Top 10 Urban Myths Busted

We all have a fascination with urban legends – the thrill of hearing them, the excitement of passing them on, and sometimes the temptation to believe them. From strange encounters with the undead, to bizarre animal tales and even unsettling stories about fast food, there's an undeniable allure in these dark myths. Here are 10 infamous urban legends that continue to circulate, but are entirely false.

10. Walt Disney’s Body Frozen in Cryogenic Storage

One of the most persistent rumors suggests that Walt Disney, known for his groundbreaking innovations, had his body preserved in liquid nitrogen upon his death, in hopes of being revived when technology caught up. Some versions even claim that Disney’s cryogenic chamber is hidden beneath the Pirates of the Caribbean ride at Disneyland!

Unfortunately, this myth is completely untrue. Walt Disney passed away on December 15, 1966, after complications from his treatment for lung cancer. True to his wishes, his family had him cremated (a fact they’ve publicly confirmed), and his ashes were interred at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, a place you can visit today.

9. Coca-Cola is credited with creating the image of Santa Claus.

In the 1930s, Coca-Cola sought to expand their influence during the winter season, which typically saw lower sales for soft drinks. To boost their presence, they enlisted the talents of Haddon Sundblom, a renowned commercial artist. Sundblom’s illustrations, featuring Santa Claus with a bottle of Coke, became an iconic part of the brand’s annual marketing strategy, cementing the association between the jolly figure and the drink, leading many to believe that Coca-Cola had invented the modern-day Santa Claus.

In reality, the red-suited, cheerful Santa was already a well-known figure by the 1920s. The New York Times highlighted this in 1927, stating: 'A standardized Santa Claus appears to New York children. Height, weight, stature are almost exactly standardized, as are the red garments, the hood and the white whiskers. The pack full of toys, ruddy cheeks and nose, bushy eyebrows and a jolly, paunchy effect are also inevitable parts of the requisite make-up.'

8. McDonald’s milkshakes are made from reprocessed animal fat.

This rumor gained significant popularity on the internet, and I even recall hearing it during my childhood. The belief was that the liquid used in milkshake machines (and ice cream machines) was reconstituted fat, derived either from pigs or chickens. I distinctly remember witnessing one of the machines being filled when I was a teenager, and the color and texture seemed to support the myth.

These days, fast food chains like McDonald's are legally required to disclose the full nutritional details of their products. Here's the complete list of ingredients in a McDonald's milkshake: Whole milk, sucrose, cream, nonfat milk solids, corn syrup solids, mono and diglycerides, guar gum, vanilla flavor, carrageenan, cellulose gum, and vitamin A palmitate. While some of these ingredients may sound odd, they are entirely safe for human consumption and not derived from animals. Interestingly, carrageenan, a type of seaweed also known as Irish Moss, is used to control freezing agents in shakes. Without it, the milkshake would freeze into a solid block.

7. Snuff films

I am almost certain this topic will ignite a heated debate in the comments! The idea behind snuff films is that certain movies are made, either because wealthy individuals are willing to pay for them or due to disturbed individuals creating their own, in which a person is murdered during filming. This legend likely ties in with other rumors about cannibalism, necrophagia (beware, don't look it up), and necrophilia. In recent years, it has gained traction, especially after films like '8mm' (starring Nicholas Cage), which portray the subject matter as if it's grounded in reality.

In reality, no snuff film has ever been discovered. Whenever one is allegedly reported in the media, investigations reveal it to be false. There is even a million-dollar reward offered to anyone who can provide a commercially available snuff film. This reward has been on the table for years, with no one stepping forward to claim it.

6. The most Holy religion of Jedi

A few years ago, a peculiar rumor began circulating online – it claimed that if enough people listed 'Jedi' as their religion on a census form, the government would be forced to recognize it as an official religion in the next census. This rumor first appeared during the 2001 UK census, and spread to the Australian and New Zealand censuses in the same year.

Not only is this entirely untrue (as census departments have no connection to the government body that could make such a decision), but in Australia and New Zealand, individuals can be fined $1,000 for falsifying their census information. In addition to the financial penalty, the census data helps determine tax fund distribution, so fabricating answers harms society as a whole.

5. Kentucky Fried Chicken name change

I must admit, I actually believed this urban myth at one point! The story goes that Kentucky Fried Chicken rebranded itself as KFC because they were concerned that the word 'fried' carried negative marketing implications. (There was also another ridiculous legend that no one could possibly take seriously, which claimed that KFC was breeding 'super chickens' to produce more meat and that they couldn't legally call them chickens anymore because they had supposedly evolved into a new species.)

As it turns out, Kentucky Fried Chicken was never actually concerned about negative publicity. The company has not provided a specific explanation for the name change. Interestingly, the brand has recently started to revert back to its original name, Kentucky Fried Chicken.

4. Lemmings sometimes throw themselves off cliffs

This urban legend has a rather disturbing origin. In the 1958 Disney documentary 'White Wilderness,' a camera crew staged the 'suicidal behavior' of lemmings by forcing them off a cliff. The documentary was filmed in Canada, where lemmings were imported from Eskimo children for the purpose of the film. These lemmings were placed in various artificial scenarios and eventually herded to a cliff, where they were pushed off to simulate a mass migration.

It's unclear whether Disney was aware of the crew's unethical actions, but the truth remains that lemmings do not commit suicide by throwing themselves off cliffs.

3. Made in USA, Japan

I'm sure many of you have heard this one: the rumor that the Japanese renamed a town to 'Usa' in Japan so they could legally export goods to the U.S. and disguise their true origin. This myth was fueled by the post-war American perception that 'Made in Japan' meant cheap, poorly made products. Of course, it’s completely absurd to believe that U.S. customs would overlook goods that were clearly labeled to deceive.

Adding to this tale, some say that Sony Corporation intentionally made the 'Made in Japan' labels on their products smaller so Americans wouldn’t realize they were from a Japanese company. As a result, a significant number of Sony shipments were rejected by customs officials because the labels didn't meet the size regulations.

2. Who invented the toilet?

Contrary to popular belief, it wasn’t Thomas Crapper who invented the toilet. Crapper is often credited as the Victorian plumber who created the flushing lavatory. Most of this misconception comes from a 1969 book by Wallace Reyburn, titled 'Flushed with Pride: the Story of Thomas Crapper.' Interestingly, Reyburn also authored 'The Uplifting Tale of Otto Titzling and the Development of the Bra.' While Crapper was indeed a plumber and held several plumbing patents, none of them were related to the flush toilet.

In reality, Alexander Cummings is widely regarded as the true inventor of the flush toilet, patenting his design in 1775, 50 years before Crapper was born. Joseph Bramah and Thomas Twyford later improved Cummings’ design by introducing the ball-cock mechanism. The use of the term 'crapper' for a toilet is of uncertain origin, but it is believed to have first appeared in America.

1. The Daddy Longlegs

For quite some time, a rumor has circulated suggesting that the daddy longlegs spider is the most venomous of all. However, it is believed that its fangs are too weak to pierce human skin, rendering it incapable of inflicting lethal harm. Interestingly, there's a twist in this tale – testing the toxicity of this spider is practically impossible due to international ethical codes and the intervention of organizations like Amnesty International, which prevent such experiments from taking place for reasons that remain unclear.

In truth, the title of the most venomous spiders belongs to the Brown Recluse and the Funnel Web Spider, both far more dangerous than the daddy longlegs.