John Oliver Brilliantly Debunks the Scholarship Claim Made by Miss America Pageant Organizers

In case you missed it last night, John Oliver‘s team on Last Week Tonight did what all good skeptics do: They heard a claim that everyone just takes for granted (in this case, made by Miss America Pageant organizers), dug into the details, and discovered the evidence for it was incredibly dubious.

The whole segment is terrific, but the relevant portion begins at the 7:23 mark:

Hats off to the writers and researchers on that show for doing the work on this story. And if you’d like to help a different organization become the nation’s largest scholarship program for women, consider donating to any of these other groups mentioned on the program:

Society of Women Engineers

Jeanette Rankin Women’s Scholarship Fund

Patsy Mink Foundation