Episode 10: Urban Legends for the Ages

This is a topic very near and dear to my heart.  

The first time I heard the term “urban legend,” I was a freshman in college, watching The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson.  He was interviewing Jan Harold Brunvand, who had written a book, “The Vanishing Hitchhiker: American Urban Legends and Their Meanings.” 

I was so interested that I ordered the book, which wasn't as easy back in the day; you actually had to go to a bookstore to order it and then go pick it up when it came in (and it was uphill both ways!).

I am old enough to remember being told the “black widow spider in the beehive hairdo” story, as well as the “alligators in the sewers” legend. And I remember a time in the early 70s when my parents had to inspect our Halloween candy before we could eat any.  At some point, people stopped giving homemade popcorn balls to trick-or-treaters due to parental fears about drugs and razor blades.

If you are a fan of urban legends and haven’t discovered Snopes.com, be sure to check it out. I’ve spent many a happy hour or two on that site when I should have been getting things done!

Thanks for joining us and we hope you come back soon for more Trivia for the Ages!

Jami