Articles Index
Is My IPod a Lightning Rod?
Dear Urban Legends: Is it true that wearing an iPod during a thunderstorm increases one's chances of being struck by lightning?
'Simon Ashton' Hacker Warning
'Hacker warning' circulating via forwarded email tells recipients not to accept messages or friend invitations from a supposed email hacker named Simon Ashton.
'Christopher Butterfield' Hacker Warning
Viral 'hacker warning' urges recipients not to accept messages or friend invitations from a supposed email hacker named Christopher Butterfield.
Slender Man
The Internet boogeyman known as Slender Man (aka Slenderman) is neither real nor an urban legend, but rather a crowd-sourced fiction.
Viral Alert Says Don't Drink Bottled Water Kept in Car
Bottled water cancer danger? Viral text warns women not to drink bottled water left in a warm car because the heat allegedly causes cancer-producing toxins to 'leak' from the plastic into the water.
Is Ogling Women's Breasts Good for Men's Health?
'Medical study' supposedly published in the New England Journal of Medicine claims staring at women's breasts increases increases heart health and lengthens lifespan in men.
Top 25 Urban Legends
Most popular urban legends, online rumors and hoaxes of the past week
New & Updated
Find info on the latest Internet hoaxes, rumors, and the most popular stories circulating today.
The Curse of Frankenchicken
Is it true that KFC serves 'mutant chickens' and cannot legally use the word 'chicken' in advertisements because its products are made from genetically manipulated organisms?
Did Obama Change Military Funeral Protocol?
Forwarded email alleges that President Obama has ordered changes in military funeral protocol such that the folded flag is presented to the next-of-kin 'on behalf of the Secretary of Defense' instead of 'on behalf of the President.'
Baby Carrots and Chlorine
Viral text claims baby carrots sold in supermarkets pose a consumer health risk because they're processed in chlorine.
What Happened to Obama's Law License?
Forwarded text alleges that Barack and Michelle Obama surrendered their Illinois law licenses to avoid prosecution on criminal charges.
Internet Rumor: Megan Fox Is a Man!
Is Megan Fox a man??? Internet rumors claim voluptuous actress Megan Fox is actually either a man in drag (transvestite), a transsexual ('tranny'), or was born a hermaphrodite and underwent surgery to become a woman. What's the truth?
Did Einstein Prove that God Exists?
Einstein's proof of God? In this viral anecdote of unknown origin, a university student named Albert Einstein humiliates his atheist professor by proving that God exists.
Humans Can Lick, Too
AKA 'The Licked Hand.' A popular tale from the oral tradition recast as a spooky - if unbelievable - Internet chain letter.
Bloody Mary
Bloody Mary: Legend has it that if you stand in front of a mirror in a darkened room and chant 'Bloody Mary, Bloody Mary, Bloody Mary,' a terrifying ghost will appear.
Attack of the Butt Spider
Email prank warns of deadly South American 'Blush Spiders' (scientific name: Arachnius gluteus, or 'Butt Spider') migrating to the U.S. in airliner bathrooms and lurking under public toilet seats everywhere.
The Two-Striped Telamonia Spider
Recycled hoax warns of the Two-Striped Telamonia spider (Telamonia dimidiata), purportedly a poisonous specimen from Indonesia that hides under toilet seats and has killed five people in North Florida.
Buried Alive!
Once upon a time, before modern embalming techniques were developed, people were indeed found on very rare occasions to have been buried alive.
Carmen Winstead
Chain-letter-style Internet postings tell the story of Carmen Winstead, a 17-year-old girl supposedly pushed down a sewer and killed by a gang of girls from her school.
Obama Quote: 'I've Visited 57 States'
Forwarded email quotes a road-weary Barack Obama saying he has campaigned (or plans to campaign) in 'all 57 states,' and claims there are exactly 57 Islamic states in the world.
Ants in the Brain
Doctors looking for the cause of severe headaches and facial itching in a young child discover that ants have crawled in his ear and infested his brain.
Paper-on-Rear-Window Carjacking Scheme
Viral rumor warns of a new carjacking scheme involving the placement of a flyer or piece of paper on the victim's rear window to fool them into exiting the vehicle with the engine running.
The Clown Statue
A babysitter calls the parents she's working for to ask if she can cover up the disturbing 'clown statue' in the room where she's watching TV. The parents tell her to call 911 immediately and get out of the house!
JFK: 'I Am a Jelly Donut' ('Ich bin ein Berliner')
Did Germans chuckle with embarrassment when John F. Kennedy uttered the words 'Ich bin ein Berliner' at a Berlin Wall ceremony in 1963?