In early 2025, opinion pieces and memes resurfaced an oft-repeated science fact: An adult oyster is capable of filtering up to 50 gallons of water every day on its own. The claim is often associated with a photograph of two aquariums: One seemingly full of cloudy, dirty water and the other housing a group of oysters in clear water.

The scientific claim is true.  According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, one oyster can indeed “filter more than 50 gallons of water in 24 hours.”

The photo illustrating this fact has bounced around social media since at least as early as 2014. The oldest version of this image we could identify was an October 2014 TwistedSifter post that credited a Maryland governmental website dedicated to the state’s fishing industry. Though the Maryland site no longer displays that picture or any explanation regarding its origins, the 2014 TwistedSifter post provided this information about the image:

In this striking visualization we see two tanks filled with water from the Honga River, an estuary of the Chesapeake Bay. The tank on the right also contains oysters. Over the course of 2 hours those oysters filtered all of the algae out of the water. The demonstration shows how effective oysters are at naturally filtering water.

While we cannot confirm the exact parameters of the specific experiment in that photograph, we have no reason to doubt its authenticity. Oysters are famously efficient at cleaning up water, and this fact is commonly demonstrated by comparing oyster filled and non-oyster filled tanks, as was done in the following demonstration from the Florida Oceanographic Society:

Oysters are filter feeders that suck water through their gills, trapping particles that are between 1-10 microns in diameter, which is the size of their primary prey: phytoplankton.

Obviously, this material does not simply disappear. Phytoplankton and nutrients contribute to the growth of both the oyster’s body and its shell, while other material is ejected in the form of feces. Even the material an oyster does not keep is still cleared from the water by being compressed into pellets that sink rather than float. These pellets are then deposited on the ocean (or tank) floor, no longer in suspension in the water.

Claim: One adult oyster can filter more than 50 gallons of water in 24 hours.

While we cannot confirm the original source of the meme, and therefore confirm the specific claims of the experiment it describes, the claim that one oyster can filter more than 50 gallons of water in 24 hours is true, and the photograph appears to be of a common experiment used to illuminate that point.

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The claim “Paris’ Eiffel Tower grows as much as 6 inches in height each summer” appeared on social media.

The Eiffel Tower in Paris is the source of many online rumors, one of which claims the monument grows every summer and shrinks again in winter.

This notion has appeared in numerous posts on social media, including on Instagram, Facebook, Reddit and TikTok, some of which suggest the growth can measure as much as 6 inches.

@outtathisworld50 The Eiffel Tower grows 15 centimeters taller in the summer… #EiffelTower #FunFacts ? original sound – outtathisworld

The Eiffel Tower does grow and contract in the summer and winter, respectively, due to temperature fluctuations, according to its operators. However, the growth is only a few millimeters — not as much as 6 inches, as many social media posts claim. That incorrect number appears to be a misinterpretation of the distance the Eiffel Tower may curve in the summer, also due to changes in temperature.

Completed in 1889, the Eiffel Tower was constructed of more than 18,000 metallic parts to stand at a height of more than 1,000 feet.

According to the Eiffel Tower’s website, the tower is made of puddled iron from the Forges de Pompey near Nancy, France. Puddled iron is created by converting pig iron into wrought iron through oxidization and heat.

Due to its physical properties, puddled iron can expand and contract when exposed to different temperatures, according to the Eiffel Tower.

When temperatures rise, the Tower increases in size! This is a natural physical phenomenon called thermal expansion. Heat causes an increase in volume that makes the Eiffel Tower a few millimeters taller. This expansion also causes the Tower to tilt slightly away from the sun.

During the colder winter months, the metal contracts and loses a few millimeters.

(Toureiffel.paris)

An inch is just over 25 millimeters, so six inches, as many posts claimed, would be more than 152 millimeters. That is far more than “a few millimeters taller,” as the official website says.

The “six inches” claim appears to stem from this line on the Eiffel Tower website:

The sun only hits one of the 4 sides of the Tower creating an imbalance with the other 3 sides, that remain stable, thus causing the Eiffel Tower to lean. In this way, the sun’s movement over the course of a clear day can cause the top of the Tower to move in a more or less circular curve measuring approximately 15 centimeters in diameter.

Meaning, the sun’s heat can cause the Eiffel Tower to move in a circular curve with a diameter of up to 15 centimeters, or 5.9 inches. That does not equate to the tower growing taller by up to 6 inches, however.

In conclusion, the monument responds to seasonal temperatures, contracting a few millimeters when it’s cold and expanding when it’s warm.

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In October 2024, the Wall Street Journal reported of a large cyberattack against U.S. telecommunications companies AT&T, Verizon and Lumen Technologies. The NSA’s director, Gen. Timothy Haugh, told NBC News that the hackers were supported by China, something the Chinese government denied.

On Dec. 3, 2024, the FBI, the NSA and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency released new guidelines for protecting communications infrastructure in the United States in the wake of the breach. In a news conference about the effects of the hack, CISA Executive Assistant Director for Cybersecurity Jeff Greene mentioned that anyone with an iPhone or Android should stop sending text messages because they were not secure. This claim was widely reported on, and many readers want to know about the recommendation.

The claim to stop sending text messages was mostly true. While iPhone to iPhone and Android to Android messages are secure, sending a message between the two platforms is not. However, the FBI’s definition of “text message” was significantly more strict than the general public’s, meaning that not all messages sent on a phone applied. The main cellphone operating systems, iOS and Android, each have secure messaging systems (iMessage and Google Messages, respectively) for sending messages to a device of the same type that sent it (iPhone to iPhone or Android to Android). The FBI’s advice recommends only that users do not send text messages from an iPhone to an Android or vice versa.

Instead of sending text messages, officials suggested using an app that provides “responsibly managed encryption.” Think of encryption as a lock that requires a key to open. The most secure type of encryption, called end-to-end encryption, means that the message is locked before it is sent and unlocked on the other end. The FBI has previously criticized end-to-end encryption because it can sometimes slow down the agency’s efforts to access information on locked devices. As such, it’s unclear exactly what “responsibly managed encryption” means.

The simplest solution is to use a messaging application with end-to-end encryption. Apple’s iMessage and Android’s Google Messages use end-to-end encryption when messaging users of the same platform, which is why iPhones can securely message other iPhones (the same applies to Androids). However, when an iPhone user wants to send a message to an Android user (or vice versa), the messages are encrypted using a different method, RCS, which is more vulnerable. For these cases, a third-party application with end-to-end encryption, such as WhatsApp or Signal, is the best choice. These apps also will encrypt any voice calls.

Several reports said the large hack was not fully resolved, and that it was likely an attempt to gain access to private communications from government officials. According to Politico, the hackers were able to find call records and text messages of several high-ranking government officials, who were notified their private communications had been compromised.

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