Monday was Matthew Broderick’s birthday. It is no coincidence that, in addition to a GeekDad rewind review of his signature movie, this tidbit came through the info pipeline:
Ever since Ferris Bueller’s Day Off was released, “Abe Froman†has been the most commonly used alias for when men want to anonymously check into motels.
It’s not true, but it feels true. That plausibility is what makes Daily Urban Legend a fun blog to inject into my regular Snackr news feeds. It tests my information fluency with regularity.
DUL is the work of Maggie Serota, who tries to make up a new fake fact each day to share with friends. Serota—a Brooklyn writer who has contributed to publications like The Onion A.V. Club, Radar, and NY Press—started this project as a Twitter hashtag (#UrbanLegendIJustMadeUp) but turned it into a Tumbler blog so she can include pictures.
In addition to the Froman fiction, here are a few of my other favorites:
- Walt Disney was not cryogenically frozen after his death, but his cremated ashes are used nightly in the fireworks displays at Disneyland.
- The U.S. birthrate jumped about 16 percent in 1995 to reach a decade long high, just 9 months after Boyz II Men released their hit single “On Bended Knee.”
- Back in the 80’s, some cocaine shipments were smuggled into the country inside the sneaker phones given away with Sports Illustrated subscriptions.
- The only way Prince will communicate with others when it is not in person is via fax machine.
- 86% of all emergency room trips for children under the age of 10 are the result of swallowed board game pieces.
- By the year 2026, there will be more fictional lawyers practicing law on television than lawyers practicing law in real life. In related news: 43% of the defendants who choose to represent themselves in a court of law feel qualified to do so after watching the DVD set of the entire L.A. Law series.
- 2 pledges at a University of Florida frat party died after smoking soiled cat litter out of a bong during a hazing ritual.
Look it up.