OK, for those of you still posting messages to my earlier blog, questioning whether the story (about a Denver man who allegedly got his thumbs surgically altered to more easily manipulate his iPhone) was real or not -- and impugning my fact-checking ability and my judgment -- you can stop wondering now. It's a hoax. Really.

The editor of the North Denver News, the supposedly fact-based newspaper on whose Web site the piece originally appeared, has now posted a a 380-word explanation. The gist: "Careful reading of the piece makes it clear to any critical consumer of information that the piece is pure humor and not news or reported as fact."

I'll refrain from commenting on how irresponsible it is for a "news" outlet to run something like this online without designating it as satire, and simply point out that, by my quick Google News count, at least two dozen online news outlets (including ComputerWorld, engadget, and the Christian Broadcast Network) duly reported this bogus story as true, without bothering to check the facts in any way.

Caveat lector.