Are urban legends real

Answer 1

No. They may have some real names or claim to be about real events, but they are rarely factual. Keep in mind the definition of legend. It is an oral or written account of something that cannot be proved. People are fooled by legends because they sometimes can contain a grain of truth or they seem like they might be true. A good example is George Washington and the cherry tree-- there is no evidence this event ever took place, but given Washington's favorable reputation, it was easy for Americans to believe it must have happened.

As for urban legends (sometimes also called "urban myths"), they are generally based on stories that reflect the fears that the public has about crime or gangs or terrorists. These legends too can sound plausible, and may even contain little details that make it seem real (such as the name of a restaurant where the event allegedly occurred). A good example is when you receive an outraged e-mail telling you that [insert name of celebrity] appeared on [insert name of talk show] and said something hateful about [insert name of minority group]. Clothing designer Tommy Hilfiger was supposed to have appeared on Oprah Winfrey and insulted African-Americans: but fact-checking of this urban legend showed he had never been on Oprah and never said anything negative about any minorities.

The vast majority of urban legends contain exaggeration and distortion, and while they may not have a malicious intent, they can sometimes cause great harm by slandering an innocent person or an innocent group of people (for example, in various Muslim countries, there was a popular urban legend that said 4,000 Jews stayed home on 9/11 because they knew the attacks were going to occur, since it was the Jews who were behind those attacks; there have also been American urban legends that claimed in a particular city, Muslim restaurant owners or taxi drivers or workers in a convenience store were cheering and dancing after 9/11). To sum up, even when an urban legend seems plausible, some simple fact-checking will usually show it is false. Among the best websites for checking urban legends are snopes.com and urbanlegends.about.com