Highlights (lowlights) from the Alt.Folklore.Urban Frequently Posted
Legends File. This group is dedicated to researching and debunking/confirming
commonly posted net stories.
 
 
Key to one liners below:
  T  = 100% scientific truth
  Tb = believed true, but not conclusively proven
  F  = 100% falsehood
  Fb = believed false, but not conclusively proven
 
F.*You can make as much ice faster by starting with warmer water.
T.*Boiled water freezes faster than ordinary water at same initial temp.
T.*Hot water evaporates while freezing, producing 75% of ice in 90% of time.
   See "Hot water freezes faster than cold water.  Why does it do so?",
   Jearl Walker in The Amateur Scientist, Scientific American, Vol. 237, 
   No. 3, pp 246-257; September, 1977 and "The Freezing of Hot and Cold 
   Water", G.S. Kell in American Journal of Physics, Vol. 37, No. 5, pp 
   564-565; May, 1969.
T.*CDs are the size they are because it could hold Beethoven's 9th symphony.
T. There was a natural nuclear reaction in Africa long ago [NOT an explosion.]
T. Parachute mishap brought down a Cessna (gently) on a novice's parachute.
T. In 1947 a moth was found in a relay of the Harvard Mark II machine, and
   taped into the logbook as the "first actual case of bug being found".
T. The log book used to be in building 1200 "K-lab" of the Naval Surface 
   Warfare Center, Dahlgren Division.  Now at the Smithsonian MoAH.
F. Grace Hopper coined the term "bug" as a result of this event.
T. Grace Hopper was a programmer for the Mark II and often told the moth story.
T. "Bug" was used to mean a design defect as far back as Edison's time.
T. Fin-de-siecle Frenchman,Petomane,got rich farting as music hall act.Fartist.
T. Prof lists famous unsolved problems;student thought it was homework- solved!
   (Student was George Dantzig.)  ["The Unsolvable Math Problem" in CBA.]
T. Prof. Donald "Art of Computer Programming" Knuth's 1st publication was in 
   MAD mag. (MAD #33 "The Potrzebie system of weights and measures")
F. Folks find casks of wine in cellar of old house. Tap and drank from several
   of them.  Later, preserved body of original house owner found in cask.
   [Body in the cask motif may find some basis in old story of Admiral Nelson
   of Battle of Trafalgar.  His body was shipped back in wine/rum cask.  Upon
   arrival in UK, cask was low/empty.  "The body in the cask" in TCD.]
Tb.Nautical saying: "Tapping the Admiral" is based on the above.
T. A guy goes a-shooting at Saguaro cacti; hits one. It falls and kills him!
   ["The Plant's Revenge" in _CBA_]
T. Crotch seam rivet in original Levi's dropped due to pain from standing near 
   fires.
T. JF Kennedy said "Ich bin ein Berliner." Could be either "I am a native of
   Berlin" or "I am a jelly doughnut." Berliners knew what he was talking about
T.*"Okay" or "OK" is originally from a misspelling fad: "Oll Korrect" (all
   correct); popularized by "Old Kinderhook" Van Buren in election campaign.
T.*Studies indicate that the majority of US currency has traces of cocaine.
F. "Newlywed Game" husband televised response that the strangest place they 
   made love was "That'd be the butt, Bob."
T. Woman has epileptic seizures upon hearing Mary Hart's [ET anchor] voice.
F.*Soupy Sales was canned for telling kids to send him pieces of paper with
   pictures of dead presidents from their parents' dresser drawers on his show.
T.*He was suspended for a week.
T. Unless marked "dairy", fast food shakes aren't milk: mostly carrageen gel.
Tb.Microwaved food is better (other cooking allegedly creates carcinogens)
Tb.Eating celery takes more energy than its digestion yields.
T.*Woman removes label from "tuna" can, finds cat food label underneath.
T.*The cat food actually was tuna canned 6 years earlier in Canada, declared
   unfit for human consumption, allowed to be exported as pet food, and then
   illegally relabeled as tuna again.  (Toronto Star, March 24, 1992)
T. Some English beers contain fish guts.
T. Nelson Rockefeller died of cardiac arrest while porking the help.
Tb.Adolf Hitler only had one testicle.  Immortalized in many a kid's rhyme.
T. Guy hurts self after sex w/machine drive belt, has self surgery w/stapler.
T. Public boners are banned in Indiana.  Law upheld by US Supreme Court.
T. Couple on UK train had oral sex, then sex, then smoked in non-smoking area,
F. ...nobody complained until they started smoking;
T. ...train crew ignored complaints until couple started smoking.
Tb.Would-be rapist steals kisses; one Calif victim bit a piece off his tongue.
T. Woman's womb filled with air during cunnilingus; she dies due to embolism.
T. Disney parks are riddled with secret tunnels and surveillance equipment.
T.*"Little Mermaid" video cover features good drawing of penis. Prank? Revenge?
T. There is a basketball hoop at the top of the Disneyland Matterhorn replica.
T. There is a secret "Club 33" serving hard liquor,in New Orleans Sq,Disneyland
T. SF writer Harlan Ellison fired from Dismall Studios after Mickey porn joke.
T. Princess Anne was only female competitor not given sex test in 1976 Olympics
Tb.Hubbard started Scientology after Heinlein bet he couldn't found a religion.
T. You can send a coconut thru the mail without any further wrapping. Yowser!
T.*Mapmakers place copyright traps in maps (Rand-McNally, no. Thomas Maps, yes)
T. There were (are?) Japanese soldiers hiding out on isles in Pacific who 
   believed WWII was still on.
T. Woman sued drink co.; she was blinded by bottle cap after opening w/pliers.
T. Gerbils are illegal in California.[CA Reg. Title 14, Sec. 671 (c)(2)(J) 1].
Tb.Gerbils are trained to sniff drugs in Canada.  Those Canadians!
Tb.Oregon Highway Div blows up eight ton dead whale, showers town with blubber.
Tb.Tree-lined French avenue triggers epileptic fits by flickering light at 11Hz
T. New York car thief stole lab delivery of cadaver heads...
T. It's really no big deal that there are towns named "Intercourse" and
   "Blue Ball" in Pennsylvania.  Post it to misc.misc if you can't resist.
Tb.Freon can be used to break Kryptonite locks.
T. "The Club" is lame because a thief could cut through the wheel in no time.
Tb.Govt forces commercial birdseed to be irradiated to stop hemp seed sprouting
T. Radar emissions can kill birds, sterilize sailors, fry other small mammals.
T. Chickens are easily mesmerized. Whoopee.
F. Sprinkle salt on a bird's tail to catch it by preventing it flying away.
T. If the bird let you get close enough to salt its tail, you could grab it.
Tb.Dalmatians and humans are the only mammals who cannot break down
   uric acid into its soluble form, "allantoin."
T. A Baltimore lawyer was busted for microwaving a kitten in January 1992.
T. Radioactive cat litter found in May 1991 in Berkeley, Calif
Tb.In WW2, Russians fed dogs under tanks, then released them in battle with
   anti-tank explosives having an antenna-like trigger on their backs.
Tb.Dogs ran under wrong ones, German tanks didn't smell like Russian tanks.
T. Most Russian tanks were diesel, most German ones weren't.
T. German high command counters by spreading rabies rumors, encouraging
   soldiers to shoot every dog they see.
T. Rats cannot vomit (the basis for many rat poisons).
T. Sewer rats can come into the house and bite one's behind while on the potty.