…because truth is boring

If you drink more than 12 glasses of water a day, you can contract a disease called hydrangea.
Don’t know if it’s true but just in case. Stay safe guys.Rumours, unverified and preposterous statements like the one above pick up speed and volume especially during and after a disaster. Post the first Nepal earthquake, you had a hoax NASA alert and now after the second quake there is a fake BBC alert circulating. The most bizarre however seems to be one widely-shared message on WhatsApp after the 25 April temblor that said the moon had turned “upside-down” after the earthquake and showed before and after images. To people who spread such messages all I can say is ‘Stay safe guys’. Really.
So much of nothing goes around on the internet these days, all for the love of “just in case”. You see the problem with ‘just in case’ is that most people only see the ‘just in case it happens scenario’. What if just in case it does not happen? Maybe deep down we all want a 9.9 quake to hit us and absolve all of us of our miseries. Are you willing to take responsibility for the dull and dreary routine you are sending everybody back to ‘just in case it does not happen’?
While crores are pumped into awareness campaigns for various causes with little effect, unfounded, unverified and mostly false information spreads like wildfire. There is no such equipment or technology that can predict earthquakes - is a boring statement. Truth is no longer bitter, it is boring. You cannot go up to someone and say, “Hey, we won’t be hit by an earthquake”.
So, the rumor mills rise like a phoenix from the ashes of failed self fulfilling prophecies, over and over again. Until one day, one day, to quote Russell Peter, “Somebody gonna getta hurt real bad”. 
And NO, poor old Abe never said that. Just in case.