In this column, someone asks how they got Mr. Ed to talk. Cecil replies that they used a substance similar to peanut butter. While the story makes logical sense, and is backed up by people associated with the old show, I recently came across a very good article that may suggest that the whole “peanut butter” explanation is part of a larger lie or coverup.
Snopes.com, a site which has served as a clearing house for urban legends, has an article that says that Mr. Ed was not even a horse, but in fact a Zebra. According to http://www.snopes.com/lost/mistered.asp , only shots that required Mr. Ed to be in action (outside shots such as running through a field) used a horse.
http://users.aol.com/mwn3/page1.html - The self proclaimed “Mr. Ed Online” website, says that while it was true that a Zebra was used for the filming of tricks that a horse couldn’t do, a real horse was used for the majority of the series. Several other websites also say that the Zebra myth is fake. Anyone know the REAL truth?
(other sites that say that the Zebra was only used for rare shots:
Welcome to the Straight Dope Message Board, Lockle, glad to have you with us.
And you’re not alone in falling for that awful Snopes Joke. I help sift through Cecil’s mail, and there’s usually at least one email every two or three weeks asking whether it’s true that Mr Ed was a zebra…
I note that the disclaimer page now posted is more recent. A number of years ago when I stumbled across that snopes page on Mr. Ed, the only disclaimer on the page was an audio file that I couldn’t load. The page has since been rewritten.
Actually, I think that the idea behind the Lost Legends is valid. The point is that we shouldn’t blindly believe everything Snopes says, any more than we should blindly believe anyone. A Snopes article should be believed because it makes sense and provides sources, and if it doesn’t make sense or provide sources, then it shouldn’t be trusted.