Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree is pretty unusual, in that its a romantic song about a recently released convict. It seems to be based on an urban legend, or possibly true story (see the wikipedia link). So my question is: Can we work out what the dude was in prison for? [more inside]
posted by memebake on Nov 1, 2009 - 26 answers

Have heard a story told to me as a "true" story that someone supposedly has personal knowledge of, but I could swear I've heard this before, either as urban legend, or maybe from the plot of a movie or book. Does anyone recognize this story? [more inside]
posted by leticia on Aug 16, 2009 - 8 answers

Help me find out more about this urban legend. [more inside]
posted by idiopath on Apr 14, 2009 - 12 answers

How many noodles are in a can of Campbell's Chicken Noodle Soup? [more inside]
posted by dosterm on Apr 6, 2008 - 15 answers

There are two different stories about how bowler hats came to Bolivia and Peru. [more inside]
posted by tellurian on Mar 7, 2008 - 2 answers

Theory: Cancerous skin cells from your lips, when aspirated, can give you lung cancer. [more inside]
posted by Countess Elena on Jan 12, 2008 - 14 answers

Does Laura Bush really smoke cigarettes? Did she ever? Did she quit then start again? Evidence please. I need to win, or at least start, a bar argument.
posted by Mister_A on Apr 25, 2007 - 7 answers

One dark and stormy Sunday morning, I heard a gospel song about a woman in the Lockerbie plane crash on the radio... [more inside]
posted by RandlePatrickMcMurphy on Apr 24, 2007 - 6 answers

Device to steal numbers from your cards in your pocket? [more inside]
posted by Listener on Feb 24, 2007 - 18 answers

NFL Urban Legend: Is it true that the NFL schedules are set by a "little old lady in flyover country"? [more inside]
posted by llamateur on Feb 12, 2007 - 7 answers

Was there ever a plan for a public art project which would placed a giant rearview mirror next to Chicago's Lake Shore Drive? [more inside]
posted by Xalf on Jun 29, 2006 - 3 answers

My massage therapist always tells me "drink lots of water to get rid of the toxins released during the massage". Does anyone know of any evidence to support this claim? Any sites that debunk it?
posted by pornucopia on Aug 13, 2005 - 18 answers

[OutOfOfficeParanoiaFilter] I am planning a holiday soon and, over a conversation, a friend gave me a cautionary note about not leaving an out of office autoreply on my mail account as it greatly increased the chance of me being burgled. [+] [more inside]
posted by TheDonF on Jan 16, 2005 - 13 answers