Number 1 Shimbun [Japan]
August 2013
By Mark Schreiber
“The craze is sweeping through Japan at an alarming
rate, causing pink eye and is a hit among 12-year-olds who are taking it as the
next level after French kissing.” So wrote reporter Victory Oyeleke in the June
16 edition of the Nigerian Tribune,
with an air of righteous certainty. […]
CNET
8 August 2013
by Tim Hornyak
From giant robot statues to 90-member girl bands, Japan
brews up odd fads faster than you can say Hello Kitty contact lenses.
So it's hardly surprising that news of a new trend
centered on Japanese kids who were licking each other's eyeballs for kicks, and
spreading pink eye (aka conjunctivitis) in the process, made the rounds
internationally two months ago. It was just too good to resist. […]
The Guardian [UK]
25 August 2013
The story was all
over the web, but it was not especially difficult to cast doubts on the claim
that there was an epidemic of tongue-induced pink eye
Chris Elliott