Category Archives: Urban Legends

12.2.2013

by Mike Rothschild

The Knockout Game: New Name, Old Moral Panic

It’s happening all over the country, part of a terrifying trend that doesn’t actually appear to exist. People are afraid of it, yet aren’t sure exactly what it is or even if it’s being done at all. And news outlets / read more…

15 Comments

Posted in Conspiracy Theories / Urban Legends

Tagged in / / / / / / /

11.27.2013

by Stephen Propatier

Tryptophan and Other Thanksgiving Myths.

Tomorrow is the national Thanksgiving holiday in the United States. I thought it would be a good time to review some of the common myths about the holiday. Most notably the most persistent or famous ones. There will be no new ground / read more…

3 Comments

Posted in Science / Urban Legends

11.23.2013

by Eric Hall

Sweet Poison, Breastfeeding, Banned Foods, and Zombies

While I’ve spent way too much time this week responding to blog comments here on Skeptoid, I watched so many pieces of bad science flow through my social media feeds this week that it makes me weep knowing how poorly / read more…

33 Comments

Posted in Alternative Medicine / Health / Nature / Urban Legends

Tagged in / / / / / / / /

11.12.2013

by Josh Weed

Was Jimi Hendrix’s death a case of insurance fraud?

Forty-three years after his death, Jimi Hendrix is still considered one of the most influential guitarists in the history of rock and roll. Despite a short career of only four years, he permanently changed the landscape, ushering in the age / read more…

39 Comments

Posted in Conspiracy Theories / History / Urban Legends

11.6.2013

by Eric Hall

Disposable Diaper Chemical Burns – A Hypothesis

I am blogging early this week because of the timely nature of a post beginning to circulate on social media. A woman in New York is posting pictures of her young child and is making the claim the marks on the / read more…

38 Comments

Posted in Health / TV & Media / Urban Legends

Tagged in / / /

10.23.2013

by Stephen Propatier

The Mystery of The Yeti, Solved

“British scientist may have solved the mystery of the Yeti.”, that was a teaser in the news cycle last week. It involved web and print articles as well as television news. In my opinion not a great day for science reporting. The / read more…

21 Comments

Posted in Nature / Paranormal / Pseudoscience / TV & Media / Urban Legends

10.11.2013

by Dani Johnson

Common Myths About Periods and Pregnancy

I’ve heard so many myths about my female body that it’s hard to keep up with them all. Some of them are so ridiculous that it’s pretty obvious that they’re myths, but some of them are a little more tricky. / read more…

9 Comments

Posted in Health / Urban Legends

10.9.2013

by Stephen Propatier

Killer Commercial Airlines

Chemtrails are all over the internet, and purported to be part of a government conspiracy to poison or control populations. This is complete psuedoscience and fear mongering debunked in skeptoid episode 27. Major news outlets are reporting today that science / read more…

4 Comments

Posted in Health / Science / Skeptoid Podcast / TV & Media / Urban Legends

9.19.2013

by Dani Johnson

Poolside Misconceptions: Is there really a dye that turns the water blue in the presence of urine?

Above Image: Swimming Pool in Junction, Texas Image Credit: Billy Hathorn: Source: Wikimedia Commons; Sourced for this blog in 09/2013. Image is available under the the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 UnportedLicense. Since I was a small child, I’ve heard / read more…

8 Comments

Posted in Science / Urban Legends

9.16.2013

by Jennie Burd

Natural Born President Killer

Who was the real kingpin in the Harrelson family? Charles Voyde Harrelson, the father of Cheers actor Woody Harrelson, was a career hit man whose life story reads like a 1970′s cautionary tale about drug use. At the time of / read more…

8 Comments

Posted in Conspiracy Theories / Urban Legends