Archive for the 'Grab Bag Legends' Category

Did the U.S. Military Buy A Hundred Thousand Viewmasters During World War II?

Here is the latest in a series of examinations into urban legends about toys and whether they are true or false. Click here for an archive of all toy urban legends featured so far! TOY URBAN LEGEND: The United States military purchased millions of View Master reels for training purposes during World War II. Sawyers’ […]

Were Lincoln Logs Not Actually Named After Abraham Lincoln?

Here is the latest in a series of examinations into urban legends about toys and whether they are true or false. Click here for an archive of all toy urban legends featured so far! TOY URBAN LEGEND: Lincoln Logs were named after the middle name of the father of the inventor of Lincoln Logs. Lincoln […]

Did the 1970s Gas Crisis Cause the Demise of the Original G.I. Joe?

Here is the latest in a series of examinations into urban legends about toys and whether they are true or false. Click here for an archive of all toy urban legends featured so far! TOY URBAN LEGEND: The original line of G.I. Joe toys ended because of the 1970s gas crisis. G.I. Joe was a […]

Did Robert Lowell Once Live in a Tent on His Mentor’s Lawn?

Here is the latest in a series of examinations into urban legends related to poetry and poets and whether they are true or false. Click here for an archive of all poetry legends featured so far. POETRY URBAN LEGEND: Robert Lowell famously responded literally to a joking suggestion by famed poetry professor Allen Tate that […]

Were Dorothy Parker’s Ashes Kept in a Filing Cabinet for Two Decades?

Here is the latest in a series of examinations into urban legends related to poetry and poets and whether they are true or false. Click here for an archive of all poetry legends featured so far. POETRY URBAN LEGEND: Dorothy Parker’s ashes sat in a filing cabinet for nearly two decades. Dorothy Parker was one […]

Was The Word “Bull” in a Longfellow Poem Really Bowlderized to “Gentleman Cow”?

Here is the latest in a series of examinations into urban legends related to poetry and poets and whether they are true or false. Click here for an archive of all poetry legends featured so far. POETRY URBAN LEGEND: Thomas Bowdler “bowdlerized” Longfellow’s “Wreck of the Hesperus” by editing “bull” to “gentleman cow.” Thomas Bowdler […]

Did a Retired Railway Worker Restore a Famous Destroyed Train Station Clock in His Barn?

Here is the latest in a series of examinations into urban legends related to architecture and whether they are true or false. Click here to view an archive of the architecture urban legends featured so far. ARCHITECTURE URBAN LEGEND: After being destroyed, a local retired railway worker restored the famous platform clock at St Pancras […]

What Unusual Feature Does Ohio State’s Orton Hall Have In Honor of Their First President, Dr. Edward J. Orton?

Here is the latest in a series of examinations into urban legends related to architecture and whether they are true or false. Click here to view an archive of the architecture urban legends featured so far. ARCHITECTURE URBAN LEGEND: Ohio State University’s Orton Hall was designed in a peculiar fashion to honor the school’s first […]

Did Frank Lloyd Wright’s Design for the Imperial Hotel in Tokyo Keep it From Being Destroyed in an Earthquake?

Here is the latest in a series of examinations into urban legends related to architecture and whether they are true or false. Click here to view an archive of the architecture urban legends featured so far. ARCHITECTURE URBAN LEGEND: Frank Lloyd Wright’s design for Imperial Hotel in Tokyo led to the Hotel being unaffected by […]

Was A Long Day’s Journey Into Night Released Two Decades Before Eugene O’Neill Intended it to be Released?

Here is the latest in a series of examinations into urban legends about theater and whether they are true or false. THEATER URBAN LEGEND: A Long Day’s Journey Into Night was released over twenty years earlier than Eugene O’Neill expressly stated that it should. For a man who already had written a number of classic […]