The 1958 Steve McQueen movie The Blob was about as ridiculous as a B-movie could get. The monster from outer space was a living piece of jelly that ate people and grew, eventually eating half a small town. The film is also notable as Steve McQueen's first feature film. But did you know it was based on a true story?
Believe it or not, The Blob is based on an incident in the 1950s when Philadelphia policemen stumbled upon a quivering purple lump that had crash landed in a nearby field, as if Grimace had suddenly been stricken with bubblegut in the middle of a hang gliding trip. According to the responding officers, the mass was like a giant glowing jelly ball, and it left a sticky residue when touched, because of course the first thing you would do when encountering a mysterious Plutonian blob is shove your hands into it.
So, it was a fictionalized account, as we thought. It's just one of 6 Movies You Won't Believe Are Based on Insane True Stories you can read about at Cracked. The others include A Few Good Men, The Hunt for Red October, and others that have an even better true story behind them. Link -via Unreality