Top 10 Urban Legends of 2008

http://urbanlegends.about.com/od/reference/a/2008_top-ten_2.htm
Found this almost unbelievable that there are still those that believe this nonsense.
Go ahead, click above...


By David Emery, About.com

ONE WAY TO take the emotional temperature of a culture is to eavesdrop on its rumor mill. Gossip, legends, and rumors tend to revolve around our passions — the things we fear, the things we hate, the things we yearn for, the people and things that enthrall us. Last year was a case in point.

2008 saw the election of America's first African-American president. It also saw an unprecedented degree of rumormongering about the relatively obscure Illinois senator who earned that distinction, Barack Hussein Obama. The subtext of virtually all of these rumors was fear — fear of change, fear of the unknown. "Who is Barack Obama?" they seemed to demand. Why had most of us never heard of him before he ran for the presidency? What does he believe in? Does he have a secret agenda? Could he (literally) be the Antichrist?

Sentiments of quite a different kind were aroused by Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin, a staunch conservative and gun rights advocate who also happened to be, as some observers crassly put it, "a babe." A forged likeness of Palin sporting an American flag bikini and a rifle was one of the most popular viral images of the year.

Folks were also captivated by images of a dog as tall as a horse; scurrilous, longstanding rumors about actress Jamie Lee Curtis's sexuality; and a decade-old chain email promising frequent forwarders a share of Bill Gates' riches. And it appears that the only thing more terrifying to the average American than the alleged proliferation of a "zombifying" street drug called burundanga — Barack Obama aside, of course — is a nasty, hard-drive-destroying Internet worm masquerading as an e-card from Hallmark. By the way, did you claim your "free laptop" from Ericsson?

Here, in ascending order of popularity as measured by reader interest and overall Web traffic, are the Top 10 Urban Legends of 2008:

10. Burundanga Drug Warning
"In Katy, Texas a man came over and offered his services as a painter to a female putting gas in her car and left his card. She said no, but accepted his card out of kindness and got in the car. The man then got into a car driven by another gentleman. As the lady left the service station she saw the men following her. Almost immediately, she started to feel dizzy and could not catch her breath. She tried to open the window and realized that the odor was on her hand; the same hand which accepted the card from the gentleman at the gas station." Read more...

9. Free Laptop from Ericsson!
"The Ericsson Company is distributing free computer laptops in an attempt to match Nokia that has already done so. Ericsson hopes to increase its popularity this way. For this reason, they are giving away the new WAP laptops. All you need to do to qualify is to send this mail to 8 people you know." Read more...

8. Barack Obama Is the Antichrist
"The Antichrist will be a man, in his 40s, of MUSLIM descent, who will deceive the nations with persuasive language, and have a MASSIVE Christ-like appeal.... the prophecy says that people will flock to him and he will promise false hope and world peace, and when he is in power, will destroy everything. Is it OBAMA??" Read more...

7. Bill Gates Is Sharing His Fortune!
"Microsoft and AOL are running an email beta test. When you forward this email to friends, Microsoft can and will track it (if you are a Microsoft Windows user) for a two week time period. For every person that you forward this email to, Microsoft will pay you $5.00, for every person that you sent it to that forwards it on, Microsoft will pay you $3.00 and for every third person that receives it, you will be paid $1.00." Read more...

6. Jamie Lee Curtis Is a Hermaphrodite
"Dear Guide: 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." Read more...10

5. Gun-Totin', Bikini-Wearin' Sarah Palin (Photo)
A much-forwarded viral image purports to show Republican vice-presidential candidate (and gun rights advocate) Sarah Palin posing in an American-flag bikini with a rifle (actually it's a pellet gun, but nevermind that — she's a babe! Read more...12

4. Quick, Add Your Cell Phone to the Do Not Call Registry!13
Circulating for the fourth year running, this urgent message claims a directory of cell phone numbers is about to be published and advises users to add their numbers to the Do Not Call Registry to prevent an influx of telemarketing calls. Read more...

3. Hercules, World's Biggest Dog (Photo)
"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 200lb. limit." Read more...16

2. 'Postcard' Virus Warning17
"You should be alert during the next few days. Do not open any message with an attachment entitled 'POSTCARD FROM HALLMARK,' regardless of who sent it to you. It is a virus which opens A POSTCARD IMAGE, which 'burns' the whole hard disc C of your computer. This virus will be received from someone who has your email address in his/her contact list. This is the reason why you need to send this email to all your contacts." Read more...18

1. Barack Obama Is a Muslim19
"Let us all remain alert concerning Obama's expected presidential candidacy. The Muslims have said they plan on destroying the U.S. from the inside out, what better way to start than at the highest level — through the President of the United States, one of their own!!!!" Read more...


Last updated: 12/24/08