Listen&Learn: Mountweazels

Learn why some encyclopedias might contain fake articles.

Pre-listening vocabulary

• intentionally: on purpose
• encyclopedia: a book that contains information about many topics
• plagiarism: the act of copying someone else’s work
• source: a text that is used to find information
• define: to explain the meaning of a word

Listening activity

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:14 — 1.1MB)

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | More

Gapfill exercise

A mountweazel is a piece of false that a publication includes intentionally. The word “mountweazel” comes from Lillian Virginia Mountweazel, a woman who appeared in an in the 1975 New Columbia Encyclopedia. The article about Mountweazel claimed that she was a photographer who died in an explosion. In reality, Mountweazel never existed at all. The purpose of the fake article was to the encyclopedia from plagiarism. If someone else wrote about Mountweazel, the encyclopedia’s publishers would know that their was the source. Other types of publications also use mountweazels to catch plagiarism. sometimes define fake words, and maps sometimes include fake towns.

Comprehension questions

See answers below

1. A mountweazel is
   a. a type of encyclopedia
   b. a piece of false information
   c. a dishonest publisher
   
2. The article about Lillian Virginia Mountweazel claimed she was
   a. a photographer
   b. a soldier
   c. a mapmaker
   
3. The purpose of a mountweazel is
   a. to sell more encyclopedias
   b. to entertain the reader
   c. to catch plagiarism

Discussion/essay questions

1. With modern technology, false information spreads very quickly. Have you ever believed something and then learned it was false? What can people do to make sure they have the truth?

Transcript

A mountweazel is a piece of false information that a publication includes intentionally. The word “mountweazel” comes from Lillian Virginia Mountweazel, a woman who appeared in an article in the 1975 New Columbia Encyclopedia. The article about Mountweazel claimed that she was a photographer who died in an explosion. In reality, Mountweazel never existed at all. The purpose of the fake article was to protect the encyclopedia from plagiarism. If someone else wrote about Mountweazel, the encyclopedia’s publishers would know that their text was the source. Other types of publications also use mountweazels to catch plagiarism. Dictionaries sometimes define fake words, and maps sometimes include fake towns.

Answers to comprehension questions

1b 2a 3c