JENN McKINLAY: Recently, I saw what was to me a fantastically hilarious meme...
Why was this so funny? Because as a child of the seventies and eighties, the Bermuda Triangle was a very big deal. It was an urban legend before we knew what urban legends were.
I mean the potential to inadvertently fly over or sail through the
B-Triangle, disappear, and never be seen again captured our imaginations and by that I mean it completely freaked us out in the best possible way. And then, it just sort of fizzled. You didn't hear about people disappearing anymore.
Of course, quicksand was a major concern in my childhood, too. It seemed that on every television show, the heroes inevitably ended up in quicksand and someone had to throw them a rope and drag them out. My brother and I spent hours "rescuing" each other from make believe quicksand pits just so that we were prepared for that eventuality which never manifested.
Others childhood fears that turned out to be a bit of a let down:
- swallowing my gum
- spontaneous human combustion
- being kidnapped
- amnesia
- my permanent record.
So, how about you, Reds and Readers, what were the urban legends the saturated your childhood in baseless fear and worry?
