Here, in ascending order of popularity as gauged by reader interest and site traffic, are the Top 10 Urban Legends, Rumors, and Internet Hoaxes of 2011:
10. Carmen Winstead Was Pushed Down a Sewer
Chain-letter-style Internet postings tell the story of Carmen Winstead, a 17-year-old girl allegedly shoved into a sewer drain and killed by a gang of girls from her school. If you don't forward this story she'll come and get you!!! Read more...
9. Why Is the Ocean Salty?
Thanks to offhand comments by Jershey Shore's Snooki, TV watchers the world over flocked online to find an answer to the question, "Why is the ocean salty?" Snooki's theory: "It's full of whale sperm." Where did she learn this? Why, on the Internet, of course! Read more...
8. The Clown Statue
A babysitter calls the parents who hired her to ask if she can cover up the clown statue in the room where she's watching TV because it disturbs her. The parents tell her to call 911, grab the children, and get out of the house. NOW!!! Read more...
7. Cell Phone Numbers Go Public Next Month!
Still going strong after seven years, this urgent forwarded message claims a public directory of cell phone numbers will soon be published and advises users to add their numbers to the Do Not Call Registry to prevent a sudden influx of telemarketing calls. It's no more true now than it was when it first began circulating. Read more...
6. Spokeo.com Invades Your Privacy
Direct from a gazillion people's Facebook status updates: "FYI EVERYONE: There's a site called Spokeo.com and it's an online phone book that has a picture of your house, credit score, profession, age, how many people live in the house. Remove yourself AND ANY AKA OR SPOUSE by the Privacy button on the bottom right. (Passing along, scary stuff!)" Read more...
5. Lady Gaga Is a Hermaphrodite
Early in 2006, rising pop star Lady Gaga joined the ranks of alleged celebrity "hermaphrodites," the scuttlebutt being that she was born a man and had a sex-change operation. The rumor machine shifted into high gear last year, when folks started saying they saw a flash of Lady Gaga's "man parts" in a concert video posted on YouTube. Still hanging in there at Number Five in 2011! Read more...
4. Jamie Lee Curtis Is a Hermaphrodite
"Dear Guide," begins one of several inquiries I've received over the years on this perennially enthralling topic, "I've heard from a few places that Jamie Lee Curtis is genetically male. I know it is genetically possible for something like this to happen — Ms. Curtis is the only famous person I've ever heard linked to this 'problem.' One of my best friends is convinced it's impossible." Well, maybe not impossible, but highly unlikely to be sure. Read more...
3. Mr. Rogers Was a Marine Sniper / Navy Seal
Believe it or not, some folks are absolutely convinced that the gentle, soft-spoken children's TV show host Mr. Rogers hid a secret past as a trained sniper for the Marines (or Navy Seals) — nevermind that he spent his whole life in broadcasting, studying to become an ordained minister on the side. Nothing in Fred McFeely Rogers' biography suggests he ever entered military service, let alone underwent training as an assassin. Hard as it may be for cynics to accept, Mr. Rogers was exactly who he seemed. Read more...
2. Richard Gere and the Gerbil
Twenty-some-odd years ago, "they" say, actor Richard Gere was admitted into the emergency room of a Los Angeles hospital with a foreign object lodged in his rectum: a gerbil. There's no evidence it ever happened, mind you, but that hasn't stopped folks from gossiping about it. A lot. Read more...
1. World's Biggest Dog
Via forwarded email: "Hercules was recently awarded the honorable distinction of Worlds Biggest Dog by Guinness World Records. Hercules is an English Mastiff and has a 38 inch neck and weighs 282 pounds. With 'paws the size of softballs' (reports the Boston Herald), the three-year-old monster is far larger and heavier than his breed's standard 200-pound limit." Wait till you see the picture. Read more...
Dishonorable Mentions:
• Amy Bruce 'Dying Child' Chain Letter
• The Legend of Bloody Mary
• Facebook Shutting Down on March 15!
