Thus The New York Times today. “An Internet rumor that a large space rock is going to slam into earth next month gained enough traction that NASA put out a statement denying the world is about the end,” explains the newspaper. According to the rumor, the asteroid would land between September 15 and 28 near Puerto Rico. Its impact would supposedly be calamitous. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration claims that there is no scientific basis for the rumor. The danger of such a collision is less than one in ten-thousand, the agency adds. Similarly, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration denied the existence of mermaids three years ago. Like NASA today, NOAA was besieged by inquiries at the time. Now, what does this tell you about the human species? It is given to rumors, to be sure. Rumors always spread pretty fast, but social networks only speed up the process at present. Besides, the species is given to superstitions of all sorts. Not long ago, such beliefs were largely religious, but today they have a “scientific” touch. Nevertheless, superstitions are almost always in the background of viral rumors. Interestingly, real dangers that human species faces are habitually shoved to the side. They seldom lead to rumors of any kind. For instance, climate change is of no interest to anyone at this stage. And social networks are thus as good as mum about wholesale environmental degradation that faces the species. More important, the explosion of the human population in the background is of no interest to anyone.