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Now that's how to split the vote on a poll

By pharyngula on October 22, 2010.

The cunning way to make a poll unpharyngulable is to throw in an irrelevant extra option to draw off our attention, and the NY Daily News has done it well. They're basically asking the question, "Is evolution true?" and giving us the option of no, yes, and Glenn Beck is a freakin' moron, and look! Mobs of people rush in to give the irrelevant (but true) answer:

Is evolution a dubious theory being "forced down our throats"?

Yes, I'm sick of scientists telling me what to believe. 29%

No, it is clearly how things came to be. 24%
It's harder to believe Glenn Beck is so popular. 47%

They should have also included "Ooooh, shiny…" and "Hey! Squirrel!"

The first answer is also misleading. It should have been worded, "Yes, I'm sick of smart, educated people telling me that my brain farts are wrong."

Tags
Pointless polls

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