Man's Kidney Stolen During Memory Loss (China)

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2012-02/25/content_14692889.htm

China Daily
25 February 2012

Man’s kidney stolen during memory loss

A man in Guangdong woke up to find his left kidney gone and an extra of 20,000 yuan ($3,176) in his pocket after a four-day memory loss, Nanfang Daily reported.

Shu, 28, had just come from Chongqing to Machong town in Guangdong to look for work. He remembered trying to rent a room before losing his memory, he said. [...]

KKK Tunnels Under Tillamook?

http://www.tillamookheadlightherald.com/news/article_f24d24b6-5840-11e1-bfd9-0019bb2963f4.html

Tillamook Headlight-Herald [OR]
15 February 2012

KKK tunnels under Tillamook? ODOT radar says not likely

Anthony Rimel

Most Tillamook residents have probably heard the legend - there are tunnels under the city. The story is the Ku Klux Klan built them as a part of some unknown clandestine plans.

The mystery of what's under Tillamook has recently had some intriguing new developments from an unexpected source - the Oregon Department of Transportation.

In preparation for the planned changes to Highway 101, ODOT hired a contractor to do some initial surveys using ground-penetrating microwave radar (GPMR) to look for basements underneath city sidewalks. The images produced by GPMR look like X-ray,s and the contractor will use software to combine the images with coordinate data to build a model of whatever is under the sidewalk.

Although the data is not yet completely compiled, initial results have not found much of anything that extends under the sidewalks.

Bill Johnston, an ODOT project manager, said basements of the buildings adjacent to the sidewalks they surveyed were intermittent, and not many of them extended under the sidewalk. [...]

Monkey Men (India)

http://www.mumbaimirror.com/index.aspx?page=article&sectid=2&contentid=2012020420120204020656769994353bb

Mumbai Mirror [India]
4 February 2012

Bhandup police left embarrassed as CP retracts promises

Yogesh Sadhwani and Nazia Sayed

Bhandup cops and Additional Commissioner of Police of the Eastern Region Quaiser Khalid were left red-faced when Police Commissioner Arup Patnaik pulled them up promising locals additional security in view of various rumours floating in the area.

For the past 10 days there have been rumours in Bhandup (W) that members of the Chaddi Baniyan gang were trying to break into houses and kill occupants before running away with valuables. Besides this, stories of monkey men, who can climb trees and jump over rooftops, have also left the residents unnerved. [...]

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/bhandup-cops-rapped-for-encouraging-monkey-men-rumours/908718/

Indian Express
7 February 2012

Bhandup cops rapped for ‘encouraging’ monkey men rumours

Express news service : Mumbai

The Bhandup cops were hauled up by the police top brass last week for falling prey to rumours that ‘monkey men’, who could climb tall trees with ease and jump over rooftops, were trying to break into homes and kill residents before committing robberies.

Believing such rumours, local residents armed with lathis started patrolling the area. Some of them, mistaking three men roaming in the area for robbers, also beat them up. One of those assaulted was mentally unstable.

What earned the Bhandup police a mouthful from the police headquarters was that they were encouraging such rumours through their actions. Policemen were visiting shoe shops in the area in an attempt to identify whether ‘shoes with special springs’ were being manufactured there, sources revealed. What also went against them was their decision to call in a snorkel ladder from the fire department to look for robbers, who they believed were hiding in tree-tops. [...]

http://www.mid-day.com/news/2012/feb/240212-Vampires-and-cannibals-prey-on-fear-in-the-Mumbai.htm

Mid-Day [India]
24 February 2012

Vampires and cannibals prey on fear in the Mumbai

By Varun Singh

Over the past week, the fertile imagination of Mumbai's collective consciousness has been in the feverish grip of some dreaded creatures. Vampires, cannibals and monkey men all appear to have chosen the city as the site for their spring rendezvous. While Mumbai cowers under the covers, cops are having a hard time laying their fears to rest. [...]

http://www.mid-day.com/news/2012/feb/240212-mumbai-police-ask-people-to-stop-believing-in-rumours-about-mystical-characters-lurking.htm

Mid-Day [India]
24 February 2012

Mumbai, don't believe in rumours

By Varun Singh

The Mumbai police has requested citizens of the city to stop believing in rumours that mystical characters like vampires, man-eating cannibals and a 'monkey man' are lurking the streets at night. [...]

http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/Mumbai/Police-quell-rumours-of-cannibal-monkey-man-on-prowl-in-city/Article1-817223.aspx
Hindustan Times
26 February 2012
Police quell rumours of cannibal ‘monkey man’ on prowl in city
Little Yadav, Hindustan Times

http://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/report_rumour-mongers-keep-mumbai-cops-on-their-toes_1655913

Daily News & Analysis [India]
28 February 2012

Rumour-mongers keep Mumbai cops on their toes

By Preety Acharya & Dayanand Kamath

Place: Mumbai. Agency: DNA

It’s not terrorism or some serious crime that is keeping the police on their toes, but a rumour mill that is rife in various parts of the city at about the same time. While the police are daily introduced to a new rumour, they are trying their level best to dissuade people from believing them.

It all started with the slum colonies of the eastern suburbs, including Chembur, Govandi, Tilak Nagar, Nehru Nagar and Chunabhati areas, which were abuzz with a gang of tribals swooping down on the areas to abduct children. Soon, the rumours moved westward, with the MIDC area reporting cases where residents keeping night vigils to keep out a suspected gang, members of which can reduce their height at will to target women. [...]

“While women in the area have stopped coming out of their house at night, everyday somebody approaches us with a new story, like the latest being about gang members with blackened faces wearing special shoes that enables them to reduce their height,” said senior inspector Suresh Hujband of the MIDC police. [...]

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/now-monkey-men-rumours-claim-two-lives-in-kandivali/918090/

The Indian Express
29 February 2012

Now, monkey men rumours claim two lives in Kandivali

Megha Sood : Mumbai

Though the Mumbai Police have dismissed rumours of ‘monkey men’ terrorising localities in the eastern and western suburbs, two men from Kandivali lost their lives on Monday night in the melee and stampede-like situation that followed an alleged sighting in the area.

Additional Commissioner of Police (North) Ramrao Pawar confirmed that such rumours were doing the rounds and they had asked people to stop believing them. While rumours that monkey men — who can climb tall trees with ease and jump over rooftops were trying to break into homes and kill residents before committing robberies — began from the Mulund-Bhandup area, they have now gradually spread to other areas, the police said. [...]

http://www.dnaindia.com/analysis/column_of-terrace-hopping-creatures-and-child-eating-ogres_1656422
Daily News & Analysis [India]
29 February 2012
Of terrace-hopping creatures & child-eating ogres
Manoj R Nair

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/West-too-rocked-by-rumours/articleshow/12078642.cms

Times of India
29 February 2012

West too rocked by rumours

TNN

MUMBAI: Rumours have travelled west in Mumbai. The buzz about men robbing homes and abducting children in the eastern suburbs has now reached the western suburbs creating panic among residents. The western suburbs are now agog with talk of the "monkey man" abducting children since the last one week. [...]

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/monkey-man-rumour-cops-arrest-72-in-crackdown/919324/

Indian Express
3 March 2012

‘Monkey man’ rumour: Cops arrest 72 in crackdown

Megha Sood : Mumbai

The Mumbai Police have finally cracked the whip on rumours about ‘monkey men’ and the ‘chaddi baniyan gang’ floated in city’s suburbs, by arresting 72 people for allegedly spreading the rumours. [...]

Bugger Nothing, Bugger All

http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/column-8/column-8-20120202-1qvku.html

Sydney Morning Herald
3 February 2012

Column 8

''My uncle, a Changi POW, once told me of a funny incident that occurred in that dark place,'' recalls Tony Hunt, of Gordon, apropos nothing in particular. ''The Japanese commander, in an attempt to quell the Aussie inmates's irreverent attitude and thinking he had a fair grasp of their vernacular, assembled the recalcitrant rag-tag bunch and sternly lectured them about camp discipline. He never knew what he had said but it took half an hour to restore order when he finished with: 'In conclusion you think I know bugger nothing about your activities but, in reality, I know bugger all.'''

Hair Loss Caused by Tap Water (UAE)

http://www.emirates247.com/lifestyle/falling-hair-i-take-my-shower-with-me-wherever-i-go-2012-02-02-1.440857

Emirates 24/7 [Dubai]
2 February 2012

Falling Hair? I take my shower with me wherever I go
UAE residents primarily blame tap water for their hair loss but experts think otherwise

By Majorie van Leijen

It is an often heard rumor that the water streaming from the taps in the UAE is the cause of hair loss and an end number of solutions are available to avoid losing some more. How true is it?

Ask any woman who once came to the UAE for the first time, and she will tell you that it was her hair that was most unhappy with the change of place. Many women, as well as some men, claim to have suffered great loss of hair ever since they put their foot in the UAE. [...]

Gun Owners' Cars Marked by Thieves

http://www.nssa-nsca.org/index.php/2012/01/nsc-response-to-rumors-about-gun-thefts/

National Skeet Shooting Association/National Sporting Clays Association
15 January 2012

NSC Response To Rumors About Gun Thefts

[...] Many reports indicate that gangs are targeting the NSC parking lot, marking tires or placing stickers on license plates so they can later be identified by thieves. At a shoot last June, we and a commissioned officer investigated reports of marked vehicles and found no validity. There was no pattern or consistency among the marks that were identified to us, and we found that all the questionable marks reported to us were left there by manufacturers, tire services, or rental car companies. In fact, most marks were so worn or well covered that they could not have occurred in the parking lot. [...]

http://www.caller.com/news/2012/jan/25/debunking-a-hoax-aimed-at-gun-owners/

Corpus Christi Caller Times [TX]
26 January 2012

Debunking a hoax aimed at gun owners
Urban legend involves gang members stealing guns from vehicles

By David Sikes

CORPUS CHRISTI -- Several variations of an email alert urging gun owners to be aware of a clever burglary ploy by street gangs has sent folks crawling around their vehicles searching for discreet tags put there by gang members.

One gentleman told me he tried in vain to scrape off the red or yellow dot on one of his tires and now plans to paint over it.

Chances are the absent dot will confuse the next tire technician he encounters. Turns out the colored dots are put there by tire manufacturers mainly to help installers with balancing. [...]

Proposed Bill to Ban Fetuses in Food (Oklahoma)

http://www.therepublic.com/view/story/62cd38d170f74a7b9d32b521e0ecc56e/OK--Oklahoma-Filing-Deadline/

The Republic [Columbus, Indiana]
20 January 2012

Abortion measures among 1,934 bills, 71 joint resolutions filed for 2012 Oklahoma Legislature

TIM TALLEY Associated Press

OKLAHOMA CITY -- [...] Sen. Ralph Shortey, R-Oklahoma City, filed abortion-related legislation [Senate Bill 1418] regarding the disposal of aborted human fetuses. It reads: "No person or entity shall manufacture or knowingly sell food or any other product intended for human consumption which contains aborted human fetuses in the ingredients or which used aborted human fetuses in the research or development of any of the ingredients." [...]

http://www.krmg.com/news/news/local/food-containing-fetuses-targeted-under-new-oklaho/nG7P7/

KRMG News Talk Radio [Tulsa, OK]
24 January 2012

Food containing fetuses targeted under new Oklahoma bill

By Nicole Burgin

[...] “There is a potential that there are companies that are using aborted human babies in their research and development of basically enhancing flavor for artificial flavors," says Shortey. [...]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/okla-senator-introduces-bill-to-ban-human-fetuses-in-food-or-for-use-in-ingredient-research/2012/01/24/gIQAzBYWOQ_story.htm

Washington Post
24 January 2012

Okla. senator introduces bill to ban human fetuses in food or for use in ingredient research

By Associated Press

White Van Child-Snatchers (Sweden)

http://www.thelocal.se/38650/20120122/

The Local [Sweden]
22 January 2012

Swedish police: white van child-snatchers 'an urban myth'

Swedish police have confirmed that rumours of a man driving around in a white van seeking to snatch kids from schools in the Stockholm areas is nothing more than an 'urban myth'.

"We have heard about a white transit van for some ten years, but this has much to do with the fact that this is the most common type of van. I am convinced that there is no particular person in a particular white van looking for children," detective inspector Ludvig Sandberg told the Dagens Nyheter daily. [...]

Burglar's Victim Pretends to Sleep

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/opinion/2012/0123/1224310625565.html

The Irish Times
23 January 2012

City burglars and urban myths steal our peace of mind

ANN MARIE HOURIHANE

[...] There’s a new urban myth to accompany the return of the city burglar, and it goes like this. A woman is lying in her bed late at night, listening to a burglar going through her house, taking her things. She pretends to be asleep. The burglar comes into her bedroom, and she still pretends to be asleep. When he’s swept up her belongings, and he is heading for the bedroom door, he leans over her bed and says, “I know you’re awake”. End of urban myth. Beginning of calls to locksmiths. And of a lot of stories about houses being robbed. [...]

Baby Stroller Used as Bait for Carjacking (Fresno)

http://abclocal.go.com/kfsn/story?section=news/local&id=8504833

KFSN-TV [Fresno, CA]
14 January 2012

Baby stroller may have been used as bait for carjacking

Corin Hoggard

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- A Fresno woman got a huge fright when she almost became a victim to criminals using a baby stroller as bait.

It's a scenario that sounds a lot like an urban legend from a few years ago, but this time, there's a real victim right here in the Valley. It happened on the Herndon frontage road near Harrison in Northwest Fresno.

The unusual crime attempt happened on a street darkened by copper wire theft last weekend. The woman tells Action News she almost became a victim because she thought there might be a baby in the middle of the road. Now, her story has gone viral. [...]

Soldier Refused Service (Crawfordsville, IN)

http://www.journalreview.com/news/article_be43c208-3d90-11e1-8ecc-001871e3ce6c.html

Journal Review [Crawfordsville, IN]
13 January 2012

Web hoax gets residents riled

Jamie Barrand

[...] A Facebook post from a local citizen alleging that a uniformed U.S. military soldier had been denied service at a Crawfordsville business prompted outcries from numerous Facebook users -- one of whom went so far as to launch a Facebook page dedicated to getting customers to boycott the business in question. The poster said local law enforcement had been called to the business and that the soldier had been escorted from the premises.

By mid-morning Thursday, it was evident the post was false. Local police checked dispatch records, which revealed no calls for service from the business. No one knew the name of the soldier who had supposedly been denied service. There were no eyewitnesses; all information was at best second- or third-hand.

Threads about the alleged incident continued to pop up throughout the day Thursday, many filled with racial slurs, profanity and accusations of posters being “un-American.” [...]

http://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=10150604084389575&id=149126144574

Fox 59 WXIN Indianapolis

Hey Fox 59! Last night an american soldier was refused business at the Citgo gas station in downtown Crawfordsville on Washington Steet, and was told to leave the gas station because he was in uniform. The police were called and escorted the soldier off the business. A lot of the citizens in Crawfordsville, as of myself, are very angry about this. The police should be ashamed!! Maybe you guys could go down there and get some more information? Thanks!

January 12, 2012 at 6:18am

Children To Be Abducted by Drug Gangs (Mexico)

http://www.guadalajarareporter.com/news-mainmenu-82/guadalajara/30338-hysterical-parents-keep-kids-away-from-school.html

Guadalajara Reporter [Mexico]
13 January 2012

Hysterical parents keep kids away from school

Parents kept their kids away from school early this week in the wake of a false, quickly spreading rumor that drug gangs were planning to kidnap students.

The rumor provoked a form of mass hysteria, especially in neighborhoods in the southern part of Guadalajara, where primary school absenteeism peaked at 25 percent on Monday.

The panic began after a rumor spread rapidly that a drug cartel had placed “narcomantas” (public signs) outside schools on January 5 warning that youngsters would be kidnapped or killed unless one of their members was released from police custody. [...]

Child Abducted, Head Shaved (Kilkenny)

http://www.advertiser.ie/kilkenny/article/48395/abduction-rumours-refuted-by-shopping-centre-management-

Kilkenny Advertiser [Ireland]
13 January 2012

Abduction rumours refuted by shopping centre management

By Naoise Coogan

MacDonagh Junction Shopping Centre has moved to reassure the Kilkenny public that a rumour surrounding the abduction of a child at the shopping centre over the Christmas is entirely untrue.

Donie Butler centre manager at the facility said this week in a statement that an assertion by an anonymous contributor to Facebook in December claiming that a “young person was abducted at the centre” prior to Christmas and “had their head shaved in the public toilets” is both absolutely false and untrue. [...]

Menthol Cigarettes Kill Sperm

http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_753832.html

Straits Times [Singapore]
10 January 2012

Teen on 1-year probation for deceiving minor into having sex

By Khushwant Singh

A teenager told his girlfriend that they could have unprotected sex as the menthol in the cigarettes he smoked would have killed his sperm. This was just a teenage myth and the 15-year-old girl became pregnant. [...]

http://www.asiaone.com/News/Latest%2BNews/Singapore/Story/A1Story20120110-321052.html

AsiaOne [Singapore]
10 January 2012

NS man gets minor pregnant after convincing her of teen myth

Earthquake Will Turn People To Stone (India)

http://www.dailypioneer.com/pioneer-news/todays-newspaper/32493-fear-of-turning-into-stone-keeps-lucknow-awake.html

The Pioneer [India]
4 January 2012

Fear of turning into stone keeps Lucknow awake

Preetam Srivastava

People in several parts of Uttar Pradesh spent a sleepless night on Monday and police remained on high alert as a rumour that those who slept would turn into stone spread like wildfire. [...]

http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/Lucknow/Sms-gives-many-in-UP-a-sleepless-night/Article1-790704.aspx

Hindustan Times
4 January 2012

SMS gives many in UP a sleepless night
Press Trust Of India

Lucknow -- An sms that people who doze off will be turned to stones and a temblor is going to rock the state gave many in Uttar Pradesh a sleepless night, police said today. [...]

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kanpur/Rumours-force-people-to-flee-homes/articleshow/11362440.cms

Times of India
4 January 2012

Rumours force people to flee homes

KANPUR: Rumours on Monday night that a major earthquake may occur and those sleeping would be transformed into stones, besides several villages in bordering district of Unnao caving in, forced the people to run out on the streets. [...]

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/lucknow/Tremor-rumour-keeps-city-awake/articleshow/11357984.cms
Times of India
4 January 2012
Tremor rumour keeps Lucknow awake

Dial-A-Prayer

Playboy, July 1968, p. 19

PLAYBOY AFTER HOURS

A usually reliable informant from down under writes that not long ago, a fellow Aussie returned to his parked car and found the fender badly crumpled. Thoroughly piqued, he looked about and spotted a note on the window, requesting that he call the number listed for appropriate compensation. Rushing to a phone, he called and listened as a recorded voice answered: "Welcome to your Dial-A-Prayer service."

Avalanche-Journal [Lubbock, Texas], 22 August 1971, p. E3

AT YOUR SERVICE

AMSTERDAM, Netherlands (WNS) -- Elsa Krekels, 34, returned to her parked car to find two fenders badly dented and two notes with telephone numbers under her windshield wiper. She called the first number and got a "Dial A Prayer" sermon. Then she called the second number and got a body repairman who offered to repair the fenders for a proper fee

Reading Eagle [PA], 9 April 1974, p. 5.

Wives criticize husbands more than the reverse

L.M. Boyd [syndicated columnist]

[...] A southern California lady reports she returned to the parking lot to find a front fender on her car all bashed in. A note with a telephone number under the windshield wiper. She called. It was "Dial a Prayer." [...]

Jet, 27 Nov. 1975, p. 28

WEEKLY ALMANAC
LETDOWN

When the man returned to his car in a governmental parking lot in Santa Cruz, Calif., and found his front bender mangled, he did a slow burn. But he was relieved to see a piece of paper under his windshield wiper. It was a note of apology for the accident and a phone number to call. Gingerly, the man called the number. Alas, it was Dial-A-Prayer.

The 27 Club (BMJ article)

http://www.bmj.com/content/343/bmj.d7799

British Medical Journal
BMJ 2011; 343 doi: 10.1136/bmj.d7799 (Published 20 December 2011)

Christmas 2011: Death’s Dominion
Is 27 really a dangerous age for famous musicians? Retrospective cohort study

Martin Wolkewitz, Arthur Allignol, Nicholas Graves, Adrian G Barnett

Abstract

Objective To test the “27 club” hypothesis that famous musicians are at an increased risk of death at age 27.

[...]

Conclusions The 27 club is unlikely to be a real phenomenon. Fame may increase the risk of death among musicians, but this risk is not limited to age 27.

Anna Hazare, Supporters Threatened with Needle Attacks

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Anna-threatened-with-HIV-needles-in-anonymous-letter-FIR-lodged/articleshow/11160832.cms

Times of India
19 December 2011

Anna Hazare threatened with HIV+ needles in anonymous letter, FIR lodged

NEW DELHI: Last week the police received a letter that threatened to inject Anna Hazare and his supporters with needles contaminated with the HIV virus. The letter said if Anna remained adamant on his Lokpal agitation, they will be attacked with the deadly virus.

The police, now beginning to take the threat seriously, have registered an FIR and begun looking for those who sent the letter. The letter states that "a needle team, which has prepared 500 HIV positive needles, would inject the virus in at least 1,000 people at the demonstration". [...]

http://www.deccanherald.com/content/212860/hiv-needle-threat-prank-team.html

Deccan Herald [India]
20 December 2011

HIV needle threat a prank, Team Anna

New Delhi, Dec 19, (IANS): A key Team Anna member Monday dismissed as a ''myth'' and ''rumour'' reports of a threat by an unknown ''needle group'' to prick Anna Hazare and his supporters with needles contaminated with the HIV virus. [...]

Somali Gangs Attacking Women (Bismarck, ND)

http://www.kfyrtv.com/News_Stories.asp?news=53855

KFYR-TV [Bismarck, ND]
9 December 2011

Bismarck Police Department Dispels Gang Rumors

Retha Colclasure

A lot of women in Bismarck may have been thinking twice about walking across a parking lot alone after a rumor that circulated throughout the city during the past week. The rumor talked about gangs of Somali men following women in parking lots to attack them. [...]

http://bismarcktribune.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/bismarck-police-say-widely-circulated-email-is-incorrect/article_85f2bc74-22ba-11e1-a716-0019bb2963f4.html

Bismarck Tribune [ND]
9 December 2011

Bismarck police say widely-circulated email is incorrect

By JENNY MICHAEL

The Bismarck Police Department wants to assure people that no organized gangs have been preying on women in parking lots in the city. [...]

Tweeting During the London Riots (2011)

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2011/dec/07/how-twitter-spread-rumours-riots

The Guardian [UK]
7 December 2011

How Twitter was used to spread – and knock down – rumours during the riots
From a tiger roaming Primrose Hill to the London Eye burning, startling reports spread fast on Twitter with the ease of a click

Jonathan Richards and Paul Lewis

Rumour is a pipe blown by surmises, jealousies, conjectures, wrote Shakespeare. In the age of Twitter we can now add: and by the ease of clicking "retweet".

Whether it was the tantalising possibility of a tiger padding about in Primrose Hill or army tanks gathering in the City of London, some Britons proved themselves remarkably willing to share all manner of startling reports on Twitter during the August riots, whatever their accuracy. But what is perhaps more interesting is how Twitter was also used to disprove many rumours. [...]

Pepsi Products Infected with HIV

http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/12/5/nation/10033292&sec=nation

The Star [Malaysia]
5 December 2011

Rumours of HIV-infected drinks untrue, says Pepsi

PETALING JAYA: An SMS has been circulating that Pepsi products are contaminated with HIV but Permanis Sandilands Sdn Bhd has clarified that this is a hoax.

[...] The SMS reads: “for d next few days, do not drink any product from pepsi company like pepsi, tropicana juice, slice, 7up , coca cola, etc,,as a worker from the company has added his blood contaminated with HIV. watch NDtv ...please 4ward this 2 every 1 u care about.....ok. Please note seriously.” [...]

Sleeping Gas Gang (Sardinia)

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/aug/30/italy-thieves-sleeping-gas-sardinia

The Guardian [UK]
30 August 2011

'Sleeping gas' thieves target super-rich at Italian billionaires' resort
John Hooper in Rome

Police in the billionaires' retreat of Porto Cervo on Sardinia's Costa Smeralda believe thieves who made off with €315,000 (£280,000) in cash and jewels used sleeping gas on their victims to ensure they were not disturbed during the break-in.

Similar robberies have been reported this summer in France and Spain. [...]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/italy/8740296/Roberto-Mancini-targeted-by-Sardinian-sleeping-gas-gang.html

The Daily Telegraph [UK]
4 September 2011

Roberto Mancini targeted by Sardinian sleeping gas gang
By Nick Pisa in Rome

Roberto Mancini, the Manchester City boss, is the latest celebrity to be targeted by a gang suspected of using sleeping gas on their victims in a luxury Italian resort.

The gang -- who have hit several villas belonging to high profile wealthy Italians throughout the summer -- use gas on their victims to ensure they are not disturbed. [...]

Prostitute Is Client's Daughter (Zimbabwe)

http://zimbabwenewsonline.com/top_news/2495.html

Zimbabwe News Online
27 November 2011

Bulawayo man gets shocked as his newly hired prostitute happens to be his daughter

A man in Bulawayo's Nkulumane 5 suburb got the shock of his life after a commercial sex worker he allegedly called to his hotel room turned out to be his daughter. Mr Titus Ncube is said to have collapsed while the 20-year-old daughter bolted after seeing her father. [...]

Clare without an eye

http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/column-8/column-8-20111129-1o54j.html

Sydney Morning Herald [Australia]
30 November 2011

Column 8

[...] ''Hospitalised as a child to have my tonsils removed,'' recalls Clare Taylor, of Cammeray, ''the local radio station came round to ask for a song request. I corrected the DJ's spelling of my name when I saw he had written it wrongly (as Claire), only to be utterly mortified when my song was announced for 'Clare without an eye'. I have never corrected anyone since!'' [...]

Special Pens Change Marks on Ballots (DRC)

http://www.english.rfi.fr/africa/20111201-top-five-election-rumours-drc-s-presidential-polls

RFI [France]
1 December 2011

Satan, exorcism and magic T-shirts - our favourite rumours from DRC presidential poll

By Daniel Finnan

The Democratic Republic of Congo’s capital Kinshasa is a rumour mill. No more so that during the country’s 2011 presidential elections. The Congolese are sometimes superstitious, at times moralistic and always feverish in their chatter about the latest rumour. This has only been amplified by the country’s polls. Here’s a collection of RFI’s favourite election rumours.

* The magic pen: Bring your own pen to mark the election ballot paper. The pens handed out by the electoral commission use invisible ink. Once you mark your vote and post it in the ballot box the ink will disappear in 10 minutes, making your choice useless. [...]

AIDS Infectors (Beijing)

http://english.cri.cn/6909/2011/12/01/1461s669797.htm

CRIEnglish.com [China]
1 December 2011

HIV-infection Rumor Lead to Detention in Beijing

Xinhua

A man has been put under criminal detention for spreading an HIV-infection scare, police in Beijing said on Thursday.

The Beijing municipal public security bureau said in a statement that it was informed Tuesday that a Sina Weibo blogger used the service to spread an HIV-infection rumor.

The microblog said "several people have entered Beijing with needle tubes filled with the HIV virus," and "there are people who have been pricked by needles of AIDS infectors."

Beijing police authorities later confirmed the information was false and detained writer of the microblog, a man surnamed Li, on Wednesday afternoon.

No Nipple Gangs in Phuket

http://www.phuketgazette.net/archives/articles/2011/article11388.html

Phuket Gazette [Thailand]
7 November 2011

No ‘nipple gangs’ in Phuket: Police

Warisa Temram

PHUKET: Phuket police today were firm in the assertion that there are no “nipple gangs” at work in Phuket.

The news follows a report by a Chinese daily newspaper saying that Singaporean men on holiday in Phuket had been drugged by knock-out drops smeared onto women’s breasts.

Once drugged unconscious, the men were robbed, the report said. Other newspapers and websites have carried similar reports of nipplers operating here and in Pattaya. [...]

Condoms Cause Kidney Problems

http://www.mmegi.bw/index.php?sid=1&aid=182&dir=2011/November/Thursday24

Mmegi Online [Botswana]
24 November 2011

Shadishadi residents shun condoms

MARANYANE NGWANAAMOTHO
Staff Writer

The use of condoms in Shadishadi and neighbouring villages will take long to catch on after the residents told health workers that condoms cause kidney problems.

According to the health education officer at Shadishadi, Oshale Sesupo, there are widespread misconceptions in the area that condoms cause kidney diseases and people in the area would never use them. They believe that the 'oil' in the condoms is the root cause of their problems.

"They say their kidneys get painful after using condoms and they strongly believe it is the lubricating oil in the condoms," she said. [...]

http://www.mmegi.bw/index.php?sid=9&aid=207&dir=2011/November/Friday25
Mmegi Online [Botswana]
25 November 2011
Editorial
Debunk the condom myth in Shadishadi

Vodka-Soaked Tampons Tested

[A blogger tries out vodka-soaked tampons and is disappointed with the results.]

http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/danielle-crittenden/vodka-tampons_b_1105433.html?r$

Huffington Post Canada
21 November 2011

Danielle Crittenden
Managing Editor, Blogs, The Huffington Post Canada

Bartender, a Dirty Martini With a Tampon!

[...] First, anyone who tries to get drunk off a tampon deserves the punishment; it's like coughing and throwing up after trying a cigarette. That'll teach you for smoking!

Second, if there is any smidgen of effect, it's notional, and probably only psychological. Overall, vodka-in-a-tampon seems a very inefficient, not to mention unpleasant, way to get drunk. [...]

Headhunting rumour (Borneo)

http://www.theborneopost.com/2011/11/22/headhunting-rumour-spreads-fear-among-children/

The Borneo Post
22 November 2011

Headhunting rumour spreads fear among children

LIMBANG: Although there is no evidence of its existence, the public especially school children are haunted by the rumour of alleged headhunters actively seeking for prey during this school holidays.

The rumour is spreading fast among the people here and is a hot topic at coffee shops.

The often-repeated story tells of headhunters targeting children for their heads, to be kept inside bridge pillars under construction to strengthen its structure. [...]