Rumor Control

The city of Baltimore, Maryland has an official public office called the Baltimore Rumor Control Office. It was established in 1968 and was originally developed as a way to ease tensions brought on by the assassination of Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. At the time, there was rioting in the city, and a lot of people were getting a lot of bad information from word-of-mouth sources. Someone came up with the idea to establish an office that could deliver answers on rumors that bounced around town. After tensions declined, the city felt the Rumor Control Office had been helpful and decided to make it a full-time part of the city government.

Now fast forward to today. The Rumor Control Office is still opened, it's telephone manned by one guy in a lonely little office. The office only receives about 90 calls a month. Most people who call want to know which streets are closed for construction, or if the airport is experiencing any delays. But the city still feels it's an important asset during times of confusion. Take the days following the 9-11 terrorist attacks. The office received 45 calls a day asking about terror-related plots involving Baltimore.

Generally, the official rumor controller's job is to investigate the "big ones" that float around town. In Baltimore, for example, there have been rumors for years about Chihuahua-sized rats roaming around the ports or about alligators living in the city's sewer system. Additionally, a popular Baltimore-area rumor involves a research project at Johns Hopkins University. During the 1980s, the university was studying cicadas in the area, and they asked people to catch cicadas and turn them in for a small fee. Every year, the Rumor Control office has to answer questions about the price of cicadas this year.

I think this rumor control idea is an interesting one. On one hand, I think it would be a nice resource if I hear something about Springfield that just seems a little off. On the other hand, I feel like it would be a waste. Although, I do think that would be a dream job. Can you imagine the kind of weirdness you'd encounter?

Do you think a municipal rumor control office would be an asset to the community or an unnecessary waste of resources? For example, would Springfield benefit from such an office? I bet the phone would have been ringing off the hook during the Obama Announcement Frenzy.