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it has to be true...

And the phone would instantly get the blame because everyone knows cell phones cause fires at gas stations. Snopes denounced a similar incident recently, may even be the same one:

Update: Yes, we know about the 13 May 2004 gas station fire in New Paltz, New York, that news reports claimed was touched off by a cell phone. As our paragraph above notes, erroneous reports of this nature are not uncommon, because reporters (and other officials) base them upon assumptions made at the scene rather than upon later, more thorough investigations (which so far have always found something other than cell phones -- usually static electricity -- to be the igniting agent). In May 2004, PEI posted on its web site the following assessment of the cause of that fire: PEI has been in contact with the fire marshall in New Paltz, NY to learn more about this incident. It turns out the initial reports were not accurate. Patrick Koch, the fire chief of New Paltz, NY offered PEI this statement: "After further investigation of the accident scene and another discussion with the victim of the May 13 gasoline station fire in New Paltz, I have concluded the source of ignition was from some source other than the cell phone the motorist was carrying. Although we will probably never know for sure, the source of ignition was most likely static discharge from the motorist himself to the nozzle dispensing gasoline."

Actually, wrong, sorry. Snopes confirms that it is an urban legend - Probably NSFW if you scroll down.

Weightlifter

It'a an urban legend. Read the real story at snopes.com.

Whenever you read a story like this, if you aren't a complete retard, you have to wonder. Doctors are pretty lousy at identifying the cause of rashes, and rashes from embalming fluid would have to be pretty damn rare.

So, we pop off to Snopes, and what do we find?

Of course, it's an urban legend

Kerry's record in voting against funding development of the military equipment in use today ...are not going to garner much support amongst soldiers IMO

I hope you realise that story is false.

The whole "Swift Boat Veterans for Truth" is also mostly BS.

Somehow I think that if I were a soldier that I would prefer a decorated war veteran as commander-in-chief over someone with minimal military experience.

Kerry's record in voting against funding development of the military equipment in use today ...are not going to garner much support amongst soldiers IMO

I hope you realise that story is false.

The whole "Swift Boat Veterans for Truth" is also mostly BS.

Somehow I think that if I were a soldier that I would prefer a decorated war veteran as commander-in-chief over someone with minimal military experience.

At least it wasn't a JATO unit. See Snopes

Whoah slow down there!

The original post is not really a joke. It's a fairly well known urban legend, which is an anecdote that may or may not be true yet is passed off as the truth by the narrator.

Don't believe me? Try gathering your work colleagues and say 'I've got a great joke. So this man dumps his wife for a younger girl.... yadda yadda yadda....[punchline] AND THEY TAKE THE CURTAIN POLES WITH THEM!' Think many people would laugh?

However, if you said to your friends 'I read about this revenge tale in the newspaper. Some scorned woman....' etc. and people would be more likely to find it funny on the basis that it actually happened. Either way you spin it, it's more likely to evoke a 'wow no way, that's cruel' than an actual laugh.

So, the original poster tries to tell us an amusing 'true story' and the grandparent points out a flaw in the story as most people would do when told an urban legend (if they found one, of course). Urban legends only perpepuate because people believe them.

If you think this incident (that seemed to get you so angry) is the same as 'But there's no way a chicken would try and cross a road' I'm sorry but you're barking up the wrong tree.

Personally, I found the act of hiding the shells slightly amusing but when it came to the 'punchline' (inverted commas because it's not a joke) I thought to myself, 'Psh, cause that'd ever happen...' and I 'get' jokes, providing they're funny, without needing to pick them apart.

For other versions of this same story, see http://www.snopes.com/military/videobye.htm.

Link for the gullible...

this story from snopes.com has it all. far better than i could write it

Those disclaimers have no legal value.

More specifically, you wouldn't even be safe asking each and every one of your clientele if they were affiliated with law enforcement prior to making a deal. Related Snopes link.

His answer to the question: "What chair?"

Probably an urban legend, as discussed by Snopes. Nice analogy, though!

His answer to the question: "What chair?"

Probably an urban legend, as discussed by Snopes. Nice analogy, though!

I would say everything changed with the technology push surrounding WWII...after that, we became advanced to the point where we simply needed more time to learn everything that's necessary to make one's way in the modern world.

The US is the cultural leader for the concept of mass consumption to sustain an economy, right or wrong.

My opinion is that "college education" has become de rigeur for most higher-paying jobs. Unfortunately, this attitude seems to create an elite group who are only really interested in their own financial success and some variation of "inclusionism" that poisons society on the whole.

Also, IMO, the widespread use of computers has isolated and eliminated the "old guard".

The English language.

What is the etimology of "gry"?

In any case, I pretty much agree with what the "Critics" say in that article which you conveniently didn't link to.

I hope to hell they plan on letting some of the sim girl's virtual rewards link directly to the Japanese School Girl Soiled Panty Vending machines so you can hear the sound of one hand clapping here in "meatspace."

To give credit where credit is due, it was indeed snopes
who provides the quite helpful notable analogy.

However I still find the Misubishi Pajero pretty funny.

I believe he was making a joking oblique reference to a quote falsely attributed to Dan Quayle.

Try typing "NYC" in a couple of Microsoft fonts, wingdings and webdings.

I don't care how they try and dodge it. If you look at one of those two fonts, maybe, but not both of them. MS had themselves a practical joker.

My favorite for these will always be the Japanese Department Store that crucified Santa Clause. Unfortunately, it's probably an urban legend. But it's one of those things that's so good it should be true...

which apparently is false.
http://www.snopes.com/business/misxlate/nova.asp

[Insert obligatory Snopes link here]

Sorry for the late reply, but here's a USA Today article and the snopes entry on the matter.

I knew the airport security system was doomed when they started searching 86 year old Medal of Honor recipients

Chip H.

Guess what! You do have to worry about a draft. There are a pair of bills (HR 163 and S 89) in congress now, which would require service from all young persons (18-26).

The bills are "languishing in committee" and appear unlikely to pass (and their existence has been used to stir up a lot of political noise by folks willing to exaggerate the facts), but they do exist, and if you want to express your opinion about them, now is the time..

http://www.theorator.com/bills108/hr163.html
http://www.house.gov/stark/documents/108th/univdra ftstate.html
http://www.snopes.com/politics/military/draft.asp
http://www.congress.org/congressorg/issues/bills/? billnum=H.R.163&congress=108&size=full

-Brian

Do you think they should have A) Used it for a sensational fear mongering newspaper article or B) Pointed out to the airport staff that there was an obvious terrorist dry run going on under there very noses ?

Done and done. Be sure to read the original. That article caused quite a stir in the USA, providing ammunition for those people who can claim anything as factual as long as a journalist said so.

You should check out what snopes has to say about the dry run. Seriously. The air marshals were at least as concerned about the behavior of the woman who wrote that article as they were about the musicians, maybe more. If you don't want to put faith in the snopes article, read thier sources. If you don't want to put faith in their sources, I can't help you.

For people nervous about links: http://www.snopes.com/politics/crime/skyterror.asp

I think we now know what happened to those Microsoft Port-a-potty iLoos that might have been a hoax. After the laughter died down, MS probably dumped them in India where someone added wheels.

"Nova" does not mean "new" -- the word you're looking for is "nueva", which no Spanish speaker would confuse with "no va." Snopes agrees that this is an urban legend, but the name isn't positive or negative in Spanish and it certainly wouldn't translate as "new."

GM had this w/the Chevy Nova, which means 'No Go', and the Mexican market suffered.

Urban Legend, sport.

That said, other countries being offended by offerings in the USA (like the Koran chant in the video game) need to be scoffed at. Their culture is not the US culture and should not be considered.

Absolutely - provided you don't plan on doing business with them. Saudi Arabia (the country this example refers to) spends a lot of money on software, and I'd guess a fair percentage of that might go to Microsoft. Microsoft would be sensible to remember the maxim "the customer is always right" - even when the customer appears to be wrong according to Microsoft's cultural perspective. Note also that this only became an issue when (a) Microsoft ignored the advice of their own (Muslim) staffmember, and (b) shipped the offending product to the Middle East.

One of my wife's favorite stories is about Chevrolet being puzzled that their Nova wasn't selling in South America, until they realized that in some of the local languages the name means "won't go".

I'm going to be a git and spoil this one; click here to see an analysis of this urban legend.

Ah, the insight that can be offered by someone who knows a whole dozen spanish words, most of which can't be said in polite company. Sorry Charley, the Nova myth is just that - false.

Sorry, try again: http://www.snopes.com/business/misxlate/nova.asp

[repeats persistent myth about Chevy Nova in Mexico and Central America]

Not True.

Alas, the story of the renaming of the Chevy Nova for the Hispanic market is an urban legend.

Excuse me; I must now go bite a wax tadpole.

Google is your friend!

Claim: The Chevrolet Nova sold poorly in Spanish-speaking countries because its name translates as "doesn't go" in Spanish.
Status: False.

Actually this needs yet another correction in a long successions of trying to shut down this myth.

the NoVa story isn't true, see Snopes for details http://www.snopes.com/business/misxlate/nova.asp

I hold no brief for Kerry, he's not my kind of politician, he doesn't appear to share my values, and he hasn't been tough enough against the current administration. But I'm absolutely amazed at the level of lies and distortions the right is willing to entertain to try to discredit him.

Wouldn't eliminating the Republican's "free speech" on the web via DDOS attacks basically amount to cyber-terrorism?

Apparently the rationale is that another person is only open-minded if they think the same way as the first open-minded person. And if that isn't the case then, well, they're a bigoted Nazi and warrant being shouted down.

Hint! Hint! You wouldn't want Bush to go for more governmental control of the Internet in order to fight all kinds of cyber-terrorism, wouldn't you?

Too late. That was already planned at the last Rightwing Conspirary meeting.

And - if this really hits the Republicans, it won't be long before Bush's spin-doctors claim the whole idea was, in fact, initiated by Al Qaeda members.... ...remember how, in front of the UN in the run-up to the Iraq war, a couple of trucks in the middle of the desert were "mobile bio weapon research/development platforms"? (Exactly those that, like all the weapons of mass distruction, can't be found now)...

Throwing together Al Qaeda and Iraw randomly like that is what throws Democrats into a tizzy. As for Iraq's chemical weapons capability we should ask the Iranians who were on the receiving end of chemical attacks during the Iran-Iraq war. Or the Kurds, Iraqi citizens, in Anfal. It can't be disputed that even if at D-Day Saddam didn't have piles of chemical warheads there's still 1) the ability to manufacture chemical weapons, and more importantly 2) the willingness to use them either on other nations or Iraq's own people.

And if this is any indication of the extents they'll go to in hiding multi-ton aircraft I'm curious as to how far they'll go to hide a few hundred pound drums?

Nine months after every major blackout, ice/snow storm, there's a mini baby-boom. People don't get nookie when they're watching Survivor and sitcom reruns

That's an Urban myth: http://www.snopes.com/pregnant/blackout.htm

This is false.

Snopes
Link
Wikipedia

They claim it is true and a great example of OO coding gone amuck.

See the last paragraph.