Below are excerpts from the alt.folklore.urban (urban legends newsgroup)
Frequently Asked Questions list from their food and twinkies sections.
 
The abbreviations before each "legend" are:
T: True  F: False  U: Unanswered  Tb: believed True  Fb: believed False
(What constitutes "truth" is rather subjective :).  The reason they include
true things here is because they're questions about which people frequently
ask "is this an urban legend?," even though they're facts, not urban legends.
 
U. Eating lots of chicken fast food makes males grow breasts (from hormones)
T. Eggs and chicken are horribly contaminated, and should NOT be eaten raw.
T. Most mass-market beers contain "foaming agents" to make them form a head.
F. Eating carrots may improve night vision, because of large qty. of Vit A.
T. There're kosher Chinese restaurants in & around big East Coast US cities.
T. Unless marked "dairy", fast food shakes aren't milk: mostly carrageen gel.
T. Lead leaches from lead crystal decanters into drinks; is not good for you.
Tb.Microwaved food is better (other cooking allegedly creates carcinogens)
Tb.Eating celery takes more energy than its digestion yields.
U. Mick Jagger used Mars bar as a dildo on nubile pop loon Marianne Faithful.
T. Kim Scheinberg posts her denial in her autobiog., but she would say that.
F,T,T,U.Fast food places use unusual ingredients: worm, 'roo meat, seaweed,
   rat. ["'The Kentucky Fried Rat' and Other Nasties" in TVH]
F. Stranger at restaurant eats your cookies, you grab, later find you took
   his. ["The Packet of Biscuits" in TCD.  Douglas Adams claims this really
   happened to him. Also a variant w/Kit Kat bars.]
F.*Cook cheated into buying Mrs Fields' recipe, gets revenge by spreading it.
   ["The Mrs. Fields Cookie Recipe" in CBA.  This is probably a descendant of
   the "Red Velvet Cake" UL in TVH.  Another version involves Nieman-Marcus
   and many other noted retail establishments.]
F. Green M&M's (also "Smarties" in UK and Canada) are an aphrodisiac.
T. Andrew Welsh has tried them.
F. Red M&M's are a carcinogen (Nope, they used red dye #5,not dangerous #2)
   [Both M&M legends are in "Green M&Ms" in TMP]
F. Ingesting a tapeworm will help you slim, so people do this regularly
   ["'Bosom Serpent' Legends" in TCD.]
T. Many CIA (and other gov't) snackbars are staffed by blind people.
F. They're hired to help maintain secrecy.
F. Grape seeds can get caught in your appendix and give you appendicitis.
T. Steven Bellovin thinks diverticulitis may be source of this UL.
T. British army doses water with bromide (for purification),soldiers say it's
U. ...to suppress their libidos. US Army salts their peters with saltpeter.
Fb.Kennedy family made their pile thru a Scotch import monopoly
Tb.Kennedy family made their pile thru smuggling Scotch during prohibition.
F. The red leaves of Poinsettias (aka the Xmas Plant) are deadly poisonous.
   ["The Poinsettia Myth" in TMP.]
T. Poinsettia sap and leaves are irritants and may harm small children.
T. People have been poisoned eating food cooked on burning oleander branches.
Tb.Asparagus stinks up pee, but ability to smell it is genetically inherited.
T. Fresh seeds from plants of rose family react to form cyanide in the body.
T. Lots of Asian restaurants have humorous names to English speakers.
Fb.Restaurant mints are pissy b/c patrons don't wash after going to the loo.
F. Mikey (Life cereal) exploded from eating Pop Rocks with soda (You wish!)
   ["The Death of Little Mikey" in TCD]
F.*A popular Mexican beer (esp. Corona) was made with urine.
F.*Snapple either supports Operations Rescue/KKK and/or the ship on the
   label is a slave ship.
F.*Tropical Fantasy causes sterility in black men.
T. Some people like to eat the placenta (aka afterbirth) of their children.
F. Shampoos and foreign beauty aids are made from aborted babies.
   ["The Secret Ingredient" in TMP]
F. Couple travels to exotic locale with pet dog. Eatery prepares it for them.
   ["Food and Restaurant Rumors and Legends"/"Unfortunate Pet Legends", TCD]
F. Ethnic eateries (Chinese/E. Indian/Italian) use cat/dog/human meat instead
   of expected meat.["The Eaten Pets"/"Further Ethnic Stereotype Legends"TMP]
F. Cantaloupes are infected with salmonella and are thus bad to eat.
F. Snake hidden in imported fruit (bananas, pineapple, etc.) bites/kills
   someone.  ["The Snake in the Greens" in TBT]
T.*Woman removes label from "tuna" can, finds cat food label underneath.
T.*The cat food actually was tuna canned 6 years earlier in Canada, declared
   unfit for human consumption, allowed to be exported as pet food, and then
   illegally relabeled as tuna again.  (Toronto Star, March 24, 1992)
Fb.In pre-revolutionary Paris, peasants resold food from restaurant garbage.
T. Vegemite (& Marmite) is made from yeast by-products, salt, and other stuff
Fb.Cannibalism was a common means of sustenance for past cultures.
F. "Instant" ramen noodles are coated w/wax & can cause intestinal blockage.
Fb.Drinking alcoholic beverages through a straw makes one drunker faster.
Tb.Carbonation in whisky & soda makes one drunk faster than a straight whisky
F. Marco Polo brought pasta back to Italy from the Chinese.
T. Spinach has no more iron than other veggies; UL due to misplaced decimal.
F.*People eat chocolate b/c it gives them the same feeling as being in love.
F. Chocolate makes people horny.
T. Some McDonald's do give free soft drink refills, tho there may be no signs
F. Peeling labels off a beer bottle means you're: a) a virgin, b) gonna get
   lucky, c) sexually frustrated.
F. Eating hot bread is bad for you (alcohol, stomach upset, etc.)
Tb.Don't use fresh/frozen pineapple, Kiwi fruit, or maggots to make Jell-O.
Tb.Certain Eng. documentaries notwithstanding, spaghetti doesn't grow on
   trees.
T. Some English beers contain fish guts.
F. The "Baby Ruth" candy bar was named for George "Babe" Ruth.  Duh.
T. ..It was really named for US president Grover Cleveland's oldest daughter.
T. ..There are those who believe that the manufacturer wanted to avoid paying
   royalties to the "Babe."  [Notable AFUers:  pvdl and Ted Frank.]
T. But the "Babe" was a pitcher when it came out & wasn't really famous yet.
F. "Bubble Yum" bubble gum is manufactured with spiders eggs.
   ["The Kentucky Fried Rat" in TVH.]
T. There sure are many stories of food service people jacking off into food.
T. Most, if not all, are false though.
T. If you want to know what the "33" on Rolling Rock beer means.  Read the
   _Straight Dope_ books mentioned at the end of the FAQ list.
F. Eating ice will strip enamel off your teeth or is somehow "bad" for you.
T. Some people were buying large quantities of baby formula in the US because
   it was cheaper than in nearby large metropolitan areas.
T. Yes, we've heard of the story about a woman, a dog, and peanut butter.
F. Putting a spoon in bottle of champagne will help keep it from going flat.
F. Hostess snacks (eg Twinkies, Cupcakes) aren't baked!  They set,like jello.
T. "animal or vegetable shortening" on Twinkie ingredients list == LARD
T. There really were chocolate "iced" Twinkies.
Fb.Twinkies eat mold... If mold grows on a Twinkie, the Twinkie digests it...

2 responses total.

Oh my!

Hm.  One cause of poor night vision is a vitamin A deficiency - not so
uncommon, and readily correctable with "a good source of vitamin A".
I'm not at all sure I'd agree with the above in this respect...

I've heard that twinkies are actually "foamed", then "cooked" with hot
air.  The person I heard describe this (Steve Andre) seemed to think
this was not baking, but the hot air part sure sounds like baking to me.

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