Interesting info on the Ducks Mascot...enough to make me remember my undergrad days at the U of O in the early 50s. For a couple of years, I was the caretaker of the live duck mascot. I was responsible for its housing, food and getting him to the football games. Eventually, the duck went to that great duck farm in the sky about the time I graduated.

no they’re not - urban legends are any stories that are told and retold (with variations in the details) without regard to whether they’re true or not.

I just checked dictionary.com and you're right. Though most of the definitions on there say that they're usually untrue, it's not a requirement

Since someone always brings up the point that “these aren’t really urban legends,” I thought I would point out that the Oregon-Disney thing is well known in the state. It’s not a “rumor” at all.

Urban Legends are by definition untrue so any entry that gets marked as "true" can't be an urban legend.

"I said to him, 'Bob, isn't it disappointing to you that you don't draw any more? You were once such a great artist.' He wasn't, but you had to talk to Bob that way."

Bless Arnold Drake. Rest in peace, good man!

...Well, at least people couldn't argue whether or not it's an urban legend.

What, comic books are good enough you?

Leave it to Mark Evanier to have the story. Here's the link:

http://www.newsfromme.com/archives/2007_03_15.html#013103

Since someone always brings up the point that “these aren’t really urban legends,” I thought I would point out that the Oregon-Disney thing is well known in the state. It’s not a “rumor” at all. Of course, you East Coast people and your media bias probably think Oregon itself is a rumor, and that’s why you put it that way!

What's an Oregon?

That's quite interesting!

At least, I assume there was an agreement involved, since the design lasted for decades.

When I started at UCI in 1994, the B.C.-style anteater was the most prevalent version out there. By the time I graduated, they'd mostly shifted to more realistic drawings. Even the costume for games has since been replaced by a more "Xtreme" version. Though you can still find the classic anteater if you look for it.

I don't know whether they were trying to distance themselves from the cartoon or the cartoonist, or whether they figured going realistic would get them treated more seriously.

Since I'm the "Jim" who asked about it... I'm a University of Oregon grad (MS in CS, 1990) and while I had heard that there was "an agreement", I never knew (or looked for) the details. And of course, what is "known" in Oregon is at best "rumor" in Seattle and unimagined in far off Tibet.

To me, the point of this column isn't really just debunking myths or confirming rumors, but pulling back the curtain to reveal the bits of comics history many people may know a little about, but not all that much. Like this one: we go a photo of Walt, we got merchandising details, we got a truly ugly potential replacement mascot. Way cool stuff.