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2006-12-12 01:01:13 · 11 answers · asked by THE NEXT LEVEL 5 in Society & Culture ➔ Mythology & Folklore
Urban legend is fiction derived from non fiction. An event that happens that gets spun, so to say. For example, the pop rocks and cola, there have been people who mixed the two, but word got around that a kid's stomach exploded from mixing them.
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2006-12-12 01:03:39 · answer #1 · answered by newcovenant0 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
An urban legend is a kind of modern folklore consisting of stories often thought to be factual by those circulating them. The term is often used with a meaning similar to the expression "apocryphal story." Urban legends are not necessarily untrue, but they are often false, distorted, exaggerated, or sensationalized. Despite the name, urban legends do not necessarily take place in an urban setting. The name is designed to differentiate them from traditional folklore in preindustrial times.
Urban legends are sometimes repeated in news stories and, in recent years, distributed by e-mail. People frequently say such tales happened to a "friend of a friend"—so often, in fact, that "friend of a friend", or "FOAF", has become a commonly used term for this sort of story.
The phenomenon is known in other languages: In the Netherlands, for example, a story about monkey meat gave rise to the term "broodje aapverhalen" (i.e. monkey sandwich stories).
Some urban legends have survived a long time, evolving only slightly over the years, as in the case of the story of a woman killed by spiders nesting in her elaborate hairdo. Others are new and reflect modern circumstances, like the story of people being anaesthetized and waking up minus a kidney surgically removed for transplant.
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2006-12-12 09:04:16 · answer #2 · answered by nessadipity 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
An urban legend is something that is widely accepted as true, though is usually false, and the story usually starts out with "This really happened to a friend of a friend..." A fairly complete list of urban legends and whether or not they are true can be found at www.snopes.com
2006-12-12 09:04:12 · answer #3 · answered by emilyumo 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Urban legends are common stories which are told between friends, acquaintances, and often strangers. These stories often can never be corroborated, may even make the news or be sent out in countless e-mails, and many times feed on fear. One common urban legend tell of a man who goes to a bar, gets drunk, and wanders through Central park late at night. In the morning, he wakes up in a strange place, he remembers nothing, but he feels pain in his side. He goes to his Doctor who examines him and discovers that his side has been stitched up and a kidney has been removed. The point of that story? There is allegedly a gang of "organ thieves" who roam the night for drunken victims to steal kidneys from so they may be sold on the black market. That is a classic example of an urban legend.
2006-12-12 09:29:54 · answer #4 · answered by Mr. Grudge 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Very simply put: Urban Legends are contemporary folklore passed down to others as being true.
Mostly, they have no facts to prove the statements are true, but people believe them.
Hope you can get some ideas by reading these examples
1-If you eat the candy Pop Rocks and drink soda, then your insides will blow up
2-If you lay under a tanning bed too long, then you will cook from the inside as if you were in a microwave.
3-If you pass a car at night that doesn't have the headlights on, and you blink yours to let the driver know, then they will turn around and kill you.
2006-12-12 15:19:05 · answer #5 · answered by Hestia 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
An urban legend is a tale that sounds true, but it also told as "This happened to a friend of mine" or "a cousin of mine. Most of the time, these stories aren't true. There are multiple versions of these stories and they circulate through many towns across U.S., if not the world. These stories have been modified for each town to make the story sound more believeable.
2006-12-12 09:13:49 · answer #6 · answered by Xander 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
An Urban Lengend is a myth which gains cyrrency mainly by being reated ad nauseum on, for example, the internet.
Typical examples
The oil companies are sitting on a patent for a carburettor that will give 200 miles per gallon. This is actually a good one, because it has had to evolve. When it first came out, it was only 50 to the gallon, but technology overtook the myth.
Similar ones involve tyre companies and the tyre that does not wear out.
2006-12-12 09:05:39 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
An urban legend is a popular rumor that is not actually true.
2006-12-12 09:22:56 · answer #8 · answered by beetee 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
An urban legend is a rumor that is NOT true. Visit Snopes.com and learn all about it.
2006-12-12 09:03:42 · answer #9 · answered by Firespider 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Urban legend is modern myth and folklore.
http://www.snopes.com/
2006-12-12 09:16:02 · answer #10 · answered by Yngona D 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋