Fourth Facts

Fourth of July Facts

Hot Dogs -- It is estimated that 150 Million Hot Dogs will be consumed by Americans this Fourth of July. That's one dog for every two people in the US.

Population -- In 1776 there were 2.5 million people living in what was then the British Colonies. Today, nearly 300 million people call America home.

The Melting Pot -- Each year thousands of people are proud to be accepted as American citizens. 34 million Americans or 12% of the population was born in another country. Another 30 million Americans are second generation, meaning their parents immigrated here.

BBQ's -- 69 million Americans took part in at least one BBQ or cookout last year.

These facts brought to you by the United States Census Bureau. For more statistics on the American population visit their home page.

IM-a-Librarian and More!

We have two bits of news for you --

#1 -- The CPCC Libraries are running a pilot project that we are calling IM-a-Librarian. We've signed up for screen names on AIM, YAHOO, and MSN and would be happy to help you with any questions you might have. We are staffing it from 10am-2pm Monday thru Thursday. Our screen names are as follows --

AIM - ClicKnows
YAHOO - ClicKnows
MSN - ClicKnows@hotmail.com

#2 -- We recently came across a disturbing hoax site at www.genpets.com. The site claims to be from a company that will be selling pre-packaged genetically modified "pets" in the "near future". It was part of an art student's thesis. For more information visit the artist's site. This is just another reminder that we must be critical consumers of information.

Turning the Pages

"Turning the Pages" is an online exhibit by The British Library. It features 15 rare books that have been digitized and allow the viewer to virtually flip through them. The most famous titles include the original Alice in Wonderland, one of Da Vinci's sketch books, and original music by Mozart. The exhibit also features a magnifying glass that lets visitors examine each book in detail.

Something's Not Right Here...

It's time to take another look at bias and hoaxes on the Internet. Today we'll look at two sites falsely claiming to represent an organzation. On the surface they look authentic, but after reading further it becomes clear that whoever designed these did so with the intent of spreading critical information about the organizations.

The Sites

Cargill
Real -- http://www.cargill.com/
Fake -- http://www.cargillcorporate.com/

American Petroleum Institute
Real --http://api-ec.api.org/newsplashpage/index.cfm
Fake -- http://www.petroleuminstitute.org/

Consumers of information need to evaluate the information they are using for authority, accuracy, and bias. For more information on evaluating information on the web visit The Good, the Bad, & the Ugly.