Aurora Sex Myth Was Alaskan

To explain why so many Japanese tourists traveled to Alaska to see the northern lights, some Alaskans circulated a baseless claim that couples had sex beneath the aurora for good luck and a gifted child. The CBS series "Northern Exposure" presented the tale as "Japanese folk wisdom" in 1992, helping it spread far beyond Alaska. A 2007 New York Times report investigated the rumor, and American screenwriter Jeff Vlaming claimed he had found it in the November 1991 issue of Alaska magazine, though investigators could not verify the item. No evidence indicates that the belief came from Japanese folklore or drove Japanese aurora tourism.

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