Or so says Shanghai Daily, reporting that scientists have dismissed the internet rumor that the crazy ups and downs in temperature, the fogginess, and the upcoming "super moon" - which on Saturday will be 356,577 kilometers from the Earth, its closest in 18 years - had anything to do with the Japanese earthquake and tsunami. From the article: "Many natural disasters also happen on the Earth when there is no so-called 'super moon,'" said Bian Yulin, deputy director of Shanghai Astronomical Society. "It is always extremely likely that two incidents unrelated to each other happen at the same time." Astronomers advise Shanghai residents to enjoy watching the "bigger" moon on Saturday night and rest assured that it will not bring chaos to the city. Well, color me relieved. more ›

When we first heard the reports that Xinhua had featured a story on a lesbian man-hating town full of sapphic amazons in Sweden, we thought it was crazy. First off, everyone knows the only lesbian man-hating town around is in Massachusetts. Secondly, we couldn't actually find the Xinhua article, which made us wonder if The Register had invented the controversy themselves. more ›