Harvest Moon: Back To Nature Rumors

These are persistent lies about the game that refuse to die.  Not one of
them are true, and most are listed on Gamewinners as "hints".

RUMOR: You can get infinite water by filling the watering can in the Winter
Mine lake.
TRUTH: The watering can does not lose water unless you use it on tilled
soil, which many players fail to notice, hence the origin of this rumor.

RUMOR: There is a secret Yellow Dog Ball that guarantees your victory in
the dog races.
TRUTH: No, there is not.  There is only the pink dog ball.  There's only a
a graphic for the pink dog ball, for that matter.  I have no idea how this
rumor started.

RUMOR: If you leave your dog in the hothouse, it won't be destroyed by
storms.
TRUTH: It doesn't matter what you do, your hothouse will always be at risk
of being destroyed during storms.  This rumor predates even this game; it
started back when HM64 was new, and isn't true in that game, either.

RUMOR: You can find more ore near the ladders to the next floor in the
mines.
TRUTH: The odds of finding ores are the same everywhere that you can dig
them up.  The outer ring of the mine and a two-tile square around the
stairs out of the mine are the only spots where you will never find ores.
Besides those areas, the odds don't change.

RUMOR: You only have to plant over 100 of the Supermarket crops for a given
season to get the hidden crops.
TRUTH: Nope, you need over 100 of all seasonal crops.  That includes
Cabbage for spring, Pineapples for summer, and Green Peppers for fall, as
well as all of the seasonal supermarket crops.

RUMOR: Having lots of grass planted will allow you to keep your pony even
if you don't have it with 8 hearts.
TRUTH: If you get the pony from Barley during the first spring, you have to
get it up to at least 8 hearts to keep it.  It doesn't matter if you have
nothing but grass in the entire field, if that horse has less than 8 hearts
after a year, Barley takes it away.  He will come back with a new pony a
little while later if you have over 200 grass planted, but it's a different
pony entirely.

RUMOR: You can get things from people in return for insects.
TRUTH: Nobody ever gives you a return gift, certainly not for insects.

RUMOR: Whoever you talk to first during the cooking festival will win.
TRUTH: The winner is chosen randomly.  It doesn't matter who you talk to.
The winner is always either Doug or Ann, unless you win it.

RUMOR: You can raise Karen's affection to max by showing her your dog
repeatedly.
TRUTH: This worked in HM64.  It does not work in HM:BTN.  None of the
animals cause any affection changes when they're shown to people.  Ever.

RUMOR: You can make dialogues print completely in an instant by pressing O.
TRUTH: This works in HM:FoMT.  It does not work in HM:BTN.  How this rumor
even started, given how blatantly easy it is to prove wrong, is beyond me.
The dialogue will print faster if you press X or O, but it won't print
instantly.

RUMOR: Littering only counts for fishing garbage.
TRUTH: Any item you throw in the village area, ANY item, will count as
littering.

RUMOR: You can win the chicken contest just by urging your chicken on
constantly.
TRUTH: This works sometimes, but it really depends on luck.  If your
chicken is acting stupidly, then urging it on repeatedly could cause you to
lose.

RUMOR: You can brush, talk to, and milk/shear barn animals by hitting X and
Square at the same time.
TRUTH: No, not possible.  How do these sorts of rumors start?  They're so
easy to prove wrong...  You can talk and either milk/shear or brush an
animal at once if you're fast enough, but not all three.

RUMOR: You can build fences from rocks and have them be as effective as
wood fences.
TRUTH: Wild dogs run right through rocks.  Therefore, rocks do NOT make
effective fences compared to wood ones.

RUMOR: There's a Music Box that you can dig up inside the barn or chicken
coop before they're upgraded.
TRUTH: There is no Music Box item.  There's not even a graphic in the game
of a music box.  And to cinch it, there's no shovel tool, so how would you
dig in the chicken coop or barn anyway?  How do these rumors start?  And
more to the point, why do people believe them?

 Remember, all of these rumors are FALSE!  Each and every one has been
proven wrong, and most are entirely the opposite of the truth!  Please
don't ask about how to make them work, because they don't work.