This question - Can science explain how bicycles work? - was based off of a claim made by Cracked.com a site for satire and humor. To me I would think it obvious that sites like Cracked and The Onion should not be considered notable with out some other source that backs them up as notable.
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Someone just asked a question not knowing a website was satire: skeptics.stackexchange.com/questions/17409/… – Andrew Grimm Aug 20 '13 at 8:07
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If a meme is generally circulated and is accepted as a fact or true by a significant number of people then, yes, it should be acceptable as a notable claim. For example, if Jon Stewart makes a joke about something on The Daily Show and the audience believes it, then it would appropriate for this site to have a question asking if that claim was actually true, regardless of the fact it was presented in a humorous or satirical fashion.
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I would say no, obviously not: if the claim isn’t serious, then neither is it notable.
But Cracked.com isn’t (solely) a website of satire and humor, and the claim is actually a serious one (and surprisingly at least partially true – see the comments). I wouldn’t say that a Cracked.com claim is necessarily less notable than from, say, Daily Mail.
answered Aug 9 '12 at 13:32
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I would argue that it is not really partially true though this is not the place for that discussion. The original post is intended as humor. I am simply saying I think it needs another source to back it up as a notable claim. – Chad Aug 9 '12 at 13:54
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4@Chad “the original post is intended as humor” – I dispute that. It’s certainly intended to be funny, but that doesn’t mean that they mean it seriously at the same time. – Konrad Rudolph Aug 9 '12 at 13:56
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So scientists are essentially back at square one, as things such as steering geometry and the physics of stability are all going back to the drawing board. - You can not seriously expect us to believe they meant that as fact. – Chad Aug 9 '12 at 14:10
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@Chad not paying attention to the site and just reading the article the first time gave me no impression whatsoever that they were not being serious (could be a case of Poes Law tho) – Stefan Aug 16 '12 at 14:27
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I think in this case the OP just chose a bad notable claim, but the question is a valid one. Ive read enough pop sci books to know that the whole subject of bycycle stability is one that comes up time and time again.
