Matthew Willey recalls the days before the internet, and an old friend My friend Maggie had a wasting, incurable illness. If that sounds awfully sad, well, it was. But we had a great friendship and ... (633 words)

The widespread use of what are basically dowsing rods to detect bombs in Iraq and other trouble spots is a striking example of how a lack of critical thinking can lead to all manner of death and ... (2509 words)

Gold takes local action against PowerBalance, with encouraging results. PowerBalance Bands are hideously expensive silicon rubber wristbands with a mylar hologram in them. PowerBalance, an American ... (469 words)

The paranormal field contains both con artists and the well-intentioned. It's often impossible to tell one from the other, but in the end it makes little difference. This article is based on a ... (2667 words)

Autism paper binned Twelve years after it induced panic among parents world-wide, a paper linking the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine to autism has been withdrawn (NZ Herald, 4 February). The ... (1184 words)

The dire predictions of the Club of Rome's 1972 report on The Limits to Growth have supposedly been refuted by subsequent studies, but the refutations have serious shortcomings. This article is based ... (1968 words)

Loretta Marron exposes an Australian Australian alternative cancer therapist. On 26 February this year, trailers were run every hour throughout the day in Australia advertising the Channel Nine ... (638 words)

Breast-pill maker busted A company making pills which falsely claimed to enhance women's breast size has been fined $100,000 for breaching the Fair Trading Act (National Business Review, 16 ... (1219 words)

Vicki Hyde dishes out this year's Bent Spoon Award. The NZ Skeptics Bent Spoon for the most irresponsibly gullible statement in the media in the past year goes to Detective Senior Sergeant Ross Levy ... (598 words)

An Auckland University study reveals the costs-financial and emotional-of telephone psychics. There are no published reports estimating how many people use psychic hotlines in New Zealand, but belief ... (1286 words)