the garden variety urban legend lore was all cribbed/stolen from Jan Brunvand’s books. Things like cement in a convertible, baby trains, spiders nests in beehive hairdos, etc...
some people use that content to substantiate the other rumors they “squash”. “see they are right about all of this stuff”.
What’s more, Mr. Brunvand used to point out instances where the media itself (knowingly no doubt) spread urban legends in newspapers and on tv because it was good fodder for public interest (ratings/clickbait).
Geez, when I first heard of cement being poured into a convertible by a jealous husband, the car would have been a 1956 T-Bird.
;^)