The looming eclipse promises to be, at least, something.

Here at The Oregonian/OregonLive, those of us working that day have been told to look out for weeping and shaking when the moon covers the sun and plunges the Earth into daytime darkness. We've been warned to have our cameras set up on tripods, because we too might be weeping and shaking from the overwhelming experience of seeing totality.

But, while the possibility of terrible traffic and/or an extreme emotional response are likely to highly likely, there are other things that just aren't going to happen.

Here are some of the rumors we've heard about the eclipse, and the facts behind the rumors.

Rumor: There will be a sex party on the Madras High football field.

We got this one from a commenter on another eclipse story who wrote: "Rumor has it that the Madras High School football field was rented by a Japanese company that plans to host amorous couples who will have sex during the eclipse. Why no news organization has scooped the story is beyond me, it seems substantially inflammatory to get local undies in a bunch."

So, we called Madras High School and asked, are you guys throwing a sex party on the morning of Aug. 21?

When the laughter died down, we got the facts.

"Our football field is rented out to Lowell Observatory," Evan Brown, athletic director for Madras High School, said over the phone. "Discovery is actually telecasting from on top of our press box."

Lowell is expecting 3,000-4,000 people. Science stuff and no sex party.

According to Shannan Ahren, the eclipse event coordinator for the Jefferson County School District, where Madras is located, there are three Japanese groups renting out fields for the eclipse.

"Nothing that remotely pertains to your rumor is true, however," she said. "All three groups from Japan are scientists, bringing their telescopes and other monitoring equipment to observe the eclipse. Again, just science."

Rumor: ODOT is restricting truck traffic.

The idea that the Oregon Department of Transportation will restrict truck traffic during the eclipse is only partially true.

In a post about the eclipse, ODOT wrote, "No overwidth loads will be allowed to operate anywhere in Oregon from noon Friday August 18 to 12:01 a.m., Tuesday August 22. Emergency moves still require a permit."

So, not no trucks but no overwidth loads. Additionally, ODOT said, "Scale locations may be used for staging by law enforcement and emergency response vehicles. Available locations have limited parking and may fill up early."

Rumor: Babies conceived during the eclipse will be born with deformities.

After writing a story about a man looking for a lady to conceive a child with during the eclipse, I received this email:

Hi Ms. Acker,

Though I appreciate your writing style, please write another article about the dangers of conceiving during the eclipse. In Most cultures around the world it is forbidden. Farmers even tie their animals up in different stalls so they won't conceive because farmers know conception during the eclipse results in miscarriages and deformities. Pregnant women are not supposed to look at the eclipse either...

The first step was to call my mom, Lynda Bishop, a certified nurse midwife, and see if she knew anything about this. She's delivered hundreds of babies.

"I have never heard anything remotely like that," she told me, when I asked her if babies conceived during the eclipse were born with deformities.

According to a variety of sites on the internet, there are in fact traditions in several cultures that relate to pregnancy, birth defects and the eclipse. For example, there is a persistent myth in some Latino cultures, that if a pregnant woman goes outside during the eclipse, her baby will be born with a cleft palate. To protect themselves, women must wear something metallic, like a safety pin, in their underwear or on their belly.

The truth is, there is no scientific research to back this theory, which wouldn't be super hard to prove. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say that cleft palate is likely caused by genetics, environmental factors and medicine taken by mothers.

As far as looking directly at the eclipse, no one should do that, regardless of your pregnancy status. It will severely damage your eyes.

Rumor: Bigfoot will appear.

This is another eclipse rumor, floating in the ether. And it's just wrong. The woods will be full of people, which means, if there was such a thing as Bigfoot, which there probably is not, Bigfoot would be hiding him or herself much better than usual, probably in a cave or something.

But, again, Bigfoot most likely is not real.

-- Lizzy Acker

503-221-8052

lacker@oregonian.com, @lizzzyacker