1 00:00:00,240 --> 00:00:02,880 Speaker 1: Brought to you by the reinvented two thousand twelve Camray. 2 00:00:03,120 --> 00:00:07,480 Speaker 1: It's ready. Are you welcome to Stuff you should Know? 3 00:00:08,080 --> 00:00:16,360 Speaker 1: From house Stuff Works dot com. Hey, and welcome to 4 00:00:16,400 --> 00:00:19,279 Speaker 1: the podcast. I'm Josh Clark. There's all right, this is 5 00:00:19,280 --> 00:00:22,279 Speaker 1: stuff you should know. Let's get to the intro. Yeah, 6 00:00:22,440 --> 00:00:24,680 Speaker 1: Jerry said, we're wasting too much time at the beginning. Yeah. 7 00:00:24,800 --> 00:00:27,040 Speaker 1: She said that she wished she had a third mix 8 00:00:27,040 --> 00:00:28,760 Speaker 1: so she could ask a question every once in a 9 00:00:28,760 --> 00:00:31,040 Speaker 1: while so we could get to the intro. Right, So 10 00:00:31,040 --> 00:00:33,640 Speaker 1: what you have for lunch? Josh? I have not eaten 11 00:00:33,720 --> 00:00:36,040 Speaker 1: lunch yet, actually, CenTra. I had a Gara Deli square 12 00:00:36,120 --> 00:00:42,160 Speaker 1: chocolate caramel in sibs for I had a baby baby ruth. Um. 13 00:00:42,159 --> 00:00:46,320 Speaker 1: I a granola bar courtesy of Discovery Channel. Thank you, yeah, 14 00:00:46,440 --> 00:00:52,720 Speaker 1: raising d bar. Um. I had a cherry coke and um, 15 00:00:52,760 --> 00:00:56,600 Speaker 1: that's healthy. My think that's it I've had forever. Had 16 00:00:56,600 --> 00:00:59,640 Speaker 1: a green apple and some almonds, yeah, and green tea. 17 00:01:00,200 --> 00:01:02,680 Speaker 1: You're all about the almonds right now, aren't you. It's 18 00:01:02,720 --> 00:01:04,679 Speaker 1: a super food that reminds me. I've got to give 19 00:01:04,720 --> 00:01:07,640 Speaker 1: you a recipe for roasted almonds. One of my friends 20 00:01:07,640 --> 00:01:09,959 Speaker 1: told me last night it sounds really good, don't you 21 00:01:10,000 --> 00:01:12,959 Speaker 1: just roast him? Well, there's some other stuff mixed together, 22 00:01:13,000 --> 00:01:16,119 Speaker 1: so Alton Brown recipe. He's on the Alton Brown diet. 23 00:01:16,360 --> 00:01:19,480 Speaker 1: I watched me the Seaweed Salad last night, and I 24 00:01:19,560 --> 00:01:23,559 Speaker 1: was just like, he's gonna weep at any moment. Jerry 25 00:01:23,600 --> 00:01:26,800 Speaker 1: is so frustrated, right she is. Her calf muscles are 26 00:01:26,840 --> 00:01:29,080 Speaker 1: about to burst out of her legs. Well, maybe we 27 00:01:29,120 --> 00:01:31,800 Speaker 1: should send her to Vegas. No, no, no, I got 28 00:01:31,840 --> 00:01:36,040 Speaker 1: something else, Chuck. Yes, did you know that National Gang 29 00:01:36,040 --> 00:01:38,880 Speaker 1: Week has come and gone? Is there such a thing 30 00:01:41,280 --> 00:01:44,000 Speaker 1: that just ruined the whole thing? Well, Josh, tell me 31 00:01:44,040 --> 00:01:47,520 Speaker 1: about National Gang Week? Okay? Um. National Gang Week is 32 00:01:47,560 --> 00:01:50,080 Speaker 1: when all of the gangs around the United States get 33 00:01:50,120 --> 00:01:52,280 Speaker 1: together and come up with a clever, pant plan to 34 00:01:52,400 --> 00:01:56,720 Speaker 1: murder unwitting and innocent people. Some of the crips and 35 00:01:56,720 --> 00:01:59,440 Speaker 1: the bloods get together. One imagines what the Mongols and 36 00:01:59,480 --> 00:02:04,600 Speaker 1: the Hell's ain't jewels and M fourteen, M thirteen, I'm 37 00:02:04,600 --> 00:02:06,960 Speaker 1: gonna get shot in the head for this again? What 38 00:02:07,120 --> 00:02:14,040 Speaker 1: is it? I can't remember? Like MS thirteen? Sure, man um. Anyway, 39 00:02:14,320 --> 00:02:16,440 Speaker 1: all the gangs get together and they come up with 40 00:02:16,480 --> 00:02:18,760 Speaker 1: the plan that they're all going to perpetrate this year. 41 00:02:19,120 --> 00:02:23,959 Speaker 1: This December. It was a baby, a fake baby or 42 00:02:24,000 --> 00:02:26,560 Speaker 1: possibly a real live baby if they had any female 43 00:02:26,560 --> 00:02:28,560 Speaker 1: gang members who are willing to give up their infant 44 00:02:28,639 --> 00:02:31,360 Speaker 1: child for a little while in a baby seat on 45 00:02:31,400 --> 00:02:35,080 Speaker 1: the side of the road, covered in blood, although uninjured, 46 00:02:35,120 --> 00:02:37,360 Speaker 1: just just kind of doctored to look like they're bleeding 47 00:02:38,440 --> 00:02:41,560 Speaker 1: in an effort to trap female motorists. Who would you know, 48 00:02:41,680 --> 00:02:49,720 Speaker 1: inevitably stop female what female motorists? Yeah, that curse my 49 00:02:49,800 --> 00:02:54,400 Speaker 1: thick tongue. Um. The drivers by, not to be confused 50 00:02:54,400 --> 00:02:57,880 Speaker 1: with the drive by, which is a gang activity. Um, 51 00:02:58,040 --> 00:03:02,000 Speaker 1: the too to trap female to risks um who would 52 00:03:02,040 --> 00:03:04,480 Speaker 1: stop and try to, you know, see if the baby's okay, 53 00:03:04,600 --> 00:03:06,760 Speaker 1: help it? And then out of the bushes comes from 54 00:03:06,760 --> 00:03:10,600 Speaker 1: gang members who beat and rape and murder her. That 55 00:03:10,680 --> 00:03:15,040 Speaker 1: sounds to me like an urban legend, Josh too. Two 56 00:03:16,000 --> 00:03:21,000 Speaker 1: police departments issued warnings about this. Really, this past December 57 00:03:21,120 --> 00:03:24,919 Speaker 1: is so ridiculous. When pressed about their sources, they both said, 58 00:03:25,000 --> 00:03:26,760 Speaker 1: you know, actually we can't verify any of this, so 59 00:03:26,800 --> 00:03:30,000 Speaker 1: don't pass it along. It was just an idea somebody had, Yeah, 60 00:03:30,000 --> 00:03:31,680 Speaker 1: you know, the other big gang. When I remember hearing 61 00:03:31,680 --> 00:03:35,240 Speaker 1: this one myself was if someone flashes their headlights at 62 00:03:35,280 --> 00:03:37,760 Speaker 1: you and you flash them back, then it's a gang 63 00:03:37,760 --> 00:03:39,840 Speaker 1: and they'll turn around and follow you and kill you. 64 00:03:39,960 --> 00:03:41,800 Speaker 1: The one I heard was, um, if they if you 65 00:03:41,840 --> 00:03:44,200 Speaker 1: see somebody driving without headlights on and you flash them, 66 00:03:44,200 --> 00:03:46,360 Speaker 1: they'll turn around and kill you. It's part of a 67 00:03:46,400 --> 00:03:50,280 Speaker 1: gang initiation. It's so not true. No, it's not. And 68 00:03:50,320 --> 00:03:53,680 Speaker 1: what we're talking about obviously are urban legends, but more specifically, 69 00:03:53,800 --> 00:03:57,120 Speaker 1: the article is called how Urban Legends Work. We decided 70 00:03:57,160 --> 00:04:01,080 Speaker 1: to call this podcast, why do we Believe Urban Legends? Yeah, 71 00:04:01,200 --> 00:04:04,040 Speaker 1: you know, yeah, we'll get to that for sure. I 72 00:04:04,080 --> 00:04:06,680 Speaker 1: mentioned Vegas early on though, because of the very popular 73 00:04:06,800 --> 00:04:10,240 Speaker 1: old story that the man goes to Vegas and he 74 00:04:10,320 --> 00:04:12,120 Speaker 1: chats it up with a nice lady at the bar 75 00:04:12,280 --> 00:04:14,480 Speaker 1: and goes back to the room with her, and then 76 00:04:14,480 --> 00:04:16,920 Speaker 1: he wakes up dazed and confused in a tub of 77 00:04:16,960 --> 00:04:20,560 Speaker 1: ice the next day with a side hurting and uh 78 00:04:20,600 --> 00:04:22,919 Speaker 1: with a note saying call nine one one and clearly 79 00:04:23,279 --> 00:04:26,719 Speaker 1: his kidneys have been removed. Yeah, upon examination, as kidneys 80 00:04:26,720 --> 00:04:30,640 Speaker 1: are removed. This actually gave me a moment of terror, chuck, 81 00:04:30,720 --> 00:04:33,880 Speaker 1: because if you remember in the organ donation podcast. We 82 00:04:33,960 --> 00:04:37,160 Speaker 1: talked about a guy named Mohammed Seline Khan who had 83 00:04:37,200 --> 00:04:41,120 Speaker 1: his kidney removed, and I thought, Um, did we get 84 00:04:41,200 --> 00:04:44,760 Speaker 1: taken and pass along bad information that tom she right? 85 00:04:45,200 --> 00:04:47,719 Speaker 1: Turns out Tommy was right. I went and double checked 86 00:04:47,720 --> 00:04:49,960 Speaker 1: his sources, and I saw a picture of the guy 87 00:04:50,080 --> 00:04:54,320 Speaker 1: with like the huge sewn up um incision where his 88 00:04:54,440 --> 00:04:57,880 Speaker 1: kidney was removed. It was an ABC News story. Yeah, yeah, 89 00:04:57,920 --> 00:05:00,640 Speaker 1: that was real. That is pretty much fair fiable, right, 90 00:05:00,760 --> 00:05:03,559 Speaker 1: But that that story was around long before that happened 91 00:05:03,600 --> 00:05:06,160 Speaker 1: to him. Yeah, And I think we even um postulated 92 00:05:06,200 --> 00:05:10,800 Speaker 1: that that urban legend gave rise to actual fact, right, Yes, yeah, 93 00:05:10,839 --> 00:05:13,599 Speaker 1: and that does happen. Sometimes life imitates art and the 94 00:05:13,600 --> 00:05:16,560 Speaker 1: other way around. Sometimes it's uh, something from a plot 95 00:05:16,640 --> 00:05:19,480 Speaker 1: of a horror movie, or sometimes an urban legend is 96 00:05:19,520 --> 00:05:22,440 Speaker 1: inserted into the plot of a horror movie, like the 97 00:05:22,480 --> 00:05:25,680 Speaker 1: hook Killer. You want to tell that one? Well, yeah, 98 00:05:25,680 --> 00:05:28,120 Speaker 1: that one's been around since the nineteen fifties when um 99 00:05:28,279 --> 00:05:31,240 Speaker 1: teenagers first started going parking, which is when they would 100 00:05:31,320 --> 00:05:34,440 Speaker 1: drive out to inspiration Point and and make out neck 101 00:05:35,160 --> 00:05:39,000 Speaker 1: and m The story goes that the they hear the story, 102 00:05:39,040 --> 00:05:42,760 Speaker 1: it's always some someone who's escaped from an insane asylum 103 00:05:42,839 --> 00:05:46,320 Speaker 1: back when you hooked hand hooked hand. And then the 104 00:05:46,880 --> 00:05:49,920 Speaker 1: they hear someone scratching on the car and they don't 105 00:05:49,960 --> 00:05:52,200 Speaker 1: do anything and they just leave and they get home 106 00:05:52,279 --> 00:05:54,760 Speaker 1: later and find that a hook is sticking into like 107 00:05:54,800 --> 00:05:58,800 Speaker 1: the door handle. Not no, and it's a that and 108 00:05:59,000 --> 00:06:03,760 Speaker 1: the biggest one, the Vegas kidney one are considered cautionary tales. Right. 109 00:06:04,000 --> 00:06:06,599 Speaker 1: You have very common hallmark of many urban legends that 110 00:06:06,600 --> 00:06:09,560 Speaker 1: they are called cautionary tales, right. And and most cautionary 111 00:06:09,560 --> 00:06:13,880 Speaker 1: tales also involve some sort of morality twist to him, right, 112 00:06:13,960 --> 00:06:17,200 Speaker 1: Like in in the most extreme cases, the guy who 113 00:06:17,279 --> 00:06:20,120 Speaker 1: was in Vegas who was chatting with the girl was 114 00:06:20,160 --> 00:06:22,640 Speaker 1: actually married and he went back to her hotel room. 115 00:06:22,720 --> 00:06:25,240 Speaker 1: So the moral of the story is don't cheat on 116 00:06:25,320 --> 00:06:27,479 Speaker 1: your wife, right, or else something really horrible is going 117 00:06:27,520 --> 00:06:29,359 Speaker 1: to happen to you. Uh. In the case of the 118 00:06:29,360 --> 00:06:34,599 Speaker 1: teenagers in the fifties, um, it was teenagers necking as 119 00:06:34,640 --> 00:06:38,280 Speaker 1: you put it, old man, um and uh, the the 120 00:06:38,520 --> 00:06:41,279 Speaker 1: the more, the moral of the story is don't have 121 00:06:41,320 --> 00:06:44,039 Speaker 1: premarital sex. Right, we'll go park your car and do 122 00:06:44,120 --> 00:06:48,960 Speaker 1: things like this. You shouldn't know, um nothing right, So 123 00:06:49,120 --> 00:06:52,640 Speaker 1: the the the What's interesting about this is that urban 124 00:06:52,720 --> 00:06:58,760 Speaker 1: legends um reflect our own morality, our own values. Think 125 00:06:58,800 --> 00:07:02,000 Speaker 1: about that, from the fifties to the when the first 126 00:07:02,080 --> 00:07:07,200 Speaker 1: folk folklorist um I Guess chronicled that Vegas kidney story. 127 00:07:07,320 --> 00:07:10,440 Speaker 1: Right in forty years, it went from necking to cheating 128 00:07:10,480 --> 00:07:14,120 Speaker 1: on your wife, right, And one could argue that our 129 00:07:14,240 --> 00:07:18,040 Speaker 1: values had expanded like that or devolved to that same 130 00:07:18,080 --> 00:07:20,800 Speaker 1: degree in that same period of time. It's a good point. Yeah, 131 00:07:20,960 --> 00:07:22,880 Speaker 1: did you hear a bunch of them when you were 132 00:07:22,920 --> 00:07:26,600 Speaker 1: first going to college? When I look back on some 133 00:07:26,680 --> 00:07:30,160 Speaker 1: of the stories I've passed along as fact, I couldn't 134 00:07:30,160 --> 00:07:33,119 Speaker 1: be more ashamed I heard these. I never passed them along. 135 00:07:33,280 --> 00:07:35,640 Speaker 1: You didn't. Even if I didn't pass them along, I 136 00:07:35,680 --> 00:07:38,120 Speaker 1: believe some of them. Yeah, that there's a couple of 137 00:07:38,160 --> 00:07:40,720 Speaker 1: common ones. One is the be careful if you're in 138 00:07:40,720 --> 00:07:42,679 Speaker 1: a dorm room man with someone you don't know, because 139 00:07:43,160 --> 00:07:46,520 Speaker 1: you wake up every day and feel all groggy and 140 00:07:47,120 --> 00:07:49,720 Speaker 1: like you've been taking advantage of for a very good reason, 141 00:07:49,720 --> 00:07:53,840 Speaker 1: because your roommate was knocking you out and performing indecent 142 00:07:53,880 --> 00:07:57,760 Speaker 1: acts on you. What you slept not true very much 143 00:07:57,800 --> 00:08:03,600 Speaker 1: an urban legend, as is the the if your roommate 144 00:08:03,680 --> 00:08:07,160 Speaker 1: kills themselves, you get straight. A's that quarter, which I 145 00:08:07,200 --> 00:08:09,840 Speaker 1: have to say, forms the premise of one of the 146 00:08:09,920 --> 00:08:15,040 Speaker 1: greatest um Zach Morris movies of all time, what's that 147 00:08:15,240 --> 00:08:18,840 Speaker 1: Dead Man on Campus? Dude? Did you ever see that? No? 148 00:08:19,120 --> 00:08:22,320 Speaker 1: That was a great movie. That was the plot though, Yeah, 149 00:08:22,440 --> 00:08:24,240 Speaker 1: that was the whole plot. He smokes a bong in 150 00:08:24,280 --> 00:08:26,640 Speaker 1: that movie. It's kind of startling for having grown up 151 00:08:26,680 --> 00:08:31,080 Speaker 1: on Saved by the Bell? Oh he is that his 152 00:08:31,160 --> 00:08:32,840 Speaker 1: character name? Is that his real name? Yeah? I don't 153 00:08:32,840 --> 00:08:35,480 Speaker 1: remember his real name? Oh? Zach was his character? And 154 00:08:35,760 --> 00:08:37,800 Speaker 1: Saved by the Bell? Is Zach? A blond guy? Zack? 155 00:08:37,840 --> 00:08:40,200 Speaker 1: If you're listening, um, send us an email telling us 156 00:08:40,240 --> 00:08:41,920 Speaker 1: your real name. Now we we'll look it up in 157 00:08:41,920 --> 00:08:43,960 Speaker 1: a second, So don't bother email. I prefer an email 158 00:08:43,960 --> 00:08:47,840 Speaker 1: from him. Okay, So um, Chuck, Like, we said that 159 00:08:47,880 --> 00:08:50,559 Speaker 1: these things kind of tend to reflect our own morality, 160 00:08:50,600 --> 00:08:53,760 Speaker 1: our own values, and you said they reflect our fears, 161 00:08:53,920 --> 00:08:57,520 Speaker 1: and that's absolutely true. There's a lot of urban legends. 162 00:08:57,559 --> 00:08:59,840 Speaker 1: I would even say the vast majority of them have 163 00:09:00,040 --> 00:09:02,679 Speaker 1: to do with some sort of fear, right right, And 164 00:09:02,720 --> 00:09:04,959 Speaker 1: that's one reason we pass them along is because they 165 00:09:05,000 --> 00:09:08,120 Speaker 1: resonate with us. We have loved ones in our lives. 166 00:09:08,120 --> 00:09:10,199 Speaker 1: There's people we care about, or at the very least, 167 00:09:10,440 --> 00:09:12,240 Speaker 1: we're having a good day and we don't want some 168 00:09:12,360 --> 00:09:15,240 Speaker 1: stranger to fall into some horrible misfortune. So we pass 169 00:09:15,320 --> 00:09:17,800 Speaker 1: these along. And if they're passed along to a person 170 00:09:17,840 --> 00:09:20,760 Speaker 1: who maintains the same kind of fears and maybe the 171 00:09:20,800 --> 00:09:26,120 Speaker 1: same level of fears and the same um dope believability um, 172 00:09:26,240 --> 00:09:29,839 Speaker 1: they'll absorb them, fear them, and pass them along themselves. 173 00:09:30,320 --> 00:09:34,240 Speaker 1: Many times, it's also regionalized, so what maybe if you're 174 00:09:34,240 --> 00:09:36,840 Speaker 1: in Seattle, it could be a neighborhood in Seattle where 175 00:09:36,840 --> 00:09:39,320 Speaker 1: this happened. If you're in Atlanta, it could be East Lake. 176 00:09:39,679 --> 00:09:41,839 Speaker 1: So they get regionalized, and all of a sudden you think, well, 177 00:09:41,880 --> 00:09:43,880 Speaker 1: I it may not be true, but I should tell 178 00:09:44,120 --> 00:09:46,880 Speaker 1: my friends this um on the internet, such as in 179 00:09:46,880 --> 00:09:49,680 Speaker 1: an email out just in case, because it's happening right here, 180 00:09:49,840 --> 00:09:53,199 Speaker 1: right and because it's in a place that you can visualize, 181 00:09:53,200 --> 00:09:56,000 Speaker 1: it has that much greater of an impact on you. Fear. 182 00:09:56,080 --> 00:09:59,720 Speaker 1: Once again, sure, I mean, if you can visualize your fear, 183 00:09:59,760 --> 00:10:03,640 Speaker 1: you can fear even more. Yeah, good point. Thanks, that's 184 00:10:03,679 --> 00:10:07,000 Speaker 1: gonna be on my tombstone. Should we talk about some 185 00:10:07,000 --> 00:10:09,960 Speaker 1: some dead giveaways that you're in fact hearing an urban 186 00:10:10,040 --> 00:10:13,880 Speaker 1: legend and not the real thing. Tots, Uh, it happened 187 00:10:13,920 --> 00:10:16,640 Speaker 1: to a friend of a friend. That's the classic definite 188 00:10:17,280 --> 00:10:19,600 Speaker 1: is what they call it. And actually, um, if it 189 00:10:19,679 --> 00:10:22,600 Speaker 1: happens to a friend of a friend, usually when you 190 00:10:22,640 --> 00:10:24,880 Speaker 1: pass it along, you're not gonna say a friend of 191 00:10:24,880 --> 00:10:28,880 Speaker 1: a friend because you just immediately lost credibility right there. Um, 192 00:10:28,920 --> 00:10:32,199 Speaker 1: so you're going to say it happened to my my friend, 193 00:10:32,280 --> 00:10:34,920 Speaker 1: Chuck's friend, or it happened to Chuck's friend. You know, Chuck, 194 00:10:34,960 --> 00:10:36,480 Speaker 1: it happened to one of his friends who neither one 195 00:10:36,480 --> 00:10:39,840 Speaker 1: of us have ever met. Right. That that personalizes it 196 00:10:39,880 --> 00:10:41,760 Speaker 1: a little more, brings it home a little further. Or 197 00:10:42,440 --> 00:10:46,400 Speaker 1: if I were a real liar, right or really desperate 198 00:10:46,440 --> 00:10:49,280 Speaker 1: for attention, I would say it happened to Chuck, even 199 00:10:49,280 --> 00:10:51,360 Speaker 1: though Chuck told me it happened to a friend of his. 200 00:10:51,800 --> 00:10:53,840 Speaker 1: But I'm just gonna gloss over that part because I 201 00:10:53,880 --> 00:10:56,320 Speaker 1: really want you to believe what I'm saying, because if 202 00:10:56,360 --> 00:10:58,960 Speaker 1: you believe what I'm saying, then I can more easily 203 00:10:59,000 --> 00:11:01,960 Speaker 1: believe what i'm saying, Right, and people innately want to 204 00:11:02,000 --> 00:11:05,480 Speaker 1: believe their friends when they hear things, and people innately 205 00:11:05,520 --> 00:11:07,840 Speaker 1: want to tell a good yarn. So a couple of 206 00:11:07,840 --> 00:11:11,000 Speaker 1: those together spin a good yarn, and then, uh, is 207 00:11:11,000 --> 00:11:15,439 Speaker 1: that what the it's called spinning yarn? Put those two 208 00:11:15,480 --> 00:11:18,400 Speaker 1: together and you get urban legends. Yeah. I actually remember 209 00:11:18,480 --> 00:11:22,079 Speaker 1: the first urban legend I heard. And my buddy rad 210 00:11:22,120 --> 00:11:26,360 Speaker 1: in Montana, my best friend in high school, actually Radford. 211 00:11:26,640 --> 00:11:29,880 Speaker 1: He uh he told me, I remember this so distinctly 212 00:11:29,920 --> 00:11:33,120 Speaker 1: about the Eddie Murphy and the elevator. It used to 213 00:11:33,120 --> 00:11:35,600 Speaker 1: be Reggie Jackson before that. The story is the lady 214 00:11:35,920 --> 00:11:39,199 Speaker 1: gets on the elevator and it's it's some African American 215 00:11:39,240 --> 00:11:42,600 Speaker 1: with his large entourage or a dog. It's a dog. 216 00:11:42,920 --> 00:11:46,240 Speaker 1: It's a dog. Dog. Yeah, it's the crux of it. Okay, well, 217 00:11:46,280 --> 00:11:48,120 Speaker 1: and see it changes. That's the hallmark of an urban 218 00:11:48,160 --> 00:11:51,080 Speaker 1: legend to it changes per story, but the lady will 219 00:11:51,120 --> 00:11:54,920 Speaker 1: clutch her person fear, and then later on she finds 220 00:11:54,920 --> 00:11:57,080 Speaker 1: out it's at a hotel that her hotel stay was 221 00:11:57,120 --> 00:11:59,840 Speaker 1: paid for. It's like, courtesy of Eddie Murphy. We got 222 00:12:00,120 --> 00:12:02,680 Speaker 1: the best laugh I've had in weeks because we scared you. 223 00:12:02,920 --> 00:12:06,360 Speaker 1: Oh yeah, that's not how a mom told it. She 224 00:12:06,480 --> 00:12:09,760 Speaker 1: said that, um, and I think, if I remember correctly, 225 00:12:09,800 --> 00:12:11,720 Speaker 1: she told me that it had happened to a friend 226 00:12:11,760 --> 00:12:13,679 Speaker 1: of hers or someone she works with. Friends. Well, that's 227 00:12:13,720 --> 00:12:15,680 Speaker 1: what Rat said. I remember it was his mom, someone 228 00:12:15,720 --> 00:12:18,440 Speaker 1: his mom worked with. Well, in this case, it was 229 00:12:18,520 --> 00:12:22,800 Speaker 1: Lionel Ritchie or Reggie Jackson. I think the other variation 230 00:12:22,880 --> 00:12:25,199 Speaker 1: I heard was Reggie Jackson, Lionel Richie. I never heard 231 00:12:25,280 --> 00:12:28,520 Speaker 1: Eddie Murphy. But he's in there there in like a 232 00:12:28,679 --> 00:12:31,080 Speaker 1: very nice hotel that allows huge dogs, and the guy 233 00:12:31,120 --> 00:12:35,120 Speaker 1: has a dog with him, so he's he's even more intimidating, 234 00:12:35,559 --> 00:12:39,160 Speaker 1: and uh, the the woman is trying to avoid eye contact, 235 00:12:39,240 --> 00:12:41,520 Speaker 1: is scared clutching her first, that kind of thing. Um. 236 00:12:41,600 --> 00:12:44,400 Speaker 1: And then all of a sudden, the guy goes sit lady, 237 00:12:44,880 --> 00:12:47,720 Speaker 1: and the woman sits down in the elevator and the 238 00:12:47,760 --> 00:12:49,920 Speaker 1: guys like I was talking to my dog. And then 239 00:12:50,080 --> 00:12:52,760 Speaker 1: her hotel stay is paid for by Reggie Jackson or 240 00:12:52,800 --> 00:12:57,240 Speaker 1: Lionel Ritchie or Eddie Murphy or one imagines P Diddy, yeah, 241 00:12:58,120 --> 00:13:00,920 Speaker 1: or jay Z. But I just rad, if you're listening, 242 00:13:01,080 --> 00:13:04,360 Speaker 1: you lied to me, buddy, way back when when we 243 00:13:04,360 --> 00:13:06,319 Speaker 1: were eating turkey sandwiches after school. You lied to me, 244 00:13:06,360 --> 00:13:10,200 Speaker 1: I remember distinctly, and I'll never forget it. So, Josh, 245 00:13:10,360 --> 00:13:13,000 Speaker 1: that was a lot of time to uh, to give 246 00:13:13,080 --> 00:13:16,000 Speaker 1: up the one dead giveaway friend of a friend. So 247 00:13:16,160 --> 00:13:18,439 Speaker 1: we'll go through some of these other ones quickly. Actually 248 00:13:18,480 --> 00:13:21,920 Speaker 1: we already did. There are many variations. That's a dead giveaway. 249 00:13:22,640 --> 00:13:24,880 Speaker 1: The topic is one that is often on the news 250 00:13:25,360 --> 00:13:28,040 Speaker 1: or one that people gossip about. Yeah, that's a big one. 251 00:13:28,240 --> 00:13:32,079 Speaker 1: Like we Got Stuff podcast, got a forwarded email about 252 00:13:32,240 --> 00:13:35,400 Speaker 1: UM census workers. Yeah, yeah, the census is about to happen, 253 00:13:35,480 --> 00:13:38,560 Speaker 1: so now don't open your door unless they have a 254 00:13:38,559 --> 00:13:42,440 Speaker 1: confidentiality agreement and certain other things. They'll murder you. Yeah, 255 00:13:42,440 --> 00:13:45,000 Speaker 1: we got it this morning. Okay, was that when that ironic? Yeah, 256 00:13:45,200 --> 00:13:47,760 Speaker 1: but that actually happened when the census worker we thought 257 00:13:47,800 --> 00:13:50,280 Speaker 1: was killed, but it turns out it's a suicide. So 258 00:13:50,360 --> 00:13:52,400 Speaker 1: oftentimes it will spin off of a real news story 259 00:13:52,480 --> 00:13:55,319 Speaker 1: and get morphed. Yeah, which is kind of scary because 260 00:13:55,360 --> 00:13:59,240 Speaker 1: a lot of urban legends have been portrayed as fact 261 00:13:59,400 --> 00:14:02,880 Speaker 1: in the news the newspapers. Well, that's another reason people 262 00:14:02,920 --> 00:14:05,679 Speaker 1: believe them is because they trust the news when they 263 00:14:05,720 --> 00:14:09,960 Speaker 1: ought not, which is sad because really, frankly, you shouldn't. 264 00:14:10,320 --> 00:14:12,280 Speaker 1: You shouldn't. You should take all news stories with a 265 00:14:12,320 --> 00:14:14,520 Speaker 1: green as salt. You know, it's just some dude or 266 00:14:14,679 --> 00:14:17,440 Speaker 1: chick reporting something kind of file a story, just like 267 00:14:17,480 --> 00:14:19,880 Speaker 1: we do. We get things wrong all the time. Clearly, 268 00:14:20,800 --> 00:14:24,880 Speaker 1: why shaking your head? Just people know, we call ourselves out. 269 00:14:25,400 --> 00:14:27,520 Speaker 1: But it's true. I think it's funny that we do that, 270 00:14:27,600 --> 00:14:29,720 Speaker 1: and we need to do that because in the in 271 00:14:29,800 --> 00:14:33,440 Speaker 1: this day and age, pretty much our entire job, or 272 00:14:33,440 --> 00:14:37,040 Speaker 1: at least a significant portion of it, chuck is avoiding 273 00:14:37,120 --> 00:14:40,080 Speaker 1: giving out false information. Yeah, we have to go through 274 00:14:40,120 --> 00:14:43,440 Speaker 1: and verify it, which is getting increasingly harder. Yeah, we try, 275 00:14:43,840 --> 00:14:47,520 Speaker 1: We definitely do. We were talking about pop culture, and 276 00:14:47,600 --> 00:14:50,800 Speaker 1: sometimes movies will work it in or the other way around. 277 00:14:51,240 --> 00:14:54,440 Speaker 1: In the movie Goodwill Hunting, remember they tell the story 278 00:14:54,480 --> 00:14:56,360 Speaker 1: about the guy who gets pulled over by the cop 279 00:14:56,400 --> 00:14:59,640 Speaker 1: because he's drunk, and then an accident happens in the 280 00:14:59,680 --> 00:15:02,960 Speaker 1: cop as to run to the accident, and the guy 281 00:15:03,120 --> 00:15:05,520 Speaker 1: jumps in his car goes home. The cop comes the 282 00:15:05,600 --> 00:15:07,960 Speaker 1: next morning and the guy denies that he was ever 283 00:15:07,960 --> 00:15:10,640 Speaker 1: out drinking until he looks and notices that in his 284 00:15:10,720 --> 00:15:13,080 Speaker 1: driveway he had jumped in the squad car by accident. 285 00:15:13,520 --> 00:15:15,880 Speaker 1: Not true, but it's an urban legend. It was in 286 00:15:15,960 --> 00:15:20,320 Speaker 1: good will hunting the Simpsons, which one. You know how 287 00:15:20,320 --> 00:15:22,360 Speaker 1: you always hear the story about like a mouse in 288 00:15:22,400 --> 00:15:25,920 Speaker 1: a in a coke bottle? Remember the Simpsons when they 289 00:15:25,960 --> 00:15:29,080 Speaker 1: Barney and Homer visit the Duff Brewery and the guys 290 00:15:29,080 --> 00:15:30,960 Speaker 1: on the line fills on the line checking the bottles 291 00:15:31,000 --> 00:15:34,560 Speaker 1: as they go by. He's like, good, good nose, good needle. 292 00:15:34,800 --> 00:15:36,680 Speaker 1: And then he turns his head and like Hitler's head, 293 00:15:36,680 --> 00:15:39,320 Speaker 1: it goes by the bottle. That's a good one. Did 294 00:15:39,320 --> 00:15:42,160 Speaker 1: you see the YouTube clip of Hitler finding out that 295 00:15:42,200 --> 00:15:45,520 Speaker 1: Scott Brown won the Massachusetts Senate seat? I did? You 296 00:15:45,560 --> 00:15:47,880 Speaker 1: sent it to me? Good? Is that an urban legend? 297 00:15:48,120 --> 00:15:50,000 Speaker 1: Or did Scott Brown really win the Senate seat? He 298 00:15:50,080 --> 00:15:52,960 Speaker 1: really did? I thought was made up? Um? Oh, there's 299 00:15:53,040 --> 00:15:56,880 Speaker 1: a pretty It's pretty much impossible to trace the origin 300 00:15:57,160 --> 00:16:00,920 Speaker 1: of a um any urban legend, really, no one ever 301 00:16:00,920 --> 00:16:02,560 Speaker 1: knows where they come from. One of the reasons why 302 00:16:02,680 --> 00:16:04,800 Speaker 1: is because it follows oral tradition or it used to 303 00:16:05,200 --> 00:16:09,480 Speaker 1: generally right right folk It is folklore, and it's actually 304 00:16:09,520 --> 00:16:12,760 Speaker 1: studied by cultural anthropologists and folkloreist, which I think is 305 00:16:12,800 --> 00:16:18,240 Speaker 1: probably a sub set of cultural anthropology. UM. And the 306 00:16:18,240 --> 00:16:21,960 Speaker 1: the Hey, Dave, have you seen the Encyclopedia of Urban Legends? No. 307 00:16:22,120 --> 00:16:24,840 Speaker 1: I used to have a cartoon book though, of urban legends. 308 00:16:24,840 --> 00:16:27,720 Speaker 1: It was pretty cool, nice. Well, the Encyclopedia of Urban 309 00:16:27,800 --> 00:16:31,600 Speaker 1: Legends is fairly anthropological in nature. It's pretty thick tone. 310 00:16:31,600 --> 00:16:34,360 Speaker 1: It's on Google Books. We can check it out. But 311 00:16:34,480 --> 00:16:39,520 Speaker 1: the author of it, Jan Harold brun Van, Harold, why 312 00:16:39,520 --> 00:16:42,760 Speaker 1: are you doing this to me today? Are you talking 313 00:16:42,760 --> 00:16:46,320 Speaker 1: to your mouth or to me both? Um? The the 314 00:16:46,360 --> 00:16:50,360 Speaker 1: author Jan Harold brun Van Um kind of laments that 315 00:16:50,480 --> 00:16:54,480 Speaker 1: the the internet has removed that aspect the oral tradition 316 00:16:55,440 --> 00:16:59,160 Speaker 1: by digitizing it. And now I'll just click forward and 317 00:16:59,680 --> 00:17:04,840 Speaker 1: and uh broom Van suggests that the golden age of 318 00:17:04,200 --> 00:17:08,880 Speaker 1: uh of um urban legends was the sixties of the eighties, 319 00:17:09,320 --> 00:17:11,960 Speaker 1: although they've been around a lot longer than that, right, yeah, 320 00:17:12,040 --> 00:17:14,639 Speaker 1: since the thirties and forties. I said, I found even 321 00:17:14,680 --> 00:17:17,879 Speaker 1: further back than that. Um. Apparently at Scott Fitzgerald and 322 00:17:17,920 --> 00:17:22,760 Speaker 1: the twenties referred to contemporary legends the the the critic 323 00:17:22,840 --> 00:17:25,160 Speaker 1: took to mean the same thing as an urban legend. Sure. 324 00:17:25,320 --> 00:17:27,520 Speaker 1: And then even before that, I think in uh the 325 00:17:27,600 --> 00:17:30,879 Speaker 1: eighteen nineties there was a French columnists who asked to 326 00:17:31,200 --> 00:17:35,040 Speaker 1: cities maintain folklore just as rural areas to interesting the 327 00:17:35,040 --> 00:17:38,320 Speaker 1: answer that is a big fat yes obviously. Yeah. So 328 00:17:38,359 --> 00:17:40,359 Speaker 1: that's when they were actually called out as urban legends. 329 00:17:40,359 --> 00:17:43,600 Speaker 1: Like we said, it goes back centuries tradition of folklore. 330 00:17:44,440 --> 00:17:48,000 Speaker 1: Historians are big on verifying and writing things down, and 331 00:17:48,160 --> 00:17:52,320 Speaker 1: folklore's tell stories with their mouths. Yeah, like we do, right, 332 00:17:52,640 --> 00:17:54,639 Speaker 1: that sounds like a T shirt. Folklore's do it with 333 00:17:54,680 --> 00:17:58,880 Speaker 1: their mouths. Um. And like you said, check, these things 334 00:17:58,920 --> 00:18:02,160 Speaker 1: go back centuries, if not further. Um. And again, all 335 00:18:02,280 --> 00:18:07,040 Speaker 1: legends reflect um, the feelings, the fears, that kind of 336 00:18:07,040 --> 00:18:10,560 Speaker 1: thing of the culture at the time. So we're before uh, 337 00:18:10,560 --> 00:18:15,359 Speaker 1: in the you know, pre industrial age. Most fairy tales 338 00:18:15,400 --> 00:18:17,240 Speaker 1: that had something bad happening to them, we're set in 339 00:18:17,280 --> 00:18:20,679 Speaker 1: the woods, like Handling Gretel or snow White or whatever. 340 00:18:21,200 --> 00:18:23,199 Speaker 1: These fairy tales were set in the woods because the 341 00:18:23,240 --> 00:18:26,280 Speaker 1: woods were still very scary places, filled with bandits and 342 00:18:26,400 --> 00:18:31,760 Speaker 1: bears and scary monsters, super freaks. Yeah. Yeah. One thing 343 00:18:31,800 --> 00:18:36,320 Speaker 1: I thought was interesting is the famous website snopes dot 344 00:18:36,359 --> 00:18:38,720 Speaker 1: Com clearly can put an end to a lot of 345 00:18:38,720 --> 00:18:40,840 Speaker 1: these Internet if you're smart enough to good look at 346 00:18:40,840 --> 00:18:43,879 Speaker 1: Snopes these Internet rumors that get started. But one thing 347 00:18:43,920 --> 00:18:46,240 Speaker 1: I thought was interesting was reading this article is that 348 00:18:46,320 --> 00:18:49,440 Speaker 1: Snopes evidentally gets a lot of angry emails because people 349 00:18:49,560 --> 00:18:52,200 Speaker 1: want to believe their friends so much that their friends 350 00:18:52,400 --> 00:18:56,000 Speaker 1: not made this up, that they will email Snopes angrily 351 00:18:56,040 --> 00:18:58,720 Speaker 1: and say, you're calling my friend a liar. This really happened. 352 00:18:58,880 --> 00:19:01,720 Speaker 1: He said, it happened to his best friend, and snubs 353 00:19:01,760 --> 00:19:04,040 Speaker 1: just like doubt. They even respond to those, and they like, 354 00:19:04,119 --> 00:19:06,040 Speaker 1: send us your address so we can send a guy 355 00:19:06,119 --> 00:19:08,040 Speaker 1: to come hit you with a tack hammer. Right, and 356 00:19:08,040 --> 00:19:09,920 Speaker 1: I have some swamp land in Florida, I can tell 357 00:19:09,920 --> 00:19:13,439 Speaker 1: you exactly. Um. We were talking about the origins of 358 00:19:13,480 --> 00:19:19,320 Speaker 1: these things, chuck right. Um. Right, So folklore's anthropologists and uh, 359 00:19:19,440 --> 00:19:23,920 Speaker 1: pretty much any smart person can point to actual advance 360 00:19:24,000 --> 00:19:28,000 Speaker 1: that are maybe misinterpreted or expanded upon become the source 361 00:19:28,000 --> 00:19:33,680 Speaker 1: of urban legends. E g. Uh, temporary tattoos laced with LSD. Right, 362 00:19:33,800 --> 00:19:36,680 Speaker 1: that could have been birthed out of the real practice 363 00:19:36,840 --> 00:19:39,720 Speaker 1: of a chemist who make LSD would oftentimes put it 364 00:19:39,760 --> 00:19:42,040 Speaker 1: on I guests still do put it on like a 365 00:19:42,080 --> 00:19:45,040 Speaker 1: stamp with a cartoon character, and so that might have 366 00:19:45,080 --> 00:19:49,520 Speaker 1: gotten confused with um temporary tattoos. So the word spreads 367 00:19:49,520 --> 00:19:51,520 Speaker 1: and all of a sudden, And what I love is 368 00:19:51,560 --> 00:19:54,160 Speaker 1: that the story goes is they give them these LSD 369 00:19:54,200 --> 00:19:57,639 Speaker 1: tattoos to get the kids hooked on LSD, which is 370 00:19:57,680 --> 00:20:00,480 Speaker 1: just silly. Yeah, it's not physically addicted ing at all, 371 00:20:00,680 --> 00:20:05,560 Speaker 1: north psychologically addicting. I imagine it's much more psychologically aversive 372 00:20:05,560 --> 00:20:10,720 Speaker 1: than anything I'm getting nostalgic Halloween. Lots of urban legends 373 00:20:10,760 --> 00:20:13,880 Speaker 1: around Halloween. Yeah, with the tainted candy and the razor 374 00:20:13,920 --> 00:20:16,200 Speaker 1: blades in the apple. You know it's crazy is we 375 00:20:16,200 --> 00:20:19,920 Speaker 1: were talking about how the Oregon thief actually probably got 376 00:20:19,960 --> 00:20:23,400 Speaker 1: the idea from the urban legend. There have been instances 377 00:20:23,640 --> 00:20:29,800 Speaker 1: of people tainting Halloween candy after the the urban legend 378 00:20:29,920 --> 00:20:33,480 Speaker 1: was around. Interesting, most of the ones that have like 379 00:20:33,560 --> 00:20:35,920 Speaker 1: razor blades, and I have to say this is from Snopes. 380 00:20:36,520 --> 00:20:39,240 Speaker 1: There's a pretty long article on Halloween candy with razor 381 00:20:39,280 --> 00:20:42,640 Speaker 1: blades and needles. But um, most of the ones that 382 00:20:42,840 --> 00:20:47,960 Speaker 1: have actually been perpetrated were hoaxes or they wanted to 383 00:20:47,960 --> 00:20:52,080 Speaker 1: get attention or something like that. Um, but poison candy 384 00:20:52,119 --> 00:20:55,960 Speaker 1: actually does. It's come up many many times around Halloween, 385 00:20:56,720 --> 00:20:59,560 Speaker 1: and you know, in non Halloween days, the other three 386 00:21:00,000 --> 00:21:04,520 Speaker 1: sixty four days where kids have died. Apparently, yes, and 387 00:21:04,560 --> 00:21:07,919 Speaker 1: this is not an urban legend. Apparently uh in. I 388 00:21:07,960 --> 00:21:10,280 Speaker 1: don't remember what state it was in, but a friend 389 00:21:10,320 --> 00:21:14,120 Speaker 1: of a friend told me, um that a little kid 390 00:21:14,200 --> 00:21:17,600 Speaker 1: died after getting into his uncle's stash of heroin, and 391 00:21:17,680 --> 00:21:22,560 Speaker 1: so the family actually sprinkled his candy Halloween candy with 392 00:21:22,800 --> 00:21:25,399 Speaker 1: hero with heroin from the uncle's stash to protect the uncle. 393 00:21:26,080 --> 00:21:28,520 Speaker 1: Uh to make it look like somebody had poisoned the 394 00:21:28,600 --> 00:21:31,320 Speaker 1: kid with with heroin and that really happened. It happened. 395 00:21:32,560 --> 00:21:34,200 Speaker 1: What if Snopes is wrong about all this stuff? I 396 00:21:34,240 --> 00:21:37,399 Speaker 1: don't know. I've had that horrible feeling before, horrible thoughts, 397 00:21:37,440 --> 00:21:40,359 Speaker 1: sat upright in bed, been like tis roll pops, Like 398 00:21:40,440 --> 00:21:46,439 Speaker 1: Snopes is just this one dude, He's just like this inclusion, 399 00:21:46,520 --> 00:21:49,200 Speaker 1: he's like the wizard behind the curtain. That'd be pretty cool. 400 00:21:49,840 --> 00:21:51,240 Speaker 1: I guess we should point out a few of these 401 00:21:51,240 --> 00:21:54,000 Speaker 1: email urban legends, just so you don't forward them around 402 00:21:54,440 --> 00:21:57,800 Speaker 1: to your your friends and family. Be wary of anything 403 00:21:57,840 --> 00:22:02,880 Speaker 1: free obviously that's a that's a dead giveaway. Usually. Well, 404 00:22:02,880 --> 00:22:06,760 Speaker 1: that's just like the pigeon drop. Yeah, sure, yeah, you 405 00:22:06,880 --> 00:22:09,200 Speaker 1: just you if anybody starts talking to you about money 406 00:22:09,200 --> 00:22:12,000 Speaker 1: and you've never met them, you don't want to respond, right. 407 00:22:12,080 --> 00:22:14,080 Speaker 1: Another dead giveaway, Josh, is if you ever get an 408 00:22:14,080 --> 00:22:18,280 Speaker 1: email that starts with a line if you for this email, colon, 409 00:22:19,119 --> 00:22:22,200 Speaker 1: or if it says this is not an urban legend, colon, 410 00:22:22,640 --> 00:22:25,120 Speaker 1: then it's probably an urban legend. Yeah. And then of 411 00:22:25,160 --> 00:22:31,119 Speaker 1: course there is a the famous Nemon Marcus cookies email, 412 00:22:31,119 --> 00:22:33,360 Speaker 1: which I've actually received. I have received this one as well. 413 00:22:33,400 --> 00:22:36,080 Speaker 1: I've never made him of you. No, well, they're just 414 00:22:36,119 --> 00:22:39,760 Speaker 1: regular cookies. Tom Harris is they're delicious. I think he 415 00:22:39,800 --> 00:22:42,960 Speaker 1: made them before this article. That is research pal. Yeah, well, 416 00:22:43,000 --> 00:22:44,880 Speaker 1: detail this one. This is a very famous one. So 417 00:22:45,200 --> 00:22:49,440 Speaker 1: back in I think the nineties, uh late nineties, there 418 00:22:49,480 --> 00:22:52,359 Speaker 1: was an email that was sent around where it talked 419 00:22:52,359 --> 00:22:55,960 Speaker 1: about the Neiman Marcus chocolate chip cookie recipe which made 420 00:22:56,000 --> 00:23:00,000 Speaker 1: some delicious chocolate chips they say, or chocolate chip cookies. Um. 421 00:22:59,800 --> 00:23:04,480 Speaker 1: And a woman apparently asked for name and Marcus, uh 422 00:23:04,720 --> 00:23:06,560 Speaker 1: somebody at the store to give her the recipe for 423 00:23:06,600 --> 00:23:08,760 Speaker 1: the cookies and they gave it to her, but they 424 00:23:08,840 --> 00:23:11,280 Speaker 1: charged her for it, they said to fifty And when she, 425 00:23:11,520 --> 00:23:13,880 Speaker 1: you know, gets her bill later that month, she sees 426 00:23:13,920 --> 00:23:17,080 Speaker 1: that they charged two hundred and fifty dollars instead of 427 00:23:17,080 --> 00:23:19,440 Speaker 1: two dollars and fifty cents for this recipe. The woman 428 00:23:19,480 --> 00:23:22,520 Speaker 1: finds it outrageous. Contact Name and Marcus and they're like, well, 429 00:23:22,520 --> 00:23:24,560 Speaker 1: our cookies are really good. We're not going to refund 430 00:23:24,560 --> 00:23:28,080 Speaker 1: your money. Uh. So she decided that to get them back, 431 00:23:28,240 --> 00:23:31,400 Speaker 1: she would forward the email with the recipe and an 432 00:23:31,400 --> 00:23:35,480 Speaker 1: email to everybody and spread it around to get back 433 00:23:35,520 --> 00:23:39,320 Speaker 1: at Niman Marcus, you were my crutch, Chuck. Not true, Josh. 434 00:23:39,440 --> 00:23:42,520 Speaker 1: They didn't even make the chocolate chip cookie at the time. 435 00:23:43,000 --> 00:23:46,000 Speaker 1: In the eighties it was Mrs Fields, not Name and Marcus, 436 00:23:46,040 --> 00:23:49,960 Speaker 1: and before that it was the Waldorf Astoria Hotels red 437 00:23:50,040 --> 00:23:53,959 Speaker 1: velvet cake. Take that. Stupid people who believe forward an 438 00:23:54,040 --> 00:23:57,960 Speaker 1: emails who I'm sad to say, not only did my 439 00:23:58,000 --> 00:24:00,440 Speaker 1: mom pass along bunk information with the line old Richie 440 00:24:00,480 --> 00:24:05,200 Speaker 1: slash Reggie Jackson story. Um, but my dad, I found out, 441 00:24:05,640 --> 00:24:09,920 Speaker 1: is a birther. Really are you kidding me? Yeah, he's 442 00:24:09,960 --> 00:24:13,320 Speaker 1: not in any kind of structured to organized capacity in 443 00:24:13,320 --> 00:24:15,040 Speaker 1: As a matter of fact, he wasn't even aware of 444 00:24:15,080 --> 00:24:18,520 Speaker 1: the term birther, but he believed af forwarded email that 445 00:24:18,680 --> 00:24:23,800 Speaker 1: was birth in nature, which again that was a real occurrence. 446 00:24:23,840 --> 00:24:26,159 Speaker 1: There were people out there who wanted to see Barack 447 00:24:26,200 --> 00:24:30,280 Speaker 1: Obama's birth certificate claiming he was not born in this country. 448 00:24:30,359 --> 00:24:33,200 Speaker 1: Is originally said that his birth certificate was doctor that 449 00:24:33,280 --> 00:24:37,040 Speaker 1: he was really a born in Kenya. Um YadA, YadA, YadA, 450 00:24:37,119 --> 00:24:40,760 Speaker 1: and therefore he shouldn't be president. Right, But the the 451 00:24:41,040 --> 00:24:42,639 Speaker 1: that has taken on a life of its own, so 452 00:24:42,680 --> 00:24:46,359 Speaker 1: out of this original idea, it's become an urban legend 453 00:24:46,680 --> 00:24:49,399 Speaker 1: and a forwarded email urban legend, which are really the 454 00:24:49,520 --> 00:24:52,320 Speaker 1: dregs of urban legend society because you're not even taking 455 00:24:52,320 --> 00:24:54,320 Speaker 1: the time to spend a good yarn at that point. No, 456 00:24:54,480 --> 00:24:57,760 Speaker 1: and that's why um brun Van was saying, like it 457 00:24:57,800 --> 00:24:59,600 Speaker 1: was best from the sixties of the eighties. You know, 458 00:24:59,640 --> 00:25:02,520 Speaker 1: there's there's spider eggs and bubble yam and co can's 459 00:25:02,600 --> 00:25:06,280 Speaker 1: hanging from car doors and the calls coming from upstairs 460 00:25:06,560 --> 00:25:08,800 Speaker 1: and the great part about it was that everybody was 461 00:25:08,880 --> 00:25:11,399 Speaker 1: personalizing it because it happened in East Lake or it 462 00:25:11,440 --> 00:25:14,920 Speaker 1: happened in Peoria, Illinois, depending on where you are, And 463 00:25:15,160 --> 00:25:18,400 Speaker 1: so there was it took effort, and there was there 464 00:25:18,480 --> 00:25:21,480 Speaker 1: was personalization done to it, and so people were engaging 465 00:25:21,520 --> 00:25:25,080 Speaker 1: in oral folklore tradition without even realizing it, and it 466 00:25:25,240 --> 00:25:28,760 Speaker 1: kept it alive and vital. Now it's just forwarding. That's it. Well, 467 00:25:28,800 --> 00:25:32,040 Speaker 1: you and I remember clearly. I remember Rad lying to 468 00:25:32,080 --> 00:25:34,560 Speaker 1: me in the night that I'm sorry ten or eleventh grade. 469 00:25:34,880 --> 00:25:37,159 Speaker 1: You remember your mom telling me stories like I remember 470 00:25:37,200 --> 00:25:40,920 Speaker 1: this specifically in his kitchen. I remember that day specifically, 471 00:25:40,960 --> 00:25:44,280 Speaker 1: but I don't remember whatever Jack asked for? Did me? 472 00:25:44,400 --> 00:25:47,639 Speaker 1: The the gang headlight thing? Should we talk about a 473 00:25:47,640 --> 00:25:49,640 Speaker 1: couple of real ones real quick before you wrap it up? Yeah? 474 00:25:49,640 --> 00:25:52,880 Speaker 1: These are great, Chuck. Chuck found some on cracked dot 475 00:25:52,920 --> 00:25:56,480 Speaker 1: com and uh, the more fantastic ones we actually did 476 00:25:56,520 --> 00:25:58,880 Speaker 1: go and double check with Snopes, the big fat guy 477 00:25:58,920 --> 00:26:02,640 Speaker 1: who doesn't check any thing. Right. Yes, okay, so Chuck 478 00:26:02,720 --> 00:26:06,080 Speaker 1: take it away. Well one of them, um has happened recently? 479 00:26:06,160 --> 00:26:07,960 Speaker 1: Is that the famous Halloween when there's all manner of 480 00:26:07,960 --> 00:26:11,280 Speaker 1: Halloween ones like we said, where someone hung themselves in 481 00:26:11,320 --> 00:26:14,159 Speaker 1: their yard? Yeah? We when what podcast? Did we talk 482 00:26:14,200 --> 00:26:15,919 Speaker 1: about that? I can't remember. I can't either, but we 483 00:26:16,000 --> 00:26:18,920 Speaker 1: definitely did. And the story goes that someone hung themselves 484 00:26:18,920 --> 00:26:21,600 Speaker 1: and people thought it was a Halloween Halloween decoration, so 485 00:26:21,640 --> 00:26:24,520 Speaker 1: they the body stayed there for several days until they 486 00:26:24,600 --> 00:26:28,560 Speaker 1: realized it was real and this actually really did happen. Yeah. 487 00:26:28,640 --> 00:26:31,560 Speaker 1: And then there's the uh, the one about the couple 488 00:26:31,600 --> 00:26:34,679 Speaker 1: who spend the night in a hotel room and they 489 00:26:34,720 --> 00:26:37,040 Speaker 1: can't figure out where the stench is coming from, and 490 00:26:37,080 --> 00:26:39,320 Speaker 1: when they finally go downstairs to ask for their money 491 00:26:39,320 --> 00:26:42,320 Speaker 1: back the next morning, the hotel management investigates and finds 492 00:26:42,320 --> 00:26:45,159 Speaker 1: a dead body under the bed. Apparently it's happened a 493 00:26:45,200 --> 00:26:49,080 Speaker 1: bunch of times. Kansas City, Atlantic City, Florida, California. It's 494 00:26:49,119 --> 00:26:53,280 Speaker 1: very distressing. Yeah, and and the Cracked blogger makes a 495 00:26:53,320 --> 00:26:56,400 Speaker 1: good point that in these cases, in just about all 496 00:26:56,440 --> 00:26:58,480 Speaker 1: of them, what's insane is that the people spent the 497 00:26:58,600 --> 00:27:00,879 Speaker 1: night in the room the whole time, the variably and 498 00:27:00,880 --> 00:27:03,560 Speaker 1: they're so great. Tell him the best one, Cracked is awesome. 499 00:27:03,600 --> 00:27:05,639 Speaker 1: They're so funny. Yeah, I love that website and that 500 00:27:05,720 --> 00:27:09,159 Speaker 1: it's one of your faiths. Uh, the fun House Mummy, 501 00:27:09,280 --> 00:27:12,080 Speaker 1: this one is the best one ever. Uh. The myth 502 00:27:12,200 --> 00:27:15,720 Speaker 1: is that a prop at a carnival was Um, I 503 00:27:15,720 --> 00:27:18,680 Speaker 1: guess in the in the scary fun house was not 504 00:27:18,960 --> 00:27:22,000 Speaker 1: a prop mummy, but it was in fact a real 505 00:27:22,359 --> 00:27:26,320 Speaker 1: dead body. So if this story couldn't get any more fantastic, 506 00:27:26,680 --> 00:27:31,480 Speaker 1: you're wrong. Right, here's how the urban legend goes. Um. 507 00:27:31,640 --> 00:27:35,480 Speaker 1: The crew for the six Million Dollar Man was filming 508 00:27:35,480 --> 00:27:37,719 Speaker 1: an episode and they needed a fun house, so they 509 00:27:37,720 --> 00:27:40,640 Speaker 1: went down to Long Beach to the New Pike Amusement Park, right, 510 00:27:41,200 --> 00:27:44,560 Speaker 1: and there was a dummy hanging in the shot, and 511 00:27:44,640 --> 00:27:46,879 Speaker 1: the director filmed the shot. Apparently it was like, I 512 00:27:46,880 --> 00:27:48,719 Speaker 1: don't like that dummy. There's somebody get rid of it. 513 00:27:48,960 --> 00:27:51,120 Speaker 1: Some guy goes to grab it, the arm comes off, 514 00:27:51,160 --> 00:27:54,560 Speaker 1: and they noticed a human bone inside. Right, You thought, wow, 515 00:27:54,600 --> 00:27:57,800 Speaker 1: that's pretty realistic. Yeah, And so they did a little 516 00:27:57,800 --> 00:28:00,800 Speaker 1: more investigating and figured out that it was a real corpse, 517 00:28:00,840 --> 00:28:04,439 Speaker 1: a mummified, embalmed human corpse that was actually hanging in 518 00:28:04,480 --> 00:28:08,000 Speaker 1: a fun house being that people took as a dummy. Right, 519 00:28:08,119 --> 00:28:11,560 Speaker 1: six million dollar Man, Chuck, is this true? It is true? 520 00:28:11,680 --> 00:28:14,800 Speaker 1: Isn't that crazy? And it doesn't in there because apparently 521 00:28:14,920 --> 00:28:18,800 Speaker 1: the body, the undertaker had done such a swell job 522 00:28:19,359 --> 00:28:21,960 Speaker 1: with the embalming process that he put this body on 523 00:28:22,040 --> 00:28:24,600 Speaker 1: display for a matter of years, could pay a nickel 524 00:28:24,680 --> 00:28:28,359 Speaker 1: to come see this body. And then two guys that 525 00:28:28,480 --> 00:28:33,119 Speaker 1: worked for the amusement park or no traveling carnival disguise 526 00:28:33,240 --> 00:28:38,040 Speaker 1: themselves as what his brothers his brothers to come claim 527 00:28:38,080 --> 00:28:40,640 Speaker 1: the body, and they actually stole the body and it 528 00:28:40,680 --> 00:28:44,520 Speaker 1: traveled around the country, eventually ending up in Long Beach. Yes. 529 00:28:45,160 --> 00:28:47,360 Speaker 1: What's even more amazing is that we know whose body 530 00:28:47,400 --> 00:28:50,040 Speaker 1: this is. Yes, we do. It was a bank robbing 531 00:28:50,080 --> 00:28:54,680 Speaker 1: bandit named Elmer McCurdy who lived out his violent career 532 00:28:54,840 --> 00:28:57,960 Speaker 1: at the about the turn of the last century, early 533 00:28:58,280 --> 00:29:01,680 Speaker 1: twentieth century. Uh. He was killed in the shootout for 534 00:29:01,680 --> 00:29:04,960 Speaker 1: forty six bucks and two jugs of whiskey. Uh. And 535 00:29:05,160 --> 00:29:07,240 Speaker 1: like you said, the undertaker did such a good job 536 00:29:07,280 --> 00:29:09,640 Speaker 1: in balming him. He charged people in nickel to come 537 00:29:09,680 --> 00:29:12,120 Speaker 1: look at this bandit. Uh. And that was that. So 538 00:29:12,200 --> 00:29:15,760 Speaker 1: when they finally laid him to rest, I think in 539 00:29:15,880 --> 00:29:19,440 Speaker 1: like two thousand six. Really, no, it couldn't have been. No, No, 540 00:29:19,560 --> 00:29:21,040 Speaker 1: it would have been a couple of years after the 541 00:29:21,080 --> 00:29:24,720 Speaker 1: six million dollar man thing in seventy six. Okay. Um. 542 00:29:24,840 --> 00:29:29,240 Speaker 1: They they supposedly put cement over his casket so that 543 00:29:29,480 --> 00:29:31,760 Speaker 1: nobody could dig him up and do the same thing 544 00:29:31,760 --> 00:29:35,840 Speaker 1: all over again. Yeah, true story. Yeah. So Cracked actually 545 00:29:35,840 --> 00:29:38,320 Speaker 1: has a about eleven of them over the span of 546 00:29:38,360 --> 00:29:40,200 Speaker 1: a couple of articles. And then I saw other sites 547 00:29:40,240 --> 00:29:43,520 Speaker 1: that said they had real ones. But um, again, you 548 00:29:43,520 --> 00:29:46,560 Speaker 1: can't always believe everything. I don't know if I believe Cracked. No, 549 00:29:46,800 --> 00:29:48,880 Speaker 1: that's why I went and checked it out. It's snops 550 00:29:48,880 --> 00:29:52,400 Speaker 1: and they they had the same story, uh different, slightly different, 551 00:29:52,400 --> 00:29:54,880 Speaker 1: but all the facts were the same, same name, same everything. 552 00:29:55,240 --> 00:29:58,880 Speaker 1: Friend of a friend. Yeah, is that it? That's it man? 553 00:29:59,120 --> 00:30:01,480 Speaker 1: I mean we can go on urban life. Yeah, we 554 00:30:01,520 --> 00:30:04,640 Speaker 1: could just could be in eleven our podcast. Um, but 555 00:30:04,720 --> 00:30:06,720 Speaker 1: let's not make it that way. Now, if you want 556 00:30:06,720 --> 00:30:10,000 Speaker 1: to learn more about urban legends, you can look it 557 00:30:10,080 --> 00:30:12,360 Speaker 1: up in the handy search bart how stuffworks dot com. Chuck, 558 00:30:12,360 --> 00:30:15,040 Speaker 1: it's time for listener mint. Now. It's not Josh what 559 00:30:15,400 --> 00:30:17,320 Speaker 1: We are not going to do listener mail today because 560 00:30:17,360 --> 00:30:20,080 Speaker 1: we are going to plug this thing like a finger 561 00:30:20,160 --> 00:30:22,680 Speaker 1: and a dike. So Chuck, go ahead, then, if you're 562 00:30:22,720 --> 00:30:25,280 Speaker 1: going to do that, let's do it well. First of all, 563 00:30:25,320 --> 00:30:27,360 Speaker 1: we want to plug the new science podcast that we 564 00:30:27,440 --> 00:30:30,200 Speaker 1: talked about for a while. And it is called Stuff 565 00:30:30,280 --> 00:30:33,680 Speaker 1: from the Science Lab with our comrades. Robert Lamb, who 566 00:30:33,760 --> 00:30:37,800 Speaker 1: you might remember from doing me Rendition the reading of 567 00:30:37,840 --> 00:30:41,320 Speaker 1: the Jack the Ripper letter. Yeah gotta, he doesn't do 568 00:30:41,360 --> 00:30:44,400 Speaker 1: that voice in the podcast, so unfortunately. And Alison, they 569 00:30:44,440 --> 00:30:46,160 Speaker 1: do a great job with science e stuff. Hell of 570 00:30:46,280 --> 00:30:49,200 Speaker 1: in ea there. And we're going to plug Strickland's podcast 571 00:30:49,240 --> 00:30:52,360 Speaker 1: tech Stuff. Even though he talks smack about us, he 572 00:30:52,440 --> 00:30:55,080 Speaker 1: really does. Then this we are going to plug stuff 573 00:30:55,080 --> 00:30:58,479 Speaker 1: he missed in history class with our colleagues. Now Katie 574 00:30:58,520 --> 00:31:00,479 Speaker 1: used to be Jane and Candice now it's eighty and 575 00:31:00,520 --> 00:31:04,080 Speaker 1: Sarah Dowdy full time. They do a great job. And 576 00:31:04,720 --> 00:31:08,240 Speaker 1: what else do we have? High speed stuff? Yeah, Scott 577 00:31:08,280 --> 00:31:10,480 Speaker 1: and Ben Scott and Been do a great auto podcast, 578 00:31:10,640 --> 00:31:13,840 Speaker 1: very funny. Ben and Matt also do stuff they don't 579 00:31:13,840 --> 00:31:17,320 Speaker 1: want you to know it video podcast on conspiracies, which 580 00:31:17,360 --> 00:31:19,840 Speaker 1: is awesome. Yeah, Coolest Stuff on the Planet is another 581 00:31:19,880 --> 00:31:24,640 Speaker 1: great travel video podcast. And what are what are we forgetting? Yeah, Sminty, 582 00:31:24,640 --> 00:31:27,040 Speaker 1: our sminty gals. Yeah, how can we forget? Sminty? Did 583 00:31:27,080 --> 00:31:29,480 Speaker 1: you see that email we accidentally got that was intended 584 00:31:29,520 --> 00:31:32,840 Speaker 1: for them? Today? Uh, stuff mom never told you of course? 585 00:31:33,040 --> 00:31:36,960 Speaker 1: Is uh the some people liking it to the female 586 00:31:37,040 --> 00:31:39,440 Speaker 1: version of what we do. Yeah, they have a huge 587 00:31:39,440 --> 00:31:42,760 Speaker 1: cult following to do. They're great, they're really funny quality stuff. Oh, 588 00:31:42,800 --> 00:31:45,680 Speaker 1: of course there's stuff Genius and brain Stuff, both of 589 00:31:45,680 --> 00:31:49,200 Speaker 1: which a feature. Are a Steam founder Marshall Brain Yeah, 590 00:31:49,240 --> 00:31:51,120 Speaker 1: and Stuff of Genius is really short. And if you're 591 00:31:51,160 --> 00:31:55,480 Speaker 1: into like cool monty python esque graphics, don't like it. Yeah, 592 00:31:55,520 --> 00:31:58,080 Speaker 1: And of course there's the blogs always. You can just 593 00:31:58,120 --> 00:32:01,560 Speaker 1: type in the blogs at how stuff works die com. Right, 594 00:32:01,840 --> 00:32:04,720 Speaker 1: plug fest is over. Plug Fest is over. You haven't 595 00:32:04,760 --> 00:32:07,479 Speaker 1: done in a while. If you want to send us 596 00:32:07,480 --> 00:32:12,320 Speaker 1: an email, we probably will do reader mail again right 597 00:32:12,840 --> 00:32:15,320 Speaker 1: starting next week. Okay, if you want to send us 598 00:32:15,320 --> 00:32:18,960 Speaker 1: an email on absolutely anything, you can wrap it up 599 00:32:19,120 --> 00:32:22,560 Speaker 1: and send it to stuff podcast at how stuff works 600 00:32:22,600 --> 00:32:29,360 Speaker 1: dot com. For more on this and thousands of other topics. 601 00:32:29,600 --> 00:32:32,440 Speaker 1: Is it how stuff works dot com. Want more how 602 00:32:32,560 --> 00:32:35,200 Speaker 1: stuff works, check out our blogs on the how stuff 603 00:32:35,200 --> 00:32:40,080 Speaker 1: works dot com home page. Brought to you by the 604 00:32:40,080 --> 00:32:43,440 Speaker 1: reinvented two thousand twelve camera. It's ready, are you