Urban Legends
WHICH ONES ARE TRUE? Check these out:
An elderly woman, in an attempt to dry her just-bathed miniature poodle faster, put him in the microwave and pressed the defrost button.
FALSE
The "Poodle in the Microwave" or "Microwaved Pet" myth, in which a person puts a wet pet in the microwave to dry (with tragically explosive results for the animal), was widely circulated in the mid-1970s. It was probably a reaction to somewhat mysterious new technologies such as microwave ovens. Although this legend usually has a befuddled elderly woman making the fatal error, the manner in which the pet gets wet, as well as the type of pet, has sometimes varied. And it goes without saying (we hope!) that while this story isn't true, you should never microwave your pet.
That little bit of crunch in Fig Newtons could be due to the bugs that inadvertently get into the fig paste.
TRUE!!!!
The Food and Drug Administration allows for fig paste to have up to 13 insect heads per 100 grams. Because the fig bears its flowers inside the fruit and relies upon wasps to crawl inside to pollinate them, many wasps end up harvested along with the figs. Even with rigorous cleaning and sorting of the figs, it would be nearly impossible to remove every single wasp from inside the figs. So, the crunch is mostly from the fig's seeds, but there may be a wasp head or two in the paste as well.
A young boy died from eating a fatal combination of six bags of Pop Rocks and a six-pack of Coca-Cola. The combination apparently caused the Pop Rocks to explode in his stomach, killing him instantly.
FALSE
This urban legend scared parents and kids alike for some time, especially when the story evolved and it was supposedly "Mikey," the freckle-faced little boy in the Life Cereal commercials of the 1970s, who died from eating too many Pop Rocks and chasing them with a six-pack of Coca-Cola. However, Pop Rocks do not contain enough gas to cause anything worse than a belch, and chasing them with a can of soda certainly won't cause an explosion. When Kraft bought the product rights in 1983, Pop Rocks were marketed under a different name, leading to the rumor that they were taken off the shelves because they were so dangerous. These days, they are back on the market again as Pop Rocks and are still available in your favorite candy aisle.
A drugged tourist awoke in his hotel room's ice-filled bathtub, and realized that he had undergone surgery on his lower-left groin. Doctors who examined him confirmed that he was yet another victim of a kidney robbery.
FALSE
The urban legend of a traveler waking up robbed of his kidneys by a gang of highly skilled organ thieves was seen by thousands in 1997 via a well-circulated e-mail with the subject line, "Travelers Beware!" In fact, the story had been around since at least 1991. According to Snopes.com, the National Kidney Foundation has asked any individuals who had their kidneys illegally removed to contact them. So far, no one has.
Kopi Luwak, the world's most expensive coffee at U.S. $75 per quarter pound, is harvested from the partially digested coffee beans found in the feces of the palm civet, a distant cousin of the mongoose.
TRUE!!!
The exotic gourmet coffee Kopi Luwak--a combination of the Indonesian word for coffee and a local name of the palm civet--is harvested from the partially digested coffee beans found in the feces of the civet, a distant cousin of the mongoose. Known for its distinctly rich taste and aroma, the excreted coffee is produced in Indonesia and Vietnam, and is gaining in popularity among coffee connoisseurs. It is believed that the enzymes in the civet's stomach partially break down the proteins in the coffee beans, removing the bitter taste and enhancing the coffee's flavor. Still, many deride this beverage as "cat poop coffee" or "monkey poo coffee.
While demonstrating the safety of the windows in a skyscraper, a lawyer fell to his death when the window he was pushing on gave way.
TRUE!!!
Sadly, the story of a lawyer falling to his death from a skyscraper window was all too real for Garry Hoy. As he was demonstrating the safety of the windows in the building for some visiting law students, Toronto lawyer Hoy fell 24 stories to his death in 1993 when the window popped out and he fell through, to the horror of several witnesses.
An elderly woman, in an attempt to dry her just-bathed miniature poodle faster, put him in the microwave and pressed the defrost button.
FALSE
The "Poodle in the Microwave" or "Microwaved Pet" myth, in which a person puts a wet pet in the microwave to dry (with tragically explosive results for the animal), was widely circulated in the mid-1970s. It was probably a reaction to somewhat mysterious new technologies such as microwave ovens. Although this legend usually has a befuddled elderly woman making the fatal error, the manner in which the pet gets wet, as well as the type of pet, has sometimes varied. And it goes without saying (we hope!) that while this story isn't true, you should never microwave your pet.
That little bit of crunch in Fig Newtons could be due to the bugs that inadvertently get into the fig paste.
TRUE!!!!
The Food and Drug Administration allows for fig paste to have up to 13 insect heads per 100 grams. Because the fig bears its flowers inside the fruit and relies upon wasps to crawl inside to pollinate them, many wasps end up harvested along with the figs. Even with rigorous cleaning and sorting of the figs, it would be nearly impossible to remove every single wasp from inside the figs. So, the crunch is mostly from the fig's seeds, but there may be a wasp head or two in the paste as well.
A young boy died from eating a fatal combination of six bags of Pop Rocks and a six-pack of Coca-Cola. The combination apparently caused the Pop Rocks to explode in his stomach, killing him instantly.
FALSE
This urban legend scared parents and kids alike for some time, especially when the story evolved and it was supposedly "Mikey," the freckle-faced little boy in the Life Cereal commercials of the 1970s, who died from eating too many Pop Rocks and chasing them with a six-pack of Coca-Cola. However, Pop Rocks do not contain enough gas to cause anything worse than a belch, and chasing them with a can of soda certainly won't cause an explosion. When Kraft bought the product rights in 1983, Pop Rocks were marketed under a different name, leading to the rumor that they were taken off the shelves because they were so dangerous. These days, they are back on the market again as Pop Rocks and are still available in your favorite candy aisle.
A drugged tourist awoke in his hotel room's ice-filled bathtub, and realized that he had undergone surgery on his lower-left groin. Doctors who examined him confirmed that he was yet another victim of a kidney robbery.
FALSE
The urban legend of a traveler waking up robbed of his kidneys by a gang of highly skilled organ thieves was seen by thousands in 1997 via a well-circulated e-mail with the subject line, "Travelers Beware!" In fact, the story had been around since at least 1991. According to Snopes.com, the National Kidney Foundation has asked any individuals who had their kidneys illegally removed to contact them. So far, no one has.
Kopi Luwak, the world's most expensive coffee at U.S. $75 per quarter pound, is harvested from the partially digested coffee beans found in the feces of the palm civet, a distant cousin of the mongoose.
TRUE!!!
The exotic gourmet coffee Kopi Luwak--a combination of the Indonesian word for coffee and a local name of the palm civet--is harvested from the partially digested coffee beans found in the feces of the civet, a distant cousin of the mongoose. Known for its distinctly rich taste and aroma, the excreted coffee is produced in Indonesia and Vietnam, and is gaining in popularity among coffee connoisseurs. It is believed that the enzymes in the civet's stomach partially break down the proteins in the coffee beans, removing the bitter taste and enhancing the coffee's flavor. Still, many deride this beverage as "cat poop coffee" or "monkey poo coffee.
While demonstrating the safety of the windows in a skyscraper, a lawyer fell to his death when the window he was pushing on gave way.
TRUE!!!
Sadly, the story of a lawyer falling to his death from a skyscraper window was all too real for Garry Hoy. As he was demonstrating the safety of the windows in the building for some visiting law students, Toronto lawyer Hoy fell 24 stories to his death in 1993 when the window popped out and he fell through, to the horror of several witnesses.
posted by Michele at 8:12 AM
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