Version: 0.4.1 (+/- 250) Fri Jun 14 15:07:42 CDT 2002
Second public revision
The alt.folklore.urban FAQ
The alt.folklore.urban FAQ is a work in progress and is being modified
as you read this. Please stay tuned for further improvements.
You can find a Web version of this FAQ with lots more commentary,
cites and references at:
<http://www.tafkac.org/faq2k>
TABLE OF CONTENTS TO THIS AND THE OTHER PARTS OF THE FAQ LIST
Part 1 - Urban legends sections:
- The Misappliance Of Science
- The 'Plane Truth (What Goes Up...)
- Does Not Compute
- Mad Medicine
- Stupid People Tricks
PART 2 - Urban legends sections:
- Stupid Academia Tricks
- What's In A Word?
- Reefer Madness
- How Firm Is Your Foundation?
- Kill Your Television!
- Astoni****ng Antipodean Antics
- Lewd Food
- Snuff Movies
PART 3 - Urban legends sections:
- Upstanding Legends Of The ***** And Scrotum
- Hide The Salami
- Disney Dementia
- Question Authority (And Other Conspiracies)
- Legal Beagles
- Wild Life In The Fast Lane
PART 4 - Urban legends sections:
- Astounding Avian Anomalies
- Doggie-Style and Catty-Wumpuss
- Other Animal (But Non-Buggy) Crackers
- Arthropod Crackers
- Urban Angst
- Take Me To Your Leader
- Dead Horses
AFU Legend Taxonomy
Legends are more complicated than can be adequately described by True,
False, or Unknown. There are shades of meaning that get left out, so
that quite often these simple descriptions are an ill fit. More
descriptive power is required, and after much learned debate and
profanity, the old system of T, F, U, etc, was replaced with the
following:
True (formerly T): True according to the laws of nature as currently
understood. Soldiers break step when marching across bridges, because
the marching frequency can resonate with the bridge and cause damage
or collapse.
Do***ented (formerly T): True according to evidence. It is true that
you must have a permit to own a gerbil in California, and this is
proved by reading the California Code of Regulations.
In Dispute (formerly U): Credible evidence exists on both sides of the
argument. The Baby Ruth bar very likely was named after Babe Ruth, as
his estate contends, yet the Curtiss Candy Company strongly denies it,
and has won judicial decisions on the issue. Until unimpeachable
evidence surfaces, it will remain In Dispute.
Unknown (formerly U): No evidence exists, with nothing to sup****t
either truth or falsehood. The pot smoker pulled over by the cop for
going 5 mph is a common joke, and while no evidence has yet surfaced
to sup****t it, it is not so extraordinary that it defies imagination.
It is mundane enough to have happened, and unremarkable enough to
escape special notation.
Unknowable (formerly U): No evidence exists, and no evidence can ever
possibly exist. No two snowflakes are alike is an Unknowable theory.
Debunked (formerly F): False according to evidence. Anti-racism
advocates sometimes tell the ironic story that African-American
Dr. Charles Drew, a pioneer of blood transfusions, died because the
racist hospital refused him the treatment he helped create. Friends
of Dr Drew who witnessed the scene deny this accusation.
Impossible (formerly F): False according to the laws of nature as
currently understood. If you wear contact lenses, the myth that
they'll fuse to your eyeballs if you look at the arc unprotected is
impossible: there is no process that could conceivably cause this.
Copycat (formerly Ft): A true occurrence of something in imitation of a
preexisting legend. Poisoned Halloween candy has long been a common
legend which lacked all evidence for years, but has fairly recently
inspired people to use this legend to attempt murder.
The Misappliance Of Science
Debunked: You can make as much ice faster by starting with warmer
water.
True: Boiled water freezes faster than ordinary water at same
initial temperature.
Debunked: A penny falling from the top of the Empire State Building
in New York City will embed in the pavement, or kill you if it hits
you, or any of several other destructive things.
Debunked: Bathtubs and toilets drain the other way round in the
other hemisphere, due to the Coriolis Force.
True: The Coriolis Force affects all fluids if you take incredible
pains to isolate it.
Debunked: Putting your panties into the microwave is a good way to
kill any yeast bacteria they may carry.
Debunked: Coloring the rims of your CD's with a marker will enhance
the sound quality. Usually green is the color of choice, and
sometimes a special marker is required.
In Dispute: CDs are the size they are because it could hold
Beethoven's 9th symphony.
Debunked: People [explode/boil/something special-effecty] in the
vacuum of space.
Debunked: Eelskin wallet demagnetizes bank cards
Debunked: Daylight sky appears dark enough to see stars from bottom
of deep well.
True: Venus and perhaps a few other bright stars/planets can be seen
in daylight.
Debunked: Bubbles in bubble wrap contain a cheap, but toxic gas.
Unknown: East German secret police "bug" factory now uses skills to
make hearing aids.
Debunked: Hot-drying acid-washed jeans "re-activates" the acid.
Debunked: Ontario Hydro mandated poor installation, so copper fails
as often as aluminum.
T: Fluorescent lamp will light up when held near high-voltage line.
Tb: Fluorescent light will break down vitamins in clear milk
containers.
F: Fluorescent lights leach vitamins from your body.
Unknown: Leather saddles used to be treated with llama dung to alter
their smell, to avoid scaring horses.
Unknown: This British specification regarding leather saddles was
reborn as a US Army specification for leather jackets, leather
airline seats, etc.
Do***ented: 3M "Post-It" notes were invented & marketed as an
unofficial project.
T: Subliminal messages in advertising are ineffective, but outlawed
anyway. ["Media Sources and Business Legends" in TCD] ...Ted Frank
cited USA law.
Unknown: Filamentous phage M13 obtained from lab's letter rejecting
the transfer!
T: Long term storage of paper in a PVC envelope is harmful (fumes
degrade it).
T: Some combinations of metal tooth fillings can receive radio
signals.
F: Printer/copier toner is carcinogenic. [But be careful about
breathing it.]
F: The moon looks larger near the horizon than up in the sky due to
refraction.
T: The above is due to an optical illusion.
T: Indiana House Bill #246 of 1897 is a piece of gibberish that
could be interpreted to mean pi = 3.2, 4, or 160/49. Killed in state
Senate.
Fb: Some state (e.g., KS, OK, etc.) once considered a bill setting
pi = 3 (or some other arbitrary, non-transcendental number).
Debunked: US and Russia won't destroy their stocks of smallpox for
fear of being unprepared for the other country reneging and
launching a biological attack.
Debunked: People only use 10% of their brain capacity, and if we
only were able to harness the other 90%, we'd all be telepathic
genius superheroes.
Impossible: If the entire population of China jumped up at the same
time, either the Earth's orbit would be disturbed, or the US would
be swamped by a tidal wave, or some other bad thing would happen.
Impossible: If all the Chinese screamed at the same time, people in
the US could hear it.
True: There was a natural nuclear reaction in Africa long ago.
Debunked: If you swim right after eating you'll get cramps and
drown.
Impossible: Squeezing out the air from a partially consumed plastic
soda bottle will keep soda from going flat.
Debunked: There are bodies of workmen who fell into the poured
concrete of Hoover Dam and are entombed there to this day.
Debunked: There is a pillar in India made of metal found nowhere
else in the world.
True: Tomatoes are not vegetables, they're fruit.
Do***ented: Tomatoes are legally defined as vegetables, however.
Do***ented: Workers in old watch factories got poisoned by licking
the brushes they used for applying radium compound to watch faces.
Debunked: You can see glass flow in the windows of old buildings.
Debunked: Large telescope mirrors often become distorted due to
glass flow.
Debunked: Glass is not a crystal, therefore it is a liquid and
flows.
Do***ented: MRI used to be called "NMR" or "NMR Imaging", with the
"N" standing for "Nuclear", but the "N" was dropped due to perceived
public fear.
Impossible: Daylight-Saving Time is an evil manipulation of Time,
and will cause chickens to stop laying, cows to become confused, and
the extra hour of sunlight will scorch the plants and fade the
curtains.
Debunked: A newspaper once substituted "in the African-American" for
"in the black" in a fit of overzealous and unthinking political
correctness.
Impossible: Welding while wearing contacts can cause them to stick
permanently to your eyeballs if you look at the arc without goggles.
Debunked: NASA sent some very thin threads of gold to watchmakers in
Switzerland, to show off some manufacturing technology. The
watchmakers sent them back drilled with holes.
Debunked: Only on the spring equinox can you stand an egg on its
end.
Debunked: The "Philadelphia Experiment" was a top secret, successful
experiment where the US Navy made a battle****p invisible. And maybe
they tele****ted it, too.
Debunked: If you are completely covered in paint, you will die of
asphyxiation because your skin can't breathe.
Debunked: Scientists once concluded that it was "impossible" for
bumblebees to fly.
Unknowable: No two snowflakes are alike.
Debunked: A woman faints in a grocery store checkout line from what
turns out to be hypothermia. She "froze her brain" trying to
shoplift a frozen chicken by hiding it under her hat.
Debunked: There is no Nobel Prize for mathematicians because
Mrs. Nobel was fooling around with one.
Debunked: There was a "missing day" that was discovered by a NASA
scientist.
In Dispute: The first bomb dropped on Berlin during World War II
killed the only elephant in the city.
The 'Plane Truth (What Goes Up...)
True: 800ft diameter asteroid passed within 500K miles of hitting
earth in 1989.
T: Confused pilots occasionally land on tiny strip short of correct
air****t.
Do***ented: P-51 Mustang can flip over if you mash on the throttle,
but not due to engine torque.
In Dispute: US Govt fixed plane transponders always re****t
positions(catch drug im****ts)
Do***ented: Air force/manufacturers tests planes by firing chickens
from special cannon.
Impossible: Chicken cannon causes massive damage because chicken was
frozen.
Impossible: Chicken cannon causes massive damage due to a cat that
crawled in looking for chicken.
T: Cessna planes used to not be sold in the US due to threat of
liability suits but Beechcraft and Mooney did still make & sell
planes in the US.
T: Pilot can discreetly signal a hijack by setting the transponder
to "7500"
Tb: Leave flaps down when off the active as a request for armed
intervention!!
F: The Great Wall of China can be seen with the ****d eye from the
moon.
T: Many manmade structures can be seen with the ****d eye from Earth
orbit.
F: Shuttle crew did secret experiment on how to make love in zero
gravity.
Tb: Jet lag is exacerbated by alcohol consumption.
T: Parachute mishap brought down a Cessna (gently) on a novice's
parachute.
F: Airlines use a gas to keep passengers mildly sedated and less
troublesome.
U: Similar story of lowering cabin pressure below usual.
Fb: Both pilots on airliner end up locked out of cockpit in lavatory
mix-up. ["Death and Danger in the Air" in CBA]
U: In 90% of plane crashes, the words "Oh sh*t!" appear on the
flight recorder.
Fb: Another passenger arrives for full plane; airline employee Gay
must give up his seat. Someone else answers yes to "Are you Gay?";
Gay says "I'm Gay"; more passengers chime in that they're gay and
"They can't kick us all off."
F: Bank programmer makes big bux by skimming off or rounding
calculations in a payroll or interest compounding program. [AKA
"Salami" method.]
T: Institutions are very reluctant to re****t frauds so may be
difficult to ID.
T: There're lots of stories about how the Challenger astronauts
died.
T: ...Check out Challenger's "Final Minutes"?
T: On 2 July 1982, some lawn chairist w/lots of hot air went to 16K
ft.
F: Neil Armstrong may have helped an old neighbor named Gorsky get a
blowjob when he took that step. [See the full transcript with
Armstrong's comments at the Apollo 11 Lunar Surface Journal]
Does Not Compute
True: Computers have been stolen.
Do***ented: Apple uses a Cray to design hardware systems; Cray uses
an Apple...
True: Prodigy grabs large sectors of the disk, containing data from
deleted files.
Debunked: Prodigy slyly reads your disk & nefariously uploads your
top secrets to IBM.
Debunked: Stories about Seymour Cray's strange hobbies (annual boat
burning etc).
Debunked: The FCC is proposing a modem tax (Nope, the proposal died
in 1987).
True: Bill Gates has $750K ****sche 959 he can't use; no type
compliance, no license!
Unknown: New computer system "lost" a Montgomery Ward Calif
warehouse for 3 years...
True: "q=q++;" is an undefined statement under ANSI C(same object
modified twice).
True: Calling "#" a pound sign as in common US parlance really riles
some folks up
True: "#" is frequently referred to as a "hash" mark outside the US.
Debunked: Russian/Chinese mechanical translator translates "out of
sight, out of mind" into "blind and insane". Also "Spirit is
willing, but the flesh is weak" as "the drink is good but the meat
is rotten."
Unknown: IBM ordered a whole bunch of "THIMK" games; but printer
changed to "THINK". ...a.B. Mayers claimed to have dug up a receipt
for same. Getting close.
True: In 1947 a moth was found in a relay of the Harvard Mark II
machine, and taped into the logbook as the "first actual case of bug
being found."
True: The log book, with the moth still taped by the entry, used to
be in building 1200 "K-lab" of the Naval Surface Warfare Center
Computer Museum at Dahlgren, Virginia. until 1988. Now at the
Smithsonian MoAH.
Debunked: Grace Hopper coined the term "bug" as a result of this
event.
True: Grace Hopper was a programmer for the Mark II and often told
the moth story.
True: "Bug" was used to mean a design defect as far back as Edison's
time.
True: If you feel a need to finger a coke machine, try finger
coke@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
True: See the alt.internet.services FAQ for more neat-and-keen
stuff.
True: The "Good Times" virus is bogus. See Les Jones' most excellent
FAQ on the Good Times Virus Hoax at the Department of Energy URL
listed below.
Mad Medicine
Do***ented: London doctor struck off for inveigling Turkish peasants
to donate a kidney.
Debunked: Dr. C. Drew, a plasma researcher; bleeds to death when
hospital turns him (a black man) away.
Debunked: Flowers are bad in hospital rooms because they suck oxygen
out of air.
Do***ented: (Wo)man takes huge quantity of baking soda as an antacid
and ends up with CO2 rupturing stomach.
Impossible: Person's hair turns entirely white "overnight" from
stress.
Do***ented: Some people sneeze when exposed to bright light ("photic
sneeze effect").
Debunked: You can catch diseases (crabs, lice, herpes, VD, etc) from
public toilets.
Debunked: Coca-Cola is an effective contraceptive
Do***ented: Coke is acidic, dissolves teeth, etc
Debunked: Drinking large quantities of deionized/distilled water
over a long period of time can screw you up due to ion imbalances.
Do***ented: Water can be toxic.
Impossible: Hair and nails continue to grow after death.
Debunked: Hair grows back thicker or faster if you shave it.
Unknown: A woman sees doctor with an irritated eye. She says a male
stripper rubbed his pouch in her eye, or flung his G-string onto her
face. The doctor examines her, and removes a louse from her eye (or
face, or eyebrow).
Debunked: An autopsy reveals big hairballs in lungs of a man who
breathed in bits of hair while he worked, and thus suffocated him.
Do***ented: Girl dies of big hairball in stomach from chewing on
ends of her braids.
Debunked: B.F. Skinner's daughter died/committed suicide/sued
because of she was reared in a Skinner box/special crib.
Debunked: Left-handed people have shorter life spans than righties.
Debunked: Women/people shouldn't sit on cold cement or metal 'cause
it might hurt their plumbing or cause piles.
Debunked: You can catch a cold by being chilled.
Do***ented: There're all sorts of rumors about the AIDS virus being
developed by various institutions.
Unknowable: Guillotined persons may remain conscious long enough to
blink.
Debunked: Knuckle cracking will lead to arthritis.
In Dispute: It may damage your hand in other ways, though.
Debunked: Drunks are more relaxed, less likely to be hurt in car
accidents.
Debunked: A series of hospital deaths was due to a janitor who
unplugged life- sup****t systems to plug in a floor polisher.
Debunked: Dr. C. Drew, a plasma researcher; bleeds to death when
hospital turns him (a black man) away.
Do***ented: Corn chips can damage the esophagus
In Dispute: Supercooled Siberian vodka causes instant death when
overeager drinker takes a slug.
Debunked: Asbestos is added to tampons to force women to use more,
thus increasing the rate of cervical cancer.
Debunked: Soda cans are frequently coated with rat urine, which is
deadly to humans
Debunked: Shock-rocker has ribs removed so he can perform
autofellatio
Debunked: 19th century women wore corsets so tight their internal
organs were deformed.
In Dispute: People have had their ribs removed to make their waist
look smaller.
Do***ented: Student lives on Kraft dinner, gets scurvy
In Dispute: Women in close proximity synchronize periods
Do***ented: Maggots and leeches are still used in modern medicine
Debunked: Mountain Dew makes you less of a man; Diet Dew pickles you
in formaldehyde.
Debunked: Eye contact with waterproof sunscreen causes blindness.
Impossible: Baby eats dog food after meal of Enfalac formula,
stomach explodes.
Do***ented: Pacemakers can explode when burned; they must be removed
before cremation.
In Dispute: Nuclear-powered pacemakers are especially dangerous in a
cremation explosion because of the risk of radioactive fallout.
Impossible: "Innocent" man is repeatedly arrested for drunkenness,
but claims not to drink; turns out he has a "mutant yeast" in his
stomach which ferments ingested carbohydrates into alcohol.
In Dispute: Coughing forcefully may save your life if you're alone
and having a heart attack.
In Dispute: Red cordial (ObTWIAVBP: non-carbonated fruit-flavoured
drink concentrate) can prevent traveler's diarrhoea.
Do***ented: Women should wear a wetsuit when
waterskiing/watersliding, to avoid mysterious and unpleasant
injuries to their reproductive organs.
Impossible: Little bubbles of air in an injection syringe or IV can
kill you.
Do***ented: A patient's intestine explodes from cauterization during
surgery due to gas; A patient's intestine exploded during a
colotomy.
Debunked: Cats shouldn't be allowed near newborn babies, as the cat
will "steal the baby's breath".
In Dispute: There have been isolated re****ts of babies being
smothered by cats. These re****ts have been disputed by some.
Unknown: Girl replaces her own urine with secreted boyfriend's urine
at "abortion mill," is declared pregnant and advised to abort.
T: There are many stories about musicians and bands, especially
after they die or are dead. Most aren't very interesting or novel.
Stupid People Tricks
Do***ented: Craig Shergold, UK cancer kid, sought get-well cards to
break the Guinness record, overwhelmed with over 80 million.
Do***ented: Craig Shergold's 13th birthday was June 24, 1992. From
now June 24 is AFUday
Debunked: The American Cancer Society sponsors a chain letter for
"Jessica Mydek."
Do***ented: People have been injured/killed by rocking a vending
machine that falls on them.
Unknown: Man's house demolished after friend places an ad in paper
for a joke.
Do***ented: The authorities demolish (burn, blow-up) the wrong house
by accident.
Unknown: US GI captures Iraqi soldier during Gulf War - they knew
each other from Chicago.
Debunked: Special chemical for swim pools, turns bright color on
contact with urine.
Debunked: In the "Wizard of Oz" film you can see a body of someone
who hung himself.
Unknowable: Wife sprays toilet with flammable bug spray, husband
****s, smokes, explodes. Wife sprays toilet with flammable hair
spray, you know the rest, etc. ["Hilarious Accidents" in
TMP. Variations in TVH.]
Debunked: Aluminum ring pull tabs are collected & exchanged for
dialysis machine time. ["Redemption Rumors" in TMP]
Copycat: ...Some places or people (e.g., The Ronald McDonald House
in Rochester, MN) do collect tabs for their scrap value and raise $$
for various causes.
Unknown: There are two Canadians who collect them for
wheelchairs. See Fred Ennis's article.
Impossible: Chanting "Mary Worth" or some other phrase three or more
time before a mirror summons dead spirit at slumber parties ["I
Believe in Mary Worth" in TMP]. AKA Bloody Mary and La Llorona.
Unknowable: Male athlete cheats drug test with wife's pee; test
shows he's pregnant.
Do***ented: People have set themselves on fire occasionally. Some of
them burn more completely than do others.
Impossible: People occasionally spontaneously combust and burn to
death. Whoompfh!
Debunked: Kid sends badly broken Cabbage Patch dolls back. Death
certificate sent to kid.
Debunked: Someone is crushed to death trying to shrink blue jeans by
wearing in tub. ["Product Defect and Liability Legends" in The
Chocking Doberman]
Debunked: Tourists' room is burgled, later finds snaps of
"toothbrush up thief's ass".
Debunked: Two guys see kid fi****ng; kid says fish aren't biting but
worms are; on way back; they discover kid slumped over; worms were
baby water moccasins!
Debunked: Some boys go swimming and taunt each other to jump in
first. First kid in warns everyone to stay back! They rescue him and
he's badly s****bitten.
Do***ented: "little gator" S. Mudgett is mentioned in one of Cecil's
books.
Debunked: Folks find casks of wine in cellar of old house. Tap and
drank from several of them. Later, preserved body found in cask.
Do***ented: Nautical saying: "Tapping the Admiral" is based on the
above.
Unknown: Boyfriend tells girlfriend they're through and she should
leave when he leaves on a long trip. He returns to find phone off
the hook connected to the "time" recording in Japan/some far away
place.
Debunked: Helicopter fights forest fires by scooping water from
lake. Charred body of scuba diver found in ashes.
Do***ented: Then there are others who compete in
http://www.firediving.com/
Debunked: Fat person on airline toilet has intestines sucked out due
to vacuum.
In Dispute: Apparently, a "slightly obese" person on ****p toilet has
had intestines sucked out due to vacuum.
Do***ented: A similar accident happened to a little girl who sat on
a wading pool drain in North Carolina on 16 June 1991 [she didn't
die].
Debunked: Halloween sadists randomly give poisoned candy to
children.
Do***ented: A Texas child was poisoned in this manner by his father
on Halloween in 1974. Another child died on Halloween after
stumbling onto a family member's heroin stash and consuming it.
Do***ented: Well how about razor blades in apples? Or pins in
apples?
Debunked: Woman frequents tanning salons; develops funny smell;
innards cooked!
Do***ented: You can burn yourself to death in a tanning salon if you
are taking certain drugs that make the skin more photosensitive.
Do***ented: A guy goes a-shooting at Saguaro cacti; hits one. It
falls and kills him! ["The Plant's Revenge" in CBA]
Debunked: Someone dies because another person in their panic
couldn't call for help during a fire because they couldn't dial the
"11" in "911". ["Dial 911 for Help" in The Choking Doberman]
True: People were once frequently mistaken for dead and were buried
alive.
Do***ented: Edison's last breath is kept in a jar in
Michigan. (Well, sort of).
Fb: Co-ed loses tampon inside prior to blind date; worried; sees
school intern; is acutely embarrassed. Her date turns out to be the
intern!
Unknowable: Young man buys condom from pharmacist; he's embarrassed
so boasts of date. He picks her up, pharmacist/dad answers the door!
Debunked: Bride at big wedding thanks each person, then thanks groom
for sleeping w/maid-of-honor. Then throws bouquet, etc.
Debunked: Kid in Michael Jackson's commercial breaks neck and dies
from: breakdancing, OD, hit by motorcycle.
Debunked: Phil Collins' song "In the Air Tonight" is about a death
witnessed by Phil.
Do***ented: ...Sheesh! This was even debunked in Parade magazine.
T: Crotch seam rivet in original Levi's dropped due to pain from
standing near fires.
Fb: Some famous artist (Picasso/da Vinci/etc.] wants a new piece of
furniture or furniture to be moved. Draws sketch for workman; who
says no charge for the artist if he can keep the sketch.
F: Couple hires hippie-type babysitter. Later, mother calls and
sitter says everything is fine; she's stuffed the turkey and put it
in the oven. Mom worries since they don't have an turkey; parents
rush home and find that stoned sitter has (or is about to) put baby
in the (microwave) oven. ["The Hippie-Babysitter" in TVH.]
F: "Clever" babysitter stops baby crying by holding its head in
oven. ["The Clever Babysitter" in TMP]
U: A plain-Jane coed invited to special night out by a BMOC. As she
gets ready, has bad gas from lunch. Date arrives; so plans to fart in
car before he gets in. She farts and quickly rolls down window. Date
gets in, says," I'd like you to meet Tom and Mary in the backseat."
["The Fart in the Dark" in TVH.]
Debunked: Family visits wilderness park. They see bears and want to
get "cute pics" of bear w/child so they smear honey on his
cheek. Bear eats child's face.
Debunked: Bride's father at wedding goes to pay caterer, but wallet
is missing and has to take up collection from guests. Later viewing
of wedding video shows groom's father lifting bride's father's
wallet! ["*** Scandals" in TCD]
Tb: Some guys who make $ recycling aluminum strip a house with new
siding.
T: People (mostly guys) have been electrocuted pissing on a subway's
3rd rail.
T: Common UL mills include Dear Abby, Ann Landers, and Paul Harvey.
Debunked: Woman lighting fire opens door with a hot poker; robber at
door thinks it is a gun and grabs it!
F: Clocks are commonly displayed at 8:18/8:20/10:10 because that's
when JFK or Abraham Lincoln was shot.
Fb: Henry Ford/Gen. Douglas McArthur/IBM Rep./et al. tests an
interviewee by when they salt their food during lunch.
Do***ented: The song "Happy Birthday" is copyrighted.
Debunked: ...Paul McCartney owns the rights.
Fb: Some guy who works at a factory takes home a part a day until
some time later he has a Cadillac/tank/truck (and has been
immortalized in song).
Tb: Putting a sleeping person's hand in water will cause him/her to
pee. Anecdotally, it seems to work for some people but not for
others.
Debunked: The bizarre suicide involving a guy (variations include
Ronald Opus and Paul Aulphis), a tall building, an old couple, and a
shotgun (or rifle) is totally bogus but pretty damn good.
Debunked: People are much loonier (e.g., shoot, screw, etc.) during
a full moon.
F: Woman jokes with maitre d' to tell her husband that he won the
lottery. ...he does, husband then says all is hers as he's
"shagging" her sister.
Debunked: Drug smugglers stuff a baby's corpse with cocaine and
pretend it's "sleeping."
Do***ented: Fin-de-siecle Frenchman, Le Petomane, got rich farting
as music hall act.
Unknowable: Blowback (blowforward?) from ignited fart, singed
frat-boy's intestines.
Debunked: A female re****ter asks a general about training a group of
visiting boy scouts to shoot and ends up asking him if he isn't
equipping them to become "violent killers." The general responds
that the re****ter is equipped to be a prostitute.
Do***ented: Homeowner tired of having his mailbox knocked down by
drunk drivers/vandals builds a indestructible mailbox. Next drunk
driver/vandals attempts to drive over mailbox, demolishes car.
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