A reader writes:

Dear Guide: An urban legend that I've heard (most recently by a teacher during a discussion in a high school English class) is that you shouldn't throw rice at weddings, because after the party is over, birds will come and eat it. White rice, being as dehydrated as it is, will immediately begin absorbing water upon entering the moist environment of the bird's body. It will then swell up, and if there is enough of it in there, the bird's body (specifically the crop, where the food first goes to be stored) will burst, killing the poor little critter. Is there any truth to it?

Dear Reader: No truth to it at all. In fact, wild rice is a dietary staple for many birds, as are other grains that expand in moisture such as wheat and barley. Read more...

Via UFO Digest:

Blossom Goodchild, an Aussie actress and author, has the international Ufology community on its ear with channeled information concerning the eminent appearance of a massive extraterrestrial spacecraft for October 14th, 2008. Calling themselves ‘The Federation of Light,' these Beings from another world have stated to Goodchild that they intend not only to make themselves known, but also to remain more or less in place for a full 72 hour period, thereby providing the media with ample opportunity to once and for all capture on film evidence that will silence the skeptics and debunkers forever. The predicted rendezvous point? Alabama.

UFO researcher Billy Booth says folks like Goodchild give Ufology a bad name. When Booth asked his readers what they think will actually happen on October 14, the majority said: "nothing."

In England, an "unprecedented rush" of wagering on the likelihood of an E.T. visitation prompted bookies to stop taking bets on it altogether.

In the Urban Legends Forum, Bibliophibian enthuses that if Goodchild's prediction about extraterrestrial forces moving the planet to a "Higher Vibration of Love" comes to fruition, it will be "like Christmas and my birthday all in one!" (Do I detect more than a hint of sarcasm?)

Keep up with developments on "UFO Day in Alabama" via The Tuscaloosa News.

Voice your opinion on UFOs, aliens, and cosmic vibrations o' love in the Urban Legends Forum.