Post by Ragebox on Oct 5, 2003 20:56:15 GMT -5
I found this in this month's copy of Comcast Channel Guide. Pretty cool. 9 investigated urban legends and the truths behind them. Enjoy!
True Lies?
BY JEFF PFEIFFER
Just how accurate are all those
stories you hear from your friends
and find in your e-mail inbox?
THE BACKSEAT KILLER
THE SETUP: A woman is driving alone on a dark night and pulls into a gas station. The male attendant begins making excuses to keep her these, eventually asking her to step out of the car and look under the hood with him. He then grabs her and pulls her into the station. The woman fears that this is the end, but the attendant then informs her that he has seen a man crouched down in her backseat. the police are called, and the man in the car - who turns out to be a serial killer - is arrested.
THE VERDICT: FALSE. there is no record of this event ever happening, though the tale has been around for over 30 years.
THE BLAIR WITCH FOOTAGE
THE SETUP: The hit 1999 movie phenomenon The Blair Witch Project is actual film footage collected by a group of students who were making a documentary about the Blair Witch legend, but mysteriously disappeared.
THE VERDICT: FALSE. I don't know if there is anyone left who believes this (I hope not), but in the summer of 1999 I had a particularly tough time trying to convince a coworker that this legend was not true.
THE SMELLY MOTEL ROOM
THE SETUP: A person checks into a room and begins complaining about a terrible smell in the room. After repeated complaints, the staff investigates and finds the body of a murdered person hidden under the mattress.
THE VERDICT: TRUE. Believe it or not, this has actually happened a number of times, most recently in July of this year. According to an Associated Press report from July 14, workers at the Capri Motel in Kansas City, Mo. found a dead man underneath the mattress in a room where a guest had spent three days and repeatedly complained about a foul odor. Similar reports have been verified over the years.
BLOODY MARY
THE SETUP: Chanting "Bloody Mary!" a number of times while looking into a mirror (or into some dark space) will summon the evil spirit of that name.
THE VERDICT: FALSE. Deep down, we all know - even as kids - that this just CAN'T possible be true. But trying to convince ourselves of that while alone, in the dark, is another story altogether.
MIKEY AND THE POP ROCKS
THE SETUP: That cute kid who played "Mikey" in the old Life Cereal commercials certainly didn't "like it" when he died by consuming a combination of Pop Rocks and soda, which exploded in his stomach.
THE VERDICT: FALSE. The actor who played Mikey - John Gilchrist - is alive and well, and although Pop Rocks were off the market for a little while back in the early '80s, it was not because they were deadly. They are back on the market today.
THE MISSING KIDNEY
THE SETUP: A business traveler at a bar meets someone who buys him a drink. Next thing the traveler remembers is waking up in a bathtub filled with ice. A phone is on a table next to the tub, with a note reading, "If you want to live, call 911." It turns out the traveler's kidneys have been stolen for sale on the black market.
THE VERDICT: FALSE. No matter how many e-mails you may get talking about these rings of organ thieves, there is no recorded incident of this ever happening in the United States, according to the Nation Donor Family Council. But you do have to wonder how celebs who need organ transplants find them so quickly...
THE 809 AREA CODE SCAM
THE SETUP: Unwitting phone customers have been conned into calling Caribbean area codes that result in huge long-distance charges.
THE VERDICT: TRUE. You may have seen e-mail warnings about this, and the gist of the message is correct - this is a real scam. However, some of the long-distance charges mentioned in the e-mail have been exaggerated. Other area codes have also been used to scam people. And of course, another recent trend if "phishing," in which scam artists, pretending to be from your own credit card company or some other reputable organization, claim they need your Social Security number or credit info to maintain your service. Ignore any such e-mail and contact the company directly.
THE ALLIGATOR IN THE SEWER
THE SETUP: Kids are given cute little baby alligators as pets by their parents. Unfortunately, the family, unable to care for the ever-growing reptile, decides to flush it down the toilet. Once in the sewer system, the alligator grows to monstrous proportions and comes out periodically to devour people.
THE VERDICT: FALSE. Sounds cool, but this has never happened.
THE SPONGEBOB DROWNING
SETUP: Nickelodeon has canceled the cartoon Spongebob Squarepants after a child drowned in the ocean while looking for the popular title character.
THE VERDICT: FALSE. No such tragedy has occurred, and SpongeBob is still going strong on Nick.
True Lies?
BY JEFF PFEIFFER
Just how accurate are all those
stories you hear from your friends
and find in your e-mail inbox?
THE BACKSEAT KILLER
THE SETUP: A woman is driving alone on a dark night and pulls into a gas station. The male attendant begins making excuses to keep her these, eventually asking her to step out of the car and look under the hood with him. He then grabs her and pulls her into the station. The woman fears that this is the end, but the attendant then informs her that he has seen a man crouched down in her backseat. the police are called, and the man in the car - who turns out to be a serial killer - is arrested.
THE VERDICT: FALSE. there is no record of this event ever happening, though the tale has been around for over 30 years.
THE BLAIR WITCH FOOTAGE
THE SETUP: The hit 1999 movie phenomenon The Blair Witch Project is actual film footage collected by a group of students who were making a documentary about the Blair Witch legend, but mysteriously disappeared.
THE VERDICT: FALSE. I don't know if there is anyone left who believes this (I hope not), but in the summer of 1999 I had a particularly tough time trying to convince a coworker that this legend was not true.
THE SMELLY MOTEL ROOM
THE SETUP: A person checks into a room and begins complaining about a terrible smell in the room. After repeated complaints, the staff investigates and finds the body of a murdered person hidden under the mattress.
THE VERDICT: TRUE. Believe it or not, this has actually happened a number of times, most recently in July of this year. According to an Associated Press report from July 14, workers at the Capri Motel in Kansas City, Mo. found a dead man underneath the mattress in a room where a guest had spent three days and repeatedly complained about a foul odor. Similar reports have been verified over the years.
BLOODY MARY
THE SETUP: Chanting "Bloody Mary!" a number of times while looking into a mirror (or into some dark space) will summon the evil spirit of that name.
THE VERDICT: FALSE. Deep down, we all know - even as kids - that this just CAN'T possible be true. But trying to convince ourselves of that while alone, in the dark, is another story altogether.
MIKEY AND THE POP ROCKS
THE SETUP: That cute kid who played "Mikey" in the old Life Cereal commercials certainly didn't "like it" when he died by consuming a combination of Pop Rocks and soda, which exploded in his stomach.
THE VERDICT: FALSE. The actor who played Mikey - John Gilchrist - is alive and well, and although Pop Rocks were off the market for a little while back in the early '80s, it was not because they were deadly. They are back on the market today.
THE MISSING KIDNEY
THE SETUP: A business traveler at a bar meets someone who buys him a drink. Next thing the traveler remembers is waking up in a bathtub filled with ice. A phone is on a table next to the tub, with a note reading, "If you want to live, call 911." It turns out the traveler's kidneys have been stolen for sale on the black market.
THE VERDICT: FALSE. No matter how many e-mails you may get talking about these rings of organ thieves, there is no recorded incident of this ever happening in the United States, according to the Nation Donor Family Council. But you do have to wonder how celebs who need organ transplants find them so quickly...
THE 809 AREA CODE SCAM
THE SETUP: Unwitting phone customers have been conned into calling Caribbean area codes that result in huge long-distance charges.
THE VERDICT: TRUE. You may have seen e-mail warnings about this, and the gist of the message is correct - this is a real scam. However, some of the long-distance charges mentioned in the e-mail have been exaggerated. Other area codes have also been used to scam people. And of course, another recent trend if "phishing," in which scam artists, pretending to be from your own credit card company or some other reputable organization, claim they need your Social Security number or credit info to maintain your service. Ignore any such e-mail and contact the company directly.
THE ALLIGATOR IN THE SEWER
THE SETUP: Kids are given cute little baby alligators as pets by their parents. Unfortunately, the family, unable to care for the ever-growing reptile, decides to flush it down the toilet. Once in the sewer system, the alligator grows to monstrous proportions and comes out periodically to devour people.
THE VERDICT: FALSE. Sounds cool, but this has never happened.
THE SPONGEBOB DROWNING
SETUP: Nickelodeon has canceled the cartoon Spongebob Squarepants after a child drowned in the ocean while looking for the popular title character.
THE VERDICT: FALSE. No such tragedy has occurred, and SpongeBob is still going strong on Nick.
