# Urbane Legend since 1940 **URL:** \ **Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\ **Created:** [April 10, 2007, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urbane-legend-since-1940/399423 "2007-04-10T02:16:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![bseuss](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/dbc845/32.png) [@bseuss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bseuss)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2007, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urbane-legend-since-1940/399423/1 "2007-04-10T02:16:37Z")
For decades I have heard people tell me that a friend of a friend went to high school with some guy who bought a new car that got 200 mpg, only to have shady people in black come and remove the carburetor. I think I’ve found the foundation for this Urbane Legend. In a short story by Robert Heinlein “Let there be Light” First published in 1940. “And that reminds me-I once saw a clipping from the _Los Angeles Daily News_. A man bought a heavy standard make car in San Diego, filled her up and drove to Los Angeles. He only used two gallons. Then he drove to Agua Caliente and back to San Diego, and only used three gallons. About a week later the sales company found him and bribed him to make an exchange. By mistake they had let him have a car that wasn’t to be sold-one with a trick carburetor.” ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2007, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urbane-legend-since-1940/399423/2 "2007-04-10T03:06:14Z")
Welcome to the SDMB. A link to the column you’re commenting on is appreciated. Providing one can be as simple as pasting the URL into your post, making sure to leave a blank space on either side of it. Like so: [http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a3\_150.html](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a3_150.html) ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2007, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urbane-legend-since-1940/399423/3 "2007-04-10T15:52:12Z")
I always thought that Urbane Legends started with the Algonquin Group. 🙂 Or was it the Bloomsbury set in England? Oscar Wilde? ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Who](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Doctor\_Who](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Who)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2007, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urbane-legend-since-1940/399423/4 "2007-04-10T15:57:36Z")
[QUOTE=Exapno Mapcase] I always thought that Urbane Legends started with the Algonquin Group. 🙂 Or was it the Bloomsbury set in England? Oscar Wilde? [/QUOTE] Hey! You stole my joke! Anyways, just so everybody (especially the OP) is on the same page: [Urbane.](http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/urbane) [Urban (as in legend).](http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary) ---
**Author:** ![Subway\_Prophet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecb155/32.png) [@Subway\_Prophet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Subway_Prophet)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2007, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urbane-legend-since-1940/399423/5 "2007-04-10T16:35:17Z")
That would make a pretty cool user name. ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2007, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urbane-legend-since-1940/399423/6 "2007-04-10T18:27:58Z")
Hmmm… for Urban Legends, we usually reference Snopes. For Urbane Legends, would our reference be **C K Dexter Haven**? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2007, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urbane-legend-since-1940/399423/7 "2007-04-10T19:39:51Z")
[QUOTE=Subway Prophet] That would make a pretty cool user name. [/QUOTE] Yes, a worthwhile adversary to **Suave & Deboner**. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2007, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urbane-legend-since-1940/399423/8 "2007-04-10T20:19:41Z")
[QUOTE=bseuss] … In a short story by Robert Heinlein “Let there be Light” First published in 1940. … [/QUOTE] I love that story, but I think even Heinlein lifted it from stories already going around. False claims of the day and such. Welcome to the Dope, we could use some more Urbane Legends, we typically only get Urban Legends and some occasional Rural ones. 😉 Jim ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2007, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urbane-legend-since-1940/399423/9 "2007-04-10T21:37:52Z")
[QUOTE=What Exit?] I love that story, but I think even Heinlein lifted it from stories already going around. False claims of the day and such. [/QUOTE] Lifted it from the headlines, actually. [Snopes](http://www.snopes.com/autos/business/carburetor.asp) has a page on it: > [@](#): > > So much for the techno-talk. The Pogue carburetor was touted as getting 200+ miles to the gallon. Glowing reports about this miracle of ingenuity’s making a 1,879 mile trip on 14.5 gallons appeared in the May 1936 issue of _Canadian Automotive Trade_ magazine, reports which Pogue later denied. A manager of a Winnipeg auto dealership claimed he had driven a Pogue-equipped car 217 miles on a gallon of gasoline. A different dealer principal claimed to have driven 26 miles on a pint of fuel. There it is, complete with the 200 mpg claim. Whenever you see someone today talking about getting free energy you see someone following in Charlie Pogue’s footprints. ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2007, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urbane-legend-since-1940/399423/10 "2007-04-11T02:03:21Z")
[QUOTE=Exapno Mapcase] Lifted it from the headlines, actually. [Snopes](http://www.snopes.com/autos/business/carburetor.asp) has a page on it: There it is, complete with the 200 mpg claim. Whenever you see someone today talking about getting free energy you see someone following in Charlie Pogue’s footprints. [/QUOTE] Was he using anti-gravity? :rolleyes: