Fact Nine

Factosis Level: Medium

Martha Mitchell, the wife of US Attorney General John Mitchell, claimed illegal activities were taking place in the White House during the Nixon administration. She was subsequently diagnosed as having delusions as a result of mental illness.

Of course once the Watergate Scandol broke, she was revealed to have been totally correct and totally sane.

This lead to the creation of The Martha Mitchell Effect, where a psychologist accidently believes a patient to be delusional because there claims are unbelievable or held with excessive conviction.

Quote of the Day: "My neighbour asked if he could use my lawnmower and I told him of course he could, so long as he didn't take it out of my garden" - Eric Morecambe