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Electricity is a Funny Thing
This urban legend, was contributed by Alexander Sultan, who writes that it came his way via forwarded email. His suspicion is that it's too good to be true; mine, too.
There are many transmission lines that crisscross Connecticut. These are held up by Transmission Towers of various constructions. Those most commonly installed near urban areas are called "metal Ornamental Towers" (supposedly prettier than wood towers). Sometimes adventurous folks climb the towers in order to enjoy the view and the night air. Most stay away from the wires, and when they get bored, come back down.
Apparently, a man who was forlorn after a recent spat with his girlfriend needed some fresh air to clear his head and decided to climb a tower. He stopped for a 6 pack to help clear his thoughts, went to a tower south of Hartford, next to I-91, and climbed it.
Public Service employees later pieced the story together. The man sat there 60 feet above the highway, drank his beer and consoled his bruised ego. After 5 beers, he needed to do what people often need to do after 5 beers. It being such a long hike down, he unzipped and did his business right there off the tower.
Electricity is a funny thing. One doesn't need to touch a wire in order to get shocked. Depending on conditions, 115,000 volt lines,like those supported by the tower, could shock a person as far away as 6 feet.
When the man "whizzed" near the conductor (wire), the power arced up his "stream" (urine is an excellent conductor of electricity), traveled up to his private parts, and blew him off the tower.
The guys at the power company noted a momentary outage on this line and sent repairmen to see if there was any damage. When they got to the scene of the accident, they found a very dead person, his fly down, what was left of his private parts smoking, and a single beer left on top.
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Elevator Story
As told by Urban Legend Member 25...
I have heard the same story at least 8 times in the last 15 years. It always "really" happened to an aunt or cousin or some other close relative of the person telling the story. It always takes place in Las Vegas although the hotels do vary and the person involved is always Eddie Murphy and his entourage. Here is the story...
A woman that is scared of black people (especially black men) is in Las Vegas. She becomes bored, leaves her husband at the slot machines and heads to her room. It is late and she is alone in the elevator.
The elevator stops and a large group of black men get on the elevator. One of the men in the back says, "Hit the floor." The woman, being scared out of her wits, falls to the floor, begging them not to hurt or rape her. The men are very concerned, assure her no one is going to harm her. It is explained that when the one said hit the floor he simply meant to press the elevator button for their floor. The men finally get the woman calmed down and apologize for the misunderstanding.
The next morning flowers arrive at the room (sometimes with a note, in some stories the manager comes to the room) with a note from none other than Eddie Murphy. In the note he again apologizes for frightening the woman and then states that he has paid for their hotel room and has arranged to cover all of their expenses for the remainder of their stay!
The first time I heard the story I bought it hook, line and sinker. The second time I got a tad suspicious. The third time and each time after that I have been told this story I must admit I've taken a certain delight in either 1) Letting the story teller know that they have been had, or 2) Finishing the story for them.
It is amazing to note that these people still swear that it is true and really happened to their close relative!
Guide's note: This is a story that has been told for many years and about many different black celebrities, including Reggie Jackson, Wilt Chamberlain, and O.J. Simpson. Earlier versions had the black man enter the elevator with a dog. When he commanded the dog to "Sit!" (or in a British variant said "Down, Lady!") one or more white passengers instantaneously did as they thought they had been told, fearing they were about to be mugged.
An email version of the same legend features Eddie Murphy and Michael Jordan together in the same elevator.
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Exam Scam: 'The Flat Tire'
As told by Urban legend Member 67, 03/09/00...
A story frequently heard around the dorm rooms and coffee houses where college students hang out, detailing an action generally attributed to a famous Dartmouth professor (who is so famous I can't remember his name right now)...
Two students decide to go skiing for the weekend, and are having such a good time they decide to blow off the (calculus, I believe) exam that they have scheduled for Monday morning in order to get some final runs in before they head back to school. They decide to tell the prof that they got a flat tire and therefore deserve to take the exam at a rescheduled time.
Hearing the story, said professor agrees that it really was just bad luck, and of course they can take the exam later. At the appointed time, the prof greets them and places them in two separate rooms to take the exam.
The few questions on the first page are worth a minor 10% of the overall grade, and are quite easy. Each student grows progressively confident as they take the test, sure that they have gotten away with fooling the professor. However, when they turn to the second page they discover that they really haven't.
The only question on the page, worth 90% of the exam, reads: "Which tire?"
I think this really fits the profile of a urban legend: it's a cautionary tale dealing with an experience quite universal among college students – the desire to blow off your work and still survive the course. As I mentioned, this is said to be "true" and can probably be verified at Dartmouth – but who has time to do that when you can just pass it along?
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The Exploding Toilet
As told by Uban Legend Member 29, 02/28/00...
I first heard this back when I was 10 or 15 years old (about 1960 to 1965) from my father. He was a police officer in Columbus, Ohio and reported it as if it actually happened on the job. I have seen it in several forms but it is one of those "you think you are having a bad day" deals...
It always entails a man and a sliding glass window that he fails to notice is closed or runs into. As I originally heard it, he has the sliding glass door open while mowing the lawn so he can go into the house, get a drink of water and cool off. In this version, without his knowledge, his wife closes the door.
In the most recent version, he rides a motorcycle into the door. He walks/rides through the plate glass and sustains non-life-threatening (but significant) cuts that require stitches.
While he is en route to the ER, his wife, in a panic, cleans up or throws away gasoline associated with whatever activity was incidental to the accident. In the one where he was cutting the lawn, he had placed the gasoline for the mower in a glass jar. In the other, when he crashes the motorcycle he spills some of its gas on the patio. The wife cleans it up with paper towels. Ultimately, the gasoline (or gasoline soaked towels) end up in the household toilet.
Later that day, when the now heavily-sutured hubby returns home, he decides to use the bathroom. After he sits down, he drops his lit cigarette in the toilet. It explodes, causing 2nd and 3rd degree burns on the man's rear and genitals. Once again, the paramedics come out to take him to the hospital.
The recent version of this story includes a final insult to the man where, as the wife is relating the causes of the accident to the next set of paramedics who show up, they laugh so hard they drop the man from the gurney onto the ground, causing a broken bone. (In the original version, the doctors or paramedics warn the man that his wife may be trying to kill him.)
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