One of the unending annoyances of life on the Internet consists of those forwarded emails making fantastic but false claims, often (although by no means always) politically motivated. I don't know why anyone would think that making things up and emailing them to millions of people would be of long-term benefit to a favorite cause, but some people think that doing things like putting their favorite words into George Carlin's mouth will make them more persuasive.

Others must think it's entertaining to make up and circulate new urban legends.

I'm always suspicious when I get one of these forwarded emails, so -- especially if I find them appealing -- I try to verify them. What a pleasant surprise it is to occasionally learn (as I did the other day) that one happens to be true.

It's a series of pictures showing a horny moose mounting and humping a bison statue:

The heading asked whether it was "statutory rape" but I'd have called it "statue-tory rape."

It was so funny that I hoped it really happened, and I was delighted to discover (when I Googled "moose bison statue") that there was a Snopes write-up, which said it was true. It has been photographed from another angle, and mooses are known to mount statues when they're "in the throes of sexual passion."

Interestingly, moose are known to range into Michigan, but I doubt they'd ever get as far south as Ann Arbor, so a buffalo statue would probably be safe in front of my house. Well, safe from moose at least. Inebriated humans are another matter. The buffalo might have to contend with a drunken goose.