Celebrity science gaffes

David Pescovitz 10:10 am Wed Jan 6, 2010

The UK's Sense About Science charity surveyed some of last year's science-related boners pulled by celebrities. From New Scientist:

Did you know that when you eat meat, it stays in your gut for 40 years, putrefies and leads to a disease that kills you? "That is a fact," according to the model and charity campaigner Heather Mills…

Other celebs have been pulled up this year for apparently not realising that natural substances such as hormones are chemicals, and that ovulation is suppressed naturally by pregnancy and prolonged breastfeeding. Actress Suzanne Somers, for example, was quoted as saying that the contraceptive pill must be unsafe "because is it safe to take a chemical every day, and how would it be safe to take something that prevents ovulation?"

Actor Roger Moore, meanwhile, was taken to task for claiming that foie gras causes Alzheimer's disease, and Sarah Palin for dismissing evolution.

"Politicians and celebrities shamed for science gaffes" (New Scientist)

"Celebrities and Science 2009" (Sense About Science)

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