A closer look at old wives tales, urban legends and words on the street

These are all catchphrases for those tall tales you hear that have been passed down through generations.

One of the great ones (and one that I believed for years) is about Mikey from the Life Cereal commercials in the 1970s. Folklore had it that, after his 15 minutes of fame, Mikey ate Pop-Rocks candy and drank Pepsi at the same time.

As fate would have it, Mikey’s stomach allegedly exploded, causing his untimely demise! It wasn’t until the advent of the Internet that this was revealed as nothing more than a widely spread rumor. In fact, Mikey is today a successful advertising account manager for a radio station in New York.

If I had a nickel for every celebrity who passed away but “didn’t really pass away; they’re just hiding,” I would be writing this from a sunny, tropical locale. The most famous, of course, is Elvis Presley. It has been suggested over the years that Elvis didn’t really die; he was an undercover agent for the FBI.

Let me back up a bit.

For those old enough to remember, President Nixon deputized Elvis Presley as an honorary member of the DEA back in the day. Famous picture, beginning of a fabulous rumor.

So, it would only make sense to some wild imaginations that Elvis couldn’t possibly be dead — there had to be another explanation! There have been “sightings” of Elvis, from a Piggly Wiggly grocery store in the South to a Burger King in another area. I’m an Elvis fan, but I don’t believe he would be the best individual for an undercover operation.

Other celebrities to have this “honor” of being undead thrust upon them are Jim Morrison, lead singer of The Doors, and Andy Kaufman, comedian (although with Mr. Kaufman, I personally use that term lightly).

There have been multiple dates that have come and gone when these guys were supposed to reappear for one reason or another. I saw a guy one time who could’ve passed for Jim Morrison, but then I thought, “Why would Jim Morrison choose Culpeper for his coming-out town?”

Then we have those pesky e-mail promises that read, “If you forward this e-mail to 10 people, Microsoft will reward you with a new PC!”  In the immortal words of Judge Judy (and other fine folks, like my parents), if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

And, of course, the one that tugs at your heart strings — “Little Artie needs a life-saving operation, and for every person you forward this e-mail to, he will receive a dollar so his family can afford this operation.” If you do enough research, you will find out that: a) Little Artie does not exist and b) There is no company that donates money for every person to which you forward an e-mail.

Old wives’ tales are an entirely different beast altogether. A lot of them are steeped in superstition, such as opening an umbrella inside, inviting bad luck, and knocking on wood to avoid bad luck. I think it’s all a bunch of hooey myself.

And rock stars?! Oh, please, sometimes I think they themselves make them up for publicity’s sake. Although Ozzy Osbourne did in fact bite the head off a dove during a press conference, as well as the head off a bat (which, incidentally, he thought was a rubber bat) he didn’t perform nearly the amount of bizarre incidents that were reported. Sorry to disappoint you myth followers, though — Marilyn Manson did not throw puppies into the concert audience, and Alice Cooper didn’t throw a bag of kittens either.

For every urban legend, myth and other falsehood that appears on the Internet, thankfully there are some reliable Web sites that clear up confusion. One of my favorite is snopes.com. The next time you log on, peruse that Web site — it’ll give you a great laugh and perhaps provide you with some peace of mind!

Smith’s column runs every Friday on the editorial page.