From the April 2, 1938, issue
By Science News
YOU DON’T HAVE TO BELIEVE IT
Another traveler is recounting the wonders of his latest expedition into the hypothetical wilds, equipped with a good imagination and plenty of snakebite medicine. Today, we smile indulgently at these traveler’s tales, but not so long ago, each and every yarn was carefully remembered, and passed on (sometimes “improved” a little) to the next avidly listening ear.
Perhaps the “tall story” is a racial heritage of the days when there was no writing, and wandering minstrels were our newspapers and sources of information. Primitive tribes still retain their histories as legends, passed on by word of mouth from father to son.