Reid revealed to me a phenomenon he experienced first hand when he was 19 in South Texas outside of Houston. Reid is originally from Oklahoma but when he was a student in college in Texas and some of his friends that were from the area told him about an urban legend of mysterious bright lights visible on a lone highway. Reid said he was very skeptical at first but wanted to examine it firsthand just to say he had done it. He recalls driving down the highway for quite some time down in the empty flat land late at night. They pulled to the side of the road and looked to the east toward some hills and in the distance Reid said he saw green glowing lights just above the hill. This is an urban legend that many people in the area have attributed to seeing.

According to Reid many people speculated about what it was, and in the beginning it caused quite a stir as a great number of people presumed we were being invaded by aliens. When I asked Reid what he thought phenomena might be; he agreed saying he would certainly think that something very large is coming this way. The actual explanation is a reaction of certain gases in the air and light reflection which causes this green glowing effect in the night sky.

I agree that this example falls into place with many other common urban legends about us being invaded by aliens. The universe is so complex and we are so small that we yearn to discover any other possibility of life out there. So, when an opportunity like this occurs people are very quick to jump to the probability of extraterrestrial activity. Reid’s experience here is a prime example of a Von Sydow “memorate”. He had heard of his occurrence from his friends and decided to see it for himself creating a personal experience. I feel that urban legends like this gain such popularity because of man’s desire to see if intelligent life exists out there aside from ourselves. This is the reason why UFO urban legends and supposed sightings are common practice. An event like this certainly lends itself to be a prime example.

Pop culture over the last century has caused a increased fascination with lengends of extraterrestrial sightings and invasions. Dating back to the H.G. Wells radio broadcast of the War of the Worlds, humans have been attracted to any notion of other intelligent life in the universe. For the most part the portrayal of the aliens was extremely negative such as the vicious aliens seen in the blockbuster film Independence Day. To my knowledge the only recent positive depiction of aliens in popular culture would be E.T. Regardless of how aliens are depicted in the media, we have developed an utter fascination with them, which leads to the vast popularity of any form of urban legend surrounding visitors from another planet. Reid although skeptical at first still felt the urge to witness whatever those green lights could be. We do not like to hear the scientific facts behind issues like these because we would rather have our imagination run wild.

420 Origins

– Urban Legend

“If I had a dollar for every time someone told me how 420 originated, I’d be rich… or I’d at least be a few dollars richer.  The first time I heard about 420, I was in middle school.  I was on the phone with a friend, and he told me, “its 4:20, light up a joint!”.  At the time, I had no idea what he was talking about… several years later, and its all clear to me.  The first origination story I heard in regards to 420 was that marijuana burns at 420 degrees.  I just assumed this was true, but I later heard that 420 was actually a police radio code use to identify teenage stoners… Turns out both of these are incorrect.  Now, although this eerie date is shared with Hitler’s Birthday and the Columbine shootings, it turns out, that this entire 420 operation originated from a small high school in California.  Yeah, you heard me right.  420 was born out of San Rafael high school back in the early 70s.  A bunch of kids used to get together after school around 4:20 pm to toke up.  They did this regularly, and even started referring to smoking as 420.  They used this to evade the police and their parents.  However, it slowly caught on, and it then began to spread.  Soon enough, 420 grew into an international symbol for marijuana.” (L.S.)

Informant Analysis:

“Who would’ve thought that a bunch of high school kids would have started a craze that would quickly spread across the globe as a universally known code for marijuana.  People everywhere, in America, and I know tons of people in England, who all refer to 420 as the epitome of weed culture. It now symbolizes the culture, and tons of activist groups have referenced 420 in their campaigns or in their names.  I actually didn’t find about the San Rafael origin until just before 4/20 of this year.  I heard it from a girlfriend who I think told me she read it in a facebook group.  So who knows, but it all sounds real enough to me… quite the Cinderella story really.” (L.S.)

Personal Analysis:

The urban legends surrounding the origin of 420 have long been discussed and debunked.  I feel it is only recently that San Rafael emerged as the original founding location of 420.  I feel that the number of stories surrounding 420 is far less important than what they have come to mean.  420 has been embraced around the world as the full embodiment of cannabis culture.  It can be seen in music, films, television, and all mediums of pop culture.  No conversation on marijuana folklore would be complete without some mentioning of 420.  420 has become not only an international holiday, but also the basis for marijuana activist campaigns.  Churches have been erected and have included 420 in their title.  420 has united smokers across the globe and has provided a common basis for an ethnic link.  People can now identify themselves as part of the cannabis culture simply with the reciting of three numbers.  This is diffusion at its greatest!

Annotation: Information about a comic book entitled 420 can be found in this recent edition of High Times Magazine. This magazine stands as the pinnacle for continuous marijuana published information.

High Times Magazine, “Sensi Superman”, February 2007, page 13.