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63-577: What is now Destination XL Group was founded in 1976 by Calvin Margolis and Stanley Berger as Designs, Inc. Until 1995, Designs, Inc operated exclusively in Levi Strauss & Co. branded apparel mall and outlet stores. In May 2002, Designs, Inc. acquired the Casual Male Big & Tall chain of stores at a bankruptcy auction. At the time, Casual Male was the largest specialty retailer of men's clothing in

126-407: A cryptid —for instance, Bigfoot or Mothman , legendary creatures for which evidence is lacking but which have legions of believers. Research shows that people experiencing sudden or surprising events (such as a Bigfoot sighting) may significantly overestimate the duration of the event. Companies have been accused of hiding "secret messages" behind their logos or packaging, as in the case of

189-463: A friend of a friend ), which serves to personalize, authenticate and enhance the power of the narrative while distancing the teller from the tall tale . Many urban legends depict horrific crimes, contaminated foods, or other situations that would potentially affect many people. Anyone believing such stories might feel compelled to warn loved ones. On occasion, news organizations, school officials and even police departments have issued warnings concerning

252-751: A $ 364 million loss. Some 700 office jobs were pared to reduce expenses by $ 100 million. As of 2019, Levi's are made in many developing countries, including Bangladesh, India, Egypt, Lesotho, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Indonesia, and Mexico. Some top-end styles in the "Levi's Premium" and "Levi's Vintage Clothing" lines are produced in the United States. In addition to jeans, Levi's sells a full line of shirts, jackets, sweaters, underwear, socks, eyeglasses, accessories, dresses, skirts, and leather products. All jeans and pants are categorized by fit – skinny, slim, straight, bootcut, taper, relaxed, flare, and "big & tall" – identified by trademarked three-digit numbers. The 501,

315-600: A 1930s-era Levi's leather jacket, which sold at auction house Christie's in July 2016 for £110,500. Levi's is aggressive in advertising, marketing, and trademark protection. It has used its signature arched stitching on the back pockets of its jeans since 1873. In 1943, the firm trademarked the design in the U.S. and has done so in more than 100 total jurisdictions as of 2019. It has also trademarked various word marks , including "Levi's", "Red Tab", "Orange Tab", "Silvertab", "501", "505", "517", "550", "569": and "Dockers". During

378-532: A ban on future infringements. The infringer's ignorance of the trademark was no bar to punishment. In 2019, Levi's became one of only two major clothing companies with commitments in line with the Paris Agreement 's goal of limiting global average temperature increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius. In 2020, Levi Strauss & Co. was expected to have completely replaced chemical usage as well as using lasers to cut, and design ripped parts of jeans. In December 2019,

441-427: A friend told me", the friend being identified by first name only or not identified at all. Such legends seem to be believable and even provocative, as some readers are led in turn to pass them on, including on social media platforms that instantly reach millions worldwide. Many are essentially extended jokes , told as if they were true events. Persistent urban legends do often maintain a degree of plausibility, as in

504-505: A long-running column in The Sunday Times . These include the story that Orson Welles began work on a Batman movie in the 1940s, which was to feature James Cagney as the Riddler and Marlene Dietrich as Catwoman ; the persistent rumour that the rock singer Courtney Love is the granddaughter of Marlon Brando ; and the idea that a famous 1970s poster of Farrah Fawcett contains

567-561: A possible public stock offering appeared in the media in July 2007. As of 2007 , Levi Strauss leads the apparel industry in trademark infringement cases, filing nearly 100 lawsuits against competitors over six years from 2001. Most cases center on the alleged imitation of Levi's back pocket double arc stitching pattern (U.S. trademark No. 1,139,254), which Levi's filed for a trademark in 1978. Levi's has successfully sued Guess , Polo Ralph Lauren , Esprit Holdings , Zegna , Zumiez , and Lucky Brand Jeans , among other companies. In 2010,

630-662: A scandal involving pants made in the Northern Mariana Islands : some 3% of Levi's jeans sold annually with the "Made in the USA" label were shown to have been made by Chinese laborers under what the U.S. Department of Labor called slave-like conditions. As of 2016 , only a few of the costlier higher-end styles are made domestically. Cited for sub-minimum wages, seven-day work weeks with 12-hour shifts, poor living conditions, and other workplace abuses, Tan Holdings Corporation , Levi Strauss' Marianas subcontractor, paid what were then

693-439: A subliminal sexual message concealed in the actress's hair. As with traditional urban legends, many internet rumors are about crimes or crime waves – either fictional or based on real events that have been largely exaggerated. Such stories can be problematic, both because they purport to be relevant modern news and because they do not follow the typical patterns of urban legends. Some legends are medical folklore , such as

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756-566: A typical urban legend is its elements of mystery, horror , fear, or humor. Often they serve as cautionary tales . Some urban legends are morality tales that depict someone acting in a disagreeable manner, only to wind up in trouble, hurt, or dead. Urban legends will often try to invoke a feeling of disgust in the reader which tends to make these stories more memorable and potent. Elements of shock value can be found in almost every form of urban legend and are partially what makes these tales so impactful. An urban legend may include elements of

819-419: Is a genre of folklore concerning stories about an unusual (usually scary) or humorous event that many people believe to be true but largely are not. These legends can be entertaining but often concern mysterious peril or troubling events, such as disappearances and strange objects or entities. Urban legends may confirm moral standards, reflect prejudices, or be a way to make sense of societal anxieties. In

882-439: Is characteristic of groups within which a given narrative circulates to vehemently reject claims or demonstrations of non-factuality; an example would be the expressions of outrage by police officers who are told that adulteration of Halloween treats by strangers (the subject of periodic moral panics ) occurs extremely rarely, if at all. The Internet has made it easier both to spread and to debunk urban legends. For instance,

945-510: The California Gold Rush (which peaked in 1849), the manufacturing of denim overalls began in the 1870s. In 1890, the rivet patent went into the public domain; the same year, lot numbers were assigned to company products, and "501" was used to designate the famous copper-riveted waist overalls. The company lost its records in the 1906 earthquake and there is no information why that number was chosen. There are urban legends claiming that

1008-786: The Cold War , Levi's became a symbol of the west in the Soviet Union . According to historian Kristin Roth-Ey, the association stemmed from the 1957 World Festival of Youth and Students in Moscow : Americans wore Levi's jeans to the event, resulting in widespread interest within the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic that prompted the Soviet government to condemn the brand as a symbol of western decadence. Continued demand for

1071-577: The Slender Man , have gained a following of people that do believe in them . Television shows such as Urban Legends , Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction , and later Mostly True Stories: Urban Legends Revealed , feature re-enactments of urban legends, detailing the accounts of the tales and (typically later in an episode) revealing any factual basis they may have. The Discovery Channel TV show MythBusters (2003–2016) tried to prove or disprove several urban legends by attempting to reproduce them using

1134-535: The Usenet newsgroup alt.folklore.urban and several other websites, most notably snopes.com , focus on discussing, tracking, and analyzing urban legends. The United States Department of Energy had a now-discontinued service called Hoaxbusters that dealt with computer-distributed hoaxes and legends. The most notable such hoaxes are known as creepypastas , which are typically horror stories written anonymously. Although most are regarded as obviously false, some, such as

1197-444: The scientific method . The 1998 film Urban Legend featured students discussing popular urban legends while at the same time falling victim to killings re-enacting them. The 1999 film The Blair Witch Project purposefully positioned itself as an urban legend to gain viral hype and succeeded in fooling many that it was based on a real disappearance. The lack of widespread social media and search engines helped it proliferate in

1260-475: The supernatural or paranormal . As Jan Brunvand points out, antecedent legends including some of the motifs, themes and symbolism of the urtexts can readily be identified. Cases that may have been at least partially inspired by real events include "The Death Car" (traced by Richard Dorson to Michigan , United States ); "the Solid Cement Cadillac" and the possible origin of " The Hook " in

1323-514: The 1880s found in an abandoned mine shaft was sold for $ 87,400 at an auction in New Mexico . The vintage Levi's bore a label with the inscription "the only kind made by white labor", a detail which helped date the jeans to the period between 1882, which was after the U.S. Congress passed the Chinese Exclusion Act , banning Chinese laborers seeking to immigrate to the U.S., and the 1890s, when

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1386-567: The 1946 series of Lovers' Lane murders in Texarkana, Texas , United States. The urban legend that Coca-Cola developed the drink Fanta to sell in Nazi Germany without public backlash originated as the actual tale of German Max Keith , who invented the drink and ran Coca-Cola's operations in Germany during World War II . The narrator of an urban legend may claim it happened to a friend (or to

1449-757: The East during the dude ranch craze of the 1930s, when vacationing Easterners returned home with tales (and usually examples) of the hard-wearing riveted denim pants. Another boost came in World War II when blue jeans were declared an essential commodity and sold only to people engaged in defense work. Between the 1950s and 1980s, Levi's jeans became popular among a wide range of youth subcultures , including greasers , mods , rockers , and hippies . Levi's popular shrink-to-fit 501s were sold as labeled, sized as manufactured, and had substantial shrinkage upon laundering. Although popular lore (abetted by company marketing) holds that

1512-570: The Engage for Good (formerly Cause Marketing Forum) organization awarded the company the Golden Halo Award for 2020 for their advancements in corporate social impact. On August 5, 2021, Levi Strauss & Co. announced the acquisition of Beyond Yoga, entering the activewear market. They expect the acquisition will contribute more than $ 100 million in net revenue per year. It was announced senior executives are to speak with AI expert Blake Van Leer at

1575-603: The GWG brand profitable again were unsuccessful, and the Edmonton GWG factory, along with all remaining Levi Strauss factories in North America, closed in 2004. By 2007, Levi Strauss was again profitable after declining sales in nine of the previous ten years. Its total annual sales of just over $ 4 billion were $ 3 billion less than during its peak performance in the mid-1990s. After more than two decades of family ownership, rumors of

1638-673: The LA eCommerce Summit about their digital strategies and AI in 2023. It was announced in January 2023 that Levi would begin accepting old pairs of jeans to recycle into more denim in a campaign to go green. Levi's Autumn/Winter 2023 WellThread capsule aimed to show the brand's engagement to sustainability as it included items made from 100% transitional cotton as well as plant-based natural dyes. Levi's have been worn by people of all backgrounds – from miners to actors to Nobel Prize recipients. Marlon Brando and Albert Einstein wore Levi's, and Einstein wore

1701-577: The U.S. big and tall market. After completing the acquisition, the newly formed Casual Male Retail Group, Inc elected to focus on those stores, selling off their other businesses and assuming the Casual Male name. In 2004, the company acquired Rochester Big & Tall Clothing, which gave the company access to a number of designer brands including Robert Graham , Tommy Bahama , Cutter & Buck , Jack Victor, and Robert Talbott. That same year, Casual Male hired former champion boxer George Foreman to promote

1764-578: The acquisition of Great Western Garment Co. (GWG), a Canadian clothing manufacturer, a technique still in use by Levi Strauss. Simpkins is credited with the company's record-paced expansion of its manufacturing capacity from 16 plants to more than 63 in the US – and 23 overseas – from 1964 to 1974. In the 1980s, the company closed approximately 60 manufacturing plants because of financial difficulties and strong competition. The Dockers brand, launched in 1986 and sold primarily through department store chains, helped

1827-547: The base of the button fly . Davis lacked sufficient funds to obtain a patent, so he wrote to Strauss proposing a business partnership. After Strauss accepted Davis's offer, the two men received U.S. patent 139,121 from the United States Patent and Trademark Office on May 20, 1873. The copper rivet was incorporated into the company's jean design and advertisements. Contrary to an advertising campaign suggesting that Levi Strauss sold his first jeans to gold miners during

1890-474: The chain and act as spokesman for new lines of clothing bearing his name. In 2005, Casual Male changed the name of its stores from Casual Male Big & Tall to Casual Male XL. In 2010, the company opened its first DXL store in Schaumburg, Illinois offering customers an extensive assortment of products, ranging from value-oriented to luxury-oriented with an increased presence of name brands. In 2011, based on

1953-405: The claim that eating watermelon seeds will result in a watermelon growing in the stomach , or that going outdoors just after showering will result in catching a cold. Many old wives' tales have grown around the identification of ailments, real and imagined, and the recommended remedies, rituals, and home-grown medical treatments to treat them. Internet urban legends are those spread through

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2016-512: The company "reversed [its] policy and company leaders began speaking out against the nation's racist policy". Levi Strauss & Co. is a worldwide corporation organized into three geographic divisions: Levi Strauss Americas (LSA), which is headquartered in San Francisco ; Levi Strauss Europe (LSE), which is based in Brussels ; and Levi Strauss Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa. Strauss passed

2079-722: The company filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for an initial public offering to be traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol LEVI. It was held on March 21, 2019, selling for $ 17 per share. The company is also well known for promoting progressive causes. It was one of the earliest private sector institutions to support LGBTQ causes and, during the 2016 presidential campaign, donated $ 1 million to support immigration and LGBTQ rights. In 2018, CEO Chip Bergh published an op-ed in Fortune magazine, speaking out against gun violence. However,

2142-553: The company grow through the mid-1990s, as denim sales began to wane. Dockers were introduced into Europe in 1996 and led by CEO Jorge Bardina. Levi Strauss attempted to sell the Dockers division in 2004 to relieve part of the company's $ 2.6 billion outstanding debt. By the 1990s, Levi's faced competition from other brands and cheaper products from overseas and began accelerating the pace of its US factory closures and its use of offshore subcontractors. In 1991, Levi Strauss became implicated in

2205-634: The company is alleged to make use of Uyghur forced labor provided by the China-based supplier Beijing Guanghua Textile Group from a report by the Helena Kennedy Center for International Justice , the socialists and democrats in the European Parliament . Levi's has disputed these claims. In the first few months of the COVID-19 pandemic , the company experienced a 62% drop in sales and recorded

2268-450: The company partnered with Filson , an outdoor goods manufacturer in Seattle, to produce a high-end line of jackets and workwear. In 2011, the firm hired Chip Bergh as the president and chief executive of the brand. In that same year, they established more than 20 different waterless manufacturing techniques, reducing the exceptionally high amounts of water used to create denim. Levi's is now

2331-422: The company reported revenues of $ 4.6 billion. On July 13, 2017, Levi Strauss heir Bill Goldman died in a private plane crash near Sonoma, California . In 2017, Levi Strauss & Co. released a "smart jacket", an apparel they developed in partnership with Google . After two years of collaboration, the result was a denim jacket set at $ 350. In March 2019, Levi's debuted on the New York Stock Exchange under

2394-530: The company to his nephews, the sons of David Stern, upon his death in 1902. Walter A. Haas , who married the daughter of David's fourth son, Sigmund Stern, became president in 1928, and the company remained under the ownership of the Stern-Haas family until first going public in 1971. However, in 1985, the Haas family recaptured ownership of the company, taking it private once again for the next 34 years. In February 2019,

2457-736: The company was listed as Strauss, Levi (David Stern & Lewis Strauss) importers clothing, etc. 63 & 65 Sacramento St. (today, on the current grounds of the 353 Sacramento Street Lobby ) in the San Francisco Directory with Strauss serving as its sales manager and his brother-in-law, David Stern , as its manager. Jacob Davis , a Latvian-Jewish immigrant, was a Reno, Nevada , tailor who frequently purchased bolts of denim cloth from Levi Strauss & Co.'s wholesale house. After one of Davis's customers kept purchasing cloth to reinforce torn pants, he thought of using copper rivets to reinforce points of strain, such as on pocket corners and

2520-404: The company's original modern design, is available in styles for both men and women. The rest of the 500 series is designed for men, and the 300, 400, 700, and 800 series for women. 37°48′10″N 122°24′10″W  /  37.80278°N 122.40278°W  / 37.80278; -122.40278 Urban legend Urban legends (sometimes modern legend , urban myth , or simply legend )

2583-772: The degree that establishing non-factuality warrants the assumption that there must be some other reason why the tales are told, re-told and believed. As in the case of myth , the narratives are believed because they construct and reinforce the worldview of the group within which they are told, or "because they provide us with coherent and convincing explanations of complex events". Social scientists have started to draw on urban legends in order to help explain complex socio-psychological beliefs, such as attitudes to crime, childcare, fast food, SUVs and other "family" choices. The authors make an explicit connection between urban legends and popular folklore, such as Grimm's Fairy Tales , where similar themes and motifs arise. For that reason, it

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2646-526: The firm was owned almost entirely by indirect descendants and collateral relatives of Levi Strauss, whose four nephews inherited the San Francisco dry-goods firm after their uncle died in 1902. The corporation's bonds are traded publicly, as are shares of the company's Japanese affiliate, Levi Strauss Japan K.K. In June 1996, the company offered to pay its workers an unusual dividend of up to $ 750 million in six years, having halted an employee-stock plan during

2709-575: The first pair of Levi's jeans were made of hemp , despite being made from cotton by the Amoskeag Manufacturing Company . This misinformation was likely spread by Jack Herer . The first hemp jeans from Levi's were manufactured in March 2019. Modern jeans began to appear in the 1920s, but sales were largely confined to the working people of the western US, such as cowboys, lumberjacks, and railroad workers. Levi's jeans were first introduced to

2772-510: The internal family buyout. However, the company failed to make cash-flow targets, and no worker dividends were paid. The annual sales of the brand increased in 1997 to $ 7.1 billion. In 2002, Levi Strauss began a close business collaboration with Walmart , producing a line of "Signature" jeans and other clothes for sale only in Walmart stores until 2006. In 2002, the company closed its Valencia Street plant in San Francisco, which opened in 1906,

2835-444: The internet, as through Usenet or email or more recently through other social media . They can also be linked to viral online content. Some take the form of chain letters and spread by e-mail, directing the reader to share them or to meet a terrible fate, and following a recognizable outline of hook, threat, and finally request. Paranormal urban-legend stories usually involve someone encountering something supernatural, such as

2898-535: The jeans resulted in both genuine articles and bootlegs becoming commonplace in Soviet black markets, and in 1979, the Soviet government struck deals with Levi's and the VF Corporation to manufacture jeans for consumers in the region; however, this deal fell through due to the 1980 Summer Olympics boycott following the onset of the Soviet–Afghan War . In 2022, it was reported that a pair of Levi's jeans from

2961-644: The largest fines in US labor history, distributing more than $ 9 million in restitution to some 1,200 employees. Levi Strauss claimed no knowledge of the offenses, severed ties to the Tan family, and instituted labor reforms and inspection practices in its offshore facilities. The activist group Fuerza Unida (United Force) formed following the January 1990 closure of a plant in San Antonio , Texas , in which 1,150 seamstresses – some of whom had worked for Levi Strauss for decades – saw their jobs exported to Costa Rica . During

3024-547: The latest threat. According to the "Lights Out" rumor , street gang members would drive without headlights until a compassionate motorist responded with the traditional flashing of headlights, whereupon a prospective new gang member would have to murder the citizen as a requirement of initiation . A fax retelling this legend received at the Nassau County, Florida , fire department was forwarded to police, and from there to all city departments. The Minister of Defence for Canada

3087-857: The lesson or moral generally remains the same. The term "urban legend", as used by folklorists, has appeared in print since at least 1968, when it was used by Richard Dorson . Jan Harold Brunvand , professor of English at the University of Utah , introduced the term to the general public in a series of popular books published beginning in 1981. Brunvand used his collection of legends, The Vanishing Hitchhiker: American Urban Legends & Their Meanings (1981) to make two points: first, that legends and folklore do not occur exclusively in so-called primitive or traditional societies, and second, that one could learn much about urban and modern culture by studying such tales. Many urban legends are framed as complete stories with plot and characters. The compelling appeal of

3150-569: The mid-and late 1990s, Fuerza Unida picketed the Levi Strauss headquarters in San Francisco and staged hunger strikes and sit-ins in protest of the company's labor policies. The company took on multibillion-dollar debt in February 1996 to help finance a series of private leveraged stock buyouts among family members determined to consolidate the company under their ownership. At the time, shares in Levi Strauss stock were not publicly traded. As of 2016,

3213-650: The months leading up to its release. Between 1992 and 1998 The Guardian newspaper "Weekend" section published the illustrated "Urban Myths" column by Phil Healey and Rick Glanvill, with content taken from a series of four books: Urban Myths , The Return of Urban Myths , Urban Myths Unplugged , and Now! That's What I Call Urban Myths . The 1994 comics anthology the Big Book of Urban Legends , written by Robert Boyd, Jan Harold Brunvand , and Robert Loren Fleming , featured 200 urban legends, displayed as comics. The British writer Tony Barrell has explored urban legends in

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3276-465: The old Procter & Gamble symbol, supposedly an occult figure that gave panache to the brand. (If the thirteen stars in the symbol were connected a certain way, it would show three sixes in a row or looked at the 3 curls at the bottom they form the inverted 6s.) Similarly, a video of a Christian woman "exposing" Monster Energy for using the Hebrew letter vav ( ו ), forming the letter "M", to disguise

3339-449: The original design remains unaltered, the crotch rivet, watch pocket rivets, and waist cinch were removed during World War II to conform with War Production Board metal conservation rules and only the watch pocket rivets restored after. Additionally, the back pocket rivets, which had been covered in denim since 1937 to prevent scratching furniture, were removed in the 1950s (and replaced by bar tacks) as they eventually wore through and caused

3402-426: The past, urban legends were most often circulated orally, at gatherings and around the campfire for instance. Now, they can be spread by any media, including newspapers, mobile news apps, e-mail , and most often, social media . Some urban legends have passed through the years/decades with only minor changes, in where the time period takes place. Generic urban legends are often altered to suit regional variations, but

3465-406: The problem anyway. From the early 1960s through the mid-1970s, Levi Strauss experienced significant business growth as the casual look of the 1960s and 1970s ushered in the "blue jeans craze". Levi's, under the leadership of Walter Haas, Peter Haas Sr., Paul Glasco, and George P. Simpkins Sr., expanded the firm's clothing line by adding new fashions and models, such as " stone-washed " jeans through

3528-522: The story a serial killer deliberately hiding in the back seat of a car. Another such example since the 1970s has been the recurring rumor that the Procter & Gamble Company was associated with Satan-worshippers because of details within its 19th-century "57" trademark. The legend interrupted the company's business to the point that it stopped using the trademark. The earliest term by which these narratives were known, "urban belief tales", highlights what

3591-534: The success of the DXL store format, the company launched the destinationxl.com ecommerce website, which has since been rebranded to dxl.com. In 2019, the company closed all remaining Rochester Clothing stores. Levi Strauss %26 Co. Levi Strauss & Co. ( / ˈ l iː v aɪ ˈ s t r aʊ s / LEE -vy STROWSS ) is an American clothing company known worldwide for its Levi's ( / ˈ l iː v aɪ z / LEE -vyze ) brand of denim jeans . It

3654-499: The ticker "LEVI". Levi Strauss was valued at $ 6.6 billion as its IPO priced above the target. In September 2019, Levi's won a final judgment on a trademark infringement in Guangzhou, China . The case centered on the "arcuate design on two pockets at the back of jeans", which has been protected in China since its registration there in 2005. The company won damages and costs in addition to

3717-630: The world's most sustainable brand of jeans in terms of water usage. On May 8, 2013, the NFL 's San Francisco 49ers announced that Levi Strauss & Co. had purchased the naming rights to their new stadium in Santa Clara, California . The naming rights deal called for Levi's to pay $ 220.3 million to the city of Santa Clara and the 49ers over 20 years, with an option to extend the agreement for another five years for around $ 75 million. As of 2016 , Levi Strauss Signature jeans were sold in 110 countries. In 2016,

3780-400: The year of the city's devastating earthquake . By the end of 2003, the closure of Levi's last U.S. factory in San Antonio ended 150 years of jeans made in the United States. Production of a few higher-end, more expensive styles of jeans resumed in the U.S. several years later. In 2002, Levi Strauss closed several factories worldwide and took control of GWG's operations. Attempts to make

3843-644: Was founded in May 1853 when German-Jewish immigrant Levi Strauss moved from Buttenheim , Bavaria , to San Francisco , California , to open a West Coast branch of his brothers' New York dry goods business. Although the corporation is registered in Delaware , the company's corporate headquarters is located in Levi's Plaza in San Francisco. German-Jewish immigrant Levi Strauss began business at 90 Sacramento Street in San Francisco, then moved to 62 Sacramento Street. In 1858,

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3906-419: Was taken in by it also; he forwarded an urgent security warning to all Ontario Members of Parliament. Urban legends typically include common elements: the tale is retold on behalf of the original witness or participant; dire warnings are often given for those who might not heed the advice or lesson contained therein (a typical element of many e-mail phishing scams); and the tale is often touted as "something

3969-552: Was then thought of as a key property: their tellers regarded the stories as true accounts, and the device of the FOAF (acronym for "Friend of a Friend" invented by English writer and folklorist Rodney Dale in 1976) was a spurious but significant effort at authentication. The coinage leads in turn to the terms "FOAFlore" and "FOAFtale". While at least one classic legend, the "Death Car", has been shown to have some basis in fact, folklorists have an interest in debunking those narratives only to

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