1^st Variation: “Mountain Dew kills your sperm”

2^nd Variation: “Mountain Dew makes your penis shrink”

Origins

I first remember hearing this legend sometime during middle school in a suburb of Dallas, TX.

Collector’s comments

I decided to include this legend to add on to the several other legends about soft drinks in this particular folklore collection. Each time I heard this legend, I had the same sentiments as I did when I heard about Dr. Pepper being made with prune juice. As a rational, analytical person I assumed that kids in the Dallas area would likely hear and spread rumors such as this because Mountain Dew (produced by PepsiCo) primarily runs their operations exclusively in areas such as New York and New Jersey. Since Dr. Pepper / 7up has a near monopoly of many business in the Dallas area, I thought it was likely that Dr. Pepper would attempt to spread rumors about its competitors (much like Coca-Cola creating a legend about Dr. Pepper in California).

As it turns out, Mountain Dew is said to have some kind of adverse effect upon a male’s genitals (in every variation of this legend). This is often due to an ingredient called “Yellow 5” in Mountain Dew. My source completely refutes the claims of this legend and went a step further, mentioning that quite a lot of common products use the ingredient Yellow 5 yet nothing is said about the adverse effects that those products may have. In short, it was concluded that Yellow 5 is harmless and does not have any known harmful effects upon humans, despite this ingredient being under scrutiny since the early 1900’s.

Annotation: This legend and facts disproving it can be found at http://www.snopes.com/medical/potables/mountaindew.asp

Date of access: April 24, 2007

“The Brea Bum”

Origins

Pastor Arnold learned of the Brea Bum during the earlier years of high school (in

Fullerton).

Quoted from Pastor Arnold

“When in high school, I went with some friends and was told about the Brea Bum. The story involves a man who was waiting outside of his work for his family (for his wife and 3 kids to pick him up). The wife and 3 kids never came. He was sitting outside looking at a newspaper. He waited all day and night. The next day, he got a newspaper and got a report that his wife and kids died in a car accident. So he stayed at the park bench and wouldn’t move because his family had passed away.”

“So now there are many stories attached to the Brea Bum. Some said he carried a 6 inch knife and threatened to stab people who came by. People said he was friends with druggies. Some of my more courageous friends actually approached him and talked with him and tried to evangelize to him. One night, a convoy of 5 cars filled with my friends went to Brea looking for the Brea Bum. They told me and a few others to stay in, while 6 actually went up to the Brea Bum. They slowly accosted the Brea Bum, speaking gently, hoping not to create any hostility. They eventually sat down next to him and talked. Suddenly, one of my friends screamed and the rest started running. From one person, I heard someone was shot. From another, I heard a friend got stabbed. Everyone jumped into the cars and sped off. A couple of my friends were crying.”

“Later I found out the Brea Bum is a statue (a statue of guy with a newspaper). High school juniors and seniors would use this to scare freshmen and sophomores.”

Collector’s Comments

Arnold’s experience sounds much like any other “initiation”, whether it is initiation into high school, college, or a fraternity / sorority. Whereas most fraternities that I have heard about on the USC campus typically force their new pledges to do a great deal of menial tasks (such as cleaning the house’s toilets, printing event flyers, etc), Pastor Arnold had an initiation that played off younger students’ fear of the unknown. The upperclassmen’s prank seems well thought of since 14, 15, and 16 year olds would probably show little skepticism and be easier to scare than college students.

Chang Er & Hou Yi

Chang Er was an immortal girl living in heaven; the emperor banished her to live on Earth because she accidentally broke one of his belongings. The emperor told her that she must stay there until she proved she was worthy of returning the heaven. Chang Er was placed into a small village; one day, a handsome young hunter named Hou Yi saw her, and thought she was incredibly beautiful. One day, ten suns rose in the morning instead of one, scorching all the crops in the village. Hou Yi became a hero when he shot down nine of the suns with his bow and arrow. The people chose him to be their king, and he married Chang Er. However, he became a vicious tyrant and wanted to find an elixir that would make him immortal. Chang Er found it before him and swallowed the pill before Hou Yi could. After she did, she floated to the moon where she is still there today.

There are many variations to the story of Chang Er and Hou Yi. This is the version of the story that I was told by my father. Other variations include situations in which Chang Er became jealous of Hou Yi, thus she swallowed the elixir of life to spite him. However, because she used the elixir in the wrong way, she was banished to the moon. In another variation, it is said that the elixir was actually poisoned to stop Hou Yi’s evil actions. Chang Er did not know this, so she was actually the one who was poisoned. This story is often used to explain why there are several shadows in the moon. It is quite like the story of the man on the moon in Western culture. Another “shadow” that is on the moon is the figure of a woodcutter. This woodcutter is actually a man who tried becoming immortal. This angered the gods in heaven severely, so he was given the “chance” to redeem himself. The gods told him that if he could successfully chop down a tree on the moon, they would allow him to return to heaven. However, this was a trick—once he reached the moon, he realized that the tree grew back immediately each time he cut it down. All of these stories are also told to teach children moral listens. Another figure that exists on the moon is the rabbit. This legend is also existent in Western culture. In Chinese culture, however, the rabbit is a symbol of luck and fortune. Rabbits are seen as quick witted, fast, and lucky. While all of these legends are entertaining bedtime stories, they are also stories to teach children not to be greedy. My father told me this story when I was young to tell me to be grateful for what I have, and not to long for more, especially if it is obvious that there will be consequences.