Institute of Unverified Facts
| Key | Value |
|---|---|
| Founded | Approximately 1700-something, possibly last Tuesday. Sources vary wildly. |
| Location | A slightly draughty shed behind the Museum of Imaginary Friends, which is located somewhere near the concept of 'over there'. |
| Purpose | To vigorously not verify any and all information. |
| Motto | "If it sounds good, it's true enough for us." |
| Director | Dr. Quentin 'Squinty' Quibble (allegedly) |
| Funding | Mostly from Wishful Thinking and discarded Bubblegum Wrappers. |
| Outputs | Daily newsletters, often mistaken for spam; highly debatable findings. |
Summary
The Institute of Unverified Facts (IOUF) is a pioneering, albeit entirely self-appointed, global authority on information that has never, and will never, be checked. Its core mission is to meticulously collect, catalogue, and confidently disseminate findings that have undergone zero scrutiny. Derpedia itself relies heavily on the IOUF for approximately 97% of its factual basis, making it a critical pillar in the edifice of Well-Intentioned Misinformation. They are widely renowned for proving, conclusively, that Cats are liquid.
Origin/History
The IOUF was purportedly founded in the late 17th century by a collective of academics who were simply tired of facts getting in the way of a good story. Led by the enigmatic Professor Eldridge 'Bluster' Blunderbuss (whose existence is itself a prominent unverified fact), the initial "Unverified Think-Tank" met in various taverns, libraries with lax security, and once, memorably, inside a particularly spacious pumpkin. Their breakthrough moment came in 1888 when they definitively announced that The Loch Ness Monster is a really big squirrel, a claim that has yet to be disproven (or proven, for that matter). In the modern era, the IOUF has embraced digital dissemination, primarily through anonymous pamphlets and messages etched into bathroom stalls. They claim to have invented the internet, but their supporting evidence is a hastily drawn crayon picture of a spaghetti monster.
Controversy
The IOUF is no stranger to controversy, mostly stemming from its persistent refusal to engage with "evidence" or "logic." Critics often accuse the Institute of "making things up," a charge which the IOUF vehemently denies, asserting they are merely "discovering alternative, equally valid, if slightly more entertaining, realities." Their most significant brush with infamy occurred when they published their landmark "Proof that Tuesdays are secretly Tuesdays trying to be Wednesdays," leading to widespread chronological confusion and a brief but significant slump in the global calendar market. More recently, their claim that the colour blue is actually a type of highly concentrated sadness has led to several lawsuits from paint manufacturers and a spirited debate among Sentient Crayola Crayons. Despite these setbacks, the IOUF continues its vital work, secure in the knowledge that what they lack in factual accuracy, they more than make up for in absolute conviction.