Super Bowl produces super myths

CHICAGO, Jan. 30 (UPI) -- An Indiana professor says Super Bowl stories about avocado consumption, halftime toilet flushes and lost productivity are nothing but hype.

John McDowell, a professor at the Folklore Institute at Indiana University, says Super Bowl week is a popular time for "legend formation," the Chicago Tribune reported.

He said claims that two-thirds of all avocados sold in the United States are purchased for consumption during the Super Bowl are false, as is the story that millions of people running to the bathroom at halftime pushes water systems "to the brink of calamity," the newspaper said.

McDowell also dismisses the notion that women go on lingerie spending sprees in an effort to woo their husbands and boyfriends from the television.

"A lot of people like to be witty, they like to be bright, they like to toss in a little anecdote that will catch people's attention," he told the Tribune. They'll repeat a joke or rumor they heard and then add their own "artistic refinement."

McDowell said the media often gets a hold of these anecdotes and before long an urban legend is born.