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They Couldn't Have Done That! Ten IT Urban Legends Exposed

By Thomas Wailgum

Urban legends have been with us since human beings started sharing stories. The best urban legends are dramatic, unbelievable and told with such frequency that recipients assume they have to be true. There are the historic "URGENT AND CONFIDENTIAL" lucrative business proposals from deposed Nigerian leaders, the horrifying heroin-contaminated hypodermic needle in the McDonald's ball play area and the albino alligators terrorizing New York City sewers.

Of course, these outlandish stories are totally false. The world of information technology is not immune from the reaches of the urban legend. Here are some of the most notable IT urban legends that have propagated over the years. If you want to share one yourself, click here to add your own.

SAP's Hasso Plattner Moons Oracle's Larry Ellison on the High Seas

Yes, Hasso Plattner directed a classic insulting gesture at Larry Ellison's yacht-racing team. But he didn't actually flash his backside at the Oracle chairman personally.

To counter stories of the alleged incident in The Wall Street Journal and elsewhere, Plattner bared all on the legendary "pants dropping" affair to Sailing World.

Plattner says he did not moon Ellison or his Sayonara crew during the 1996 Kenwood Cup off Hawaii. As Plattner's wounded yacht Morning Glory tumbled on rough seas with a broken mast and bloodied crew member, it was Ellison's tender (a boat that supports the racing yachts) that circled Plattner's vessel and did not help. (The Sayonara was past Plattner's yacht at this time.) So, Plattner says, "I lowered my pants." A video of the event is rumored to exist.