Sometimes we hear great stories that we would love to think were true. How to check?
SNOPES.com is the place to go to check its veracity. They were the original ‘Fake News Checker’ long before Donald Trump caught that disease, and they are still a reliable source. Take the story about hallway full of named balloons:
‘A professor gave a balloon to every student, who had to inflate it, write their name on it and throw it in the hallway. The professor then mixed all the balloons. The students were then given 5 minutes to find their own balloon. Despite a hectic search, no one found their balloon.
At that point, the professor told the students to take the first balloon that they found and hand it to the person whose name was written on it. Within 5 minutes, everyone had their own balloon.
The professor said to the students: “These balloons are like happiness. We will never find it if everyone is looking for their own. But if we care about other people’s happiness, we’ll find ours too.”
Good story? Snopes have a different, more practical take… See if you agree with their analysis: