Bema Jim
That's nothing -

My ex thought that the Argentinean football team known as "Argentina", were, in fact, an English club team.

To be fair to her, she thought they were from "Down South somewhere".

Cracking tits mind.
(Commander Cool, Wed 11 Jan 2006, 16:41, Reply)

Not exactly an urban legend (but neither are half the answers here)
My ex though that scatman john was, in fact, freddie mercury.

she though he'd someone how raised from the grave and changed nationality.

She was a bit simple.
( Snorty McBumhole YouTube.com/MinistryOfGeeks, Wed 11 Jan 2006, 16:37, Reply)

The Persian Lemur
Did you know the Persian Lemur has two hearts.

True Story.
(Fast_Eddie, Wed 11 Jan 2006, 16:31, Reply)

JLC
True enough, but I thought they were her blood kin- oh well...
( jim_bob can herd cats., Wed 11 Jan 2006, 16:29, Reply)

Obvious answer...
They're adopted.
(woohoo, Wed 11 Jan 2006, 16:26, Reply)

JLC
Hold on, if she has an extra chromosome, how come she has children then?
( jim_bob can herd cats., Wed 11 Jan 2006, 16:24, Reply)

MacDonalds in Chorley?
I reckon that's a bit of legend, it did get shut down for H&S reasons though. Every ten minutes.

What is reported as urban myth is that Capital Centre MacDonalds (Preston) was the source of the massive North West E-Coli outbreak about 10 years ago. Sad thing is, it's 100% documented fact.

I still eat there. I have no shame.
(ArfurDaley Must try harder., Wed 11 Jan 2006, 16:10, Reply)

Oh...
that one is the actual truth, not an urban myth. the hermaphrodite one is the myth.

just to clear that up!

(also married to Christopher Guest, who's a peer in the House of Lords!).
(The Empress it seems you CAN polish a turd!, Wed 11 Jan 2006, 15:16, Reply)

Jamie Lee Curtis
I've heard about this. She's not a hermaphrodite, but has some weird genetic makeup.

Instead of the usual xx chromasomes that define her as being a woman, she inherited an extra one - y.

So she's a woman, always had lady bits and nothing else, but also has very androgynous looks; these are characteristically: a wide jaw, slim body etc. She's managed to stay quite feminine, but does have the wide jaw and boyish looks!

Also, people with xxy chromasomes can't have kids.

So, not an hermaphrodite, but not normal either!
(The Empress it seems you CAN polish a turd!, Wed 11 Jan 2006, 15:15, Reply)

Curtis
Is jamie lee curtis not really a hermaphrodite then?
(pinkois, Wed 11 Jan 2006, 15:08, Reply)

genuine raisin for sale
That sounds like a quality image competition.
Get on it b3tans.

Urban legends - my friend john managed to convince several foreign rugby clubs that he could glow in the dark because of the radioactive fags he smoked.
(d4vestar, Wed 11 Jan 2006, 14:16, Reply)

The Falklands War | Tony Hadley
I was discussing urban myths with my other half last night and she revealed this:

When she was growing up in Otley it was widely believed that the Falklands War (1982) began when Tony Hadley (ex-Spandau Ballet) refused to perform at an Argentinean gig.

This may or may not be true.

Can interested readers think of other floppy haired New Romantic performers that have ignited International conflicts?
(genuine_raisin _for_sale, Wed 11 Jan 2006, 13:58, Reply)

McDonald's
Always the subject of something being found in their burgers, one time in Chorley in Lancashire in early 90's the place was closed down for a couple weeks for "health and safety" reasons and all the rumours, well there was only one rumour going around was that an eye had been found in a burger... complete bat-shit but when you're 8 these things are almost gospel.
(One_Winged_Angel Ich Dien, Wed 11 Jan 2006, 13:49, Reply)

Jocks cocks
The word "bauble" is derived from the french "baubeiller", meaning to hang low or dangle. The Scottish word for knob, "boaby" comes from the time of the Auld Alliance with France, from the same root.

Almost had the wife going with this one, but she's just a bit too smart.
(richey, Wed 11 Jan 2006, 13:47, Reply)

Anyone remember this
There was a legend of a woman who bought a Meat pie from a kebab shop in Ashington, Northumberland. The rumour goes that when she started to consume said pie most of it meat filling had been replaced with maggots. This apparently happened in 1983 but I've heard the same tale being recanted by people much younger than me, who couldnt possibly remember the original incident.

Just intrigued to see if the story had spread any further afield.
(a man called donkey has been away for too long, Wed 11 Jan 2006, 13:44, Reply)

Chain email related urban legends.
Following a large amount of pointless chain emails, I've seen this doing the rounds lately. I think it sums up a lot of the popular scaremongering legends perfectly.

Hello everybody.

My heartfelt appreciation goes out to all of you who have taken the time and trouble to send me "forwards" over the past 12 months.
Thank you for making me feel safe, secure, blessed and healthy.

Extra thanks to whoever sent me the email about rat crap in the glue on envelopes - because I now have to go get a wet towel every time I need to seal an envelope.

Also, I scrub the top of every can I open for the same reason.

Because of your genuine concern, I no longer drink Coca Cola because I know it can remove toilet stains, which is not exactly an appealing characteristic.

I no longer check the coin return on pay phones because I could be pricked with a needle infected with AIDS.

I no longer use cancer-causing deodorants even though I smell like a water buffalo on a hot day.

I no longer go to shopping malls because someone might drug me With a perfume sample and rob me.

I no longer eat KFC because their "chickens" are actually Horrible mutant freaks with no eyes or feathers.

I no longer worry about my soul because at last count, I Have 363,214 angels looking out for me.

Thanks to you, I have learned that God only answers my prayers if I forward an email to seven of my friends and make a wish within five minutes.

I no longer have any savings because I gave it to a sick girl on the internet who is about to die in the hospital (for the 1,387,258th time).

I no longer have any money at all in fact - but that will change once I receive the $15,000 that Microsoft and AOL are sending me for participating in their special on-line email program.

Yes, I want to thank you all so much for looking out for me that I will now return the favour!

If you don't send this email to at least 144,000 people in the next 7 minutes, a large pigeon with a wicked case of diarrhoea will land on your head at 5:00 PM (GMT) this afternoon. I know this will occur because it actually happened to a friend of my next door neighbour's ex-mother-in-law's second husband's cousin's beautician.
( Sylia Stingray is pilfering the biscuits on, Wed 11 Jan 2006, 13:39, Reply)

Bomber in the lake
A couple of years ago me and a couple of other local scuba divers were asked by a local historical aviation group to survey a lake for them.
Local legend had it that in the 2nd World War a Hudson bomber had crashed in the deepest part of the lake which was said to be about 30 metres.We all turned up one Sunday morning complete with ropes, big torches, marker bouys and full dive kit (dry suits, twin cylinders etc.)
As we walked into the lake the water quickly came up to chest height - and stayed there. After about an hour and a half of splashing round all over the lake the deepest bit we found was just over 2 metres.
(Alf N. Safety - refusing you planning permission on, Wed 11 Jan 2006, 13:39, Reply)

I'm a bit gullible, I think
In preschool some other kid convinced me that I shouldn't make the Ninja Turtle action figures spin around on their back, for this would turn them into real, full sized Turtles which would kill the one who awakened them.

I also believed someone who told me he had an identical twin brother that was sick often, which was why I never saw them together.
Since I rarely saw him in the first place, I found his story very plausible...
(Caustic Armadillo consists at least 30% out of custard, Wed 11 Jan 2006, 13:28, Reply)

supposedly true...
this kid called Joe who drummed for my mate's band answered a question on abortion in his RE gcse with a picture of a Nike tick and the slogan "Just Do It"...
(blackfacedfightinggibbon, Wed 11 Jan 2006, 13:22, Reply)

oh!
i also had to correct a friend of mine the other day because she thought that manx cats (tail less cats)had no tails because they were cut off at birth...
(Salbo_baggins, Wed 11 Jan 2006, 13:06, Reply)

Urban legend? no more urban stupidity...
My ex boyfriend argued adamantly that a leap year was every 5 years and the february had 24 days or something ridiculous like that. No matter how hard i tried to argue the fact that he was incredibly wrong (and stupid) he insisted with almost violent passion that he was right. when i later brought the subject up with our neighbour and good friend (who duly fell over laughing at his errors) i got a good telling off for making him look stupid...

some people are stupid...

okay its not an urban legend but to believe something like that you have gotta be stupid...

My life has improved 10000000% since i got rid of the idiot...
(Salbo_baggins, Wed 11 Jan 2006, 13:03, Reply)

Hey diddly Dee
I spent much of my youth wasting many hours and ruining many a stylus by spinning records backwards at varying speeds trying to find the hidden messages.

I didnt actually find a message although I did kill my copy of Iron Maidens 'The Trooper' by trying to find the phrase 'Hey diddly dee, its satans life for me' which I had been reliably informed by my brothers friends was there.

Ever since the Judas priest trial in the mid 80's Ive been trying to find messages to make more americans top themselves.
(a man called donkey has been away for too long, Wed 11 Jan 2006, 12:59, Reply)

The meat in the sandwich
An ex of mine, 20 at the time of this tale, was absolutely convinced that cattle had a muscle layer, a meat layer, and a fat layer. And we ate only the meat, or "steak", layer.

He came from cattle country.

Oh boy, it made a wonderful story at his 21st.
(sesquipedeviant, Wed 11 Jan 2006, 11:51, Reply)

Nazi Fanta
It wasn't invented by the Nazis, but it was invented in Nazi Germany during World War Two (because they couldn't get the ingredients for coke).

www.snopes.com/cokelore/fanta.asp
(apeloverage committed the vile act of onanism on, Wed 11 Jan 2006, 11:23, Reply)

Nazis + more exam legends
The one about Fanta being invented by the Nazis had me going for a few years.

As did the legendary student of philosophy (or similar) who, when faced with the exam question "What is courage?" answered simply "This", turned the paper in and left.
(ElectricClare, Wed 11 Jan 2006, 10:46, Reply)

Les Sheép
My flat mate couldn't understand that while during the Foot and Mouth outbreak they were culling Sheep...

... because apparantly they have paws.

Unrelated? Yes. Sorry, but not that sorry.
(Spoil Me please, oh, please, Wed 11 Jan 2006, 10:35, Reply)

Gusofnavarone and the Japanese legend
I read up on this earlier, it seems the story is found throughout the world... in Wales, Japan, Sri Lanka... one of those early cautionary tales I think which is probably where most urban legends come from, i.e. don't step on the cracks and all that. It kind of gives you an interesting insight into early anthropology as well, human origins... hmmm...
( jim_bob can herd cats., Wed 11 Jan 2006, 10:33, Reply)

Le Camél
I was once convinced that there was in fact actual camel hair in Camel cigerette filters.

Why else would they be called Camels.




Please don't tell anyone that I still secretly believe this...
(Spoil Me please, oh, please, Wed 11 Jan 2006, 10:26, Reply)

I Started this one locally...
To see if she'd believe me, I told a friend about a fictitious gang of hoodies that had broken into a beauty parlour and were going around piercing cat's ears. To think, all those poor animals simply dripping in diamante! I do appologise, but I had to: it was funny.
(the_hammerhead_tart -- In love with a strict machine, Wed 11 Jan 2006, 10:25, Reply)

Piston-Broke The Bedd Gelert legend
I've been there too and it's one of my earliest memories.

Found out when I was living in Japan that there's an almost identical story about a Japanese prince who does exactly the same - kills his faithful dog only to find the dog has saved the life of his infant son by killing an evil fox.
Thought you'd like to know.
(Gusofnavarone always makes a map of france from sarnies, Wed 11 Jan 2006, 9:43, Reply)