Despite the risk of seeming like a know-it-all, I think it’s important to debunk this stuff whenever you encounter it. If just a tiny minority of the people you enlighten develop a critical eye for this stuff the world will be a better place. Any reduction in the number of nonsensical reports circulating on the internet alone would be worthwhile! I have a standard “urban legend alert” e-mail (with a link to Snopes and a list of Jan Brunvand’s books) that I return to people who send me this stuff. As for seeming like a know-it-all… well, I’ve had that rep for years and I guess I can live with it. Several of my friends started screening their new e-mail alerts through me before passing them on – most recently I broke the chain on the payphone/LSD and Febreze/poison to pets things. And as for the worry that people will be irritated at having their favorite UL debunked – well, I just remember the Straight Dope credo – it’s all about stamping out ignorance, not coddling the ignorant!
They’re gonna believe what they want to believe, but that doesn’t mean we aren’t obligated to whack them with a rolled-up newspaper when they seek to infect others with their willful ignorance of the facts.
Alright…Talk about ignorance, I haven’t seen this many ignorant post on one thread in a while. The whole pop top thing is NOT an Urban Legend, I repeat Not AN URBAN LEGEND, however it has been stretched far beyond it’s original purpose. BUT YOU CAN DONATE THEM TO THE RONALD MCDONALD HOUSE. Unlike the urban legend states, pop tabs do not support medical treatment of any kind including chemotherapy or dialysis; however, pop tabs do support the operations of Ronald McDonald Houses across the country. This popular fundraiser benefits seriously ill children by helping provide a place for them and their families to stay while they are out of town for medical treatment.
Recycling the tabs generates proceeds to donate to a local Ronald McDonald House. The tabs do not pay for treatment or night stays - only house operations. I read about one house that collected enough pop tabs in a year to put $8,000 toward operational costs. Nice!
Pop tabs are small and convenient to collect. Hundreds of thousands of pop tabs have been collected to benefit Ronald McDonald Houses.
Alright…Talk about ignorance… The whole pop top thing is not a complete UL, however it has been stretched far beyond it’s original purpose. Unlike the urban legend states, pop tabs do not support medical treatment of any kind including chemotherapy or dialysis; however, pop tabs DO support the operations of Ronald McDonald Houses across the country. This popular fundraiser benefits seriously ill children by helping provide a place for them and their families to stay while they are out of town for medical treatment. Many families travel far from home to get treatment for their seriously ill or injured children. Often, it can be a long time to be away from home, or to divide a family. And, for children facing a serious medical crisis, nothing seems scarier than not having their mom and dad close by for love and support.
Recycling the tabs generates proceeds to donate to a local Ronald McDonald House. The tabs do not pay for treatment or night stays - only house operations. I read about one house that collected enough pop tabs in a year to put $8,000 toward operational costs. Nice!
Pop tabs are small and convenient to collect. Hundreds of thousands of pop tabs have been collected to benefit Ronald McDonald Houses.
In case there are those of you who have not heard of the Ronald McDonald House, I will provide a link, or you can just goggle it.
The SO believes it so I spend all my waking hours flexing those damn tabs off of cans. I wonder how many cents per hour I make doing this? Another one of those “does this make any sense?” calculations I need to make.
Half the time I flex the damn tabs off, put them back IN the can, then put the can in the recycle bin. Just so she doesnt see a damn can in the recycle bin that STILL has a tab on it and gives me shit about it.
They have collection jars for MONEY ~sigh~ you know the thing right below the drive in window with the cash in, thats what it is for. You take the pop tops to the center or mail them in. You can also send them to the Shriners and they will take care of it. I dont know if the Moose lodges or Elks clubs do the same, but most often they will even pick them up for convenience, also your local bar probably collects them, so you could drop them off there as well
This thread is only 2 years old from my understanding. I thought that was a bit rude, so I tried to edit it out but it wouldn’t let me so I just reposted and added a small link. I am not here to be rude or unkind I only want to shed a little more light on the whole pop top thing, and with as many responses to the post as I have gotten and I only posted maybe 20-30 min ago…I at least know people are reading it and maybe would like to help the organization, its not hard to rip off a pop top and throw them in an old coffee can stashed under the sink until you feel as if you have enough to take in
Note all the suggested locations are non-McDonald’s places. I wonder if it has something to do with bringing in (potentially) unhygienic items (not that the huddled masses are any better) into a restaurant [sic].
rofl so much for me paying attention to thread dates hehe lol I just came across this thread by accident and apparently revived it yay I feel special lol
and maybe would like to help the organization, its not hard to rip off a pop top and throw them in an old coffee can stashed under the sink until you feel as if you have enough to take in