Name: ___________________
Date: ___________
B3
B4
Truth or Urban Legends?
Mark which of the following are true (T) and which are urban legends/unproved stories (U).
Also, please indicate—by circling the number—which you have heard before (include if
you’ve heard a different but similar version).
1. The look of Tinker Bell in Peter Pan was based on Marilyn Monroe.
2. Thieves can steal money from your ATM by acquiring your card and PIN number through a
“Lebanese loop” and related scam.
3. Sneakers thrown over a telephone pole wire are a sign that a gang is marking their territory.
(or that it’s marking a gang member’s death)
4. “Phishing” is a scam in which someone tries to obtain your personal account information
(such as account numbers with Citibank or Ebay) to steal money and/or use your identity. It is
usually run through emails that appear official which ask you to enter in your information.
5. The average person needs to drink eight glasses of water a day to avoid being chronically
dehydrated.
6. The consumption of poppyseed muffins or bagels can cause a person to test positive on a
drug test.
7. At one time, gang members would shoot whoever brighted them as an initiation ritual.
8. Your purse may be carrying disease into your home. In fact, the majority of purses tested in
one study carried E. coli on them.
9. AIDS was a chemical experiment sponsored by the CIA that went awry.
10. More women are victims of domestic violence on Super Bowl Sunday than on any other
day of the year.
11. The personalities of the seven dwarfs in Snow White represent the seven stages of cocaine
addiction.
12. Finland once banned Donald Duck because he wears no pants.
13. Cher had a pair of ribs removed to achieve an ultra-thin waist.
14. A girl died from visiting too many tanning parlors in a single day in preparation for Prom.
15. Women who leave their full set of keys with their mechanics (while their cars are being
serviced) risk rape since some of these mechanics copy the keys and use them to break into the
women’s homes.
16. Coca Cola used to contain cocaine.
17. Chewing gum takes seven years to pass through the human digestive system.
18. Hair grows back darker or thicker after it has been shaved.
19. A pregnant woman was accused of trying to shoplift a basketball.
20. The Idaho legislators passed a resolution praising the filmmakers of Napoleon Dynamite.
21. Charlie Chaplin once lost a Charlie Chaplin look-alike contest.
22. Al Gore claimed to have invented the internet.
23. George W. Bush said: “One word sums up probably the responsibility of any vice
president, and that one word is ‘to be prepared.’” or “For NASA, space is still a high priority.”
24. A nervous old lady dives for the elevator floor when a black man gets on and gruffly asks
her to “hit four” [or “hit the floor,” depending on the version told]. The man turns out to be
Eddie Murphy, and as a gallant gesture he pays the lady's hotel bill.
25. Bobby McFerrin, singer of "Don't Worry, Be Happy," killed himself.
26. Elvis was told: “Stick to driving a truck, because you'll never make it as a singer.”
27. Van Halen's standard performance contract contained a provision calling for them to be
provided with a bowl of M&Ms, but with all the brown candies removed.
28. The same person posed for Jesus and Judas in Da Vinci’s The Last Supper.
29. Internet users can receive cash rewards (or certificates for merchandise) for forwarding on
a message, such as one used to test an email tracking device.
30. Sherlock Holmes said, “Elementary, my dear Watson.”
31. The average U.S. CEO of a large company make more in one day than most Americans
make in one year.