Xref: info.physics.utoronto.ca alt.answers:4831 alt.folklore.urban:164425 news.answers:304

Xref: info.physics.utoronto.ca alt.answers:4831 alt.folklore.urban:164425 news.answers:30433 Path: dog.ee.lbl.gov!usenet From: twcaps@tennyson.lbl.gov (Terry Chan) Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban,news.answers,alt.answers Subject: alt.folklore.urban Frequently Asked Questions [Part 4 of 4] Followup-To: alt.folklore.urban Date: 7 Oct 1994 21:02:15 GMT Organization: Department of Redundancy Department Lines: 220 Approved: news-answers-request@MIT.Edu Expires: 31 October 1994 Message-ID: <41777@dog.ee.lbl.gov> Reply-To: TWChan@lbl.gov (Terry Chan) NNTP-Posting-Host: 128.3.12.117 Summary: Urban legends supported, challenged and debunked Please read before posting to AFU Archive-name: folklore-faq/part4 Last-Modified: 94/10/7 Version: 2.50 7 October 1994 INTRODUCTION: This is the last section of the four part Frequently Asked Questions list for alt.folklore.urban. This section credits posters who have contributed in the spirit of the newsgroup and also lists some basic references. Note, many of the ULs discussed in the FAQ list as being "F" or "T" are discussed in one of the following references. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- PART IV: CREDITS AND SOME REFERENCES ============================================================================ Many Thanks to the Following Posters for Relevant Information on the FAQ List and for Contributing to the Overall Spirit and Quality of alt.folklore.urban. ============================================================================ Jane Beckman, Steven Bellovin, Conrad Black, Mark Brader, Jean-Louis Brodu, Danny Burstein, Jack Campin, Raymond Chen, Joe Chew, Patrick S Clark, Cathi A.Cook, Cindy Davies, Glenn Davis, Jeff Davis, Ray Depew, Scott Deerwester, Larry Doering, all the Terry's: Carroll, Chan, Monks, Wood, et al., David Esan, Clive Feather, Ted Frank, Greg Franklin, Alan Frisbie, Joel Furr, Kim Greer, Tom Greer, Dave Gross, Phil Gustafson, Jason R. Heimbaugh, David A. Honigs, David B. Horvath, Wendy Foran Howard, Mark Israel, Richard Joltes, Jim Jones, Cynthia Kandolf, Diane Kelly, Phil Kernick, Ron Knight, Andrew Lewis, Susan Mudgett, Bill Nelson, Tom Neff, Bob O'Brien, Jonathan Papai, Christophe Pettus, saki, G. Paul Savage, Brian Scearce, Sean Smith, Randal Schwartz, Ken Shirriff, snopes, Doug Spindler, Haakon Styri, Derek Tearne, Bruce Tindall, Dwight Tovey, Peter van der Linden, Greg Widdicombe, and Dan Wright. OTHERS? Have you ever wondered how those people have gotten the name at the end of the FAQ list? They are people who are widely recognized as thoughtful posters of reliable information. They have consistently added value to various debates by sharing their point of view, and often researching difficult questions which arise on the net, and posting authoritative facts citing sources. The official way for joining the list of distinguished AFU-ers is to research a number of the unanswered questions that come now and then and reach a definitive conclusion (or demonstrate that one cannot be found). Post your findings. If your reports are sound, and have provide a reasonable contribution to the signal-to-noise ratio of the newsgroup, and the original question was non-trivial, you will be added to the acknowledgements section of the FAQ list! Be prepared to submit references. We are mostly adults here (except around the beginning of the academic year). Be prepared to discuss and debate your research and conclusions here. The unofficial way to get on the list is to give me a big payoff (and it better be more than two-fifty). INCREDIBLE NEW REFERENCE: Peter van der Linden, _Expert C Programming_, 1994, Prentice-Hall. ISBN 0-13-177429-8, paperback, 384 pages, US$32. An provocative and lively excursion into the depths of mental anguish and instability that give rise to urban legends such as C. Recommended for people of all ages and religious persuasions. If this isn't the most spine-tingling book you read this year, you haven't lived! So controversial that the Book of the Month Club won't even acknowledge it! Also by the same author: _The Official Handbook of Practical Jokes_ Signet, ISBN 0-451-15873-3, 1989, _The Second Official Handbook of Practical Jokes_, 1991, Signet, ISBN 0-451-16924-7. SOME PRIMARY FOLKLORE-SPECIFIC REFERENCES: ========================================== Jan Harold Brunvand (_The Vanishing Hitchhiker_, 1981, ISBN 0-393-95169-3; _The Choking Doberman_, 1984, ISBN 0-393-30321-7; _The Mexican Pet_, 1986, ISBN 0-393-30542-2; _Curses! Broiled Again_, 1989, ISBN 0-393- 30711-5, _The Baby Train_, 1993, ISBN 0-393-03438-0; _The Study of American Folklore_, 3rd Ed., 1986, all published by W.W. Norton); _Folklore: A Study and Research Guide_, 1976, St. Martin's (out of print). JHB is one of the leading folklorists in this field today and has done much to popularize the study of ULs. Also has a great back hand and skis a mean "figure 11." Alan Dundes, _Cracking Jokes: Studies of Sick Humor Cycles and Stereotypes_, 1987, Ten Speed Press. Curious about what makes sick humor popular? Check this baby out so you'll be ready the next time an Olympian gets whacked with a crowbar. Alan Dundes and Carl Pagter, _Urban folklore from the Paperwork Empire_, 1975, American Folklore Society. You want it when? Find out about it and other Xerox lore in the modern (or not so modern) office in this series of collections by Dundes and Pagter. Beng af Klintberg, _R&ttan i Pizzan_ (The rat in the pizza. The '&' is an a-with-a-ring-above), Pan, 1990 ISBN 91-1-893831-0. Haakon Styri, maintainer of the Norway AFU ftp site says Bengt af Klintberg writes in a Brunvandish style. He lists 100 legends (unfortunately not classified by topic). Though many of the legends are well known in other parts of the world there are a few that may be strictly European. Iona and Peter Opie, _The Lore and Language of School-Children_, Oxford, Clarendon P., 1972. Noted poster Jack Campin says: "This [book] has some mind-boggling figures on the speed and effectiveness of folklore transmission by kids." Paul Smith, _The Complete Book of Office Mis-practice_, 1984, London; Boston: Routledge & K. Paul, 1984. Covers some of the same subject matter as Dundes and Pagter. Other comments by Jack Campin: "He's also done a series of popular books with titles incorporating the phrase "Nasty Legends" (rather like Brunvand's stuff) and some heavyweight folklore theory in a series he edits called "Perspectives on Contemporary Legend" Smith has also co-authored two books with Gillian Bennett entitled, _Monsters with Iron Teeth_, 1988, and _Perspectives on Contemporary Legend_, 1987, both published by Sheffield Sheffield Academic Press. Patricia Turner, _I Heard It Through the Grapevine: Rumor in African- American Culture_, 1993, University of California Press. Provides interesting insights into the propagation of urban legends in African-American Culture. ISCLR: ====== The International Society for Contemporary Legend Research (ISCLR) has two publications of interest. _FOAFtale News_ is the newsletter of the society and contains information from around the world along with extensive bibliographies and reports and notes from other related publications. It is published quarterly. _Contemporary Legend_ is a refereed journal of scholarly articles on legends. It is edited by Paul Smith. Membership in ISCLR entitles one to both publications. For US and Canadian subscription information, write to: Paul Smith, Department of Folklore, Memorial University, St. John's, Newfoundland, CANADA A1C 5S7. Subscription rates as of July 1994 are US$18 or 10 pounds (UK). SOME GOOD PRIMARY REFERENCES: ============================= Cecil Adams (_The Straight Dope_, 1984, ISBN 0-345-33315-2, _More of the Straight Dope_, 1988, ISBN 0-345-35145-2, _Return of the Straight Dope_, all published by Ballantine Books). Author of "The Straight Dope" Q&A column of _The Chicago Reader_ and is syndicated in many alternative newspapers. Worth reading if only for for his writing style. Contrary to what you may read on a.f.u., he is not related to Marilyn vos "Idiot" Savant but he might be Monty Hall. You can e-mail his editor, Ed Zotti, at ezotti@merle.acns.nwu.edu. Alfie Kohn, _You Know What They Say...The Truth About Popular Beliefs_, 1990, ISBN 0-06-092115-3, Harper. Pretty good book with, get this, *references* to stuff in the back. This is a good habit which some of you folks may want to try sometime... Paul Krassner (ed.), _Best of the Realist_, 1984, ISBN 0-89471-287-X, Running Press. The worst thing about _BotR_, is that the reprints aren't dated. Otherwise the book is a must, especially for the generation X crowd: articles by Lenny Bruce, Richard Pryor, Robert Anton Wilson, Terry Southern, Mae Brussel, and Margo St. James; art by Rodrigues, S. Clay Wilson, and the pre-carp Richard Guindon. Not to mention "The Parts Left Out of the Kennedy Book", "The Case of the Cock-Sure Groupies" (the Plaster Casters), and an illegal Groucho Marx quote: "I think the only hope this country has is Nixon's assassination." [Unfortunately, this appears to be out of print.] G. & C. Merriam Co., _Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary_, 1977, ISBN 0-87779-348-4. Great bedside reading. Check it out sometime. There's also the OED, but Bruce Tindall has first dibs on it. William Poundstone (_Big Secrets_, 1983, Morrow, _Bigger Secrets_, 1986, and _Biggest Secrets_, 1993 Houghton-Mifflin). Sorry, it's a secret. Peter Trei says the stuff on Masons is total BS, but then, he WOULD say that. Perhaps the weakest of the lot though still on target and somewhat interesting for the most part. Bruce Tindall and Mark Watson, _Did Mohawks Wear Mohawks? And Other Wonders, Plunders, and Blunders_, Quill - William and Morrow, 1991. ISBN 0-688-09859-2. Damn good book (even if his father did write _America: A Narrative History_) with only one wrong entry so far. Just don't believe what they say about dalmatians, humans, and urea. You can even e-mail Bruce on the net at tindall@mercury.interpath.net to blast 'im. Part II is coming out in approximately Fall, 1994. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- The AFU Frequently Asked Questions List has been maintained by Terry Chan since July 1991. Its inception and spirit was due to the efforts of Peter van der Linden in February 1991. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- COPYRIGHT STUFF: ---------------- This Frequently Asked Questions List is a publication of AFU, Inc., a wholely owned subsidiary of Old Hat Enterprises, Inc. Please contact Terry Chan at TWChan@lbl.gov or Peter van der Linden at linden@eng.sun.com for licensing and duplication rights. Copyrighted 1991-94. All rights reserved by Terry Chan (twchan@lbl.gov). -- Energy and Environment Division | Mail: twchan@lbl.gov Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory | Berkeley, California USA 94720 | No, please, after you...