# What urban legend have you heard repeated as fact the most times? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 9, 2008, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-urban-legend-have-you-heard-repeated-as-fact-the-most-times/444660 "2008-04-09T20:48:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![phungi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/phungi/32/395_2.png) [@phungi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phungi)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2008, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-urban-legend-have-you-heard-repeated-as-fact-the-most-times/444660/101 "2008-04-10T17:06:54Z")
Pop rocks and Pepsi ≠ death ([cite](http://www.snopes.com/horrors/freakish/poprocks.asp)) ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2008, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-urban-legend-have-you-heard-repeated-as-fact-the-most-times/444660/102 "2008-04-10T17:13:51Z")
[QUOTE=shy guy] When I was in high school, my mom warned my dad that under _no circumstances_ should he ever [flash his headlights](http://www.snopes.com/horrors/madmen/lightsout.asp) at a driver who has his headlights off at night, lest he be killed by gang trainees. [/QUOTE] Yeah, that one was big in the early 90s (especially in the suburbs, warning not to flash at headlightless cars in the city.) And the other silly one was the UL that girl gangs would initiate new members by having them hide out under cars in malls and slash your ankles when you went to open your door. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2008, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-urban-legend-have-you-heard-repeated-as-fact-the-most-times/444660/103 "2008-04-10T17:24:47Z")
[QUOTE=pulykamell] Yeah, that one was big in the early 90s (especially in the suburbs, warning not to flash at headlightless cars in the city.) [/QUOTE] I heard that one from my then girlfriend, and I swallowed it whole. The next day I e-mailed it to everyone at work. Reactions were… Mixed. Officially the reaction was “It’s not true and never do this again.” Unofficially, I got a lot of individual replies that contained the phrase “My wife’s cousin’s coworker’s uncle.” A few weeks later my GF was in my car, we were in about as isolated a back road as is possible, and I fumbled with the high beams for a second or two. She went into a blind panic. Yes, she was actually convinced that we were going to be killed that very night. ---
**Author:** ![Cardinal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardinal/32/4000_2.png) [@Cardinal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardinal)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2008, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-urban-legend-have-you-heard-repeated-as-fact-the-most-times/444660/104 "2008-04-10T17:27:14Z")
[QUOTE=Roland Orzabal] At that point, they usually shut up and just sit there looking dumbfounded, at which point I’ll change the subject if no one else does. It may not be nice, but I don’t care. If you’re going to be a lying grandstander, at least put in the effort to make up your own lies. [/QUOTE] Once at a church small group (just in a house) this guy told me and the ~4 other people standing around that something like 50% of his high school had been witches. I’d read plenty about the ritual-abuse scandals and the debunking thereof, and most of my sources were Christian writers who actually did use their brains to realize there was no real evidence of this and that almost all the allegations came from very disturbed people or from hypnosis sessions. I blurted out, “No they weren’t.” He just looked shocked. "There’s no way that many people would be something like that, especially not around here (Orange County, CA, kind of Protestant Central). He didn’t have a come back. I kind of regret slamming him down, as I didn’t realize how much he was the resident weird dude who wasn’t taken very seriously, but I do think some of the more gullible people would have believed him, and that really bugs me. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Robson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gary_robson/32/3448_2.png) [@Gary\_Robson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Robson)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2008, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-urban-legend-have-you-heard-repeated-as-fact-the-most-times/444660/105 "2008-04-10T17:31:13Z")
Another one that bugs me is the “Wiccans are Satan Worshippers” UL that circulates around here every time there’s any kind of Pagan ritual. Wiccans don’t even believe that Satan _exists_, much less worship him (her? it?). [QUOTE=FriarTed] Well, throughout the 1980s and into the early 90’s, the P&G Satanism story swung around about three freakin’ times, with about a 4-5 year gap between each time. I first heard it around 1982-3, then again around '87, and then about '92, and I THINK it’s finally dead. [/QUOTE] Oh, great. Now you’ve started it again. 😃 [QUOTE=HubZilla] The recent variation is that Syria is hiding them. [/QUOTE] (A) Then there still aren’t any WMDs in Iraq (they’re in Syria). (B) This isn’t recent at all. I heard it right after the first round of inspections failed to find the WMDs. Some were claiming Syria had them and some were claiming it was Libya. [QUOTE=AuntiePam] Does Coca-Cola really clean the gunk from car batteries? I’ve heard that for years but haven’t tried it. [/QUOTE] Absolutely yes. I’ve been using it for cleaning battery terminals for decades. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2008, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-urban-legend-have-you-heard-repeated-as-fact-the-most-times/444660/106 "2008-04-10T17:34:12Z")
[QUOTE=Qadgop the Mercotan] What, noone mentioned being able to see the Great Wall of China from space? [/QUOTE] That one has some basis in truth: it is a matter of indisputable fact that you can see space from the Great Wall of China, so it stands to reason that… ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2008, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-urban-legend-have-you-heard-repeated-as-fact-the-most-times/444660/107 "2008-04-10T17:36:31Z")
Sampiro, you really have an interesting way of looking at things, don’t you? ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2008, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-urban-legend-have-you-heard-repeated-as-fact-the-most-times/444660/108 "2008-04-10T17:54:14Z")
“If you ask a cop, ‘Are you a cop?’ he has to tell you the truth.” This is so dumb on its face that I can’t believe _anyone_ thinks this is true. But I know people who have been smoking pot for decades who believe it. I don’t know how they’ve stayed out of jail. ---
**Author:** ![freekalette](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/50afbb/32.png) [@freekalette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/freekalette)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2008, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-urban-legend-have-you-heard-repeated-as-fact-the-most-times/444660/109 "2008-04-10T18:18:48Z")
Thanks, **tdn**. Turns out I had heard that one, and forgot. ---
**Author:** ![EmAnJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d2c977/32.png) [@EmAnJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EmAnJ)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2008, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-urban-legend-have-you-heard-repeated-as-fact-the-most-times/444660/110 "2008-04-10T18:58:46Z")
[QUOTE=tdn] A woman sprayed her nether regions with body spray before her gyn visit. Her doctor said that it was nice that she got all spruced up for him. Turns out that she had grabbed glitter spray instead of body spray. [/QUOTE] The way I heard it was this: Mom with young daughter gets a call from the gyno that they have an opening in 30 minutes, can she make it? She needed to get into the gyno for some problem and said she could. Went into the bathroom before she left, grabbed the washcloth and clean up ‘down there’ in a mad rush. Got the the gyno, up in the straps, and the gyno laughs and said something to the effect of ‘Wow, you sure put in some effort!’ After the appointment the mom goes pee and sees that she has glitter everywhere. The daughter had been using glitter for some art project and had cleaned herself off with the same washcloth the mom used. ---
**Author:** ![MrSquishy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b9e5f3/32.png) [@MrSquishy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrSquishy)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2008, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-urban-legend-have-you-heard-repeated-as-fact-the-most-times/444660/111 "2008-04-10T19:03:19Z")
[QUOTE=InvisibleWombat] The book _Freakonomics_ dealt with most of the name ULs, including Lemonjello, Female, Shithead, and others. Fascinating book. [/QUOTE] If by “dealt with” them, you mean “repeated them as true”, I guess you’re right. And if by “fascinating” you mean “full of half-truths”, I’m with you there too. [QUOTE=lieu] But the whole prospect is just so bizarre. It’s beyond what someone could make up so I’ve little recourse but to scratch my head and hope someday something definitive comes forth. Another one of those times that thankfully it’s of no consequence one way or the other. [/QUOTE] **lieu** , can you tell me how you think he got that gerbil in there? And what would happen to the gerbil if he did? Can I trouble you for one second to think about your asshole, and imagine trying to force a live gerbil through it? Or do you believe there was some sort of Habitrail-like device involved, and perhaps a small piece of cheese? [QUOTE=lieu] And Richard Gere? He’ll neither confirm nor deny. [/QUOTE] Oh really? ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2008, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-urban-legend-have-you-heard-repeated-as-fact-the-most-times/444660/112 "2008-04-10T19:09:09Z")
[QUOTE=EmAnJ] The way I heard it was this: [/QUOTE] There are a few variations. Here are some [more](http://www.snopes.com/embarrass/feminine/glitter.asp). ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Robson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gary_robson/32/3448_2.png) [@Gary\_Robson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Robson)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2008, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-urban-legend-have-you-heard-repeated-as-fact-the-most-times/444660/113 "2008-04-10T19:12:27Z")
[QUOTE=MrSquishy] **lieu** , can you tell me how you think he got that gerbil in there? And what would happen to the gerbil if he did? [/QUOTE] This occurred to me the first time I heard the Gere/gerbil (Gerebil?) story. They made it sound like the thing was running around in there having fun, where I think it would be more like scratching and biting as it was crushed and suffocated. It doesn’t sound like much fun for the gerbil or the gerbilee. The first time I heard it, the gerbil was inserted “through a toilet paper tube.” Oh, really? ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2008, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-urban-legend-have-you-heard-repeated-as-fact-the-most-times/444660/114 "2008-04-10T19:13:11Z")
[QUOTE=MrSquishy] **lieu** , can you tell me how you think he got that gerbil in there? And what would happen to the gerbil if he did? Can I trouble you for one second to think about your asshole, and imagine trying to force a live gerbil through it? Or do you believe there was some sort of Habitrail-like device involved, and perhaps a small piece of cheese? [/QUOTE] [http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a2\_216b.html](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a2_216b.html) ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2008, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-urban-legend-have-you-heard-repeated-as-fact-the-most-times/444660/115 "2008-04-10T19:16:36Z")
[QUOTE=MrSquishy] **lieu** , can you tell me how you think he got that gerbil in there? And what would happen to the gerbil if he did? Can I trouble you for one second to think about your asshole, and imagine trying to force a live gerbil through it? Or do you believe there was some sort of Habitrail-like device involved, and perhaps a small piece of cheese? [/QUOTE] _snerk_ Personally, the thought of those tiny claws and sharp teeth hold little appeal for me. I’m sure that most women would have a similar reaction to [Lobster Love](http://www.snopes.com/risque/juvenile/lobster.asp). (Warning: TMI.) It’s probably no day at the beach for the gerbil, either. ---
**Author:** ![Antinor01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@Antinor01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antinor01)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2008, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-urban-legend-have-you-heard-repeated-as-fact-the-most-times/444660/116 "2008-04-10T19:26:14Z")
[QUOTE=Sampiro] I used to get emailed the one about Tommy Hilfiger (or Liz Claiborne, or Versace, or whoever it was that week) going on Oprah and making racist comments (“I can’t stand for black people to wear my clothing label!”). Even before I snopesed it I remember thinking “If Tommy Hilfiger/Liz Claiborne/et al were all Grand Wizards in the KKK, they’re first and foremost business people who are not going to make inflammatory comments that will start an immediate boycott of their products” and couldn’t (and still can’t) figure out how people who weren’t blithering idiots believed that one. [/QUOTE] The flipside of that myth that I’ve heard was about Lauryn Hill of the Fugees saying she didn’t want white people to buy her music. The varients seem to include her saying she would rather have her child starve, die herself, not record music at all etc. [The Miselucidation of Lauryn Hill | Snopes.com](http://www.snopes.com/quotes/lauryn.asp) That Cher (or Pamela Anderson, Marilyn Manson, Janet Jackson etc) had a pair of ribs removed to reduce their waistline. [Did Cher Have Ribs Removed To Make Her Waist Smaller? | Snopes.com](http://www.snopes.com/horrors/vanities/ribs.asp) ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Carrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f0a364/32.png) [@Captain\_Carrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Carrot)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2008, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-urban-legend-have-you-heard-repeated-as-fact-the-most-times/444660/117 "2008-04-10T19:27:18Z")
[QUOTE=Malthus] I’m not nearly as annoyed by urban myths as some of you. As long as they are neither defamatory nor racist, they are often harmlessly amusing in their own right - which is why people spread 'em. Debunking is only necessary where wrong advice is provided - you don’t want people actually believing Coca-Cola is a good form of birth control, but what’s the harm in someone retelling the “phantom hitchiker”? [/QUOTE] Well, we do have that little slogan at the top of the page… ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2008, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-urban-legend-have-you-heard-repeated-as-fact-the-most-times/444660/118 "2008-04-10T19:38:34Z")
[QUOTE=Captain Carrot] Well, we do have that little slogan at the top of the page… [/QUOTE] Yeah, but there is a time and place. Seriously, taking too much offence at the meaningless small change of conversation risks making one a boring pedant, slogan or no. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2008, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-urban-legend-have-you-heard-repeated-as-fact-the-most-times/444660/119 "2008-04-10T19:45:11Z")
**MrSquishy** , don’t put me in the unenviable position of having to defend people’s inclination to do unfathomable things to their bodies because I’m not inclined in any way, shape or form to do so. Yeah, a habitrail in your butt is weird beyond belief for you, me and 99% of the world. It makes me first think “Aw bullshit.” That said, some people get off sexually on some really weird fetishes. Someone I trusted said “Yes, this happened.” Put yourself for a minute in my shoes. Beyond lingering skepticism and a _I’ll believe it when something more concrete develops_ summation, what else is one to do? I think anyone who accepted this on face value _without_ the confirmation I had would be turnip truck gullible. Personally though, I’m burdened with that “yes” and, to be honest, that to me is the real pain in the ass of the story. It’s left me wishing I’d never asked. The straightdope/classics link that followed your post I’ve tried to access from three work computers today and was denied every time by Smartfilter, so for others it too may likely be NSFW. ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2008, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-urban-legend-have-you-heard-repeated-as-fact-the-most-times/444660/120 "2008-04-10T19:46:50Z")
[QUOTE=Soul] The one I hear most around here is that if a professor doesn’t show up for class on time, the amount of time you’re obligated to wait for them to show up is based on their level of education (wait five minutes for a grad student, ten for an assistant professor, fifteen for a full professor). [/QUOTE] This was standard when I went to college. We did have a couple of professors who didn’t show up to class, and we waited the appropriate amount of time before leaving. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-urban-legend-have-you-heard-repeated-as-fact-the-most-times/444660.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-urban-legend-have-you-heard-repeated-as-fact-the-most-times/444660.md?page=7)