, however, that this coupon was valid at one time but only at specific locations and only for people who had been participating in an online affiliate program with BlockBuster. The coupon was never issued on a mass basis and not intended to be duplicated and then used by just anyone. That hasn't stopped it from being circulated on the Internet in forwarded emails and shared among members of Internet sites. We even found instances of people on coupon-sharing sites offering these in trade for other coupons and others selling them on eBay. If you receive this and were not one of the intended recipients who was in the affiliate program or if you make a copy of this coupon and try to use it at a BlockBuster store, it will not be accepted. Updated 8/15/07

A real example of the eRumor as it has appeared on the Internet:

from:truthorfiction.com

The American Who Got a Windfall of Vintage Cars When He Bought a Farm in Portugal -The Pictures are Truth! But the Story is Fiction!

Summary of the eRumor: The story of a retired American businessman who bought an old farm in Portugal then discovered that a barn that had been sealed for many years had nearly 200 vintage cars stored inside.

The Truth: The cars are real. The story is not. Someone fabricated the story about the retired businessman who unwittingly bought a farm with a fortune of cars stored on the property. The email then provides a link to a collection of pictures of valuable but dusty cars that have obviously been sitting in storage for a very long time. This eRumor has circulated on the Internet since January, 2007. It took the sleuthing of Tom Cotter from Sport Car Market to get the truth about the cars. He reported that the owner was a car dealer in the 1970’s and 1980’s and decided to keep some of the more interesting cars that came his way. The mans identity and the exact location of the cars are a secret but Cotter found the photographer, Manuel Menezes Morais, who was hired by the collector to document the cars in the barn. Morais said that the owner kept storing the cars in the barn until it got full then he simply soldered the doors shut and the vehicles have been sitting there collecting dust for years. There is no word on what the owner intends to do with them. Updated 8/23/07

A real example of the eRumor as it has appeared on the Internet:

SUBJECT: THE BARN: YOU WILL NOT BELIEVE THIS A New York man retired. He wanted to use his retirement money wisely, so it would last, and decided to buy a home and a few acres in Portugal . The modest farmhouse had been vacant for 15yrs.; the owner and wife both had died, and there were no heirs. The house was sold to pay taxes. There had been several lookers, but the large barn had steel doors, and they had been welded shut. Nobody wanted to go to the extra expense to see what was in the barn, and it wasn't complimentary to the property anyway......so, nobody made an offer on the place. The NY guy bought it at just over half of the property's worth, moved in, and set about to tear in to the barn.......curiosity was killing him. So, he and his wife bought a generator, and a couple of grinders.......and cut thru the welds. What was in the barn...............? Go to; www.intuh.net/barnfinds/afa70.htm and start wishing it was you who had Bought the place. Click on the index for a faster download

from:truthorfiction.com

The Incredible Story of the Protection of the Bulgarian Jews-Mostly Truth!

Summary of the eRumor: The eRumor says that all 50,000 Jews in Bulgaria, whose government sided with the Nazis during World War II, were saved from Nazi death camps. It tells how it happened and also says that one of the most famous immigrants from Bulgaria to Israel was a young graduate of the Bulgarian Military Academy who in Israel changed his name to Moshe Dayan.

The Truth: The story about the salvation of Bulgaria's Jews is true but this particular version of the story has some factual problems. The information about the famous Israeli military leader Moshe Dayan is not correct. He was not from Bulgaria. He was born on a kibbutz in Israel and his parents were immigrants from Ukraine. Also, the book that is referenced in the story is titled Beyond Hitler's grasp: The Heroic Rescue of Bulgaria's Jews and was written by Michael Bar-Zohar (Not Michael Bar Oar). According to Bar-Zohar, the Bulgarian government came along side of Hitler early in the war because King Boris III hoped it would help him reclaim the lost lands of Greece and Romania. Hitler demanded that Bulgaria deport its Jews but a combination of forces in Bulgaria prevented that from happening and, according to Bar-Zohar, the Bulgarian Jews were the only Jewish population under the Nazis to actually increase during World War II. The story of the saving of the Bulgarian Jews is not a new one but there has not been agreement of what the role of King Boris III was. Government documents about the Jews were sealed after World War II by the Communist government. But Bar-Zohar was able to search the now opened archives and to interview Bulgarian survivors. He says that the King did play a role along with politician Dimiter Peshev and the Metropolitan Stefen of the Bulgarian Orthodox church. Their efforts delayed action on deporting Jews from Bulgaria long enough until the war turned against the Nazis. Last updated 5/26/07

A real example of the eRumor as it has appeared on the Internet:

Beyond Hitler's Grasp A great many Jews know the story of how the Danes rescued 8,000 Jews from the Nazi's by smuggling them to Sweden in fishing boats. Very few Jews, know the story of how all 50,000 Bulgarian Jews were saved. Not a single Bulgarian Jew was deported to the death camps, due to the heroism of many Bulgarians of every walk of life, up to and including the King and the Patriarch of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church. In 1999, Abraham Foxman, the National Director of the Anti Defamation League flew with a delegation to Sophia to meet the Bulgarian Prime Minister. He gave the Prime Minister the first Bulgarian language copy of a remarkable book, "Beyond Hitler's Grasp," written in 1998, by Michael Bar Oar, a professor at Emory University. (A Bulgarian Jew who had migrated to Israel and then to the USA). This book documents the rescue effort in detail. The ADL paid for and shipped 30,000 copies to Bulgaria, so that the population could partake in the joy of learning about this heroic facet of their history. This story is clearly the last great secret of the Holocaust era. The story was buried by the Bulgarian Communists, until their downfall in 1991. All records were sealed, since they didn't wish to glorify the King, or the Church, or the non Communist parliamentarians, who at great personal risk, stood up to the Germans. And the Bulgarian Jewish Community, 45,000 of whom went to Israel after the War, were busy building new lives, and somehow the story remained untold. Bulgaria is a small country and at the outset of the War they had 8 million people. They aligned themselves with the Nazi's in hopes of recapturing Macedonia from Yugoslavia and Thrace from Greece. Both provinces were stripped from them, after W.W.I. In late 1942 the Jews of Selonica were shipped north through Bulgaria, on the way to the death camps, in sealed box cars. The news of this inhumanity was a hot topic of conversation. Then, at the beginning of 1943, the pro Nazi Bulgarian government was informed that all 50,000 Bulgarian Jews would be deported in March. The Jews had been made to wear yellow stars and were highly visible. As the date for the deportation got closer, the agitation got greater. Forty-three ruling party members of Parliament walked out in protest. Newspapers denounced what was about to happen. In addition, the Patriarch of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church, Archbishop Krill, threatened to lie down on the railroad tracks. Finally, King Boris III forbid the deportation. Since Bulgaria was an ally of Germany, and the Germans were stretched militarily, they had to wrestle with the problem of how much pressure they could afford to apply. They decided to pass. Several points are noteworthy. The Bulgarian Jews were relatively unreligious and did not stand apart from the local populace by virtue of garb, or rites. They were relatively poor by comparison to Jews in other countries, and they lived in integrated neighborhoods. Additionally, the Bulgarians had many minorities, Armenians, Turks, Greeks, and Gypsies, in addition to Jews. There was no concept of racism in that culture. The bottom line here is that Bulgarians saw Bulgarian-Jews as Bulgarians, and not as Jews. And, being a small country, like Denmark, where there was a closeness of community, that is often missing in larger countries. So, here was a bright spot that we can point to as example of what should have been. The most famous of those saved was a young graduate of the Bulgarian Military Academy. When he arrived in Israel, he changed his name to Moshe Dayan..... What a great story to pass on to your e-mail list....

from:truthorfiction.com

Lock Bumping-a Threat to Security at Home or Office-Truth!

Summary of the eRumor: Stories, some with links to video reports, about a method of opening locks called "lock bumping," a simple way for the bad guys to be able to open locked doors.

The Truth: Lock bumping is real and also very simple and, as of February 2007, very well known because of the Internet. Stories began circulating about lock bumping and because it was not widely known and represented a real threat, folks forwarded the stories to friends and family as a warning to be aware of. Unfortunately, what also started circulating was detailed instructions about how to do lock bumping, which represented a threat in itself. A Dutch video that began making the rounds of the Internet in 2005 may have marked the start of the spread of interest in lock bumping. Lock bumping is a simple technique of opening what are called pin tumbler locks, which are the most common locks in use for residential and business doors. Bumping involves customizing the type of key that fits into the particular kind of lock then tapping or hitting the key in just the right way and at just the right moment to cause the lock to open, therefore the term "bumping." Bumping has become so popular that there are web sites that are openly selling bump keys for a variety of locks including a "bundle" of all of the keys for a special prices. A manufacturing company is selling a special bumping tool that is used to tap the bump key in a lock. The experts say that there are locks that are not vulnerable to lock bumping. Those include magnetic or electronic locks and locks using rotating disks. They are more expensive but worth it if you want to feel secure. Talk with your locksmith about the differences and what locks are recommended.

from:truthorfiction.com

High School Officials Pull the Plug on Valedictorian Because of Religious Content of Her Speech-Truth!

Summary of the eRumor: A story of Brittany McComb, a Nevada teen who was valedictorian of her high school graduating class. The text of her speech had been edited by both the school administration and the ACLU and she was told to remove references to the Bible and to Christ that were in her remarks. When the time came for her speech, however, she left them in and the P.A. microphone was cut off just before she said the word "Christ."

The Truth: The story is true and the text of the eRumor is from a release by the American Family Association, which asked for names to be added to a petition to protest the action by school officials. The incident took place at Foothill High School in Henderson, Nevada, which is part of the Clark County School District. According to an article in the Las Vegas Review-Journal on June 17, 2006, the school officials felt they were on good ground to kill the microphone. They had reviewed the speech. told McComb that it went across the line, and had warned her what would happen if she disregarded them. They wouldn't object to a reference to religion in McComb's speech, but they said that her text was preaching her religion and amounted to proselytizing. Her speech included scripture references, nine mentions of God, two mentions of the Lord, one mention of Christ, and a phrase, according to the article, that talked about "God's love being so great that he gave his only son to suffer an excruciated death in order to cover everyone's shortcomings and forge a path to heaven." The administration said that if they had allowed the speech as written it would have violated court decisions against school sponsored advocacy of religion. McComb, who is scheduled to attend Biola University in California in the Fall, said she thought about it and decided that the logic and freedom of speech she had been taught at the school should apply to her graduation address as well. Updated 6/22/06

A real example of the eRumor as it has appeared on the Internet:

Brittany McComb was the valedictorian at Foothill High School recently. She graduated with a 4.7 GPA. She earned the right to address the other graduates at Foothill, located in Henderson, Nevada. She gave a copy of her graduating speech to the school administrators. It contained some Biblical references and even mentioned (one time) the name “Christ.” The school administrators censored some of the Biblical references. They also censored the single reference to Christ. Then the school officials handed the speech over to the ACLU for approval and/or more censoring. After getting the OK from the ACLU, Brittany’s speech (minus the censored references to the Bible and Christ) was approved. Brittany was warned that if she deviated from the ACLU approved language, her mike would be cut off. Then came the moment for the big decision. She would not bow down, she decided. She would go with her original version. She stepped to the mike and began her speech. But just before she could utter the name “Christ,” her mike went dead. School officials silenced her. The crowd of 400 jeered for several minutes, angry at the action of the school officials. The ACLU was happy. They had silenced another Christian. “I went through four years of school at Foothill and they taught me logic and they taught me freedom of speech. God’s the biggest part of my life. Just like other valedictorians thank their parents, I wanted to thank my lord and savior,” Brittany said. Because she refused to bow down to the ACLU’s idol of gold, she did not get her wish. She was censored. This young heroine deserves praise and a thank you from those who believe in free speech.

from:truthorfiction.com

German Bridge That Is For Boats-Truth!

Summary of the eRumor: The email includes a picture of what appears to be a bridge for boats! It says the bridge is over the River Elbe and joins the former East and West Germany, part of a unification project.

The Truth: The bridge is known as the Magdeburg Water Bridge and provides a link between two German shipping canals, the Elbe-Havel canal and the Mittellandkanal. It's the longest and largest boat bridge in the world. Connecting the two important canals has been envisioned since the early part of the last century and construction was actually begun in the 1930's but was hindered by two world wars and then the Cold War that split Germany into the East and the West. The bridge is a kilometer long and cost more than $500 million Euros. Without the bridge commercial traffic was dependent on the Elbe river, which was not reliable throughout the year because of occasions of low water levels, and which sometimes stranded boats and barges.

A real example of the eRumor as it has appeared on the Internet:

Water Bridge in Germany.... What a feat! Six years, 500 million euros, 918 meters long.......now this is engineering! This is a channel-bridge over the River Elbe and joins the former East and West Germany, as part of the unification project. It is located in the city of Magdeburg, near Berlin. The photo was taken on the day of inauguration. To those who appreciate engineering projects.....

from:www.TruthOrFiction.com

New Boeing 797 Giant "Blended Wing" Passenger Airliner-Fiction!

Summary of the eRumor: The story says that the Boeing Company is developing a radical new passenger jetliner that will carry 1,000 passengers. It's designated the 797 and is a "blended wing" design looking a lot like the old flying wing experiments of the 50's.

The Truth: TruthOrFiction.com went straight to the source, the Boeing Company. A spokesperson said that it is not true that Boeing is developing a commercial blended wing aircraft. He asked that we help stop the perpetuation of the story. What is true, according to Boeing, is that Boeing Phantom Works, the company's advanced research and development organization, is doing research on the blended wing body design as a potential military aircraft. Boeing has built a scale model to test its low-speed flying characteristics in a wind tunnel. There are also plans (as of 7/13/07) to flight test a scale model. Updated 7/14/06

A real example of the eRumor as it has appeared on the Internet:

Subject:: Boeing 797 Boeing to take on Airbus with (1000 seat) giant 797 Blended Wing plane Boeing is preparing a 1000 passenger jet that could reshape the Air travel industry for the next 100 years.The radical Blended Wing design has been developed by Boeing in cooperation with the NASA Langley Research Centre.The mammoth plane will have a wing span of 265 feet compared to the 747's 211 feet, and is designed to fit within the newly created terminals used for the 555 seat Airbus A380, which is 262 feet wide.The new 797 is in direct response to the Airbus A380 which has racked up 159 orders, but has not yet flown any passengers.Boeing decide to kill its 747X stretched super jumbo in 2003 after little interest was shown by airline companies, but has continued to develop the ultimate Airbus crusher 797 for years at its Phantom Works research facility in Long Beach, Calif. The Airbus A380 has been in the works since 1999 and has accumulated $13 billion in development costs, which gives Boeing a huge advantage now that Airbus has committed to the older style tubular aircraft for decades to come.There are several big advantages to the blended wing design, the most important being the lift to drag ratio which is expected to increase by an amazing 50%, with overall weight reduced by 25%, making it an estimated 33% more efficient than the A380, and making Airbus's $13 billion dollar investment look pretty shaky. High body rigidity is another key factor in blended wing aircraft, It reduces turbu lence and creates less stress on the air frame which adds to efficiency, giving the 797 a tremendous 8800 nautical mile range with its 1000 passengers flying comfortably at mach .88 or 654 mph (+-1046km/h) cruising speed another advantage over the Airbus tube-and-wing designed A380's 570 mph (912 km/h) The exact date for introduction is unclear, yet the battle lines are clearly drawn in the high-stakes war for civilian air supremacy.

from:truthorfiction.com