If there’s something I can’t stand on the internet, it’s the way some people so willingly gulp down all the bull crap that comes their way.

Seriously. What happened to common sense? Did the advent of the internet drive it to the ground?

It all started with the fake egg. Some email went around, asking people not to purchase eggs from China, as there certain unscrupulous businessmen in the country who made fake eggs. The email came with a rather lengthy step-by-step tutorial on how fake eggs were made with the worst ingredients imaginable, thus heightening the “shock and awe” factor.

Too bad it isn’t true.

Reputable news agencies finally came out to debunk the “fake egg” story, but it was too late. Bloggers all over the world had posted their own opinions on the eggs, and most of them believed it. Some even defended the story’s authenticity, saying that it came from a “reputable” source. Unfortunately, no one bothered to check just how reputable this source was. It was — and still is — a hoax. China is not marketing fake eggs, or even soy sauce made from human hair. Check out this interesting (and intelligent!) write up.

Anyone with half a brain could easily figure out that it would be much more difficult and expensive to hire people to make fake eggs or figure out how to squeeze soy sauce out of human hair than to just produce the products straight up. I’m very familiar with Chinese products, and though there’s no denying the lack of quality control, sane people should certainly see through these scare tactics easily by using their common sense.

Now it’s happening again. This time, it’s used condoms and girls’ hairbands. I think some people still call them scrunchies. Anyway, the new email says the Chinese pick up used condoms and use thread to cover them up into pretty elastics that can now be sold to unsuspecting long-haired girls.

Run a brief search through Google and you’ll find a bunch of people going all crazy about the purported product. It’s not true, people. I’ve done a search and have yet to find an actual news agency reporting about it. The email says its already under investigation in China. Send me a copy of the news report in Chinese and I’ll translate it for you. That is, if there is one.

And it’s not because I’m trying to defend China. I may be Chinese, but I’ve never even lived there (save for a few weeks). It’s just that I hate it when people spread stupid lies that could end up hurting an entire industry and all the people who work in it. And people really should learn to use the search function in Google. The typical gaping mouth reaction is so stupid I want to kick people’s mouths in.

Get some sleep people, and think about things before you go around sending them to more gullible people. Snopes can give you the answer.

XOXO (for all intelligent netizens only),