| Acknowledgments |
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vii | |
| Introduction |
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xv | |
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1 | (18) |
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The Telephone Game as Urban Legend Paradigm |
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5 | (1) |
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6 | (1) |
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The Curse of ``The Scottish Play'' |
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7 | (1) |
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8 | (1) |
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An Authentic American Legend: Johnny Appleseed |
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9 | (2) |
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11 | (4) |
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Parson Weems and George Washington |
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15 | (2) |
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Ned Buntline, the Legend Builder |
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17 | (2) |
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Old Wives' Tales, or Bad Advice from Well Meaning Relatives |
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19 | (24) |
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22 | (1) |
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Don't Sit So Close to the TV Set |
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22 | (1) |
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Your Face Is Going to Freeze That Way |
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23 | (1) |
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Truck Drivers Know the Best Places to Eat |
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23 | (1) |
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The Death Penalty Is a Deterrent to Murder |
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24 | (2) |
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``If You Puts a Knife Under the Bed, It Cuts the Pain in Two'' |
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26 | (1) |
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You Can Catch a Bird by Putting Salt on Its Tail |
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26 | (1) |
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You Can Lead a Horse to Water, But You Can't Make Him Drink |
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27 | (1) |
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You Can Catch VD from the Toilet Seat |
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28 | (1) |
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The Shortest Distance Between Two Points Is a Straight Line |
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28 | (1) |
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Truth Shall Be a Defense in a Libel Suit |
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29 | (1) |
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29 | (1) |
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The Two Airplanes Had a Near Miss |
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29 | (1) |
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If You Feed Birds, They'll Forget How to Find Food for Themselves |
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30 | (1) |
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Every Cloud Has a Silver Lining |
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30 | (1) |
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To Get Rid of a Wart, Rub a Potato on it |
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31 | (1) |
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A Bad Penny Always Turns Up Again |
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31 | (1) |
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The Apple Doesn't Fall Far From the Tree |
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32 | (1) |
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Never Eat at Any Restaurant Called ``Mom's'' |
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32 | (1) |
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You Can Take the Lad Out of the Country but You Can't Take the Country Out of the Lad |
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33 | (1) |
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34 | (1) |
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Don't Swim for an Hour After Eating |
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35 | (1) |
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More People Commit Suicide During the Holidays |
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35 | (1) |
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Breakfast life a King, Lunch like a Knave, Dinner like a Pauper |
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35 | (1) |
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If You Have Water Bugs, You Won't Have Cockroaches |
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36 | (1) |
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Marijuana Leads to Heroin |
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37 | (1) |
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38 | (1) |
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Gout Is Caused by Eating Too Much Rich Food |
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38 | (1) |
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Ice Cubes Made from Hot Water Freeze Faster Than Ice Cubes Made from Cold Water |
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39 | (1) |
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Beer on Whiskey Rather Risky; Whiskey on Beer, Never Fear |
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39 | (1) |
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Lightning Never Strikes the Same Place Twice |
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40 | (1) |
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A Criminal Always Returns to the Scene of the Crime |
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41 | (1) |
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People Go Nuts During a Full Moon |
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41 | (1) |
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Middle Children Are Ignored, so They Grow Up More Independent |
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42 | (1) |
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There's One Born Every Minute (America's Beast Cons and Con Artists) |
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43 | (46) |
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John E. W. Keely and His Water Engine |
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46 | (1) |
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47 | (1) |
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48 | (1) |
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49 | (1) |
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49 | (3) |
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52 | (1) |
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Joseph ``Yellow Kid'' Weil |
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53 | (3) |
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56 | (1) |
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57 | (1) |
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58 | (2) |
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60 | (1) |
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60 | (1) |
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61 | (1) |
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62 | (1) |
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63 | (1) |
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64 | (1) |
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65 | (1) |
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65 | (2) |
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Janet Cooke and Her Brethren |
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67 | (2) |
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69 | (1) |
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69 | (2) |
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71 | (1) |
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71 | (6) |
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77 | (3) |
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80 | (1) |
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81 | (1) |
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82 | (1) |
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82 | (1) |
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83 | (2) |
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85 | (1) |
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86 | (1) |
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87 | (1) |
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87 | (2) |
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Mass Hysteria: Historic Hoaxes and Classic Urban Legends |
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89 | (31) |
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91 | (1) |
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Interview: From Aesop to AOL---Urban Legends as Sociology |
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92 | (4) |
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96 | (1) |
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97 | (1) |
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Everything Old Is New Again: Prehistoric Monsters |
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98 | (4) |
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There's a Phone in Mary Baker Eddy's Tomb |
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102 | (1) |
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The Dinosaur Formerly Known as Prince |
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102 | (1) |
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103 | (1) |
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104 | (2) |
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106 | (1) |
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106 | (2) |
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Fairies and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle |
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108 | (2) |
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The Curse of King Tut's Tomb |
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110 | (1) |
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111 | (2) |
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113 | (2) |
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The Curse of the Hope Diamond |
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115 | (5) |
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120 | (27) |
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The Internet Playing Field |
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124 | (2) |
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The Basics of Cyber-Terrorism |
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126 | (1) |
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Ten Things to Know about the Internet |
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127 | (1) |
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The National Education Association (NEA) Funding Hoax |
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128 | (1) |
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The Telephone and Internet Access Tax |
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129 | (1) |
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130 | (1) |
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130 | (1) |
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The ``Good Times'' Virus Hoax |
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131 | (2) |
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133 | (3) |
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136 | (1) |
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137 | (1) |
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138 | (1) |
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139 | (1) |
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139 | (1) |
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140 | (1) |
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141 | (1) |
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Interview: The False Authority Syndrome |
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142 | (2) |
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144 | (1) |
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145 | (1) |
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145 | (2) |
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147 | (39) |
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150 | (2) |
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152 | (1) |
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Yes, Atlanta, There Is a Scarlett O'Hara |
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153 | (2) |
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Hollywood's Only Honest Phony |
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155 | (1) |
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Interview: The Death of Superman |
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156 | (2) |
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158 | (4) |
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162 | (2) |
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164 | (3) |
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Elvis---the Man, the Myth, the Ghost |
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167 | (3) |
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170 | (2) |
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172 | (2) |
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The Films That Are Hollywood |
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174 | (4) |
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Urban Legends of the Stars |
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178 | (3) |
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181 | (1) |
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182 | (1) |
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Three Men, a Baby, and a Ghost |
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183 | (2) |
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Riley Weston---I Was A Teenage Grownup |
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185 | (1) |
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186 | (28) |
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190 | (5) |
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195 | (1) |
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196 | (2) |
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198 | (1) |
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Little Mikey and Pop Rocks |
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199 | (2) |
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201 | (1) |
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202 | (1) |
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203 | (1) |
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The Involuntary Kidney Donor |
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203 | (1) |
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204 | (1) |
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Jerry Mathers---Killed in Vietnam |
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205 | (1) |
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The Poodle in the Microwave |
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206 | (1) |
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206 | (2) |
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208 | (1) |
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209 | (1) |
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210 | (2) |
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``Puff (But Don't Inhale) the Magic Dragon'' |
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212 | (1) |
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212 | (1) |
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213 | (1) |
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214 | (39) |
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Interview: Crisis Management |
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218 | (2) |
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220 | (2) |
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The Roach Eggs in the Taco |
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222 | (1) |
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Procter & Gamble's Corporate Logo |
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222 | (3) |
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Tie Me Hamburger Down, Sport |
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225 | (1) |
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Intravenous Pepsi Case Study |
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226 | (2) |
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Interview: Things Go Better with Mickey |
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228 | (4) |
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Andy's Last Hoax Backfires |
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232 | (4) |
| Appendices |
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236 | (7) |
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Appendix B Further Readings |
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243 | (4) |
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Appendix C Movies to Watch |
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247 | (2) |
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Appendix D Web Sites of Interest |
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249 | (2) |
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Appendix E Organizations and Museums |
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251 | (2) |
| Index |
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253 | (16) |
| About the Author |
|
269 | |
Other versions by this Author
