Urban Legends from Space PDF Download

Author: Bob King
Publisher: Page Street Publishing
ISBN: 1624148972
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 224

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Book Description
Fun, Outrageous Space Stories, Debunked! In this Internet age where science fiction masquerades as fact, even the most rational person might find themselves wondering: Could NASA have faked the moon landings? Are we sure the government isn’t using chemtrails to experiment on people? And did NASA really spend millions on “space pens”? Urban Legends from Space cuts through the fog of myth to bring the truth behind these questions, and 48 other celestial legends, out into the open. In examining the shaky claims behind these many misconceptions and taking us step-by-step through the concrete evidence that contradicts them, expert Bob King debunks each myth and exposes the scientific truth at its core. Along the way, King offers us the tools we need to become more discerning observers of the world around us and more responsible sharers of information overall.

Author: Peter L'Official
Publisher: Harvard University Press
ISBN: 0674238079
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 321

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Book Description
A cultural history of the South Bronx that reaches beyond familiar narratives of urban ruin and renaissance, beyond the “inner city” symbol, to reveal the place and people obscured by its myths. For decades, the South Bronx was America’s “inner city.” Synonymous with civic neglect, crime, and metropolitan decay, the Bronx became the preeminent symbol used to proclaim the failings of urban places and the communities of color who lived in them. Images of its ruins—none more infamous than the one broadcast live during the 1977 World Series: a building burning near Yankee Stadium—proclaimed the failures of urbanism. Yet this same South Bronx produced hip hop, arguably the most powerful artistic and cultural innovation of the past fifty years. Two narratives—urban crisis and cultural renaissance—have dominated understandings of the Bronx and other urban environments. Today, as gentrification transforms American cities economically and demographically, the twin narratives structure our thinking about urban life. A Bronx native, Peter L’Official draws on literature and the visual arts to recapture the history, people, and place beyond its myths and legends. Both fact and symbol, the Bronx was not a decades-long funeral pyre, nor was hip hop its lone cultural contribution. L’Official juxtaposes the artist Gordon Matta-Clark’s carvings of abandoned buildings with the city’s trompe l’oeil decals program; examines the centrality of the Bronx’s infamous Charlotte Street to two Hollywood films; offers original readings of novels by Don DeLillo and Tom Wolfe; and charts the emergence of a “global Bronx” as graffiti was brought into galleries and exhibited internationally, promoting a symbolic Bronx abroad. Urban Legends presents a new cultural history of what it meant to live, work, and create in the Bronx.

Author: Blake Hoena
Publisher: Capstone
ISBN: 1496641981
Category : Juvenile Nonfiction
Languages : en
Pages : 32

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Book Description
Modern ghost stories are created from truly creepy myths and rumors. Read this book to discover some urban legends that will make your skin crawl.

Author: Carrie E. Benes
Publisher: Penn State Press
ISBN: 0271037652
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 294

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Book Description
"Explores the role of the classical past in the construction of urban identity in late medieval Italy. Focuses on the appropriation of classical symbols, ancient materials, and Roman myths to legitimate the regimes of various Italian city-states"--Provided by publisher.

Author: Paul Harrison
Publisher: Truth or Busted
ISBN: 9780750279147
Category : Common fallacies
Languages : en
Pages : 96

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Book Description
Truth or Busted's Science title explores popular myths and legends about the world of science, inventions and discoveries in a light and humorous way that kids will find simply unputdownable. Such statements as 'Sneeze with your eyes open and they will pop out' or 'A black hole in our galaxy will eventually destroy the Earth' are examined as well as where the ideas came, whether they have any basis in truth, or whether they are simply folklore, myths or legends. Each statement is given a TRUTH or BUSTED evaluation.

Author: Jan Harold Brunvand
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
ISBN: 0393104168
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 485

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Book Description
"If you enjoy these too-good-to-be-true tales, Brunvand's new book will give you hours of pleasure."—Chicago Tribune A fabulously entertaining book from the ultimate authority on those almost believable tales that always happen to a "friend of a friend." Alligators in the sewers? A pet in the microwave? A tragic misunderstanding of the function of cruise control? No, it didn't really happen to your friend's sister's neighbor: it's an urban legend. And no matter how savvy you think you are, you are sure to find in this collection of over 200 tales at least one story you would have sworn was true. Jan Harold Brunvand has been collecting and studying this modern folklore for over twenty years. In Too Good to Be True he captures the best stories in their best retellings, along with their latest variations and examples of how the stories have changed as they move from person to person and place to place. To help you find your favorite, Brunvand has arranged the tales thematically. "Bringing Up Baby" is full of episodes of child-rearing gone wrong, including the grisly tale of the drugged out baby-sitter who mistakes the kid for a turkey. "Funny Business" showcases stories of infamous lapses in customer service, such as the story of the shockingly expensive chocolate chip cookie recipe. And "The Criminal Mind" features both brilliant --if they were real --scams, as well as the purported antics of the less mentally gifted. Whether you want to become an expert debunker or just have plenty of laughs, this book will surprise and entertain you. Illustrated throughout. "Informative and entertaining.... Brunvand has collected more than 200 of the most-repeated and best-known examples of modern folk-myth."—Tampa Tribune "[N]ot only an entertaining anthology, but an excellent introduction to the study of folklore itself."—Publishers Weekly "A fun read... . All the classics are here from the killer upstairs to the Kentucky Fried Rat."—New City "Resonant stories that express our hidden anxieties ... make us laugh, [or] arouse our fascinated horror."—San Francisco Chronicle Book Review "Informative and entertaining... . Brunvand has collected more than 200 of the most-repeated and best-known examples of modern folk-myth."—Tampa Tribune "[N]ot only an entertaining anthology, but an excellent introduction to the study of folklore itself."—Publishers Weekly

Author: Jody Enders
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 0226207889
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 355

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Book Description
Part of every legend is true. Or so argues Jody Enders in this fascinating look at early French drama and the way it compels us to consider where the stage ends and where real life begins. This ambitious and bracing study explores fourteen tales of the theater that are at turns dark and dangerous, sexy and scandalous, humorous and frightening—stories that are nurtured by the confusion between truth and fiction, and imitation and enactment, until it becomes impossible to tell whether life is imitating art, or art is imitating life. Was a convicted criminal executed on stage during a beheading scene? Was an unfortunate actor driven insane while playing a madman? Did a theatrical enactment of a crucifixion result in a real one? Did an androgynous young man seduce a priest when portraying a female saint? Enders answers these and other questions while presenting a treasure trove of tales that have long seemed true but are actually medieval urban legends. On topics ranging through politics, religion, marriage, class, and law, these tales, Enders argues, do the cultural work of all urban legends: they disclose the hopes, fears, and anxieties of their tellers. Each one represents a medieval meditation created or dramatized by the theater with its power to blur the line between fiction and reality, engaging anyone who watches, performs, or is represented by it. Each one also raises pressing questions about the medieval and modern world on the eve of the Reformation, when Europe had never engaged more anxiously and fervently in the great debate about what was real, what was pretend, and what was pretense. Written with elegance and flair, and meticulously researched, Death by Drama and Other Medieval Urban Legends will interest scholars of medieval and Renaissance literature, history, theater, performance studies, and anyone curious about urban legends.

Author: Discovery Channel
Publisher: Jossey-Bass
ISBN: 9780787983697
Category : Juvenile Nonfiction
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
It's a tough job separating truth from urban legend, but the MythBusters are here to serve. For example, is it true that if you step in quicksand , you'll be sucked down to your death? Only two men would be inventive - and adventurous - enough to try to find out: Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman, the MythBusters. Each week, hosts Savage and Hyneman, both special effects experts, use modern science to put another three urban legends to the test on their popular TV show. In this book, you'll learn how they either "busted" or confirmed fifteen myths on their show, often with spectacular results. Here are just some of the urban legends in this book: Did a Ming Dynasty astronaut launch himself into space with a rocket? Can a swallowed octopus egg grow to full size inside a person's stomach? Is the daddy longlegs the world's most venomous spider? Will a sinking ship suck you down? How many balloons are needed to lift a small child off the ground? Does a duck's quack echo? Mythbusters: Don't Try This at Home! gets to the bottom of these urban legends and more, and it lets you do your own mythbusting with fun experiments you can do safely at home.

Author: Ngaire E. Genge
Publisher: Crown
ISBN: 0307560937
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 354

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Book Description
Urban Legends is a remarkably complete collection of the modern myths that make the rounds in offices, college dorms, and every other place where people tell the stories that spring from our deepest fears and fascinations. Every culture has its folktales including ours. Except, instead of involving gods and goddesses or princes and princesses, ours involve "some guy my sister's best friend knows" or "someone who woke up in a motel room." They happened, supposedly, to real people, usually recently, in a particular place. And they touch the most sensitive nerves of our psyches with ironic twists, gross-out shocks, and moral lessons learned the hard way. From the classic tale "The Mexican Pet" in which the "dog" turns out to be no Chihuahua to the more unappetizing story of condoms as fast-food burger garnish, from surgically skilled kidney thieves to sexual experiments that end in the emergency room, Urban Legends relates more 300 of the most enticing, macabre, and unforgettable tales. Expertly told, they are arranged in such chapters as "Crazy Little Thang Called Sex," "Oh, Scare Me," "Campus Capers," "Corporate Convolutions," and "So Much For Comfort Food." Fascinating, chilling, and occasionally repulsive, Urban Legends has all your favorites and hundreds more.

Author: Harry Turner
Publisher: Janus Publishing Company Lim
ISBN: 1857566513
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 207

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Book Description
A blend of fact and fiction, this is a collection of stories that demonstrate the brevity and variety of the genre - ranging from the sublime to the outrageous.