Does organic food cause autism? Could Nicolas Cage movies make you more likely to drown? Six ways to misuse statistics

Originally posted on Puff the Mutant Dragon:
Back in the 1940s before the polio vaccine was invented, the disease caused a lot of anxiety among parents of small children. How could you reduce your child’s risk of contracting this nasty illness? Some misguided public health experts apparently recommended avoiding ice cream, thanks to a study…