To not point out story is an urban legend?

I wouldn’t say anything in this case as it’s harmless. Some urban legends are nothing more than scaremongering however, in which case I may speak up. It would depend on what was being said.

An urban legend I heard lots of was that homeless people got extra benefits for their dogs, hence so many had dogs with them. I worked for DHSS at the time, writing the cheques, I knew very well they didn't. People argued with me that the homeless got double if they had a dog.

Love a good urban legend! The one that went around on WhatsApp a year or so ago about the joint stag and hen do in Amsterdam is probably the worst 🙈

There's also this case.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-nottinghamshire-54248020

... and I saw someone once with of six of them (wrapped in cellophane) in a trolley in Tescos.

I think that would be pretty diffficult physiologically speaking, but nerves can get trapped when reducing a dislocated joint

Mine is the mum who was staying with her daughter, and was off to the doctors for a pap smear so sprayed some nice smelling stuff down below and headed off tp the doctor. Whilst he was doing the pap smear the doctor commented "you are looking very jazzy today". She was confused but went home. Went to the the bathroom and checked the bottle and it was glitter hairspray.
I was told the exact same story a month later by someone who was from a different group of friends. Very funny though

Shame you weren’t aware of the BBC article linked on this thread. You could acted have really believed her and said how cruel, you assume it died poor thing. Then say - did you say your sister? What’s her name? I’ll have to check if reward is still on offer and report you so you can give police full details.

Was it an Oor Wullie story? 😂

Jeezo... please dont tell me your in Central Scotland because I have heard this one too 😬

I helped a friend who was new to contact lenses (this was a hard lens, years back) remove one that was stuck - she was on the point of ringing for help. We got it to float off using an eye bath.
I don't know about penguins, but I knew a guy who stole a (non-poisonous) snake from a zoo (he was somewhat drunk at the time). His girlfriend was very angry and told him to take it back, but I heard he simply let it go in the street.

There was even an entire spoof newspaper, which we sort of believed when young, spoofing the population. I can’t remember the title, not the Daily Sport as I don’t think there was any smut in it.

I've had mine fold up and get stuck right up top but they always come back down again with a bit of manoeuvring. I genuinely thought once they were in your eye they can't dry up, I suppose they could if they end up that far up for long enough though.

I never wear contacts now. Especially after I read about Tori Spelling getting an eye ulcer from them (not an urban legend!) she did sleep in dailies for several days though...

Thankgoodness I detest the stuff it may be a myth but shudder

@DickieAnderson, I've also gone into opticians' (more than once) for help with a stuck lens. Not sure I'd go as far as A&E though, I'd probably resign myself to a very uncomfortable hour with cups of warm, salty water.

I can believe people do go to hospital for that, though.

The spider story must be true, l read it in the Sunday Post !
(A Scottish Sunday newspaper which your Granny would read)

I work in the zoo sector and get told a version of this story regularly, typically the school kid on a trip putting it in a backpack & parents finding it in the bath. Always told very seriously. I usually just nod & move on rather than argue.

Penguins are fiesty (& heavy, noisy, smelly), no small child is picking one up!

Oh, god, yes 😳 I swear I SAW a young woman scratch a lump on her face and masses of tiny spiders ran out! I can remember where we were, what she looked like, and everyone's reactions when it happened.

I keep opening my mouth to tell this tale, then reminding myself it's a false memory. If I've had a bit too much wine, though, it sometimes works its way past my mental censor.

Nobody's ever told me it's an urban legend - which is kind of them!!

One of my colleagues told me almost exactly the same story – penguin stolen from a zoo, but in his version it was his friend’s kid who’d smuggled it out in a backpack on a school trip. I totally believed it at the time. I had no clue it was an urban legend until this thread!

What’s so unlikely about going to A&E if you can’t get lenses out? Not being snarky I’m genuinely asking.

I had to go to the optician once because mine had dried up and got stuck behind the top of my eyelid. I’ve scratched my eye before with a dry lens and it’s unbelievably painful so I panicked when I couldn’t get it out in case it happened again.

If the optician was closed I might have considered A&E as I’d been trying for ages to get it out but also worried it might already have come out then I was just making it worse fishing about for nothing.

The optician didn’t act like it was unreasonable and got it out quickly but now I’m wondering if this was unusual enough that a similar situation has become and urban legend!

A teacher told me once that she had taken a school trip and a child had knicked a penguin and put it his bag, but they found it on the bus (the kid was very wet) and gave it back.

I think that happens in Our Day Out too but I didn't assume she was lying.

I imagine penguins are one of the more commonly targeted zoo animals when it comes to theft. They are small enough to be portable, not deadly or that strong (tho no doubt one could give a nasty peck when roused) and tend to have lowish walls around their enclosures.

I wouldn't assume it wasn't true if someone told me they knew of a stolen penguin.

(Poor penguins though!).

Never say never. If they were discussing a woman as the penguin thief, maybe horseshit, but if they were discussing a man, could be one of these two living brain donors.
www.theguardian.com/world/2012/may/02/british-tourist-penguin-australia?

Sure it was this case...

Been in same position with the one about the peanuts having the chocolate sucked off them. I was in USA and I started to say that the last time I heard that one was in Hertfordshire. It was a conversation stopper because person telling story was telling it like they witnessed it (and was a Christian in Bible Belt West Virginia) and me piping up caused a definite awkward silence.

My cousin posted the La-a one on Facebook and insisted she had met one as a teacher. Lost a fair bit of respect for her when I saw it.

So you think the sister or whoever told them the story, and they were taken in and believe they’re repeating a true story? And you could somehow save them from this ignominy?

They probably know perfectly well that it’s a load of old cods, but haven’t let it stop them repeating a good story. I was at a party once when one of the guests told a story about his uni flatmate and a celebrity. I knew very well it had been on Popbitch only a few months earlier - but would there have been any value in pointing that out? It would just have embarrassed everyone.