I love chorizo. I add it on to as many dishes as I can. Yummy. Tasty. Filling. Spicy. Fun. Yes, fun! At least, fun for a silly French scientist that too many people on social media took seriously. We’re always in search for a “wow” factor. Sometimes scientists are accorded too many accolades. Or better said, are seen as being super smart and in the know and this may not be as scrutinized. Although supposedly, in the peer review process for journal articles scientists supposed findings are put through a rigorous vetting process. No comment. Well, I’ll say this. If someone is fairly well-known in their little field, they are often given a bit of a benefit of doubt. I’ve heard it first-hand when reviewing grant submissions. But I’m not here to harp on that.

I want to just point out that a French scientist fooled a lot of people on social media when he posted an enlarged, detailed photo of chorizo claiming it was in actuality a photograph of a distant star produced by the space telescope. He was retweeted quite often and there were many who were in awe. Oops.

I think we all know the moral of this story.