When Urban Myths Are Reported As News

I was disappointed recently, when watching the Ewan McGregor/Charlie Boorman series Long Way Down, that they reinforced the nonsense about water going down the plug clockwise or anti-clockwise depending on whether you're in the northern or southern hemisphere. Along the border, there's a few quid to be made perpetuating this party trick to unwitting tourists. Michael Palin got similarly tricked in his series Pole to Pole. But it's not true, and you can see it yourself in your own sink.

Anyway, Long Way Down wasn't a news programme. But over the last few days, we've heard an awful lot about a pair of twins who were said to have unwittingly married following their separation at birth. A judge then annulled the wedding. Now while I can't absolutely prove this didn't happen, I'm really not at all happy with the facts of the case as I've seen them so far, and there's no proof so far that it did happen.

Here's the BBC's version of the story. And here it is in The Guardian.

But the story has actually emerged via Lord Alton during debate over the human fertilisation and embryology bill. He said he'd been told the story by an unnamed High Court judge. Yet that's not far removed from the "friend of a friend" basis of most urban myths.

Now while I wouldn't hold the News of the World up as the bastion of truth, their reporters, obviously sniffing a great story if they could get hold of the couple in question, only seem to have got as far as talking to the judge who's president of the High Court Family Division. He's not heard of such a story despite it surely being a cause celebre if it had happened.

So to me, this is case unproven, and really doesn't deserve the coverage it has received until it's been confirmed one way or another. You'd imagine that the couple would be in for a big payday from the News of the World or Mail on Sunday if they wanted to tell their story. But even if they want to remain anonymous, I think first hand proof positive is essential before we can take this at face value.

Until then, have I told you about the friend of a friend who got mugged in London and woke up in Turkey with just one kidney...?