Timothy McSweeney's Header Image

- - - -

Now available for preorder:
The San Francisco Panorama
.

- - - -

U R B A N   M Y T H S
A B O U T   U R B A N   L E G E N D S .


BY RICK LARSEN

- - - -

The story about the gang members who drive with their lights off and shoot drivers who flash them was written in 1875 by Mark Twain.

The rumor of the rat in the bucket of Kentucky Fried Chicken was so distressing to Colonel Sanders that it led to his suicide in 1981.

The woman who originated the tale of the guy who awoke in a hotel bathtub with his kidneys removed went on to write a soft-rock song about how she came up with the idea. On the recording, she accompanied herself on acoustic guitar and harmonica. It was a regional hit during a brief period in the winter of 1974-75.

Every year, on the first Sunday in October, candlelight vigils are held in small towns around the world for the baby who was put in a microwave to dry.

Most people relate to the story of the Mexican sewer rat that was mistaken for a Chihuahua because, at one time or another, they have mistakenly adopted vermin themselves.

Over 50 percent of all traffic on the Internet consists of urban legends circulated via email.

When Richard Gere angrily confronted a tabloid journalist who had printed the rumor about his liaison with a gerbil, they hit it off so well that he ultimately fathered three of her children: Jonathan Lipnicki, that little girl in the Pepsi commercials, and a boy named Seth, who is not famous, but is actually quite an accomplished vibraphone player for his age.

Recounting urban legends as though they happened to you directly can improve your social standing immensely and make people like you.

An Urban Legend is not just any apocryphal tale that is told as true. To qualify as an Urban Legend, a story must be officially sanctioned by the seven-member Urban Legend Committee of America. Committee members are selected on the basis of academic achievement, public service, and respectable dental history. Whenever a new president is elected, tiny white flags are flown from every rooftop in Decatur, Illinois.

 

 

OTHER McSWEENEY'S STORIES:
- - - -


The Unusual History of My Impending Prominence: A Book-Tour Timeline From the Future By Neal Pollack
Untimely Week: A Message From Lovey Johns-Atchison The Acting President of the Trump Place Condo Association By Kevin Guilfoile
Untimely Week: NRA Grille Menu By Noam Weinstein
Untimely Week: One Woman's Poison By Ben Greenman
Untimely Week: Happier Hairless By Paul Maliszewski

- - - -

MAIN PAGE | ARCHIVES



Memories of Amanda Davis




Red dot denotes content that is new today.

Black dot denotes newish content.

McSWEENEY'S STORE

SUBSCRIBE TO:
McSWEENEY'S
THE BELIEVER
WHOLPHIN

FUTURE McSWEENEY'S BOOKS

THE AMANDA DAVIS HIGHWIRE FICTION AWARD

INVITE A McSWEENEY'S AUTHOR TO SPEAK IN YOUR TOWN OR COLLEGE

THE BEST AMERICAN NONREQUIRED READING

McSWEENEY'S MONTHLY MAILING LIST

BOOKSTORES WITH A McSWEENEY'S DISPLAY

McSWEENEY'S-RELATED EVENTS AND VARIOUS TOUR DATES

ORDER INQUIRIES AND ADDRESS CHANGES

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES:
FOR BOOKS
FOR THE QUARTERLY
FOR THE WEBSITE
FOR WHOLPHIN

McSWEENEY'S INTERNSHIPS

CONTACT US

- - - -

LETTERS TO McSWEENEY'S

LISTS

McSWEENEY'S RECOMMENDS

REVIEWS OF NEW FOOD

NEW WHOLPHIN FILM

DAN LIEBERT, VERBAL CARTOONIST

TEDDY WAYNE'S UNPOPULAR PROVERBS

NON-ESSENTIAL MNEMONICS

BITCHSLAP: A COLUMN ABOUT WOMEN AND FIGHTING

DISPATCHES FROM A GUY TRYING UNSUCCESSFULLY
TO SELL A SONG IN NASHVILLE


GLOBAL WAR ON BEDBUGS: LETTERS FROM BEDBUG CITY

THE CONFLICTED EXISTENCE OF A FEMALE PORN WRITER

OH MY GAWD: A COLUMN ABOUT A TEENAGER NAVIGATING RELIGION

DISPATCHES FROM MANILA

DISPATCHES FROM AN INDIAN CASINO

THE CONVERGENCES CONTEST

CHRIS WHITE ANSWERS PROFOUND
QUESTIONS ABOUT THE PRESIDENTS


REPORTS FROM THE PINBALL SCENE

LETTERS FROM THE HELLBOX

NOTES FROM AN AMATEUR SPECTATOR
AT AMATEUR MIXED MARTIAL ARTS FIGHTS


B.R. COHEN'S DAYS AT THE MUSEUM

CONVERSATIONS AT A WARTIME CAFÉ

AND HERE'S THE KICKER:
MIKE SACKS'S CONVERSATIONS WITH HUMOR WRITERS


GRANT MUNROE'S CORPORATE FOLKTALES

SARAH WALKER SHOWS YOU HOW

DISPATCHES FROM AN ENVIRONMENTAL LAWYER
WHO IS TRYING TO GROW A MUSTACHE


DISPATCHES FROM A HANGDOG BANKRUPT

DISPATCHES FROM THE CAPITAL

DISPATCHES FROM INDIA

THE WINNER'S CIRCLE WITH ERIC FEEZELL

SEAN MICHAELS LISTENS TO MUSIC IN MONTREAL

SHORT IMAGINED MONOLOGUES

KIDS' LETTERS TO PRESIDENT OBAMA

STAINED TEETH: A COLUMN ABOUT WINE

YOUR MONEY, YOUR JOB ... YOUR LIFE, WITH ALISON ROSEN

KEVIN DOLGIN TELLS YOU ABOUT PLACES YOU SHOULD GO IN EUROPE

ABOUT THE WILD THINGS

ABOUT THE CONVALESCENT

ABOUT FEVER CHART

ABOUT GOD SAYS NO

ABOUT ZEITOUN

LETTERS FROM AN EARTH BALL
TO, OR CONCERNING, SEAN HANNITY


E-MAILS SENT TO THE UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA ENGLISH DEPARTMENT
FLAG-FOOTBALL TEAM


TRAVELING EUROPE IN STYLE WITH AUCKLAND DINGIROO,
DARK-AGE TOURIST AND CRITIC OF FOOD AND DRINK


JOHN MOE'S POP-SONG CORRESPONDENCES

INTERVIEWS WITH PEOPLE WHO HAVE INTERESTING OR UNUSUAL JOBS

FLIP: A COLUMN ABOUT SKATEBOARDING

OPEN LETTERS TO PEOPLE OR ENTITIES WHO ARE UNLIKELY TO RESPOND

DISPATCHES FROM A PUBLIC LIBRARIAN

MICHAEL IAN BLACK IS A VERY FAMOUS CELEBRITY

DAN KENNEDY SOLVES YOUR PROBLEMS WITH PAPER

STEPHEN ELLIOTT'S POKER REPORT

- - - -

ADDITIONAL MATERIAL