In a comments thread, a reader objected to my use of the term "skeptic" when applied to debunkers. He argued that the word denotes someone with an open mind who is simply looking for good evidence. In reply, I said that while this was what the word originally meant, today it refers mainly to debunkers.…

For some reason I was thinking of an old Saturday Night Live commercial parody today. Google allowed me to find the text online. The voiceover was done by the late, great Phil Hartman. The commercial is for a product called Happy Fun Ball, an ordinary-looking rubber ball. Update: Wikipedia has an entry on Happy Fun…