LoC 65: Top 50 Urban Legends

[Compound]

I don't think so.  It was related to Forgotten Realms... I think.  It wasn't even so much choose as "roll well" your own adventure.  But there's way to many D&D books out there to even try to find it.

D&D had the "Endless Quest" series, rather than the Fighting Fantasy ones. Those were primarily UK-produced. (TSR even did a few romance-based "Heart Quest" books.)



No, still not proud to know this. Don't recall any using dice though. Tunnels & Trolls books maybe?

[CJones]

Yeah, sorry. Hit a personal issue above.

Anyway, the schedule will be a odd with the posting as I though Halloween was on Tuesday.

It's not.

So, as a result, I may be posting this weekend, or I may just post the remainder on the weekdays. We'll just see. It'll be an exciting adventure! Catch you then.

Not to worry. Particularly considering how little you had to work with. This list, and more specifically, the write ups for this list, are fantastic. 

[Compound]

Okay, things are going slowly, but with the help of carmel apple flavored candy corn, I think we're ready to roll.

[Johnny Unusual]

Okay, things are going slowly, but with the help of carmel apple flavored candy corn, I think we're ready to roll.

Yeah, that's what candy corn needed: to taste more like sugar.

[Smoky]

Quick, quick, before the power goes out.

[Compound]

# 30: The Scarlet Linkletter

24 Points (On 1 of 9 lists)
Highest Vote: (#2 by Merry Wanna )

The Story:
Hey, where'd you get that scar on your arm?

Really? You leapt from your roof because you thought you could fly and then were whisked away  to help Santa free his sleigh from a Miami Beach?

Er.... yeah.

Well, that reminds me of something I heard once. See, back in the 60s people started using LSD and, well, a lot of them didn't react too well to it. Well, okay, that one pitcher tossed a no hitter while using it, but he's the exception. Other users stared at the sun until they burned out their retinas. But this one teenager... Well, she took LSD and then thought she could fly. So she leapt out of her 6th story window.

Yeah, it didn't end with a trip to Santa.

thing is, we probably never would have heard about it if it weren't for the girl's name- Diane Linkletter. He dad was Art Linkletter. He spent the rest of his life warning others about the dangers of LSD use.

...a bunny in a fire truck? Er, yeah. I'm guessing you never heard the guy speak, huh?

Well, Is It True?
Probably not.

Diane Linkletter did commit suicide by unexpectedly leaping to her death one morning. That's true. And Art Linkletter did speak throughout the rest of his life about the dangers of LSD use. But there's no real evidence as to whether the suicide came from drug use or just severe depression, which several of Diane's associates report that she was suffering from. Diane allegedly called her brother and told him that she was suffering from a bad LSD trip, which he then relayed to his father. But Diane also called another friend of hers who was in her apartment from roughly 3 in the morning until the time of her death and that witness reported no unusual activity from her right up until when she jumped out the window. And since at the time, suicide from depression was seen as more scandalous than death by drug use, it's possible that Robert simply related a story that would lessen the impact of his sister's death on his father.

In any case, while suddenly jumping from a window is quite unusual, there's no evidence that Linkletter's death came from drug use.

Random Notes
Art Linkletter had 5 children. He unfortunately outlived 3 of them.

In 1970, John Waters made a short film called "The Diane Linkletter story" which expanded on the urban legendy version of the story. Divine played Diane, which may have been a not terribly accurate casting choice.

Up Next
Okay, now we're just taunting Cole, aren't we?

[Compound]

# 29: Pokemon Catching

24 Points (On 1 of 9 lists)
Highest Vote: (#2 by BBQ Platypus )

The Story:
Okay, you're still playing Pokemon? Didn't we already go over this?

Sigh. Anyway, you know there's a way to make sure that you capture one of those things, right?

A master ball? (snicker) Really? They really have something called that? (snicker)

No, it's much simpler. Just press the up arrow and B while catching one.

Didn't work?  Eh, you tried it too soon.  No, now you're holding it too long. No, you're still off on the timing. Try standing on one foot too. No, no. The motion sensor can tell that you're doing that.

No, of course I'm not just yanking your chain. Now, try spinning around too.

Well, Is It True?
No. While there are variables that improve your chances of catching Pokemon in the game such as ball quality (snicker), and if the Pokemon is suffering from status ailments nothing you do outside the game will influence catching a particular Pokemon.

Well, okay, there's the "save and then reload until you capture it" method, but that's all.

Okay, you could sell your soul too, but be warned. Satan will probably just have your save game file get corrupted and then you won't have a soul or a Reshiram.

Random Notes
Okay, presumably the Ghostbusters would be really good at catching ghost types too. But let's just move on.

Up Next
While there isn't one in Pokemon, the Wow version of pet collecting does have one.

[Compound]

# 28: The Beast of Bodmin

24 Points (On 1 of 9 lists)
Highest Vote: (#2 by Tripe )

The Story:
You know, there are some folks who say that certain things just don't exist in the UK. Good mexican food. Sensible Olympic opening and closing ceremonies. But there's one thing that folks are wrong about England not having- big cats.

No, not like Garfield. Like lions.

See, in the Cornwall region, there are giant cats roaming around mutilating livestock and then vanishing off onto the moors.  They're even leaving tracks.

Yeah, them fancy "zoologists" say that there's not enough of a population of large animals for giant cats to feed on, but yet, the cats are still there.

So where'd they come from? Well, private collectors will sometimes import critters that they're not really supposed to have and sometimes they get loose. Obviously that's what happened. And now they're loose on the moors. Just like David Kessler.

Well, Is It True?
Well, probably not.

In 1995, a skull was sent to the Natural History Museum that was supposedly of the beast. However, after researching it, they revealed that the skull likely came from a leopard skin rug, rather than a live animal. Well, a live animal that wasn't then turned into a rug.

However, more recently a video clip purportedly of the beast has surfaced and some zoologists state that the beast may be a species of large cat currently thought to be extinct in the UK.

Then again, the UK has a history of legends about dark and ghostly creatures prowling the countryside. This may be the latest iteration of that.

Random Notes
Now if this was a big electric cat, it'd be from Sydney. Or the Tom Tom club.

Up Next
They tried this with Daikatana too, but they wouldn't stay buried.

[Compound]

# 27: ET Was Buried in the Desert

24 Points (On 1 of 9 lists)
Highest Vote: (#2 by PakMan)

 The Story:
... so, still playing Pokemon? Sigh.

Well, on the bright side, Nintendo at least knows their market. Unlike other companies. Let me tell you a little story.

See, back in the 80s, Atari was the biggest video game company in the US. But they kept screwing up. They made a version of Pac-man, one of the biggest games at the time, and then made more cartridges of it that the number of consoles that existed. That was bad. But then they decided to follow that up by licensing a pair of Speilberg movies. Now, their version of Raiders of the Lost Ark wasn't good, but it wasn't horrible either. But then they made a quick and dirty game based on E.T.

And it bombed. Horribly. They couldn't give the  thing away. So Atari collected about 10 truckloads full of just ET Cartridges and then buried them in a New Mexico desert. Then they covered them in concrete, just to make sure that no one went and dug them up. You know, because they were so valuable. So rest assured, Nintendo will never have to bury 4 million copies of Pokemon Orange in the desert.

Nintenrats though? Yeah, those will probably end up under a steamroller.

Well, Is It True?
Well, probably yes.

Atari's plant at the time was in El Paso and the cartridges were shipped to just outside of  Alamogordo, New Mexico. News reports of the burial were reported at the time in both the Alamogordo Daily News and a week or two later in the New York Times. The Daily News also reported on the concrete being added to the landfill on September 29, 1983.

There are those who believe that Atari really didn't do this, including some of Atari's former employees, but the existence of contemporary news articles corroborating the events suggest that it probably did happen.

Hi! Future Compound from 2015 here! Yeah, the made in 2014 "Atari : Game Over" documentary includes footage of the cartridges being dug back up from the landfill. So, yep. True.

Random Notes
Hey, have a music video.

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/8Rt_3_bQVJU?version=3" target="_blank" class="new_win">http://www.youtube.com/v/8Rt_3_bQVJU?version=3</a>

And side note- my parents did buy me a copy of the game. So I'm one of the few who experienced it.

Up Next
I dunno. Dip them in chocolate and it might work...

[Compound]

 

# 26: Spiders on the Inside

24 Points (On 1 of 9 lists)
Highest Vote: (#2 by Cjones )

The Story:
Dude, shut your mouth.
 
"Am I letting in flies?" No. Now, spiders, maybe...
 
See, the average person swallows anywhere from 3-8 spiders a year without even realizing it.  It's true. They did a study about it in the 1950s. You probably swallow even more now, due to the explosion in the spider population.
 
But really, shut your mouth. You look really stupid with it open.
 
Well, Is It True?
Not in the least.
 
This "fact" comes from a 1993 PC Professional article about e-mails that circulated lists of "facts" that were then spammed across the  internet. The author then offered a completely made-up list of equally untrue facts, among which was the data about spider swallowing. Which people then circulated around the net as if it were true.  Never underestimate gullibility.
 
 
Random Notes
You know that if you soak spiders in LSD and then press Up plus B while on the moors.... Okay, getting a bit punchy here.

Up Next
A strange case of deja vu.

[Compound]

Okay, running some errands. Be back later to finish up.

[MerryWanna]

Yeah, sorry. Hit a personal issue above.

I assume you mean my meth entry.  I didn't mean to upset you.  What I did mean to do was correct a long-running misconception about this drug - I don't think this was even a government lie, so it fits the "urban legend" category even more than does the "Reefer Madness" stories, which were deliberate government hoaxes. 

Just to be clear: I'm not saying meth is a safe drug, for Pete's sake.  Just that it can't physically addict a person with a single use - Christ, even heroin can't do that.

The more truth about drugs is known, the less likely that foolhardy individuals will assume that since the lies about pot and psychedelics are so thickly ingrained into the mass culture, then, perhaps, if they discover by personal experience that these lies are not true, they may make an incorrect leap of logic, and assume that everything they ever heard about meth, crack and heroin might also be BS--which is, of course, not always the case. Some of that ugly stuff is (and/or can be) very true.  But addict someone after a single use? No. This was the sort of thing found in email forwards circa 1997-1998 or so, mostly.

At any rate, I do not know what your personal reason is for this upsetting you, and I don't need to know it; I do need  you to know that I was not expecting to upset anyone and that I am sorry for doing so. 

[CJones]

# 26: Spiders on the Inside

24 Points (On 1 of 9 lists)
Highest Vote: (#2 by Cjones )

I heard this a good 15 years ago from some guy I went to college with, except the number then was three. I asked him: you're talking about people who actually do eat insects/arachnids, plus the legally allowable quantity of insect parts in common foods, relative to the general population. Right? He said no, we swallow them in our sleep.

Fast forward to a few months ago. I saw a video on YouTube by CGPGrey. He claims that not only is three an underestimate, so is eight. Spiders like warm dark moist places. Thanks for that image     
 

[Compound]

Okay, back from the dead and ready to party. A few quick notes:

Merry, no need to apologize. My personal foibles are just that- mine. You've got no need to apologize for a random comment any more than you'd need to if you randomly mentioned a schauzer and I flashed back to my puppy Pete who dug under the fence one night and promptly got smooshed by a car.


RIP Pete

(Not the real Pete in the photo.)

CJ- glad to inspire nightmares!

[Compound]

# 25: Roswell

24 Points (On 2 of 9 lists)
Highest Vote: (#5 by Pak-Man )

The Story:
You know we're not alone, right?

...no, I don't mean here at the food court. I mean in the universe.

...no, I don't mean the dolphins are here too. I mean aliens have visited the earth. In fact, they've visited the US. See, in 1947, there was a UFO and in crashed in New Mexico. the government covered the thing up since they didn't want us to freak out about aliens. So they said it was a weather balloon. And the stupid sheeple fell for it. So keep watching the skies, man.

Well, Is It True?
Depends on who you ask. Most UFOologists...

Yes, that's a real thing.

...will dismiss the government reports as fakery designed to throw people off the tracks. Around 1990, a schism developed in the community with some UFOologists arguing that while UFOs were real, the Roswell crash wasn't. There are some theories that in fact, the Soviets sent out the "saucer" in an effort to demoralize the American people. So it's a Commie conspiracy too. No one really knows if it's true or not. Except the Air Force types who were there. And the aliens.

Folks in Roswell though don't care and will gleefully promote the hell out of the Alien crash. Heck, the UFO Museum is right on the city's front page. So bring your alien money to Roswell!

Random Notes
Whether the incident is true of not, it's popular in our pop culture. Off the top of my head, it's been referred to in "Futurama" (Zoidberg caused that one), "Deep Space Nine" (the Ferengi there), "American Dad" (Roger was in that one), Independence Day, Dark Skies , the Area 51 video game and more. Oh, and "Roswell" was based on it too.

Up Next
Actually Craig Charles is also a precursor to great disaster as well.