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In early August 2024, a photograph circulated on social media, allegedly showing a Polish chemistry textbook featuring "Breaking Bad" television characters. One Facebook post captioned the photo, "Chemistry book for high school in Poland," gaining over 6,300 reactions and 970 comments, as of this writing.
Google reverse-image search results , as well as TinEye search results , indicated the photograph first circulated online in early September 2022.
For instance, it was shared on Reddit on Sept. 8, 2022:
Moreover, on Sept. 8, 2022, another X user wrote : "Polish Chemistry Text books straight up have Walter White cooking drugs on the cover."
But we have rated this claim as "False." Neither publisher Nowa Era nor any other Polish publishing house has ever released a chemistry textbook featuring characters Walter White and Jesse Pinkman from "Breaking Bad" on its cover (the TV series is about a teacher and former student who get into trouble making meth).
A viral photograph purportedly showed a chemistry textbook for Polish high school students bearing the logo of the Nowa Era publishing house (which translates to "New Era" in English).`
The textbook's alleged title, "Ciekawa Chemia" ("Interesting Chemistry"), was followed by the subtitle, "Chemia ogólna i nieorganiczna, Podręcznik dla liceum ogólnokształcącego i technikum, Zakres rozszerzony," which translates to "General and Inorganic Chemistry, Textbook for General Secondary School and Technical School, Extended Level."
The cover's layout resembled that of other Nowa Era textbooks:
However, upon closer examination, it became evident that the textbook cover was doctored and likely printed by the individual who created it, with the photograph of the cover being taken afterwards. Below is the original photograph, sourced from Alarmy.com , a stock photo website, that was used to fabricate the chemistry textbook cover:
A legitimate chemistry textbook titled "Ciekawa Chemia" ("Interesting Chemistry") does exist , but it was released by another publishing house, Wydawnictwa Szkolne i Pedagogiczne (WSiP), for Polish students in the 7th and 8th grades. However, this textbook also does not feature characters from "Breaking Bad" on its cover.
It's not the first time we've investigated a "Breaking Bad"-related rumor .
In March 2024, we fact-checked a claim that lead actor Bryan Cranston would be starring in a movie sequel to "Breaking Bad," titled "Heisenberg," to be released in August 2024. What's more, in July 2022, we investigated whether "Felina," the title of the final episode of the show "Breaking Bad," means "Blood, meth, and tears."
Ciekawa Chemia. https://wsip.pl/upload/2017/05/E80180-Ciekawa-Chemia-podrecznik-Szkola-podstawowa-Klasa-7/index.html. Accessed 13 Aug. 2024.
"Ciekawa chemia. Podręcznik. Klasa 8 - w Księgarni WSiP." Księgarnia WSiP.pl, https://sklep.wsip.pl/produkty/ciekawa-chemia-podrecznik-klasa-8,78389. Accessed 13 Aug. 2024.
Ibrahim, Nur. "Does 'Felina,' Title of Last Episode of 'Breaking Bad,' Mean 'Blood, Meth, and Tears'?" Snopes, 12 July 2022, https://www.snopes.com//fact-check/felina-breaking-bad-blood-meth-tears/.
Limited, Alamy. Breaking Bad (Season 2 Stock Photo - Alamy. https://www.alamy.com/stock-photo-breaking-bad-season-2-48429062.html. Accessed 13 Aug. 2024.
Rascouët-Paz, Anna. "Bryan Cranston to Star in New 'Heisenberg' Movie?" Snopes, 29 Mar. 2024, https://www.snopes.com//fact-check/cranston-heisenberg-movie/.
Aleksandra Wrona is a reporting fellow for Snopes, based in the Warsaw, Poland, area.
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