Sample the Skeptic's Dictionary

diploma mill

A diploma mill sells college diplomas that require little or no academic work. Some people might buy a degree from a diploma mill for fun, but many buy them for profit. Having a degree, even one that was bought rather than earned by significant, standard academic work, often means a job promotion or a pay increase. Degrees from diploma mills cost cities, counties, states, and the federal government untold tax dollars in higher wages paid.>>more

sample Mysteries and Science (for kids 9 and up)

wizard

In a nutshell: A wizard is a person in stories who has supernatural powers. There are good and bad wizards. Sometimes they battle it out in the story. Usually, the good wizard beats the bad wizard, but not always. The most popular wizard in recent times has been Harry Potter.

A wizard is, literally, a wise person (from the 15th century Middle English wysard).

A wizard is a person in a story who has supernatural knowledge and power. Wizards can make things happen just by willing it or saying some magic words (an incantation). Their magical powers extend to many areas. They might be able to fly or be in two places at once. They might be able to turn an enemy into a statue of salt. They might be able to cure the sick, heal the lame, or bring the dead back to life. Some can control the weather or make things burst into flames just by willing it.>>more

a blast from the past

Deadly Delusions

4 August 2009. The headline is simple enough: Man pleads guilty to fatal sword attack, bound for mental hospital. The story of a mentally ill person who kills a stranger and the fear such stories evoke are not so simple. On one level, the killer's delusions don't seem particularly radical, given what billions of people believe about gods, virgin births, miracles, psychic communications, etc. Zachary Schams, 25, claims to be the reincarnation of an ancient Egyptian priest named Okhoman the Third. Billions of people think they are the reincarnation of everything from ancient priests to crickets and kumquats. The belief in reincarnation wasn't Schams's only delusion, however. Schams believed his "psychic energy" was being stolen by a neighbor in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, a neighbor he had never met. Anthony Edlbeck, 31, had no idea that his neighbor thought he was stealing psychic energy because of his jealousy of the deranged man's musical talents. Mr. Edlbeck had no idea that his neighbor thought of himself as an ancient Egyptian priest with great musical ability, much less that there is such a thing as psychic energy that can be stolen.>>more