Science textbook cover featuring Breaking Bad characters is not genuine
The book cover was not genuinely published and was likely made by an individual as a prank
CLAIM
An image circulating on social media appeared to show a Polish science textbook for schools featuring the two main characters from TV show Breaking Bad on the cover.
BACKGROUND
An image posted by a page called Scenic Depictions of Slavic Life on Facebook was described as showing a chemistry book for high schools in Poland.
The book, titled Ciekawa Chemia, featured the image of two men working in front of beakers and other equipment and wearing protective gear in a lab.
The men are recognisably the two main characters from Breaking Bad, Walter and Jesse, played by Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul. The hit U.S. drama, which ran from 2008 to 2013, saw a school chemistry teacher who turns to a life of crime to pay for his medical bills after he is diagnosed with cancer. Thanks to his knowledge of chemistry, Walter and his former student Jesse are able to produce high-quality crystal meth, and the five seasons follow them as they descend further into the criminal underworld.
The post appears to suggest that an image from the show is being used on the cover of a school book in Poland. The account is dedicated to posting nostalgic content relating to life in eastern Europe.
METHOD
A reverse image search on the picture brings us to previous uses of the same picture.
It was posted on Twitter, now X, on September 8, 2022, in a post that read: “Polish Chemistry Text books straight up have Walter White cooking drugs on the cover.”
And we were able to find an earlier example on Reddit, which was posted just 13 minutes earlier than the tweet. The post, in the Reddit forum called ‘interestingasfuck’, was simply captioned: “Chemistry book for high school in Poland.”
The image made the rounds after it appeared on social media in 2022. We were also able to find it on 9GAG and YouTube.
There are clues that the book cover was not legitimately published for use in schools, instead likely being made by someone as a joke. The bottom right corner of the cover features the publisher, Nowa Era, which is a real school book publishing house.
However, the real book called Ciekawa Chemia 3 was published by WSiP, a different publisher. Nowa Era also has chemistry books for different levels, various versions of which we were able to clearly see via a Google search and on shopping websites.
RATING
The book cover was not genuinely published and was likely made by an individual as a prank.
SOURCES
Facebook.com. (2024). Facebook. [online] Available at: Chemistry book for high school in Poland [Accessed 21 Aug. 2024].
X (formerly Twitter). (2022). Available at: Polish Chemistry Text books straight up have Walter White cooking drugs on the cover. [Accessed 21 Aug. 2024].
Reddit.com. (2022). Reddit – Dive into anything. [online] Available at: Chemistry book for high school in Poland [Accessed 21 Aug. 2024].
Nowaera.pl. (2024). Available at: Sklep Nowa Era [Accessed 21 Aug. 2024].
Amazon.co.uk. (2024). Chemia Nowej Ery 3 Podrecznik: Gimnazjum: Amazon.co.uk: Kulawik, Jan, Litwin, Maria, Kulawik, Teresa: 9788326719028: Books. [Accessed 21 Aug. 2024].
Allegrolokalnie.pl. (2024). Ciekawa Chemia 3 WSiP zeszyt ćwiczeń i podręcznik | Poznań | Kup teraz na Allegro Lokalnie. [online] [Accessed 21 Aug. 2024].