Is it real or is it a rumor?
1. There are commonly supposed to be 360 dimples on what type of ball? Basketball; Rugby; Golf; Cricket
2. Which of the following statements is correct in terms of equestrian statues? If the horse has one front leg in the air, the rider was wounded in battle; If the horse has both front legs in the air, the rider died in battle; Both of these; Neither of these.
3. What was the name of the plane that crashed in February 1959, killing Buddy Holly, Richie Valens, J P Richardson and the pilot, Roger Peterson? Peggy Sue; American Pie; Chantilly Lace; None of these.
4. Rumor has it that a woman bought her little girl a Cabbage Patch doll, and found it was defective: its arm fell off. She sent it back to the company. What did they send her in return? A $500 bill for the corrective surgery; A death certificate for her doll; A letter accusing her of child abuse; The doll’s ear, with a ransom note.
5. I wouldn’t buy that product if I were you… in the 1980’s, the president of a parent company was on a talk show, and said that the company is run by Satanists, atheists, or cultists. What company was plagued by these rumors? K-Mart; United Brands; Procter and Gamble; Kraft Foods.
6. This shoe company recycles old shoes to make tracks and playgrounds. Send them an old, ratty pair of your sneakers and they’ll send you a brand new pair, no questions asked! Which company finds themselves receiving hundreds of pairs of old shoes? Reebok; Converse; Adidas; Nike.
7. A certain brand of luxury car takes pride in their automobiles, so that if this car should break down, they will dispatch a mechanic anywhere in the world and fix the problem for FREE! Which manufacturer supposedly does this? Mercedes Benz; Porsche; BMW; Rolls-Royce.
Answers
1. Golf. With a little research I found that most golf balls have around 250 to 450 dimples. There is no set regulation amount. It may be nice to know that a regulation golf ball can weigh no more than 1.62 ounces and be no more than 1.68 inches in diameter.
2. Neither of these. it is also said that if the horse has all four hooves on the floor then the rider died of natural causes. I know this may kick up some dust, but, this simply isn’t true. For example, the first Duke of Wellington died of natural causes at the age of 83. His equestrian statue at Aldershot shows his horse with all four hooves on the floor. However, his statue in Edinburgh shows the horse with both front legs in the air. There may be statues which fit the “legs” criteria, but they are probable more coincidence than design.
3. None of these. It’s interesting to think that the plane involved in “The Day That Music Died” crash was called American Pie. It explained something about the somewhat confusing title of the song. However, there is no evidence that this was the case. The plane was a Beechcraft Bonanza B35, and it was nameless, only an FAA registration number. Don McLean, composer and singer of the song “American Pie” issued a press statement in 1990s debunking the plane name myth.
4. A death certificate for her doll. Remember how popular those dolls were in the 1980s? Each doll came with its own birth certificate. So naturally, the doll ‘died’... Supposedly, Johnny Carson displayed the actual death certificate on the ‘Tonight Show’.
5. Procter and Gamble. According to the rumor, the president of Procter and Gamble went on ‘The Phil Donahue Show’ and admitted his company donated 10 percent of their profits to the Church of Satan (or Rev. Sun Myung Moon’s Unification Church).
6. Nike. While Nike does donate shoes to this worthwhile program, they do not send new shoes.
7. Rolls-Royce. Stories are told about drivers whose Rolls ‘failed to proceed’ at some remote location. Rolls-Royce instantly sends out the mechanics who immediately fix the problem. When the driver later contacts the company for the bill, he is informed that the incident never happened. “Rolls-Royces don’t break down.”