Not long ago, I worked for a major credit card company. During my employ there, human resources worked hard to quell the e-mail myth outbreaks inevitable in most major companies.

Yet, strangely, they were also responsible for forwarding a number of urban legends themselves, most notably the cell phone / gas station / explosion myth, in which someone receives a cell phone call while fueling up and goes up in a burst of flames. Sadly, forwarding the appropriate urban legend debunking page to the powers that be didn't seem to quell their enthusiasm for this myth -- further warnings will still forthcoming.

I was reminded of all this while watch Discovery Channel's Mythbusters tonight, in which they took on the cell phone / gas station myth and thoroughly debunked it. Often a bit of thought, or, lacking that, research can achieve the same result.

So what's wrong with worrying about cell phones causing explosions? Better safe than sorry, right?

No, not actually.

There are a number of real threats out there. If we spend our time worrying about improbable or impossible threats, this has two real, negative effects.

The first is that our quality of life is lowered. Researchers have repeatedly documented the damaging physiological effects of stress, not to mention negative effects on relationships and those we love.

The second is that we neglect real, actual threats. You only worry about so many things. If you're worrying about unrealistic threats, you're probably, ironically, unprepared for real threats.

Take the example about the gas pump and cell phone. There are about 150 fires at gas stations each year. Yet the main threat, aside from cigarettes, is static electricity. I used to drive a car which gave me very bad shocks when I got out and would touch the frame again -- quite a hefty charge can accumulate while driving over pavement on rubber tires.

Some gas stations have taken the cell phone 'threat' seriously enough to post signs, despite the fact there is no record of a cell phone ever causing a fire or explosion. So what do they do about to warn about or prevent static electricity sparks? Nothing. The imaginary threat receives a ton of attention. The real threat receives none at all.