Which claim is false?

We asked you which of these claims is false:

1) German scientists analysed over 8000 aerial photos finding cows align themselves with Earth's magnetic field.

2) In 2002, there were an estimated 12 million slaves worldwide

3) 93% of Americans own a Bible.

Answer:

Claim 2) is false. In 2002, Scientific American published an estimate that over 27 million slaves existed worldwide. There are various suggested figures but this is commonly accepted and quoted.

German scientists did indeed find that cattle align themselves to face magnetic North, after analysing over 8500 photographs from Google Images, while 93% of Americans are also estimated to own a bible. A Gallup poll conducted in 2000 suggested 59% of Americans claimed to read the Bible at least occasionally.

Source:

All of these claims were sourced from the Skeptical Stats column published in The Skeptic Magazine (UK). The respective sources are cited with each column. This advert was originally produced for, and shown at the National Secular Society Annual Conference on 10th September 2011.

Thanks:

Thanks to Shadowboxer.co.uk for permitting the use of their music in this video.