Rumor Flies

We got the sauce

Rumor Flies comically addresses the origins, evolution, and veracity of your favorite rumors, myths, and misconceptions. Tune in for more research, stories, and unsolicited commentary! Participation encouraged.

210 - Dr. Oz and Infowars (ft. Blurry Photos)

209 - Alcohol: Breaking the Seal

208 - Sex and Pregnancy

207 - Drugs: Rehashed

205 - Animals: Sorry, Armadillos

204 - Cold War ft. "The Eastern Border"

Pencil/Pens in space race
1. Scientific American article
2. Mental Floss article

Measurement/Quota cheating
3. "My Time with Soviet Economics" - Roberts
4. Comic

5. “Tsar Bomba” video

Kennedy was peaceful/”I am a jelly doughnut” 
6. The Atlantic on "Ich bin ein Berliner"
7. The New York Times on "Ich bin ein Berliner"

“Winnie [Vinnie] Pooh”
8. Video

Kugel Panzer
8. Wikipedia article

Lost Cosmonaut
9. The Eastern Border episode on "The Lost Cosmonaut"

Gagarin’s “bumpy landing”
10. Russian Space Web piece on Gagarin's landing. 

Nixon’s alternative moon landing speech (failure/death of astronauts)
11. Speech

203 - Food: Salty over Coffee

1. "Best Food Facts" piece on apple wax.
2. Washington State University research on apple wax.
3. Peanuts comic about "Chubby Bunny."
4. Civil Trial over Chubby Bunny.
5. Woman dies playing Chubby Bunny.
6. McDonald's "pink goo" McNuggets.
7. "Kids' Health" article on myth of coffee stunting growth.
8. Smithsonian magazine piece on myth of coffee stunting growth.
9. 1933 ad by Smithsonian magazine claiming coffee stunted growth. 
10. FDA on letting food cool before putting in fridge. 
11. AARP on letting food cool before putting in fridge. 
12. Aspartame cancer/headaches.

 

202 - The Anarchist Cookbook

1. FBI documents/dispatches to Hoover about the book.
2. YouTube clip of attempt at napalm recipe.
3. Reference for Harvard Press publication on the history of Napalm.
4. "Napalm Girl" photo [NSFW].
5. How Stuff Work piece on napalm.
6. "Bananadine" recipe.
7. NYU Researchers call sheningans on bananadine.
8. Peanut drugs from an Angelfire site because we can.
9. 1952 UK Hypnotism Act.
10. William Powell's work Becoming an Emotionally Intelligent Teacher.
 

201 - Disney: Moral Fixation

Sources:
1. Court case by Christian pro life organization against Disney.
2. More on the court case in local newspapers.
3. Little Mermaid controversy covered in article in The Daily Beast.
4. Source video for priest/wedding scene claim.
5. Phallic tower claim investigated by Reel Rundown.
6. "SEX" in Lion King source video.
7. Topless woman in the The Rescuers source video. 
8. Snopes article about The Rescuers.
9. Snow White and the 7 stages of cocaine.
10. Jessica Rabbit wardrobe malfunction Snopes piece. 
11. Disney's blacklist 1 and 2.

Mythconceptions: Fan Theories with NOLAnerdcast

110 - Alcohol: Totally Scientific Experiments

109 - Remedies: How Carrots Won the War

108 - Body: Cracking Knuckles and Power Licking

107 - Drugs: "Butt Hash"

Weed overdose
http://medicalmarijuana.procon.org/view.additional-resource.php?resourceID=191
https://weedpress.wordpress.com/science/studies/ld50-of-cannabis/
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/two-denver-deaths-tied-to-recreational-marijuana-use/

Not your grandpa’s weed
http://medicalmarijuana.procon.org/view.additional-resource.php?resourceID=191
http://www.forbes.com/sites/alicegwalton/2015/03/23/pot-evolution-how-the-makeup-of-marijuana-has-changed-over-time/#36a916635579

Ecstasy holes in brain
http://www.drugscience.org.uk/drugs-info/mdma/
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0006899388904519
http://thedea.org/technicalFAQ.html
Oprah Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_-CI1Py-Gg
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22664303 - Seratonin and spinal fluid

LSD flashbacks and psychosis
http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0063972
http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2013-08/fyi-can-acid-trip-really-give-you-flashbacks
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0P11OyNylbI NSFW AS FUUUUUUUUU

Toad licking
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychoactive_toad
http://www.vice.com/video/the-toad-prophet-464

Jenkem
2 TV stations in Jacksonville, Florida did a piece on Jenkem, referring to it as “Butt Hash”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2UsNbsjpuLc (Butt hash)
2009, Bettendorf, Iowa amended city ordinance
http://qctimes.com/news/local/article_d3d96d82-9b5a-11de-81bb-001cc4c002e0.html
Zambia-Narcotics: 'Huffing and Puffing' to a new High". Inter Press Service. August 26, 1995.

 

106 - Death: Heads will roll with Heavy Souls

Skald Podcast: http://aubreysitterson.com/tag/skald/

Nails and hair
Basis for some vampires
Crypt Keeper
Maple WB, M. Dead men do tell tales. New York: Doubleday, 1994.

Weight of soul
http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=9D07E5DC123EE033A25752C1A9659C946697D6CF
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deadweight_tonnage

https://www.cremationsolutions.com/information/scattering-ashes/all-about-cremation-ashes/
http://science.howstuffworks.com/cremation2.htm

Decapitation
Roached can survive decapitation and starve to death.

https://thechirurgeonsapprentice.com/2012/08/13/losing-ones-head-a-frustrating-search-for-the-truth-about-decapitation/

Henri Languille Quote
"I waited for several seconds. The spasmodic movements ceased. The face relaxed, the lids half closed on the eyeballs, leaving only the white of the conjunctiva visible, exactly as in the dying whom we have occasion to see every day in the exercise of our profession, or as in those just dead. It was then that I called in a strong, sharp voice: "Languille!" I saw the eyelids slowly lift up, without any spasmodic contractions –- I insist advisedly on this peculiarity –- but with an even movement, quite distinct and normal, such as happens in everyday life, with people awakened or torn from their thoughts.
Next Languille’s eyes very definitely fixed themselves on mine and the pupils focused themselves. I was not, then, dealing with the sort of vague dull look without any expression, that can be observed any day in dying people to whom one speaks: I was dealing with undeniably living eyes which were looking at me. After several seconds, the eyelids closed again, slowly and evenly, and the head took on the same appearance as it had had before I called out.
It was at that point that I called out again and, once more, without any spasm, slowly, the eyelids lifted and undeniably living eyes fixed themselves on mine with perhaps even more penetration than the first time. Then there was a further closing of the eyelids, but now less complete. I attempted the effect of a third call; there was no further movement -– and the eyes took on the glazed look which they have in the dead.
I have just recounted to you with rigorous exactness what I was able to observe. The whole thing had lasted twenty-five to thirty seconds."

102 - Food: Surge Shrinkage and Boozy Foods

Chewing gum in stomach:
http://www.mayoclinic.org/digestive-system/expert-answers/faq-20058446
A 1998 paper describes a four-year-old boy being referred with a two-year history of constipation. The boy was found to have "always swallowed his gum after chewing five to seven pieces each day", being given the gum as a reward for good behavior, and the build-up resulted in a solid mass which could not leave the body.  A 1½-year-old girl required medical attention when she swallowed her gum and four coins, which got stuck together in her esophagus. 

MSG:
http://www.businessinsider.com/is-msg-sodium-in-chinese-food-safe-to-eat-2014-8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJw8r_YWJ9k&feature=youtu.be
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1365-2222.2009.03221.x/abstract

Wooden spoon:
http://food-hacks.wonderhowto.com/how-to/why-does-wooden-spoon-stop-pasta-from-boiling-over-0151541/

Salt to boiling water:
http://chemistry.about.com/od/foodcookingchemistry/f/Why-Do-You-Add-Salt-To-Boiling-Water.htm

Steak searing
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pt2iNwuTKHM
On Food and Cooking (Revised Edition). cGee, Harold (2004). Page 161, "The Searing Question"

Raspberry flavoring
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17365147
http://voices.nationalgeographic.com/2013/10/01/beaver-butts-emit-goo-used-for-vanilla-flavoring/
http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2014/03/26/293406191/does-beaver-tush-flavor-your-strawberry-shortcake-we-go-myth-busting

Cocaine Cola:
http://www.nytimes.com/1988/07/01/business/how-coca-cola-obtains-its-coca.html

Dr. Pepper Crack:
Not true, couldn’t find a recorded mention of crack in Dr. Pepper

Surge yellow 5:
Pollock, Ellen Joan.   "Why Mountain Dew Is Now the Talk of the Teen Circuit." The Wall Street Journal.   14 October 1999

Foods that give nightmares
http://firstwefeast.com/eat/how-does-food-influence-our-dreams/
http://bodyodd.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/02/15/16965956-can-spicy-food-really-give-you-nightmares
http://www.foxnews.com/health/2012/04/13/10-foods-to-avoid-before-bed.html

Grapefruit

http://www.ajcn.org/cgi/pmidlookup?view=long&pmid=16685052

Honey for infants
http://kidshealth.org/parent/infections/bacterial_viral/botulism.html

Pork and Trichinosis: http://www.latimes.com/world/la-fg-japan-blowfish1-2009apr01-story.html
http://www.cdc.gov/parasites/trichinellosis/gen_info/faqs.html

101 - Disney: Death and Turkey Legs

Disney dress code: Storming the Magic Kingdom. Taylor, John. 

Basketball court at the Matterhorn: https://youtu.be/mQKnfKkJHgs

Disney's turkey leg content
**note we said OSTRICH. We meant Emu.
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/travel/os-turkey-emu-box-20120202-story.html

Kim Jung Nam and Disneyland Japan: 
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Korea/FI02Dg01.html
http://mentalfloss.com/article/59453/where-world-kim-jong-uns-older-brother

Club 33: 
http://www.disneylandclub33.com

Mickey Mouse Protection Act/Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act:
http://www.copyright.gov/legislation/s505.pdf

Haunted Mansion Theory:
The Haunted Mansion: Imagineering a Disney Classic (From the Magic Kingdom). Surrell, Jason.

"No one dies at Disney": 
http://m.wesh.com/Disney-Monorail-Crash-Kills-1-Probe-Under-Way/13166370
http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2004-02--12/news/0402120326_1_javier-cruz-float-disney-character
https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=uisaAAAAIBAJ&sjid=pg4EAAAAIBAJ&dq=joel-goode+disney&pg=2392,5764519&hl=en

"People have died on Space Mountain": 
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/os-woman-died-space-mountain-20151023-post.html

Carousel of Progress deaths: 
Mouse Tales: A Behind-the-Ears Look at Disneyland. Koenig, David.

Splash Mountain suicide: 
http://html.wesh.com/orl/news/themeparknews/stories/themeparknews-20001105-165355.html

Mission Space deaths: 
This source requires site access. https://officialrecords.occompt.com/recorder/web/login.jsp
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/breaking-news/orl-deaths-at-walt-disney-world-htmlstory.htm