An awful lot has been said and written about the Smurfs since their creation in 1958 by the Belgian cartoonist Peyo, and not all of it, by any means can be true.
Here are some of the stories and conjectures about the Smurfs, but the author takes no responsibility for the authenticity of any of the supposed facts mentioned.
The sources of many stories and rumours are impossible to verify, but you may find some amusing...
Peyo originally named the Smurfs the Stroumpfs, but the name had to be changed as it was too hard for some to spell Peyo made the Smurfs faces blue because he: a) Had run out of red pencils b) Found pink to be too "girlie" c) Thought red looked too alcoholic d) Found blue to be the perfect complimentary colour to red, making the figures stand out better on the page It has been claimed that SMURF stands for "Socialist Men Under a Red Father", and that the Smurfs' way of life is meant to demonstrate to the world the success of communism as described by Karl Marx.
Surely it is just a coincidence that Papa Smurf has a beard like Marx, that all the Smurfs each have their own specific job and do their bit for the whole community, that all are dressed alike, and all eat together at a communal table? Smurfette has been thought by some to be the product of a misogynist mind that wanted to undermine feminism, and belittle female achievement.
This surely can't be so.
Smurfette's character is exaggerated like that of the other Smurfs (e.
g.
the boring and overbearing Brainy Smurf), simply for comedic effect and nothing more.
There is an ugly rumour that Baby Smurf has been caught swearing, and this seems to stem from a Canadian toy, the Talking Berry Lasvin Baby Smurf.
Investigations have maintained that this was just a case of bad hearing on someone's part.
What about the rumour that Jack Black is a Smurf? A friend of Jack's has smurfed off this suggestion, saying that the notion was about as credible as the contention that all mankind has evolved from bacteria left behind on Earth when aliens dropped by for a picnic on their way through our galaxy.
Consternation reigned in Houston, Texas in 1983, when a story got round that Smurfs were invading schools and terrorising pupils.
It turned out to be a garbled version of a local TV station report about a group of teenagers involved in petty crimes, calling themselves the Smurfs.
Another story developed about the same time in South America that the Smurfs were practising Satanism.
This may have originated from the Smurfs TV series where, in one episode, Gargamel apparently makes the mark of a pentagram on the floor and generally practices black magic.
It was also reported that Papa Smurf was working on magic potions and spells.
It is possible that the rumours were started by a rival television company in an effort to smear the Smurfs.
Is there any truth though, in the rumour that Dan Brown's next novel is to be entitled "Smurfs and Demons"? Fear not though everybody, because these stories are just that - silly stories, and there is no doubt that the Smurfs are our friends.
They are good and honourable creatures, and would do harm to no-one.
Why not make friends with a Smurf today?