9 Ridiculous Urban Legends We All Believed

They say you're never more than ten feet from a rat, but what if there was something a little bigger lurking underground? This is the case for residents of New York City, who are sharing the city with sewer alligators... Apparently.

The legend of the New York City sewer alligators dates back nearly 100 years. Souvenir stores would sell baby alligators in tanks to tourists, who brought them back to the city as pets. However, when the animal would grow too large to manage, owners would flush them down the toilet to get rid of them.

While most would die during the ordeal, some alligators survived the trip and proceeded to live in the sewers. As they reproduced, their numbers became too much to handle for sewage workers. Reports of terrified employees circulated and a team of hunters were sent down to kill the gator population living under New York's feet. Further sightings were reported after the 1937 hunt, though none were confirmed.

Despite the rumours still persisting to this day, scientists have debunked the myth. They claim the alligators wouldn't be able to survive in that environment, due to the low temperature and dangerous bacteria in human waste. So, if you hear anything down there, it's probably just a bunch of crime fighting turtles.