# Urban Legend Becomes Fact. Baby In Microwave **URL:** \ **Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\ **Created:** [November 28, 2006, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urban-legend-becomes-fact-baby-in-microwave/382105 "2006-11-28T18:38:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2006, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urban-legend-becomes-fact-baby-in-microwave/382105/1 "2006-11-28T18:38:16Z")
**Cecil** ’s colums. [http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1\_213.html](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1_213.html) The ugly reality in Ohio. > **[Latest Headlines, Trends, and Insights from the World of Gambling](https://www.newsnet5.com)** > > Whether you’re a player, an industry pro, this is your go-to source for reliable, timely, and engaging updates from the iGaming world. > [@](#): > > The night before the baby was taken to the hospital, Arnold and the child’s father went out for a short time and left Paris with a baby sitter, Rion said. > > The mother didn’t sense anything out of the ordinary until the next morning, when the child was found unconscious, Rion said. And complete with a sitter. The setup smells like last week’s dead fish. :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Mathochist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c89c15/32.png) [@Mathochist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mathochist)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2006, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urban-legend-becomes-fact-baby-in-microwave/382105/2 "2006-11-28T21:31:06Z")
[QUOTE=Bosda Di’Chi of Tricor] And complete with a sitter. [/QUOTE] But no drugs. The drugs are the really important part of the original UL since that’s the sin the sitter committed that led to her downfall. ---
**Author:** ![CurtC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ce73a5/32.png) [@CurtC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CurtC)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2006, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urban-legend-becomes-fact-baby-in-microwave/382105/3 "2006-11-28T21:39:56Z")
But what about the LSD? That was a critical part of the urban legend that I heard back in the 70s - it was a morality story about the dangers of LSD. Maybe we should update it to crystal meth or something. ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2006, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urban-legend-becomes-fact-baby-in-microwave/382105/4 "2006-11-29T02:10:50Z")
Theere also existed an alternate PCP storyline: “…fried her own baby in cooking oil.” Had to sit thru that without laughing in school in the late '70s. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2006, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urban-legend-becomes-fact-baby-in-microwave/382105/5 "2006-11-29T18:58:43Z")
[QUOTE=Beware of Doug] Theere also existed an alternate PCP storyline: “…fried her own baby in cooking oil.” Had to sit thru that without laughing in school in the late '70s. [/QUOTE] Wow, I remember exactly the same thing. Seems like it was mentioned in an “educational” film on drug abuse. It wasn’t until years later that I heard the horrible tale of the LSD user who believed himself to be an orange and tried to “peel” himself. I’m still watching the news for that one. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2006, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urban-legend-becomes-fact-baby-in-microwave/382105/6 "2006-11-29T20:07:00Z")
[QUOTE=Vinyl Turnip] It wasn’t until years later that I heard the horrible tale of the LSD user who believed himself to be an orange and tried to “peel” himself. I’m still watching the news for that one. [/QUOTE] I can’t get to snopes right now to check on the veracity of the story about the guy who sliced off his face and fed it to his dog. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2006, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urban-legend-becomes-fact-baby-in-microwave/382105/7 "2006-12-01T20:13:51Z")
I’m in Ohio and, alas, it looks like this UL may indeed have become reality. The mom is under investigation and has been charged but the case is probably a long time from going to trial. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2006, 6:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urban-legend-becomes-fact-baby-in-microwave/382105/8 "2006-12-08T06:03:08Z")
Now the Montgomery County (greater Dayton) prosecutor is seeking the death penalty: [http://www.cnn.com/2006/LAW/12/07/baby.microwave.ap/index.html](http://www.cnn.com/2006/LAW/12/07/baby.microwave.ap/index.html) ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2006, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urban-legend-becomes-fact-baby-in-microwave/382105/9 "2006-12-08T13:13:16Z")
[QUOTE=Vinyl Turnip] It wasn’t until years later that I heard the horrible tale of the LSD user who believed himself to be an orange and tried to “peel” himself. I’m still watching the news for that one. [/QUOTE] I thought he was a glass of orange **juice** and was terrified someone would spill him. Seriously, though, when I was a kid in the '70s, the prevailing wisdom was that if you dropped acid, you would jump out a window. Quid pro quo. Acid –\> window. This also applied to angel dust. Yeah, I know, Art Linkletter’s daughter. She was not on acid when she jumped, though. Another dire warning about angel dust. This one scared the bejezus out of me, and I think I hadn’t even reached puberty yet. Supposedly, some guy was dusted and bit off his girlfriend’s breast. Now, how is that even possible? ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2006, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urban-legend-becomes-fact-baby-in-microwave/382105/10 "2006-12-08T13:39:06Z")
[QUOTE=gigi] I can’t get to snopes right now to check on the veracity of the story about the guy who sliced off his face and fed it to his dog. [/QUOTE] I had a friend who was taking a criminal justice class and one of his books had to do with forensics or something. Basically the book was mostly about all the different ways people kill themselves or get killed. I remember reading the part about the guy who started slicing pieces of his face and feeding it to the dog. I’ll be so disappointed if that was an UL and got into a textbook. Not surprised. Just disappointed. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2006, 7:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urban-legend-becomes-fact-baby-in-microwave/382105/11 "2006-12-10T07:05:35Z")
(jerking thumb upwards toward Cecil’s column) Notice that this column was updated some years ago with an earlier microwaved baby incident (Elizabeth Renee Otte). ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2006, 9:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urban-legend-becomes-fact-baby-in-microwave/382105/12 "2006-12-10T09:09:25Z")
It’s not unheard of for a legend to become reality. The term folklorists use for that phenomenon is “ostension.” [A nice def. that mentions poisoned halloween candy](http://www.ostension.org/whats_ostension.html) (There are even subcategories, “pseudo-ostension” etc., when as in this case they’re not deliberately acting out the legend but merely paralleling key aspects of it.) One of the many, many, many reasons to avoid using “urban legend” to mean “untrue thing.” ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2006, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urban-legend-becomes-fact-baby-in-microwave/382105/13 "2006-12-11T22:18:24Z")
And microwaves seemto harm the Innocent & the Idiotic alike. [http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=540325](http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=540325) > [@](#): > > The person or people who climbed a 1,200-foot television tower to hang a dummy from the top may have exposed themselves to harmful radiation, Milwaukee police and the owner of the company that services the tower said Saturday. > Milwaukee police spokeswoman Anne E. Schwartz urged anyone involved to see a doctor for possible radiation poisoning. > > “This person may be getting very sick,” she said. > > Mark Higgins of Higgins Tower Service Inc., which was called to bring down the mannequin, said radiation exposure would occur at the top of the tower, where the transmitters are.