I used to have a girlfriend who had a very annoying habit. It went like this. I'd tell a funny/interesting story (seriously, I've got, like, three), everyone would laugh or express amazement. She'd say "Yeah, but is that true?" Ruined it every time.
The truth in stories is a slippery concept. Particularly if you are relying (as we'd like to, in the modern super-connected and super-social world) on other people to spread your story for you. How can you be sure that they are telling your story in the right way?
Now, one of the most powerful modern myths ever created is Star Wars. You may have heard of it. A story so powerful that it survived Jar Jar Binks. But how well do you know the plot? Here is a brilliant video of someone trying to explain the plot of Star Wars without even having actually watched the trilogy.
Star Wars: Retold (by someone who hasn't seen it) from Joe Nicolosi on Vimeo.
What I love about this is not what she got wrong, but how much she got right! Most of the key plot developments are there. She knows the names of all of the principal characters (except, erm, Hans) and even Lando Calrissian! He's in it for about 20 minutes.
If you ever needed an example of how powerful a story can be, this is it. The ability to embed a concept in culture so deeply that even second-hand accounts manage to convey much of the meaning. David Ogilvy wrote a great ad that explained Oysters and told a story about how well they went with Guinness. That belief still exists today. It would spoil it slightly to question whether it is actually true too closely, wouldn't it?