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Documentary Evidence

A collection of spurious and unusual documents, studies and articles that circulate on the Internet.

Ratings Key

        Green bullet = true
        Red bullet = false
        Multiple status bullet = multiple truth values
        Yellow bullet = undetermined
        White bullet = unclassifiable veracity

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definition of our rating system.

White bullet Document issued in 1872 lists rules of behavior for public school teachers.

Red bullet An 1895 graduation examination for eighth grade students documents a shocking decline in educational standards.

Red bullet A government memo regulating the sale of cabbages runs close to 27,000 words.

Red bullet A list of "Communist Rules for Revolution" was discovered by Allied forces in Germany in 1919.

Red bullet The famous poem Desiderata was discovered in a church in 1692.

Yellow bullet A list of ten steps to a good marriage comes from a 1950s home economics textbook.

Red bullet A Texas farmer filed an unusual, self-penned will in 1934.

Red bullet A 1940s report on school discipline problems cited gum-chewing, littering and making noise in class as the most worrisome problems then faced by educators.

Green bullet Applicant with lengthy arrest record successfully disputes being rejected for a job with the District of Columbia's public school system.

Green bullet Submarine commander issues archly humorous letter when his requisition for toilet paper is cancelled.

Yellow bullet An 1877 list of "tips for stagecoach travelers" is genuine.

Green bullet A "1943 Guide to Hiring Women" from a transportation magazine is real.

White bullet An administrative note penned in the margin of an FBI memo is misinterpreted by Bureau staff, leading them to cast a wary eye upon Mexico and Canada.

Red bullet Mitchell Kaye, a Georgia state representative, penned the "Bill of No Rights."

Red bullet In his book Earth in the Balance, Senator Al Gore wrote that Christians are a "blight on the environment" and that "to believe in Bible prophecy is unforgivable."

Red bullet The popular Internet essay "The Paradox of Our Time" was penned by a Columbine High School student.*

Red bullet The pro-school prayer poem "The New School Prayer" was written by a schoolchild.*

Red bullet George Washington told of an angel who revealed a prophetic vision of America to him at Valley Forge.

Red bullet An 1875 report by the Horseless Carriage Committee warned about the dangers of gasoline-fueled vehicles.

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