I guess it's understandable, since I'm an American living in Germany, but most of you could hardly imagine how often I've heard the, "If it weren't for a single vote, German would be the official language of the United States."

I may not hear it weekly, but I hear it several times a year, and from people in all walks of life. Basically, probably millions of Germans are familiar with this one, and probably most of them believe it.

So what about y'all?

Most of the urban legends that I hear the most are those horrible email "warnings" with the "man in the backseat" style motif. Usually, it's the old one that feeds on female paranoia that there's a man after them, like some stranger hiding under their cars at the gas station and slashing their heels or something. Though I've noticed in the past 5 years that these types of ULs have significantly decreased for whatever reason.

That's really funny, I always thought there was some truth to this!!!!

I guess that it's not only the Germans who would like to think that English is basically a foreign language to Americans.

Interesting. I have just been reading up on the basis of the rumour and this seems to be the bottom line;

On reflection, it is ridiculous to think that German might have become the official language of the US. At no time in its early history was the percentage of Germans in the United States ever higher than about ten percent, with most of that concentrated in one state: Pennsylvania. Even in that state, at no time did the number of German-speaking inhabitants ever exceed one-third of the population. Any claim that German might have become the main language of Pennsylvania in the 1790s, when over 66 percent of the population spoke English, is absurd.

Perhaps it deals with what happened in WWII? What would have happened if the USA had not been brought into the war? A.H. was very influential... if he wasn't, he would have never made it to dictator.

I think the rumour started pre WW2.

Most people as recently up to today think mostly due to the movie houdini with tony curtis, that houdini died in his water torture illusion upside down. Not knowing the real story due to an unsuspected punch in the stomache from a mcgill student and amateur boxer,after a show in monreal,on theway to detroit for more shows he had an peritonitis resulting from appendicitis in Detroit, Michigan,hospital halloween night May 1926 in hospital

I've also heard that the appendix might have ruptured because of several blows he took to the stomach a few days earlier in some kind of test of abdominal strength. He had apparently been suffering from appendicitus during this pummeling and some think it may have caused the rupture.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Houdini

In keeping with OP topic, it's difficult to say which urban legend I've heard the most in my time on the planet, but it seems I've heard a million things that Coca Cola is good for. (exaggerating a bit)

For those of you who aren't familiar with http://www.snopes.com it's a great web site for the proof or not as the case may be, of urban legends and other such trivia. Perhaps snopes has been discussed here before, I'm a newcomer to this forum.

What! Coca cola isn't good for you? That's crazy talk.............

Six to twelve cans of the Real Thing every day for years will undoubtedly lead to type 2 diabetes. My brother is living proof. That said, when I was in the US military back in the late sixies, we used Coke to scrub the showers down to get rid of soap scum in preparation for inspection. It worked.

Which is the reason why I haven't touched a sugary drink for 15 years...

One of my favourites - a radio conversation at sea;

Americans: Please divert your course 15 degrees to the North to avoid a Collision.
Canadians: Recommend you divert YOUR course 15 degrees to the South to avoid a collision.
Americans: This is the Captain of a US Navy ship. I say again, divert YOUR course.
Canadians: No. I say again, you divert YOUR course.
Americans: This is the aircraft carrier USS Lincoln, the second largest ship in the United States' Atlantic fleet. We are accompanied by three destroyers, three cruisers and numerous support vessels. I demand that YOU change your course 15 degrees north, that's one five degrees north, or countermeasures will be undertaken to ensure the safety of this ship.
Canadians: This is a lighthouse. Your call.

Sadly the US Navy has said that this is an urban legend and never happened.

Adam's is one of my favourites too. I've found it from many nationalities, I think the earliest I heard it involved an English tanker and a Scottish lighthouse.
Other favourites; The Choking Doberman. Doesn't matter about the breed of dog, but its owners come home to find the dog gasping and choking. They prize its jaws open, and fishing about extract a couple of fingers (human). Searching the house they find the, bereft of fingers, would be burglar hiding in a cupboard.
Measuring the depth of a well using a goat. A person is crossing a field and sees a deep hole in the ground. Wants to know the depth of this hole so looks around for a stone to throw down it. There isn't a stone, but there is a metal spike nearby. So, pulls the spike out of the ground, and throws it down the hole. Now attached to the spike is a chain, and attached to the chain is a rope, and attached to the rope is a goat. Oops!
Back to the cleaning properties of Coke (which are great), if someone made fizzy oven cleaner, would you drink it?
Steve

:)

The hamster under the carpet is a very funny one and well know legend. Do you know it ?

No....do tell.

More recently its been about Jackie Chan being dead..

Good 'ol FB!