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Claim: A pair of Arkansas rednecks are injured using a .22 caliber shell in place of a burnt-out automobile fuse.
Origins: In 
October 1996, the Internet was left giggling over the hilarious news story of a pair of not-too-bright good ol' boys and truck repairs gone wrong. Combining the key comic elements of trucks, bullets and stupidity, the tale was a sure winner.
Only one problem with the news item: It didn't happen. It was a fun story dressed up to look like a It didn't fool the newspaper the fake news item had been attributed to, though. Here's a debunking of the tale by the very paper that supposedly ran the original story:
A frog-gigging story that reportedly appeared in this newspaper is winding its way around the globe like a chain letter.
The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette ran that piece out of self-defense — it kept getting calls and inquiries about the bullet fuse story, and this seemed the best way to try to put a lid on the spurious story.
Except the story didn't run in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. And from all indications, it's not true. That's not keeping it from circulating the Internet. In fact, the computer network is proving much speedier and far-reaching than most chain letters. Under headings such as "True-Life Redneck Story" and ".22 Cal Ammunition Safety Alert!!" computer users around the United States are passing on the following story (incorrectly listed as appearing in Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Two local men were seriously injured when their pickup truck left the road and struck a tree near Cotton Patch on stateWhile Lavinia worries over the fate of the frogs, Arkansans worry where the story might have originated. There is no town of Cotton Patch in Woodruff County - it's Cotton Plant. No Deputy Snyder has ever worked for that county's sheriff's department. And attempts at verifying the existence of Wallis and Poole have been futile. Could it have a been an attempt to make Arkansans look stupid? "I accuse a Yankee of it," says one Internet observer. No one has claimed responsibility. Where did the tale come from? It was likely a fanciful reworking of an earlier version that had appeared on the Internet in March 1996:
Dave so-and-so of Anniston, Alabama, was injured recently after he attempted to replace a tubelike fuse in his Chevy pickup with a 22-caliber rifle bullet (used because it was a perfect fit). However, when electricity heated the bullet, it went off and shot him in the knee.
I like the dressed-up telling of it better. Most stories can be improved by tossing in a few hundred frogs.
Barbara "it was a dark and froggy night . . ." Mikkelson Last updated: 16 November 2006 Urban Legends Reference Pages © 1995-2008 by snopes.com. This material may not be reproduced without permission. snopes and the snopes.com logo are registered service marks of snopes.com.  Sources:
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