Pemeriksaan terhadap pemilik blogger dinilai berlebihan. Polisi masih mencari saksi dan bukti lain.
---------------------------------------
HERMAN Saksono tak biasa berurusan dengan polisi. Saat aparat berseragam cokelat datang ke kantor Gama Techno di kawasan kampus Universitas Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta, Senin pekan lalu, dia kaget bukan kepalang. "Apalagi setelah tahu jumlahnya banyak, sekitar enam orang," kata pemilik jurnal harian di internet (blog) hermansaksono.blogspot.com ini.
Pria 24 tahun ini baru mengerti duduk masalahnya setelah polisi bicara soal "foto mesra" di blognya. Dalam jurnal harian digital di internet milik Herman tersebut terpampang karya foto montase yang diambil dari foto Presiden Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono yang kemudian ditempel, menggantikan gambar salah satu wajah yang sedang berduaan, yang diduga merupakan foto Mayangsari dan Bambang Trihatmodjo. "Bisa ngobrol sebentar?" kata sang polisi.
Kreasi foto montase itu, yang membuat Herman kemudian diperiksa polisi dari pukul 12 siang sampai 22.30 di Kepolisian Daerah Yogyakarta. Mahasiswa Fakultas Teknik Elektro UGM ini pun dijerat pasal penghinaan kepala negara. Ancaman hukumannya lumayan berat, enam tahun penjara.
Polisi meminta Herman mencabut foto Yudhoyono dari blognya. Namun, ketika itu Herman keberatan. Menurut dia, karya tadi merupakan bagian dari kebebasan berekspresi. Akhirnya, polisi kembali menggiring Herman ke Kepolisian Daerah Yogyakarta. Dia menjalani pemeriksaan selama 10 jam. Polisi juga menunjukkan Pasal 134 Kitab Undang-Undang Hukum Pidana tentang Penghinaan terhadap Kepala Negara.
Setelah itu, "foto mesra" Yudhoyono pun menghilang dari blog Herman. Sebagai gantinya, pada blog itu tertera tulisan: "Dengan segala maaf posting-an saya tentang 'foto Mayangsari' adalah rekayasa harus dihapus karena alasan yang tak bisa dijelaskan di sini." Herman mengakui foto itu memang dicabut. "Biar nggak lebih ruwet." ujarnya.
Sebelum Herman diperiksa polisi, Roy Suryo Notodiprojo, pakar telematika mengirimkan pesan singkat via ponsel kepada Afrizal, atasan Herman. "Seorang karyawan Anda, Herman Saksono, melakukan tindakan yang bisa fatal. Dia merekayasa foto Presiden SBY dan hal tersebut dianggap serius oleh Paspampres, kini sedang ditangani Polda DIY.
Pesan singkat tadi menurut Roy, yang kebetulan menjabat Ketua Departemen Komunikasi dan Informatika Partai Demokrat, diniatkan agar nama kampus UGM tidak tercemar. Dia membantah sebagai penyebab ditangkap dan diperiksanya Herman. "Hebat betul kalau saya bisa mengomando Polda DIY maupun Paspampres untuk mengusut kasus ini," katanya sengit. "Tapi, kalau ditanya apakah saya mendukung pemeriksaan Herman, saya katakan, ya."
Menurut Roy, "foto mesra" di blog Herman diketahuinya saat menghadiri pertemuan di satu hotel di Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 11 Desember lalu. Waktu itu dia bertemu dengan orang-orang dekat Presiden, termasuk Juru bicara Presiden, Andi Malarangeng. Mereka langsung menunjukkan "foto mesra" Yudhoyono yang dicetak dari blog Herman.
Pihak kepolisian pun membantah kasus ini diusut karena pesanan seseorang. "Anak buah saya buka-buka website. Dari situlah kemudian polisi berinisiatif melakukan pemeriksaan," kata Kepala satuan Reserse Kriminal Kepolisian Kota Besar Yogyakarta, AKP Ayi Subardan .
Menurut Subardan, pemeriksaan Herman telah selesai. Hanya saja, kata dia, apakah akan diteruskan ke pengadilan atau tidak, tergantung beberapa hal. Di antaranya, kebijakan pemimpinnya, plus saksi-saksi dan alat pembuktiannya. "Meski pemeriksaan telah selesai, unsur-unsur pembuktiannya belum terpenuhi," kata Subardan. Polisi masih mencari saksi dan bukti lain.
Direktur Lembaga Bantuan Hukum Jakarta, Uli Parulian, menilai kasus ini masih merupakan wilayah kebebasan berekspresi, sehingga tak perlu dihadapi dengan jaring pidana. Apalagi menggunakan pasal peninggalan pemerintahan kolonial yang dikenal sebagai hatzaai artikelen. "Ini kan berlebihan sekali," kata dia. Parulian berharap kasus ini tak perlu diteruskan.
Abdul Manan, Heru Nugroho
]]>Sumber asli di: http://www.tempointeraktif.com/majalah/arsip/thn08/edisi43/opi-4.html
Sikap simpatik Presiden Yudhoyono merespons tindakan usil rekayasa foto dirinya di jurnal Internet patut dipuji. Polisi tak perlu repot-repot menyidik sang blogger belia.
-----------------------------------------------------
ADA baiknya polisi mengikuti sikap simpatik Presiden Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono dalam merespons kasus rekayasa foto sang Presiden oleh Herman Saksono, pemilik jurnal di Internet (blog) yang menghebohkan itu. Ketika ditanyakan reaksinya terhadap tindakan usil anak muda asal Yogyakarta itu, Presiden cuma tertawa. Di akhir acara tatap muka dengan masyarakat Indonesia di Thailand, Kamis pekan lalu, Presiden bahkan berpesan agar proses hukumnya tak perlu diperpanjang, cukup dipanggil, dinasihati, tak usah dikembangkan macam-macam.
Langkah persuasif ini tentu saja patut dipuji. Sejauh ini polisi bereaksi supercepat bak menerima informasi tentang gelagat seorang teroris yang bakal mengguncangkan sendi-sendi kehidupan negara dan masyarakat. Herman, karyawan sebuah perusahaan teknologi informasi itu, zonder ba-bi-bu, langsung digelandang aparat. Ia diinterogasi berjam-jam, pemeriksaannya dioper sana-sini, dari kepolisian provinsi ke Kepolisian Kota Besar Yogyakarta. Ia dijadikan tersangka dengan tuduhan serius dan gawat: tindak pidana makar, menghina kepala negara, yang salah-salah bisa dipenjara enam tahun.
Padahal ulah Herman iseng belaka. Kendati tidak sopan, tapi tak mesti dirisaukan, apalagi dianggap berbahaya. Ia agaknya ingin bercanda ketika melakukan rekayasa foto mesra orang yang mirip seorang penyanyi Indonesia bersama orang yang mirip pengusaha Bambang Trihatmodjo, lalu menggantinya dengan wajah SBY, plus wajah pengamat telematika Roy Suryo dan sejumlah figur publik beken lainnya. Teknik pelesetan foto macam begini "yang sering tak sopan" sudah jamak di ranah maya Internet. Lulusan Universitas Melbourne ini tentunya sudah terbiasa mengakses pelbagai hasil rekayasa komputer.
Lelucon kreativitas begini mestinya tak perlu ditanggapi serius. Apalagi Herman bukanlah satu-satunya pengguna Internet yang kadar iseng dan jailnya begitu tinggi. Blog pun bukanlah satu-satunya media di Internet untuk menyalurkan keisengan, sehingga "membina" Herman dengan menginterogasinya berjam-jam dan berlarut-larut tak akan menjamin orang lain tak meniru. Memenjarakannya ke LP Cipinang pun tak ada gunanya. Bisa-bisa reaksi kaum blogger dan netter makin seru: tergoda berunjuk rasa dengan menyebarluaskan karya Herman. Apalagi sejauh ini kita masih belum punya undang-undang yang mengatur ihwal Internet.
Majalah ini hanya mempertanyakan tindakan kelewatan dalam "membina" keisengan ala Herman ini. Bukan saja tindakan ini tak produktif, melainkan bisa memberikan citra buruk bagi komitmen pemerintah dalam menjamin kebebasan berekspresi setiap warga negaranya. Apalagi pernyataan Ketua Departemen Komunikasi dan Informatika Partai Demokrat, Roy Suryo, yang mengatakan bahwa Herman sudah "dibina" karena kasus ini, terdengar sangat beraroma suara pembela pemerintah zaman Orde Baru"yang alergi dengan segala yang berbau kritik dan kebebasan berekspresi. Seharusnya kita lebih terfokus menangani seabrek masalah penting lainnya ketimbang perkara perentil-perentil begini.
]]>Polisi bertindak berlebihan kepada Herman Saksono, pemilik sebuah jurnal di Internet (blog), dengan menuduhnya melakukan penghinaan terhadap Presiden Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.
Polisi bertindak berlebihan kepada Herman Saksono, pemilik sebuah jurnal di Internet (blog), dengan menuduhnya melakukan penghinaan terhadap Presiden Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. Herman, anak muda berusia 24 tahun yang bermukim di Yogyakarta, hanya ingin bergurau ketika di jurnalnya melakukan rekayasa foto mesra orang yang mirip seorang penyanyi Indonesia bersama orang yang mirip pengusaha Bambang Trihatmodjo dan menggantinya dengan wajah SBY, juga wajah pengamat telematika Roy Suryo, dan figur publik lainnya.
Membawa Herman ke kantor polisi, bahkan sekadar untuk dimintai keterangan, terkesan terlalu serius. Di dunia maya Internet, anak muda yang menamatkan pendidikan di University of Melbourne ini tentu terbiasa mengakses berbagai hasil rekayasa komputer di era digital ini. Tak ada yang berbahaya di sini. Ini adalah kreativitas biasa, walau tak bisa dikatakan sopan.
Herman bukan satu-satunya pengguna Internet yang kadar keisengannya tinggi. Blog pun bukanlah satu-satunya media di Internet untuk menyalurkan keisengan, sehingga "membina" Herman dengan cara menginterogasinya berjam-jam tak akan menjamin orang lain tidak akan menirunya. Malah, dengan berbagai motif--entah menunjukkan protes, simpati, entah sekadar mengejek--akan banyak pengguna Internet yang tergoda untuk menyebarluaskan karya-karya Herman. Hal yang kecil dan hampir tak terlihat akhirnya malah akan menjadi besar.
Maka yang bermasalah sebenarnya bukan karya Herman itu, melainkan tindakan "membina" yang dilakukan dengan cara yang kelewat serius tadi. Lebih lagi bila diingat bahwa Indonesia belum mempunyai undang-undang yang mengatur masalah Internet.
Karena yang memerintahkan "pembinaan" ini bukan Presiden SBY, patut diduga yang bereaksi berlebihan adalah mereka yang merasa perlu melindungi martabat Presiden secara all-out. Mereka bisa aparat keamanan di sekeliling Presiden, bisa juga orang yang berasal dari partai yang mendukung Presiden. Pernyataan Ketua Departemen Komunikasi dan Informatika Partai Demokrat Roy Suryo, yang menjadi salah satu korban keisengan Herman, yang mengatakan bahwa Herman sudah "dibina" karena kasus ini, terdengar mirip suara-suara pembela pemerintah pada zaman Orde Baru.
Masih banyak urusan yang lebih penting dikerjakan orang-orang di "Ring 1" Presiden, ketimbang terus "mengelap" Presiden hingga tampak selalu moncer di mata masyarakat. Apalagi Presiden SBY sudah mengatakan tak ingin ada orang dipenjara karena menghina dirinya, termasuk membakar foto dirinya. Cara kasus Herman ditangani sama sekali tidak menunjukkan sikap Presiden terhadap orang yang memperlakukannya secara kurang pantas.
Herman bukan blogger yang menyembunyikan identitasnya di Internet. Seharusnya ada cara yang lebih bijak dan tak kelewat serius sampai perlu menggunakan polisi. - Show quoted text -
http://korantempo.com/korantempo/2005/12/16/Editorial/krn,20051216,94.id.html
]]>Kutipan berita:
“…Tetapi, pengamat multimedia Roy Suryo menyarankan pengakses internet untuk lebih percaya kepada situs-situs resmi daripada weblog. Alasannya, nilai pertanggungjawaban dari pembuat blog masih terbatas dan sumber penulisannya tidak bisa ditentukan. “Blog itu satu tren saja. Jadi, seperti agenda yang bisa ditulisi macam-macam. Saya melihat blog sendiri kebanyakan masih berupa katarsis atau tempat curahan emosi,” ungkap dosen UGM ini kepada Media kemarin…”
Walau bukan kutipan verbatim wawancara dan dengan tidak menutup kemungkinan perubahan editorial, dapat ditangkap dua inti pernyataan Roy Suryo tentang blog yaitu:
1. Blog tidak dapat dipercaya, tidak ada pertanggung jawaban penulis, kebanyakan berupa tempat curahan emosi [katarsis]
2. Blog adalah sebuan tren
Dibawah ini adalah tanggapan terhadap pernyataan diatas:
I. MEDIA BLOG, ANTARA FORMAT DAN ISI
Blog (kependekan dari Weblog) didefinisikan secara singkat sebagai website yang menampilkan posting satu atau lebih individu dalam susunan kronologis (dimana biasanya posting terbaru ditempatkan diatas).
Sebagai media yang baru adalah lumrah bagi banyak orang awam yang tidak familiar dengan format ini untuk mengeneralisasi dan mencampurkan pengertian blog sebagai format dan blog sebagai media dengan informasi khusus.
Blog sebagai format adalah bentuk terbaru dari hasil evolusi perkembangan format-format media yang terus menerus berlangsung di Internet.
Secara analogis, blog dapat disejajarkan dengan format-format media lain seperti Televisi [audio, video], Radio [audio], Koran dan Majalah [tulisan].
Karena sebab diatas, maka adalah aneh untuk menyatakan ketidakpercayaan terhadap sebuah format.
Ketika Roy Suryo menyatakan bahwa “Blog tidak dapat dipercaya”, maka saudara Roy telah membingungkan masyarakat dengan mencampuradukkan antara blog sebagai format dan isi dari blog itu sendiri.
Analogikan dengan pernyataan “Televisi tidak dapat dipercaya”, karena televisi sendiri adalah sebuah alat elektronik yang bisa menyajikan suara dan gambar. Sehingga bukan terhadap “televisi” (sebagai format) kita tidak percaya, tapi kita tidak percaya terhadap isi yang disajikan oleh televisi.
Blog sebagai format, sebaliknya justru telah mendunia dan diadopsi serta diagung-agungkan sebagai format media baru yang efektif, murah dan mudah digunakan.
Format blog telah diadopsi oleh banyak kalangan, individu maupun organisasi untuk berbagai tujuan karena karakteristiknya yang mudah digunakan, permanen, cepat dan informatif.
Dari keperluan hubungan masyarakat [Public Relation] dunia bisnis, kampanye politik, pemberitaan [jurnalisme] hingga pengorganisasian massa telah dilakukan dengan menggunakan format blog.
Tanpa menutup mata, karena sifatnya yang mudah dan murah tadi, blog juga digunakan sebagai alat komunikasi pribadi sehari-hari oleh banyak orang, sehingga banyak juga blog yang berisi cerita pengalaman atau pemikiran pribadi maupun luapan emosi.
Walaupun begitu, tidak diperlukan intelegensia tinggi untuk membedakan kredibilitas informasi yang dibutuhkan ketika kita berhadapan dengan suatu blog. Dan adalah salah untuk mengeneralisasi isi semua blog sebagai tempat curahan hati.
Blog sebagai format dan isi blog sebagai media karenanya berbeda dan harus dibedakan.
II. BLOG BUKANLAH TREN
“Tren” [Trend] yang kami tangkap dari pernyataan Roy Suryo didefinisikan sebagai suatu kecenderungan sementara atau musim yang akan hilang atau berganti.
Ada dua kecenderungan arah pergerakan ketika sesuatu yang baru muncul, akan ada seterusnya atau akan hilang. Ketika dia hilang, maka kita bisa mengatakannya sebagai tren (musim), seperti model fashion tertentu. Ketika tetap ada, maka antara dia menggantikan apa yang sudah ada, atau memiliki fungsi komplementari dari apa yang sudah ada.
Dari sisi ini, dengan keunggulan format blog, keberagaman penggunaan format serta kenyataan bahwa blog adalah hasil evolusi dari berbagai eksperimen penggunaan media di internet maka adalah sangat kecil kemungkinan blog akan hilang di masa yang akan datang, justru sebaliknya.
Kecenderungan yang dapat kita lihat sekarang adalah makin bertambahnya jumlah blog dengan beragam pengguna serta penggunaan. Selain blog biasa kini juga sudah muncul Photoblog, MP3blog, Videoblog, Moblog [mobile blog] dan lain-lain
Di Amerika Serikat, menurut laporan terbaru Pew Internet & American Life Project, di akhir 2004 blog telah mengokohkan diri sebagai bagian dari budaya online. http://www.pewinternet.org/PPF/r/144/report_display.asp
Pembaca blog melonjak hingga 58% pada 2004 dimana kini 27% dari pengguna internet adalah pembaca blog.
Blog bukan saja telah dinobatkan sebagai “Words of the year 2004” oleh penerbit kamus kenamaan Merriam-Webster [http://www.m-w.com/info/04words.htm], bahkan ABC News di Amerika menobatkan Bloggers [para pemilik dan penulis blog] sebagai “People of the Year 2004” [http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/PersonOfWeek/story?id=372266&page=1].
Berbagai blog milik perusahaan besar dan bahkan media bermunculan setiap hari. Dari Microsoft hingga IBM memiliki fasilitas blog untuk mengkomunikasikan internal perusahaan mereka.
Keberadaan blog seterusnya ditentukan oleh keunggulan dan sifatnya, apakah dia akan menggantikan media yang lama atau akan bersifat komplementari dengan media tradisional.
Keunggulan Blog sebagai media baru didukung oleh faktor-faktor dibawah ini:
1. Murah, membuat blog murah dan tidak memerlukan resource yang besar 2. Mudah, mengurus blog sederhana dan tidak rumit 3. Cepat, informasi yang diterbitkan dalam hitungan detik sudah bisa diakese oleh audiens yang tidak terhingga. 4. Statis dan permanen, fakta dan informasi dalam blog dalam dirujuk dan berupa text sehingga dapat dikutip dan mudah dilacak 5. Sindikasi, blog dilengkapi dengan fasilitas sindikasi yang memungkinkan pembacanya membaca berbagai blog dengan mudah
Dari fakta-fakta diatas didukung dengan makin besarnya [bukan makin sedikit] pengguna komputer dan internet, serta pergerakan kebudayaan dan teknologi umat manusia yang makin bersender pada informasi maka tidaklah jauh dari kebenaran prediksi bahwa format blog dan blog itu sendiri serta turunannya tidak akan hilang seperti musim dalam waktu dekat ini [tren], bahkan sebaliknya eksperimen, kebutuhan dan kemajuan teknologi akan mengeksploit dan mengeksplor format blog menjadi media-media baru yang belum lagi bisa kita perkirakan sekarang ini.
Beberapa link:
A. Blog perusahaan [corporate blog] diantaranya:
B. Blog milik media:
C. Artikel dari OJR [Online Journalism Review, websitenya Annenberg School for Communication, University of Southern California.]:
Sumber berita dan terjemahan dari JI ‘claims Jakarta car bombing’
Sumber pernyataan dikabarkan dari situs forum: www.islamic-minbar.com (dalam bahasa arab)
“We decided to settle accounts with Australia, one of the worst enemies of God and Islam … and a mujahedeen brother succeeded in carrying out a martyr operation with a car bomb against the Australian embassy”
“We advise all Australians in Indonesia to leave, or we will make it a grave for them, God willing, in the war against our brothers in Iraq and supported the invading forces.”
“In the case of (the government) not complying with our demands, we will direct numerous painful blows, God willing, against them and the queue of car bombs will not stop.”
“It is the first of a series of attacks. … We advise Australians in Indonesia to leave this country or else we will transform it into a cemetery for them”
SIGNED
Jemaah Islamiyah in eastern Asia — department of information — Indonesia.
The following are the main terror attacks in Indonesia in recent years.
FACTS
A dime has 118 ridges around the edge.
A cat has 32 muscles in each ear.
A crocodile cannot stick out its tongue.
A dragonfly has a life span of 24 hours.
A goldfish has a memory span of three seconds.
A “jiffy” is an actual unit of time for 1/100th of a second.
A shark is the only fish that can blink with both eyes.
A snail can sleep for three years.
Al Capone’s business card said he was a used furniture dealer.
All 50 states are listed across the top of the Lincoln Memorial on the
back of the $5 bill.
Almonds are a member of the peach family.
An ostrich’s eye is bigger than its brain.
Babies are born without kneecaps. They don’t appear until the child
reaches 2 to 6 years of age.
Butterflies taste with their feet.
Cats have over one hundred vocal sounds Dogs only have about 10.
“Dreamt” is the only English word that ends in the letters “mt”.
February 1865 is the only month in recorded history not to have a full
moon.
In the last 4,000 years, no new animals have been domesticated.
If the population of China walked past you, in single file, the line
would never end because of the rate of reproduction.
If you are an average American, in your whole life, you will spend an
average of 6 months waiting at red lights.
It’s impossible to sneeze with your eyes open
Leonardo Da Vinci invented the scissors.
Maine is the only state whose name is just one syllable.
No word in the English language rhymes with month, orange, silver, or
purple.
On a Canadian two dollar bill, the flag flying over the Parliament
building is an American flag.
Our eyes are always the same size from birth, but our nose and ears
never stop growing.
Peanuts are one of the ingredients of dynamite.
Rubber bands last longer when refrigerated.
“Stewardesses” is the longest word typed with only the left hand and
“lollipop” with your right.
The average person’s left hand does 56% of the typing.
The cruise liner, QE2, moves only six inches for each gallon of diesel
that it burns.
The microwave was invented after a researcher walked by a radar tube and
a chocolate bar melted in his pocket.
The sentence: “The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog” uses every
letter of the alphabet.
The winter of 1932 was so cold that Niagara Falls froze completely
solid.
The words ‘racecar,’ ‘kayak’ and ‘level’ are the same whether they are
read left to right or right to left (palindromes).
There are 293 ways to make change for a dollar.
There are more chickens than people in the world.
There are only four words in the English language which end in “dous”:
tremendous, horrendous, stupendous, and hazardous
There are two words in the English language that have all five vowels in
order: “abstemious” and “facetious.”
There’s no Betty Rubble in the Flintstones Chewables Vitamins.
Tigers have striped skin, not just striped fur.
TYPEWRITER is the longest word that can be made using the letters only
on one row of the keyboard.
Winston Churchill was born in a ladies’ room during a dance.
Women blink nearly twice as much as men.
Your stomach has to produce a new layer of mucus every two weeks;
otherwise it will digest itself.
Is it true, click the following link
]]> TRUE - A dime has 118 ridges around the edge.FALSE - A cat has 32 muscles in each ear.
http://www.madsci.org/posts/archives/jun2000/961374691.An.r.html
There are no muscles in the ear exactly, but I guess there are muscles
attached to the ear.
TRUE - A crocodile cannot stick out its tongue.
http://www.didyouknow.cd/fastfacts/animals.htm
It is stuck to the top of his mouth.
FALSE-ISH - A dragonfly has a life span of 24 hours.
http://www.pnl.gov/pals/resource_cards/Dragonflies.stm
Their lifespan varies between 2 hours and 48 hours.
FALSE - A goldfish has a memory span of three seconds.
http://www.boston.com/news/globe/health_science/articles/2003/12/02/the_chemical_mind_binds_us_together/
Research has shown goldfish can remember locations from the previous day.
TRUE - A “jiffy” is an actual unit of time for 1/100th of a second.
http://www.unc.edu/~rowlett/units/dictJ.html
An alternate meaning is also 33.3564 picoseconds.
FALSE-ISH - A shark is the only fish that can blink with both eyes.
http://www.everwonder.com/david/sharks/anatomy/
“Sharks that have no nictitating membranes, like the great white for
example, roll their eyes into the back to their heads.” Some sharks
don’t have eyelids so cannot “blink”…
TRUE - A snail can sleep for three years.
http://www.somers.k12.ny.us/SIS/MAIN/sis/research/gr.3research/snails/snailquestions.html
Desert varieties have been known to sleep for this long.
TRUE - Al Capone’s business card said he was a used furniture dealer.
http://www.wordiq.com/definition/Al_Capone
FALSE - All 50 states are listed across the top of the Lincoln
Memorial on the back of the $5 bill.
http://www.ustreas.gov/education/faq/currency/portraits.html#q5
Only 48 are on the memorial and only 26 are actually on the front of
the building, therefore only 26 on the bill.
TRUE - Almonds are a member of the peach family.
http://waynesword.palomar.edu/ecoph17.htm
TRUE - An ostrich’s eye is bigger than its brain.
http://www.sandiegozoo.org/animalbytes/t-ostrich.html
At a diameter of 2” and a head not much larger there isn’t much room
for the brain when you do the math!
FALSE - Babies are born without kneecaps. They don’t appear until the
child reaches 2 to 6 years of age.
http://www.fazed.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=3291&view=previous
They just don’t calcify (get hard) until they are older.
TRUE - Butterflies taste with their feet.
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/butterfly/allabout/Senses.shtml
FALSE - Cats have over one hundred vocal sounds Dogs only have about 10.
The number are too vague and what is a vocal sound? Does a bark
differ from a growl, a purr from a miouw? Admittedly cats do make
more different types of sound.
FALSE - “Dreamt” is the only English word that ends in the letters “mt”.
http://www.askoxford.com/asktheexperts/faq/aboutwords/dreamt?view=uk
Being pedantic, there is also adreamt and undreamt.
FALSE - February 1865 is the only month in recorded history not to
have a full moon.
http://www.obliquity.com/astro/february.html
See February 1999.
FALSE - In the last 4,000 years, no new animals have been domesticated.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domesticated_animal
I guess we didn’t start to domesticate insects until we had too!
“Many present-day breeds of domestic livestock originated about the
middle of the 19th century or later” says
http://www.anapsid.org/roleofzoos.html
FALSE - If the population of China walked past you, in single file,
the line would never end because of the rate of reproduction.
At what rate are they walking past? See answer by fodder22-ga.
FALSE - It’s impossible to sneeze with your eyes open
http://content.health.msn.com/content/article/74/89427.htm?pagenumber=2
Extremely difficult but not impossible…
TRUE - Leonardo Da Vinci invented the scissors.
http://www.lairweb.org.nz/leonardo/
TRUE - Maine is the only state whose name is just one syllable.
Try reading the list here:
http://dir.yahoo.com/News_and_Media/Newspapers/By_Region/U_S__States/
TRUE - No word in the English language rhymes with month, orange,
silver, or purple.
http://www.askoxford.com/asktheexperts/faq/aboutwords/orange?view=uk
Although it does depend on your pronunciation. For example see the comments below.
FALSE - On a Canadian two dollar bill, the flag flying over the
Parliament building is an American flag.
http://www.indefual.net/canada/myths/
FALSE - “Stewardesses” is the longest word typed with only the left hand and
“lollipop” with your right.
http://www.fun-with-words.com/word_records.html
Try TETRASTEARATES and PHYLLOPHYLLIN.
FALSE - The cruise liner, QE2, moves only six inches for each gallon
of diesel that it burns.
http://www.wagoneers.com/DieselBenz/TECH/little-known-facts.html
26 feet actually :-)
TRUE - The microwave was invented after a researcher walked by a radar
tube and a chocolate bar melted in his pocket.
http://www.ideafinder.com/history/inventions/story068.htm
TRUE - The sentence: “The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog”
uses every letter of the alphabet.
It does just count them!
FALSE - The winter of 1932 was so cold that Niagara Falls froze completely solid.
http://www.niagarafallslive.com/Facts_about_Niagara_Falls.htm
TRUE - The words ‘racecar,’ ‘kayak’ and ‘level’ are the same whether
they are read left to right or right to left (palindromes).
Just try reading them backwards!
TRUE - There are 293 ways to make change for a dollar.
http://www.teachnet.com/lesson/math/293changedollar.html
TRUE - There are only four words in the English language which end in “dous”:
tremendous, horrendous, stupendous, and hazardous
http://www.askoxford.com/asktheexperts/faq/aboutwords/dous?view=uk
FALSE - There are two words in the English language that have all five
vowels in order: “abstemious” and “facetious.”
http://www.askoxford.com/asktheexperts/faq/aboutwords/fivevowels?view=uk
Try “arsenious” (chemical term meaning like Arsenic).
FALSE - There’s no Betty Rubble in the Flintstones Chewables Vitamins.
http://www.randomhouse.com/features/straightdope/funfacts2.html
TRUE - TYPEWRITER is the longest word that can be made using the
letters only on one row of the keyboard.
http://www.fun-with-words.com/word_records.html
But there are also other 10-letter words…
FALSE - Winston Churchill was born in a ladies’ room during a dance.
http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/winston_churchill.htm
He was born in Blenheim Palace. It may have been during a dance but
Blenheim Palace then did not have public restrooms.
FALSE - Women blink nearly twice as much as men.
Each blink at approximately the same rate on average otherwise studies
such as this would be difficult to carry out:
http://digilander.libero.it/linguaggiodelcorpo/interpers17/ :-) It is
also well known that people alter their blink rate in different social
situations.
TRUE - Your stomach has to produce a new layer of mucus every two
weeks; otherwise it will digest itself.
http://www.soton.ac.uk/~gk/scifi/stomach.htm
TRUE - The average person’s left hand does 56% of the typing.
http://www.simonsays.com/ssimkt/typingtutor/html/trivia.html
TRUE - There are more chickens than people in the world.
http://www.fao.org/DOCREP/004/AD452E/ad452e30.htm
15 billion and counting…
Still unproven but I think will be possible (I just don’t have to time
any longer!):
If you are an average American, in your whole life, you will spend an
average of 6 months waiting at red lights.
Our eyes are always the same size from birth, but our nose and ears
never stop growing.
Peanuts are one of the ingredients of dynamite.
Rubber bands last longer when refrigerated.
Tigers have striped skin, not just striped fur.
]]>Congratulations!
Today is your day.
You’re off to Great Places!
You’re off and away!
You have brains in your head.
You have feet in your shoes
You can steer yourself
any direction you choose.
You’re on your own. And you know what you know.
And YOU are the guy who’ll decide where to go.
You’ll look up and down streets. Look ‘em over with care.
About some you will say, “I don’t choose to go there.”
With your head full of brains and your shoes full of feet,
you’re too smart to go down any not-so-good street.
And you may not find any
you’ll want to go down.
In that case, of course,
you’ll head straight out of town.
It’s opener there
in the wide open air.
Out there things can happen
and frequently do
to people as brainy
and footsy as you.
And when things start to happen,
don’t worry. Don’t stew.
Just go right along.
You’ll start happening too.
OH!
THE PLACES YOU’LL GO!
You’ll be on your way up!
You’ll be seeing great sights!
You’ll join the high fliers
who soar to high heights.
You won’t lag behind, because you’ll have the speed.
You’ll pass the whole gang and you’ll soon take the lead.
Wherever you fly, you’ll be the best of the best.
Wherever you go, you will top all the rest.
Except when you don’t
Because, sometimes, you won’t.
I’m sorry to say so
but, sadly, it’s true
and Hang-ups
can happen to you.
You can get all hung up
in a prickle-ly perch.
And your gang will fly on.
You’ll be left in a Lurch.
You’ll come down from the Lurch
with an unpleasant bump.
And the chances are, then,
that you’ll be in a Slump.
And when you’re in a Slump,
you’re not in for much fun.
Un-slumping yourself
is not easily done.
You will come to a place where the streets are not marked.
Some windows are lighted. But mostly they’re darked.
A place you could sprain both your elbow and chin!
Do you dare to stay out? Do you dare to go in?
How much can you lose? How much can you win?
And IF you go in, should you turn left or right…
or right-and-three-quarters? Or, maybe, not quite?
Or go around back and sneak in from behind?
Simple it’s not, I’m afraid you will find,
for a mind-maker-upper to make up his mind.
You can get so confused
that you’ll start in to race
down long wiggled roads at a break-necking pace
and grind on for miles across weirdish wild space,
headed, I fear, toward a most useless place.
The Waiting Place…
…for people just waiting.
Waiting for a train to go
or a bus to come, or a plane to go
or the mail to come, or the rain to go
or the phone to ring, or the snow to snow
or waiting around for a Yes or a No
or waiting for their hair to grow.
Everyone is just waiting.
Waiting for the fish to bite
or waiting for wind to fly a kite
or waiting around for Friday night
or waiting, perhaps, for their Uncle Jake
or a pot to boil, or a Better Break
or a string of pearls, or a pair of pants
or a wig with curls, or Another Chance.
Everyone is just waiting.
NO!
That’s not for you!
Somehow you’ll escape
all that waiting and staying.
You’ll find the bright places
where Boom Bands are playing.
With banner flip-flapping,
once more you’ll ride high!
Ready for anything under the sky.
Ready because you’re that kind of a guy!
Oh, the places you’ll go! There is fun to be done!
There are points to be scored. there are games to be won.
And the magical things you can do with that ball
will make you the winning-est winner of all.
Fame! You’ll be famous as famous can be,
with the whole wide world watching you win on TV.
Except when they don’t.
Because, sometimes, they won’t.
I’m afraid that some times
you’ll play lonely games too.
Games you can’t win
‘cause you’ll play against you.
All Alone!
Whether you like it or not,
Alone will be something
you’ll be quite a lot.
And when you’re alone, there’s a very good chance
you’ll meet things that scare you right out of your pants.
There are some, down the road between hither and yon,
that can scare you so much you won’t want to go on.
But on you will go
though the weather be foul
On you will go
though your enemies prowl
On you will go
though the Hakken-Kraks howl
Onward up many
a frightening creek,
though your arms may get sore
and your sneakers may leak.
On and on you will hike
and I know you’ll hike far
and face up to your problems
whatever they are.
You’ll get mixed up, of course,
as you already know.
You’ll get mixed up
with many strange birds as you go.
So be sure when you step.
Step with care and great tact
and remember that Life’s
a Great Balancing Act.
Just never forget to be dexterous and deft.
And never mix up your right foot with your left.
And will you succeed?
Yes! You will, indeed!
(98 and 3/4 percent guaranteed.)
KID, YOU’LL MOVE MOUNTAINS!
So…
be your name Buxbaum or Bixby or Bray
or Mordecai Ali Van Allen O’Shea,
you’re off to Great Places!
Today is your day!
Your mountain is waiting.
So…get on your way!
From Oh, the Places You’ll Go!
]]> Shorter verse:Oh, the Places You’ll Go
Congratulations!
Today is your day.
You’re off to Great Places!
You’re off and away!
You have brains in your head.
You have feet in your shoes.
You can steer yourself
any direction you choose.
You’re on your own. And you know what you know.
And YOU are the guy who’ll decide where to go.
You’ll look up and down the streets. Look ’em over with care.
About some you will say, “I don’t choose to go there.”
With your head full of brains and your shoes full of feet,
you’re too smart to go down any not-so-good street.
And you may not find any
you’ll want to go down.
In that case, of course,
you’ll head straight out of town.
It’s opener there
in the wide open air.
Out there things can happen
and frequently do
to people as brainy
and footsy as you.
And when things start to happen,
don’t worry. Don’t stew.
Just go right along.
You’ll start happening too.
OH!
THE PLACES YOU’LL GO!
No one here likes you.
We’re going to offend, insult, abuse, and belittle the living hell out of you. And when you rail against us with “FUCK YOU YOU GEEK WIMP SKATER GOTH LOSER PUNK FAG BITCH!1!!”, we smile to ourselves. We laugh at you because you don’t get it. Then we turn up the heat, hoping to draw more entertainment from your irrational fuming.
We will judge you, and we will find you unworthy. It is a trial by fire, and we won’t even think about turning down the flames until you finally understand.
Some of you are smart enough to realize that, when you go online, it’s like entering a foreign country … and you know better than to ignorantly fuck with the locals. You take the time to listen and think before speaking. You learn, and by learning are gladly welcomed.
For some of you, it takes a while, then one day it all dawns on you - you get it, and are welcomed into the fold.
Some of you give up, and we breathe a sigh of relief - we didn’t want you here anyway. And some of you just never get it. The offensively clueless have a special place in our hearts - as objects of ridicule. We don’t like you, but we do love you.
You will get mad. You will tell us to go to hell, and call us “nerds” and “geeks”. Don’t bother … we already know exactly what we are. And, much like the way hardcore rap has co-opted the word “nigger”, turning an insult around on itself to become a semiserious badge of honor, so have we done.
“How dare you! I used to beat the crap out of punks like you in high school/college!” You may have owned the playing field because you were an athlete. You may have owned the student council because you were more popular. You may have owned the hallways and sidewalks because you were big and intimidating. Well, welcome to our world.
Things like athleticism, popularity, and physical prowess mean nothing here. We place no value on them … or what car you drive, the size of your bank account, what you do for a living or where you went to school.
Allow us to introduce you to the concept of a “meritocracy” - the closest thing to a form of self-government we have. In The United Meritocratic nation-states of the Internet, those who can do, rule. Those who wish to rule, learn. Everyone else watches from the stands.
You may posses everything in the off-line world. We don’t care. You come to the Internet penniless, lacking the only thing of real value here: knowledge.
“Who cares? The Internet isn’t real anyway!” This attitude is universally unacceptable. The Internet is real. Real people live behind those handles and screen names. Real machines allow it to exist. It’s real enough to change government policy, real enough to feed the world’s hungry, and even, for some of us, real enough to earn us a paycheck. Using your own definition, how “real” is your job? Your stock portfolio? Your political party? What is the meaning of “real”, anyway?
Do I sound arrogant? Sure … to you. Because you probably don’t get it yet.
If you insist on staying, then, at the very least, follow this advice:
1) No one, ESPECIALLY YOU, will make any law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.
2) Use your brain before ever putting fingers to keys.
3) Do you want a picture of you getting anally raped by Bill Clinton while you’re performing oral sex on a cow saved to hundreds of thousands of people’s hard drives? No? Then don’t put your fucking picture on the Internet. We can, will, and probably already HAVE altered it in awful ways. Expect it to show up on an equally offensive website.
4) Realize that you are never, EVER going to get that, or any other, offensive web page taken down. Those of us who run those sites LIVE to piss off people like you. Those of us who don’t run those sites sometimes visit them just to read the hatemail from fools like you.
5) Oh, you say you’re going to a lawyer? Be prepared for us to giggle with girlish delight, and for your lawyer to laugh in your face after he explains current copyright and parody law.
6) The Web is not the Internet. Stop referring to it that way.
7) We have already received the e-mail you are about to forward to us. Shut up.
8) Don’t reply to spam. You are not going to be “unsubscribed”.
9) Don’t ever use the term “cyberspace” (only William Gibson gets to say that, and even he hasn’t really used it for two or three books now). Likewise, you prove yourself a marketing-hype victim if you ever use the term “surfing”.
10) With one or two notable exceptions, chat rooms will not get you laid.
11) It’s a hoax, not a virus warning.
12) The internet is made up of thousands of computers, all connected but owned by different people. Learn how to use your computer before attempting to connect it to someone else’s.
13) The first person who offers to help you is really just trying to fuck with you for entertainment. So is the second. And the third. And me.
14) Never insult someone who’s been active in any group longer than you have. You may as well paint a damn target on your back.
15) Never get comfortable and arrogant behind your supposed mask of anonymity. Don’t be surprised when your name, address, and home phone number get thrown back in your smug face. Hell, some of us will snail-mail you a printed satellite photograph of your house to drive the point home. Realize that you are powerless if this happens … it’s all public information, and information is our stock and trade.
16) No one thinks you are as cool as you think you are.
17) You aren’t going to win any argument that you start.
18) If you’re on AOL, don’t worry about anything I’ve said here. You’re already a fucking laughing stock, and there’s no hope for you.
19) If you can’t take a joke, immediately sell your computer to someone who can. RIGHT NOW.
Pissed off? It’s the TRUTH, not these words, that hurts your feelings. Don’t ever even pretend like I’ve gone & hurt them.
We don’t like you. We don’t want you here. We never will. Save us all the trouble and go away.
Found and copied from here: Original Source
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