April 1st, 2007 Don't be fooled!

I've heard that eating too many bread crusts will make your hair curly. Fortunately common sense and logic lead me to believe that this simply isn't true. If it were, I would be dining on bread crusts for the rest of my life in the hope that my straight hair will suddenly develop luscious waves.

Many common fallacies, myths, lies, old wives' tales and urban legends abound. In fact, many of us probably quote some commonly used but strange facts on a regular basis. How many times have you been told to feed a cold and starve a fever? The Pedant's Revolt, Know What Know-It-Alls Know, by Andrea Barham is an entertaining look at some of the most common misconceptions. Had a little too much to drink? A cup of coffee will not sober you up, nor will it help to speed up the process. The human body metabolizes alcohol at a fixed rate, therefore, the only sure fire way to sober up is time. And speaking of coffee, which beverage contains more caffeine-coffee or tea? An actual tea leaf does contain more caffeine but fewer leaves are required than coffee beans to brew a single cup. A cup of coffee is the winner.

Thomas Craughwell has written a number of books on urban legends, or, in his words, absolutely true stories that happened to a friend, of a friend, of a friend. In Alligators In The Sewer, he retells more than 200 common urban legends. Of course we've all heard of the tourist recently returned to New York from Florida with their souvenir baby alligator. When the novelty wears off the alligator is disposed of by flushing it down the toilet. Miraculously it survives and grows into a giant living in the sewer system. Have you heard the story of the babysitter who receives threatening phone calls only to find out the killer is calling from an upstairs bedroom? This story was so popular it was made into a movie, twice in fact. Check out the most recent version available on dvd at your library titled When A Stranger Calls.

For untruths of a natural kind, try the book Owls Aren't Wise & Bats Aren't Blind by Warner Shedd. Porcupine quills are barbed, or are they? A porcupine quill is usually described as being barbed, and they are not. Each quill is made up of a series of sharp scales all going in one direction. When you rub the quill in the opposite direction of the scales, it will feel like tiny barbs. These scales make it easy for the quill to enter, but more difficult and painful to remove when going against the scales. Contrary to popular belief, a porcupine cannot throw its quills. Rather the rapid movement of the tail back and forth will make it appear as if the quills are being thrown.

The website www.snopes.com has a huge collection of myths, legends and folklore. Stories are arranged by subject categories with links to the hottest urban legends, weird news, and what's new. Some subjects include Cokelore, Food, Computers, and Old Wives' Tales. Within each category there is a colour coded legend signifying whether the information is true, false or of undetermined validity.

John Stossel, a reporter for the news show 20/20 features a weekly segment called Give Me a Break in which he questions conventional wisdom, oftentimes on controversial topics. His latest book is called Myths, Lies, And Downright Stupidity. I know some people will find his statements disturbing, but they will make you stop and think. If anything, they will provoke much discussion at the water cooler. Here are a few examples of what he calls myths. A chiropractor can cure your child's asthma. Homeopathy is a good treatment for allergies and the flu. Expensive coffee tastes better that cheap coffee. A full moon makes people crazy. We are running out of oil fast. Bottled water is better than tap. To find out his explanations as to why these are not true you will need to read the book, preferably a copy borrowed from your local library.

Mythbusters is a television show on Discovery Channel devoted to investigating urban legends and myths. Special effects experts use modern day science to verify fact from fiction using real demonstrations. Trying to make a toilet explode, filling a vehicle gas tank with sugar, flying a kite during a thunderstorm, and trying to break a glass by singing are just some of their entertaining antics.

So don't be fooled this April 1, and if you need to verify a story or fact, give the Reference Department a call and we will be happy to check it out.

Michelle Paziuk, Library Technician