Diogo Veríssimo, University of Oxford If a piece of information is repeated often enough, it will eventually be believed, even if there is no evidence for it. One example of this features the friendly clownfish Nemo and his side-kick Dory, a blue tang fish, who you may know from the animated blockbusters Finding Nemo and … [Read more…]
Some stories are just too alluring not to be true. On of these self perpetuating narratives suggests Harry Potter, the boy wizard that keeps a snowy owl as a pet, was leading to an increase in demand for pet owls in the UK. Even J.K. Rowling, the creator of Harry Potter, released multiple statements asking … [Read more…]
For years there have been reports in the popular press of the impact of the Harry Potter phenomenon in the UK on the demand for owls as pets. This narrative became so popular that it led even JK Rowling to issue several statements on this issue asking fans to not keep owls as pets. But … [Read more…]