# What's Your Favorite Urban Legend? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 18, 2003, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-urban-legend/195982 "2003-08-18T15:35:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![betenoir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/258eb7/32.png) [@betenoir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/betenoir)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2003, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-urban-legend/195982/21 "2003-08-19T02:26:48Z")
I’ve always wanted the Neil Armstrong/"Good luck, Mr. Gorsky one to be true… ---
**Author:** ![skeptic\_ev](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@skeptic\_ev](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/skeptic_ev)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2003, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-urban-legend/195982/22 "2003-08-19T02:52:43Z")
Okay, **Tapioca** is it me, or is it wrong for [snopes.com](http://snopes.com) to have a portion of their site that: is basically an April Fools joke? A tool in the search for truth has been soiled! (Pardon the mixed metaphor.) ---
**Author:** ![Terminus\_Est](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terminus_est/32/3087_2.png) [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2003, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-urban-legend/195982/23 "2003-08-19T03:12:43Z")
Nothing beats the involuntary kidney donation story. A true classic. ---
**Author:** ![cajela](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9de0a6/32.png) [@cajela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cajela)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2003, 5:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-urban-legend/195982/24 "2003-08-19T05:54:28Z")
skeptic\_ev, I disagree. It’s all part of the learning process. Don’t trust authority. Use your brain. Anyway, what did you really expect to find in **T** he **R** epository **O** f **L** ost **L** egends? And my answer to the topic - I love the Loaded Dog and the Gucci Kangaroo. But please forget that anyone made a movie referencing it. ---
**Author:** ![Sublight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Sublight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sublight)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2003, 6:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-urban-legend/195982/25 "2003-08-19T06:34:55Z")
I also love the “Good luck, Mr. Gorsky” legend. Btw, if anyone sees the movie _Apollo 11_ (no, not _Apollo 13_, this one stars Matt “Max Headroom” Frewer in Mission Control), the bar where the Mission Control guys all go to drink is named “Gorsky’s” Other favorites: Dillinger’s Dong Free Ford for a 1943 copper penny Paul is Dead ---
**Author:** ![Kyann22](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/a4c791/32.png) [@Kyann22](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyann22)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2003, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-urban-legend/195982/26 "2003-08-19T12:52:28Z")
My favorite is this one: [http://www.snopes.com/horrors/madmen/lighton.htm](http://www.snopes.com/horrors/madmen/lighton.htm) During my freshman year of college we were all gathered in a room telling scary stories and this happened to be one of them. I didn’t know it was an Urban Legend at the time and was totally terrified!!! It is a pretty darn scary story! ---
**Author:** ![Lobelia\_Overhill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/54ee81/32.png) [@Lobelia\_Overhill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobelia_Overhill)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2003, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-urban-legend/195982/27 "2003-08-19T14:26:59Z")
Years ago my sister-in-law told me that her friend had gone to a supermarket, and when she got back to her car (unlocked) there was a woman sitting in the passenger seat, the woman explained she’d felt faint and had sat down in the car till she recovered, the friend offered to drive the woman home, but when she got into the car and fastened her seatbelt, she noticed the woman had huge hairy hands - it was a man in “drag” - the friend asked the “woman” to directed her out of the parking space as she was terrible at reversing, and when the “woman” got out of the car, she drove off as fast as she could … I’ve since been told that this is actually an Urban Myth, and that the “woman” was the Yorkshire Ripper who left a blood soaked knife in the car. Uh, no, this was a true story, it happened in Scotland when the Yorkshire Ripper wasn’t at large and in general no one had heard of Urban Myths/Legends … ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2003, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-urban-legend/195982/28 "2003-08-19T14:50:06Z")
My favorite is the [dead scuba diver in the tree](http://www.snopes.com/horrors/freakish/scuba.htm) story. Just the right mix of plausibility and ridiculousness, IMHO. ---
**Author:** ![Martiju](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e8c25b/32.png) [@Martiju](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martiju)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2003, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-urban-legend/195982/29 "2003-08-19T14:59:43Z")
So Lobelia, your SIL told you a story about a friend of hers (Urban Myth facet #1) and a fairly unlikely chain of events occured (the car was unlocked, the man knew it was a woman’s car, he had deliberately dressed up in order to attack her but neglected to ignore his huge hairy hands and then fell for a really weak reason to get out of the car…UMF #2). Someone escapes with their life (but only just) - UMF #3. Either that, or a genuinely ill transexual imposed himself on a passer by (equally implausible) or even a hairy woman (such people exist of course) did the same. Perhaps there is even a further explanation. Certainly the Yorkshire Ripper element is a red herring as that does not conform to his modus operandi at all - or even the false logic he applied to his killings Now the story could be true but I suspect not. Oh, and just because people had generally not heard of ULs doesn’t mean they weren’t around. Folk stories have existed for hundreds of years and UL are the modern form. ---
**Author:** ![Omnipresent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8c91f0/32.png) [@Omnipresent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omnipresent)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2003, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-urban-legend/195982/30 "2003-08-19T15:38:09Z")
I like the one about how when one is performing oral sex on a women and you blow in, she dies. That _is_ a legend right? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![roadrunner70](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e19b73/32.png) [@roadrunner70](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/roadrunner70)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2003, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-urban-legend/195982/31 "2003-08-19T15:57:53Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Omnipresent \* > \*\*I like the one about how when one is performing oral sex on a women and you blow in, she dies. > That _is_ a legend right? 😕 \*\* I dunno…but I can’t _wait_ to get home tonight… ---
**Author:** ![Miss\_Mapp](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miss_mapp/32/369_2.png) [@Miss\_Mapp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miss_Mapp)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2003, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-urban-legend/195982/32 "2003-08-19T16:14:42Z")
I’ve always been partial to [phantom hitchhikers](http://www.snopes.com/horrors/ghosts/vanish.htm). ---
**Author:** ![ENugent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/4af34b/32.png) [@ENugent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ENugent)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2003, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-urban-legend/195982/33 "2003-08-19T16:26:20Z")
I always liked the [hare dryer](http://www.snopes.com/horrors/gruesome/haredry.htm). ---
**Author:** ![madcat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@madcat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madcat)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2003, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-urban-legend/195982/34 "2003-08-19T16:51:26Z")
If you fart, burp, and sneeze at the same time you will die. ---
**Author:** ![Skeezix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/839c29/32.png) [@Skeezix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skeezix)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2003, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-urban-legend/195982/35 "2003-08-19T19:00:06Z")
I was always tickled by the “[Soda can pull rings for dialysis](http://www.snopes.com/business/redeem/pulltabs.asp)” story. That one set off my BS detector at a very young age, but I could never find a way to conclusively disprove it, in the days before the internet. And then the Ronald McDonald House started actually accepting the things. Nice gesture, but it just perpetuated the damn myth. ---
**Author:** ![Siege](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dbc845/32.png) [@Siege](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siege)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2003, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-urban-legend/195982/36 "2003-08-19T22:41:37Z")
Much as I like Neil Armstrong and Mr. Gorsky, I’ve got to go agree with **wolfman** and vote for [the JATO Car Legend](http://www.snopes.com/autos/dream/jato.asp). It’s sick, twisted, and fun! CJ ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2003, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-urban-legend/195982/37 "2003-08-19T23:16:30Z")
The [Marlin Perkins](http://www.snopes.com/radiotv/tv/perkins.htm) one was a favorite of mine, since Marlin lived about five blocks from me growing up, and my parents told this story constantly. Even **after** I showed them this Snopes link, **refused to admit** that they didn’t see it happen live. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Lobelia\_Overhill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/54ee81/32.png) [@Lobelia\_Overhill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobelia_Overhill)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2003, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-urban-legend/195982/38 "2003-09-30T21:17:40Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Martiju \* > **So Lobelia, your SIL told you a story about a friend of hers (Urban Myth facet #1) and a fairly unlikely chain of events occured (the car was unlocked, the man knew it was a woman’s car, he had deliberately dressed up in order to attack her but neglected to ignore his huge hairy hands and then fell for a really weak reason to get out of the car…UMF #2). Someone escapes with their life (but only just) - UMF #3.** the incident in question took place maybe 15 years ago, I met the woman to whom my SIL was refering at a hen night (I cannot for the life of me remember her name but she was small, thin and had short dark hair), she was in the habit of not locking her car (a red one IIRC) at any time whatsoever, my SIL was nearly in tears when she was telling us later that night - the woman worked in the same office as SIL - No one ever found out who the man-in-drag/very-hairy-woman was. In the years since this occurred (and yes it really DID happen) whenever I’ve related it I’ve been told “heard it, it’s an Urban Legend/Myth and the man in drag was the Yorkshire Ripper, he left a bloody knife/rope/severed head in the car when he got out” Not sure why no one wants to believe me … 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2003, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-urban-legend/195982/39 "2003-09-30T21:29:42Z")
**Lobelia** , did this woman submit a police report? Track down that police file and send it to Snopes, and you’ll become famous in Urban Legends circles. You’re not the first person I’ve met who insisted an urban legend happened to a friend of a friend. Daniel ---
**Author:** ![Anamorphic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/anamorphic/32/3057_2.png) [@Anamorphic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anamorphic)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2003, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-urban-legend/195982/40 "2003-09-30T21:36:37Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Omnipresent \* > \*\*I like the one about how when one is performing oral sex on a women and you blow in, she dies. > That _is_ a legend right? 😕 \*\* I dunno, but I’ve always wanted to write a Chandler-esque noir mystery where that turns out to be the murder technique. Okay, when I say ‘always’, I mean ‘just came up with it this second’. 😃 Oh, and I’ve always like the one about the person who’s [glad they didn’t turn on the lights](http://www.snopes.com/horrors/madmen/lighton.htm). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-urban-legend/195982.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-urban-legend/195982.md?page=3)