Chicago's Urban Legends

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Mrs. O'Leary's cow kicking the lantern that allegedly started the Great Chicago Fire

The Great Chicago Fire destroyed a large part of Chicago's metropolitan area. After the fire, hat lasted almost two days, was controlled Chicago Tribune's reporter Michael Ahern wrote that the fire was accidentally started when Mrs. O'Learly's cow kicked a fire lantern while being milked by its owner. Although Mrs. O'Leary pledged her innocence, her story became a popular belief. In 1893, Ahern admitted that he had invented the story and in 1997 the Chicago Council posthumously exonerated Mrs. O'Leary and her cow. This Illustration from Harper's Magazine depicts the moment in which Mrs. O'Leary Cow started the fire. 

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The Chicago Cubs current logo

The Curse of Billy the Goat over The Cubs is one of Chicago's most famous urban legends. At Cubs match during the 1945's World Series, Billy Sianis was asked to leave Wrigley Field with his goat because the smell of the animal was bothering other fans. Before leaving Sianis stated: "Them Cubs, they ain't gonna win no more." The Cubs lost that World Series and have not been able to win that title since then. In 2016 the Cubs classified to the World Series for the first time since the course was allegedly laid upon the team: would they be able to finally uplift the Course of Billy the Goat? 

Chicago's Urban Legends