Am about to lift the following from a thread I did once in the Olim Bird Place, but if I leave a legacy behind, please let it be the legacy of coining the term The Chortlemuffin effect. The Chortlemuffin Effect describes a citational chain leading to bullshit. /1

The citation chain usually works like this: -supposition stated as fact -supposition with reference to reputable book from c.1930s -reputable book from c.1930s with reference to Sir Edward Chortlemuffin, 1782 - Sir Edward Chortlemuffin, "here's an idea I'll fart out," 1782 /2

OMG, yes. There's also a thing in histmed and related fields where everyone cites as true something from a short, UNREFERENCED Lancet article from c.1982, because Lancet. I haven't got a name for it yet, though. (Just lost days of my life to chasing things down.)