Category Archives: general

Mikey Life Cereal Urban Legend

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“So, in the 70s and 80s, one of the more popular television commercials I remember was for Life Cereal. And there was a little kid in it, and basically it was like he hated everything, and then they gave him this bowl of Life Cereal and he started to eat it and it was like ‘Mikey won’t like it, he like- he hates everything!’ And then it’s like ‘Oh Mikey! He likes it!’

…I don’t know how this started, but there was some urban legend that started to go around that Mikey had died. And he died because he ate Pop Rocks and then drank a can of Coca Cola. And apparently either exploded his insides or something like that and he had died.”

Context

J, my mother, currently lives in Seattle, Washington in the United States, but grew up in various towns in Ontario, Canada. She recalls that she first heard this legend from her friends on the playground when she was relatively young. J gave the additional context that this Life Cereal commercial would air often during Saturday morning cartoons, which meant that “all the kids knew who Mikey was.” As a result of the legend, she and the other kids on the playground would dare each other to eat Pop Rocks and drink Coca Cola, to objections of “‘No, Mikey died from that!’” She concluded telling me the legend with the following:

“I do believe it was eventually dispelled, I don’t think Mikey was dead? Um, [laughs] but actually to this day I don’t even really know! All I know is that drinking Coke and eating Pop Rocks is apparently really bad for you, can kill you.” 

Analysis

J’s recollections indicate that this urban legend was primarily a piece of children’s folklore. Drawing from Folk Groups and Folklore Genres: an Introduction chapter author Jay Mechling, this legend seems to be an example of children experimenting with disorder and parody. By taking a benign commercial featuring a child eating cereal and twisting it into a gruesome urban legend, my mother and her peers were able to discuss the concept of death and dangerous/unhealthy foods in a way that exaggerates, mocks, and inverts adult ways of perceiving these topics. That this legend also sparked a form of play (daring each other to eat Pop Rocks and drink Coca Cola) further allowed them to explore a sense of danger in the safe proximity of adults. This legend could also be another example of how Mechling discussed commercial foods being a particular target for ‘antithetical’ children’s folklore as a representation of underlying fears about bodily safety and changes.

Bumper Skiing Urban Legend

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“When we were little up in Canada, when it would snow, which seemed like a lot, and the snow would get packed down on the streets in our neighborhood, me and my friend would put on our ski clothes…and we would hide in the bushes near a stop sign. Then, when a car would stop at the stop sign, we would sneak in behind the car, grab the bumper, squat down so our feet were on the ground, and when the car would start to go we’d basically be skiing behind the car. And one time, when I was little, I was probably eleven or twelve, someone told me the story of the kid who was bumper skiing one time and got his finger stuck in the bumper, and the car pulled his finger right off!”

Context

 M grew up in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, but currently lives in Seattle, Washington, The United States of America. He called the activity from which this urban legend stemmed “bumper skiing,” which, from his description, seemed to be a regular and popular activity when the weather conditions were right. The ‘someone’ he mentioned telling him the story was one of his friends; he also did not know the specific identity of the boy who lost his finger in the legend. When asked if this legend influenced him or his attitudes and behaviors towards bumper skiing at all, M said: “Well, I was a little more careful where I put my hand!”

Analysis

To me, this urban legend seems to serve two main purposes. On the one hand, it seems like a way to acknowledge and even emphasize the dangerous play taking place and create a greater sense of risk. That the boy in the story is unnamed creates a sense that it could happen to anyone. It also perhaps allows for a way to externalize and discuss personal fears and anxieties around the practice more indirectly. However, this legend is also clearly a cautionary tale about the harm that may be caused by improperly bumper skiing. M’s telling of the context surrounding bumper skiing indicated that it was a somewhat secretive form of play with little to no adult supervision. For M personally, the legend had a tangible effect on how he partook in bumper skiing, making him more conscientious of his own safety. The spread of this legend could create a way for children to check in on and enforce each other’s safety by drawing on a general sense of folk authority and knowledge.

Paper Plate Awards Ritual

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“This is called the paper plate awards. For every [theater] show two seniors would get paper plates, and with sharpies, for every single member of the cast, they would get their own individual ‘paper plate award.’ So on a paper plate they would write, like, um, for me it would say ‘C, 2022 paper plate awards for The Sound of Music’ and then it would say, like, ‘best mistress’ or whatever. Like- like it would be a very specific award that has to do with, like, an inside joke about the show or something that has happened at rehearsals, or something about your character you’re playing, or a funny line you have, and they would do some type of variation on that turned into the name of an award. And it was important because every single person got their own award, and every single person’s award was very specific to them. Like, no one got a generic award, everyone felt included and like they had a thing that like, that was their show or their little specialty. So it was meant to make everyone feel close and like- even though it was a joke awards, it was all meant to show that like everyone has contributions to, not just like the talent of the show, but like the community that we are like forming.

And so it was always the dinner before opening night, um, that is when the two seniors would do the award show and just present it to everyone. Um, and they would just go down the list and be like ‘we’re presenting this paper plate award for blah blah blah to blah blah blah.’ Um, and by the time I was a senior, since me and this one other girl were the two seniors who had been there the longest, we got to be the ones to make the paper plate awards and hold the ceremony. So it was something I got to see from being like, eleven years old as like a little kid to then growing up and being like the eighteen-year-old who’s doing it and passing it on.”

Context
C is a current student at the University of Southern California and grew up in Palm Desert, California. In addition to stating that it was the seniors who created the paper plate awards for everyone, C stated that the seniors got the role because they were in somewhat of a leadership role; having been there the longest also meant that the leading seniors knew the group the best. When asked what would happen if there were more than two seniors who had been there the longest, C described that they performed three shows a school year, so the seniors would be able to ‘trade off’ and each get a turn. C finished by saying she hopes to establish the paper plate awards tradition at some of her performance groups at USC because she feels it helps foster connection and belonging, even if someone is young or new to the group.

Analysis
As C pointed out during our interview, the main purpose of this ritual seems to be strengthening communal bonds through the special acknowledgment of the value of each group member. The silly tone of the awards and their references to inside jokes from the rehearsal process harkens back to forms of workplace humor, where teasing and getting ‘in’ on a certain joke designates someone as part of a group. That the paper plate awards take place over a shared meal adds a further sense of connectedness. C’s comment towards the end also indicates that the paper plates awards are a particularly special time for the seniors; after having received paper plate awards for numerous performances, stepping into the role of creating the paper plate awards functions as a kind of rite of passage that acknowledges the seniors’ leadership role and experience. Depending on how advertised the tradition is throughout the rehearsal process, it seems as though a new group member’s first paper plate awards could function as a sort of rite of passage by giving an award that makes them feel seen, and therefore, ‘part of the group.’

The Man and The Camel

Text – Narrative Joke

This narrative joke told to us by JP, leads its listeners through the journey of a man stuck in the desert with his newly bought camel. This joke does a great job in following the rule of threes in comedy with a clever twist of fate at the end.

Context –

Interviewer:  Okay, tell me your joke.

JP: Alright, so there’s, this man, and he’s traveling through the Sahara Desert back to his family. On his journey there’s a sandstorm and he gets lost and he’s low on supplies and he’s fearing he’s gonna die. So, he’s, he’s walking through the desert and he’s, he’s not sure exactly where he is and, and how he’s going to get there and he’s running out of water. And out of nowhere, in the middle of nowhere, he just sees this man and he just says, camel for sale, camel for sale. The guy has a camel! And he comes up to this camel. And he goes to this man and he’s like,” Oh, if I get this camel, I can get into town much quicker. This guy can tell me where to go.” So he goes there, he has like this last little bit of coin that he’s going to bring back to his family. He gives it to the man to buy the camel, and the man says, “Okay, I’ll sell you this camel, but there’s something very important that you need to know about it. The camel is trained so that when you swipe your head, (Josh proceeds to swat his hand like he’s wiping the sweat from his brow), it’ll start going, it’ll start, you know, walking. So you do one swipe- your first swipe will make it kind of start to walk. Second swipe will give it a good trot. And then the third one, you’ll go very, very fast.” So the other guy’s like, “okay, that’s perfect. Good to know.” And then camel seller says, “Okay, but if you want the camel to stop, you have to say, amen.” He’s like, “All right, all right, whatever, whatever. I just like want to get home.” And he kind of hurries along. He, you know, gets directions to town and he swipes his face once and the camels just like, you know, starting a steady little walk then he’s like, “Wow, that’s kind of nice.”

JP: He swipes his head again and it’s starts to get a nice run. He’s like, “Oh wow, I can like make it before sundown this is great. But let me see how fast this camel can go.” He swipes his head a third time and the camel takes off sprinting crazy fast and the guy can barely hold on. He then notices that he’s coming up towards a cliff and he’s about to just sprint off it on the camel and he’s like, “Oh my gosh I can’t get off this camel! What am I gonna do?” And so he begins to make peace with his fate and starts starts saying his prayers because he knows he’s gonna die. So he goes through his prayers the prayers, like whatever, “God, thank you. Amen.” And the camel stops right on the edge. And the guy goes, “Whew.” and swipes his away his sweat in relief.

Interviewer: Nooooo! That’s good. I like that. I like that a lot. That’s a cute one. Where did you learn this joke? Were you telling this for like little?

JP: Yeah. I think I learned it at summer camp when I was a kid.

Interviewer: Do you remember who taught it to you?

JP: Um, no. Maybe my friend Malcolm?

Interviewer: Why do you think that it stuck with you even until now?

JP: I think for me it was kind of a nice story to really visualize and you get a little bit more ingrained in the story, kind of like, what’s going to happen next? And you, you’re like, “Oh, what? He’s going to like fall off the cliff. Yeah. He’s so stupid. He forgot what to say.” I don’t know. I always just thought it was funny too. Not really as much now but especially as a kid.

My interpretation –

This joke was a total flashback for me to recess in middle school when we were learning new riddles from the grapevine of children and other new jokes and tricks to tell your friends. I love that JP has continued to say this joke to others without him thinking it as funny as it originally was for him. A joke like this takes practice to recite, especially for a kid the age young enough to go to summer camp. I think that JP has kept this in his arsenal of jokes for the youthful memories of both learning about the joke himself and being able to give a part of that funny-ish memory to anyone he’d later end up telling the joke to.

A Little Irish Saying

Text – Narrative Folksong

The phrase “Take the high road” origins can be potentially traced back to the old 1800’s folksong, “The Bonnie Banks of Loch Lomond.”The phrase has now been taken out of context to mean something more about being the bigger person rather than its literal use in the song. Claire talks about how her father uses this phrase and how it has impacted her life through young adulthood.

Context –

CB: I mean, my dad is always, like, saying, sayings, so I’m trying to think of them. I don’t know, he’s always just, like, saying to “take the high road”. That’s something I think about a lot.

Interviewer: Why do you think you think about it a lot?

CB: Cause you have to, like, physically make the choice to do it. If it comes naturally, then you’re a really good person. Whenever I think of taking the high road, I have, like, a visual image in my mind of overlapping highways and you’re just making the decision to look at the skyline and keep going rather than stay in whatever is underneath you and bogging you down.

Interviewer: Hmm. That’s cool.

CB: Yeah. And I think it’s ’cause I used to be, I used to like feel like, especially in high school, in the beginning of college, I used to feel like I needed to fight every fight. Yeah. And resolve every issue. But I had to learn how to let things go, and the image really helped to remind me of that.

My Interpretation –

CB has been one of my closest friends since 1st grade. Seeing her progression into the person she is today and learning about how this phrase helps her dictate the way in which she walks through life makes so much sense with her character. As we get older and get over the cliché-ness of famous sayings, we start to realize the truth behind the words and why they became cliché’s in the first place. Sometimes all it takes for a saying to kick in and shake things up is proper timing for the person being told the phrase too. While Claire had heard this saying from her dad for years, it finally took full effect when she moved to college and got to let the thought finally marinate in her head and then apply it in her own way see fit.