# Nostradamus. How I am responding to the e-mails. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 13, 2001, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nostradamus-how-i-am-responding-to-the-e-mails/81317 "2001-09-13T12:53:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2001, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nostradamus-how-i-am-responding-to-the-e-mails/81317/1 "2001-09-13T12:53:23Z")
I’ve received the “two brothers Nostradamus prediction” from a couple of people. This is how I am responding in order to try to fight ignorance: > [@](#): > > This one isn’t quite true. Nostradamus never wrote the second half of the quote. It was written by Neil Marshall, a Co-operative Education Student at the Faculty of Education, Brock University in Canada in the 1990s to illustrate how easily an important-sounding prophecy can be crafted through the use of abstract imagery. His web page is here: [http://www.ed.brocku.ca/~nmarshal/nostradamus.htm](http://www.ed.brocku.ca/~nmarshal/nostradamus.htm) > > Also, Nostradamus died in 1566 so it would have been hard for him to write anything in 1654. > > This and other Urban Legends (some true, some false) can be seen at Snopes – [http://www.snopes2.com/info/whatsnew.htm](http://www.snopes2.com/info/whatsnew.htm) This particular one is at [http://www.snopes2.com/inboxer/hoaxes/predict.htm](http://www.snopes2.com/inboxer/hoaxes/predict.htm) > > Snopes is a great site. I have it bookmarked. =:^) > > J. I encourage everyone who receives this “prediction” to reply to all recipients with this, or a similar, rebuttal. ---
**Author:** ![Arden\_Ranger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b487fb/32.png) [@Arden\_Ranger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arden_Ranger)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2001, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nostradamus-how-i-am-responding-to-the-e-mails/81317/2 "2001-09-13T13:15:12Z")
Yep. I’ve been sending the Snopes link out for the last two days. Reply All. ---
**Author:** ![iampunha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/74df32/32.png) [@iampunha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iampunha)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2001, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nostradamus-how-i-am-responding-to-the-e-mails/81317/3 "2001-09-13T13:19:15Z")
I suppose I should expect to get this from the same guy who sends me “Missing child!” stuff. I swear, he’d save himself SO MUCH TIME if he just bothered to check snopes. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2001, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nostradamus-how-i-am-responding-to-the-e-mails/81317/4 "2001-09-13T13:29:29Z")
I just “replied all” to almost three dozen people, in addition to the “reply alls” I’ve already sent out. ---
**Author:** ![Tranquilis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tranquilis/32/3639_2.png) [@Tranquilis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tranquilis)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2001, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nostradamus-how-i-am-responding-to-the-e-mails/81317/5 "2001-09-13T13:45:58Z")
Excellent! **Johnny L.A.** , I’m nominating you for the Cecil Adams/SD award for Excellence In Fighting Ignorance. Well done, Sir! ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2001, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nostradamus-how-i-am-responding-to-the-e-mails/81317/6 "2001-09-13T14:06:40Z")
Excellent timing - the my idiot cubemate came in spewing this stuff this morning - it was a pleasure to pass this info to him. Many thanks, **Johnny L.A.**!! ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_The\_Younger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/d9b06d/32.png) [@Paul\_The\_Younger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_The_Younger)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2001, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nostradamus-how-i-am-responding-to-the-e-mails/81317/7 "2001-09-13T14:10:47Z")
I can’t believe what I heard this morning. Harold Dow on CBS **read the damned thing** as a Nostradamus prophecy. All of it including the date part. :eek: And the co-anchors reacted with shock and dismay… How can we fight ignorance when they have ten million people watching them??? It’s just so frustrating… BTW, I can’t get snopes up this morning…anyone else having trouble? Paul ---
**Author:** ![LateComer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b5ac83/32.png) [@LateComer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LateComer)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2001, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nostradamus-how-i-am-responding-to-the-e-mails/81317/8 "2001-09-13T14:20:32Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Paul The Younger \* > \*\*BTW, I can’t get snopes up this morning…anyone else having trouble? > > Paul \*\* Oh no! Johnny L.A. accidentally brought down Snopes by emailing links to known spam distributors! The Humanity! Oh, there it is. It was just slow. Must be getting a lot of hits. ---
**Author:** ![thinksnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thinksnow/32/2849_2.png) [@thinksnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thinksnow)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2001, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nostradamus-how-i-am-responding-to-the-e-mails/81317/9 "2001-09-13T14:23:54Z")
Nice work, **Johnny** , that’s about to bouce out to a half dozen (plus reply-all) people. I still doubt they’ll check Snopes next time they get some outlandish story, though. ---
**Author:** ![Peta\_Tzunami](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b487fb/32.png) [@Peta\_Tzunami](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peta_Tzunami)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2001, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nostradamus-how-i-am-responding-to-the-e-mails/81317/10 "2001-09-13T14:26:15Z")
Thanks. I was going to rebutt it myself anyway (to a coworker), but with web accessibility being questionable right now, couldn’t get to many sites to refute it…thanks for the help! ---
**Author:** ![Osakadave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/f07891/32.png) [@Osakadave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Osakadave)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2001, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nostradamus-how-i-am-responding-to-the-e-mails/81317/11 "2001-09-13T14:26:28Z")
Snopes regulars have been having problems getting on… ---
**Author:** ![Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e19adc/32.png) [@Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2001, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nostradamus-how-i-am-responding-to-the-e-mails/81317/12 "2001-09-13T14:26:53Z")
We just got a fax in the newsroom this morning. “I have never heard of this Nostradamus fellow before, but this seems significant.” :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![GraceTX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c4cdca/32.png) [@GraceTX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GraceTX)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2001, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nostradamus-how-i-am-responding-to-the-e-mails/81317/13 "2001-09-13T14:30:18Z")
Thanks Johnny! I’ve gotten a couple of these emails in the past couple of days and while I regarded them with skepticism, I never checked snopes. Of course, I didn’t forward the emails either. I have since replied to the people sending me the email, and those included in the email, the link to the snopes site. ---
**Author:** ![Kayeby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9de0a6/32.png) [@Kayeby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kayeby)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2001, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nostradamus-how-i-am-responding-to-the-e-mails/81317/14 "2001-09-13T14:41:24Z")
Hope you don’t mind, but I’ve pretty much copied and pasted your words (with a link back to this thread). ---
**Author:** ![TwistofFate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/cdc98d/32.png) [@TwistofFate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TwistofFate)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2001, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nostradamus-how-i-am-responding-to-the-e-mails/81317/15 "2001-09-13T15:20:39Z")
I’ve been replying with links to a Nostradamus website that said it wasn’t one of his quadrains, a link to snopes, and description of what Nostradamus’ works were written in (mixture of Languages, some parts backwards) and how easily open to interpretation they are. ---
**Author:** ![missdavis102](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7feea3/32.png) [@missdavis102](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/missdavis102)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2001, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nostradamus-how-i-am-responding-to-the-e-mails/81317/16 "2001-09-13T17:26:59Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Barbarian \* > \*\*We just got a fax in the newsroom this morning. > > “I have never heard of this Nostradamus fellow before, but this seems significant.” > > :rolleyes: \*\* **Barbarian** , this made me laugh out loud! Funniest thing I’ve seen in days. Thanks! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Legomancer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/779978/32.png) [@Legomancer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Legomancer)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2001, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nostradamus-how-i-am-responding-to-the-e-mails/81317/17 "2001-09-13T17:39:49Z")
Snopes is having problems, and I can’t find the page in the Google cache, but here’s another site: [http://www.nostradamus-repository.org/cityofgod.html](http://www.nostradamus-repository.org/cityofgod.html) ---
**Author:** ![Ogre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecb155/32.png) [@Ogre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ogre)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2001, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nostradamus-how-i-am-responding-to-the-e-mails/81317/18 "2001-09-13T17:53:22Z")
Let’s also keep in mind that NYC is at or near the 40th parallel, not the 45th. May not seem like much, but it’s the difference between New York City and the northern borders of Vermont and New York State. The 45th parallel forms part of our border with Canada. ---
**Author:** ![Born2Read](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/cdc98d/32.png) [@Born2Read](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Born2Read)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2001, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nostradamus-how-i-am-responding-to-the-e-mails/81317/19 "2001-09-13T20:38:48Z")
Thanks, Johnny. I’ve been getting requests for Nostradamus’s books all day at the reference desk where I work. I wondered what the hell was going on. ---
**Author:** ![AbbySthrnAccent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/eb9ed0/32.png) [@AbbySthrnAccent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AbbySthrnAccent)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2001, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nostradamus-how-i-am-responding-to-the-e-mails/81317/20 "2001-09-13T20:45:36Z")
I’ve been hitting “reply all” for two days on this one also pointing out the the second part was written by someone else and the the descrepancy between his death date and the date noted on the prophecy. I swear I am invisible though. 😕 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nostradamus-how-i-am-responding-to-the-e-mails/81317.md?page=2)