I heard it for Michael Jackson first

I loved the response he gave for that rumor.

It was essentially... "Do you think I'd be here giving this interview if I could do that?

Love that he knew about the rumor.

Also Richard Geere stuck a hamster in his ass

It's such a believable rumor though.

Not as impressive but in the town where I grew up there is a really skinny woman who seems to be jogging like non stop. When I was in elementary school there was a rumor saying she had some disease which would make her heart stop if she stopped running and all the kids thought it was true. A few years ago when mentionning it to a younger sister (6 years difference) I learnt the rumor was still going strong when she was a kid, and then we both learnt that it was still the case when our even younger sister (12 years difference) was a kid.

Millenial from Switzerland - can confirm.

That rumour was everywhere by the end of '94. Not a lot of millenials in high school then. Almost all Gen X.

here is another one: did you know that Marilyn Manson was "Paul" from The Wonder Years

Never heard of him until the rumor. Took one look at him and believed it 110%

Even further back, there was the same rumor about Gene Simmons from Kiss

Rod Stewart’s pumped stomach is unimpressed

Glad to see the other misinformation classics like Richard Gere's gerbil mentioned.

Anyone remember Jamie Lee Curtis was secretly a hermaphrodite?

It was known. I don't trust anything I learned pre Internet anymore, including the number of planets.

Heh. I think that was one of the first things I ever went down a rabbit hole to understand on The Internet. And it eventually led me to learn that with just a bit of yoga (which you should do anyway since it is a great way to improve flexibility and general muscle health) you don't need to remove the rib. Admittedly, I have too much of a "dad bod" and a "beer gut" these days. But... it is totally a thing.

I went to a 20 person private school in rural Oregon at the time and even heard it.

That and everyone drawing Stussy symbols for a hot minute.

I heard it was Prince in the early 90s,before the internet.

Amazingly this rumor actually has its origin from Gabriele D'Annunzio in the 1930s. It has been repeated for other famous people throughout history.

After 100h playtime of Pokemon red/blue, MS Anne would come back

I heard it about Ron Jeremy, which made sense because, allegedly there's a porn out there in which he does suck himself, but I have no way of verification, as I am not aware of the film name, and I'm not watching a bunch of 70s porn to find the right one

I remember that one.

The rumor I remember more was that the boobs he had in a music video were actual implants and not just an external costume.

In the 80’s, I always heard it was Gene Simmons.

I definitely believed that for way too long.

high schools too.

The Birth of the Hivemind

What can I say, it sounded entirely plausible.

AND he was Paul from The Wonder Years!

i know the guy who invented the phrase weak sauce

Used to go to festivals in the late 90s/early 2000s and there was ALWAYS a rumor that one of the Chuckle Brothers had died. Or Cliff Richard.

And everyone knew how to draw the "smile" graffiti style "S".

And everyone knew some version of the promotion where you supposedly got free something if you got a Tootsie Pop wrapper with the Indian and the star on it.

I remember this.

The same way that every kid in the 80s knew where the hidden 1-up in level 1-1 of Mario Bros was.

Yellow #5 shrinks your peepee!

I heard the same thing for Gabriele D'Annunzio.

I hear of that rumor in France.

I heard it for Prince first.

Ywa I live in northern Englanf and heard that as a kid