Pharm Parties

http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20081219/NEWS/812190372/-1/ENT05

The Des Moines Register [IA]
19 December 2008

Police, schools to probe tales of 'pill parties' in Urbandale

By TOM BARTON

Urbandale police and school officials will investigate rumors of so-called "pharm" parties at which students exchange prescription drugs, sometimes stolen from their parents' medicine cabinets.

Also known as "fish bowl" parties, the gatherings have allegedly featured high-strength painkillers, anti-anxiety medications and stimulants, often washed down with alcohol. [...]

Welsh Rugby Union Team & Papal Mortality

http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/337/dec17_2/a2768

British Medical Journal
17 December 2008

BMJ 2008;337:a2768

Rugby (the religion of Wales) and its influence on the Catholic church: should Pope Benedict XVI be worried?

Gareth C Payne, specialist registrar in clinical neurophysiology, Rebecca E Payne, general practitioner, Daniel M Farewell, MRC/WAG training fellow in health services research/health of the public

Objective To explore the perceived wisdom that papal mortality is related to the success of the Welsh rugby union team. [...]

Coca-Cola Douches and Contraception

http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/extract/337/dec17_2/a2873?q=w_latest_topic

British Medical Journal
17 December 2008

BMJ 2008;337:a2873

Coca-Cola douches and contraception

Deborah J Anderson, professor of obstetrics/gynaecology and microbiology, lecturer in medicine

[...] Deborah Anderson explains why women really shouldn’t rely on Coca-Cola for family planning. [...]

Deadly Bamba Snack (Israel)

http://www.haaretz.co.il/hasen/spages/1047567.html

Haaretz [Israel]
18 December 2008

Rumor of Bamba snack's link to spate of infant deaths brings down Osem stock

By Ayala Tsoref, TheMarker Correspondent

A malicious and false email announcing that a substance in the peanut-based snack "Bamba" caused a recent spate of mysterious infant deaths has caused the stocks of the product's manufacturer Osem to plummet. [...]

Foxy Pomeranian

http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_3122622.html?menu=news.quirkies

Ananova [UK]
15 December 2008

Man's pet 'dog' was rare fox

A Chinese man was shocked to discover the dog he had raised from a pup was actually a rare Arctic fox.

Zhang, of Tunkou, bought what he thought was an all-white Pomeranian dog for £60 a year ago on a business trip. [...]

Cliff Richard, Colostomate

http://www.sundaysun.co.uk/news/columnists/ken-oxley/2008/12/14/cliff-richard-rumour-poo-pooed-79310-22469874/

Sunday Sun [UK]
14 December 2008

Cliff Richard rumour poo-pooed

by Ken Oxley, Sunday Sun

IT'S hard to believe Sir Cliff Richard was ever serious about appearing in the next series of Celebrity Big Brother.

But the story that he has apparently pulled out because programme makers refused to give him a private toilet won't do anything to dispel a persistent rumour that has followed him for decades. [...]

[It is rumored that Cliff Richard had a colostomy.]

Rivals' Jersey Buried in Baseball Field

http://www.gtconnect.com/articles/2008/12/13/beavers_sports/mens_sports/baseball/4osu02_baseball.txt

Gazette-Times [Corvallis, OR]
10 December 2008

The case of the buried OSU jersey

Rumors suggest Beavers gear may have been placed under Oregon’s new baseball field

By Brooks Hatch
Gazette-Times reporter

Oregon State and Oregon won’t revive their long-dormant baseball rivalry until March 27.

But the first beanball in the revived horsehide Civil War may have already been thrown. Rumors have been rampant the past month or so that several Beaver Believers secretly buried an OSU jersey or a commemorative Back-to-Back National Championships T-shirt in the ground underneath the PK Park playing surface. [...]

Gary Glitter Sightings

http://news.scotsman.com/latestnews/Glitter-sparks-Moray-madness.4791529.jp

Scotland on Sunday
13 December 2008

Glitter sparks Moray madness

HE HAS gone from being a revered pop idol to one of Britain's most reviled sex offenders, writes Mark Horne. But Gary Glitter caused widespread alarm in a small corner of rural Scotland without a shred of evidence he had even been there.

A string of 'sightings' of the convicted paedophile along the Moray coastline have been reported recently. So strong were the rumours that officials at the alternative-lifestyle Findhorn Foundation searched their premises to find him. [...]

http://www.northern-scot.co.uk/news/fullstory.php/aid/7266/On_the_trail_of_Gary_Glitter.html

The Northern Scot [Moray, Scotland]
26 December 2008

On the trail of Gary Glitter

By Esther Green

GLITTERING stories of a shamed rock star starting a new life in Moray are finally beginning to fade. [...]

http://www.kentonline.co.uk/kol08/article/default.asp?article_id=58381

Kent Online [UK]
6 March 2009

Gary Glitter: Herne Bay rumours seem untrue

by Dan Irwin

Rumours that Gary Glitter is living in Herne Bay appear to be untrue.

Gossip has spread all week that the the disgraced singer, real name Paul Gadd, has moved to the town and accounts of sightings have snowballed since the weekend.

But all of them are unconfirmed; every one is from an anonymous source; several are contradictory, and no one has taken so much as a mobile phone picture. […]

http://www.thisiskent.co.uk/news/Wanna-Mar-gate-Driver-claims-paedophile-pop-star-looking-bedsits/article-549944-detail/article.html

Herne Bay Times [UK]
16 December 2008

Wanna be in Margate - Driver claims paedophile Gary Glitter was looking for bedsits

PAEDOPHILE Gary Glitter has been spotted by a bus driver who dropped him off in Cliftonville to look at BEDSITS.

Paul Wright says he would stake a month’s wages that he had Glitter, real name Paul Francis Gadd, on his bus on Friday morning. […]

http://www.thisiskent.co.uk/news/Glam-rock-pervert-Gary-Glitter-living-Herne-Bay/article-744968-detail/article.html

Herne Bay Times [UK]
5 March 2009

Glam rock pervert Gary Glitter living in Herne Bay?

PERVY pop paedophile Gary Glitter has reportedly set up home in Herne Bay.

The 64-year-old singer, jailed in 2005 for molesting two girls aged 10 and 11, is allegedly living in Beacon Road – less than 200 yards from Herne Bay Infant School. […]

http://www.thisiskent.co.uk/hernebay/Facebook-site-formed-Gary-Glitter-Herne-Bay/article-764694-detail/article.html

Herne Bay Times [UK]
11 March 2009

Facebook site formed to keep Gary Glitter out of Herne Bay

A FACEBOOK group demanding to know the whereabouts of pop pervert Gary Glitter has attracted more than 2,000 members in a week.

The group, called Get Gary Glitter Out of Herne Bay, was set up by concerned mum-of-four Jo Cleary after the Times reported alleged sightings of the former glam rock star in the town. […]

Tunnel Connects Convent and Boys' School (Ipoh, Malaysia)

http://blog.thestar.com.my/permalink.asp?id=19990

The Star [Malaysia]
13 December 2008

Citizen's Blog

Mystery tunnels in Ipoh

Posted by: victorchew46

Search for a Tunnel in Ipoh

I read the article on the tunnel between the Ipoh Town Hall and the High Court with interests and as an Ipohite I wish to draw the attention of Mr. Kulasegaran (MP Ipoh Barat) to look into another possible one linking Ipoh Convent and SMI Ipoh [St. Michael's Institution, a boys' school -- bc]. This rumour has been going on for a long time but the actual existence is still a mystery to former SMI and Convent students! [...]

A Stuffed Cat

Elizabeth Starling, Noble Deeds of Woman; Or, Examples of Female Courage and Virtue (Boston: Hall and Whiting, 1881), pp. 210-11.

The following story, which was published in one of the periodical journals some time since, is too interesting to be omitted.

"An old chiffonnier (or rag-picker) died in Paris, in a state of the most abject poverty.

"His only relation was a niece, who lived as servant with a green-grocer. This girl always assisted her uncle as far as her slender means would permit. When she learnt of his death, which took place suddenly, she was upon the point of marriage with a journeyman baker, to whom she had been long attached. The nuptial day was fixed, but Suzette had not yet bought her wedding clothes. She hastened to tell her lover that their marriage must be deferred, as she wanted the price of her bridal finery to lay her uncle decently in the grave. Her mistress ridiculed the idea, and exhorted her to leave the old man to be buried by charity. Suzette refused. The consequence was a quarrel, in which the young woman lost at once her place and her lover, who sided with her mistress. She hastened to the miserable garret where her uncle had expired, and by the sacrifice not only of her wedding attire, but of nearly all the rest of her slender wardrobe, she had the old man decently interred. Her pious task fulfilled, she sat alone in her uncle's room, weeping bitterly, when the master of her faithless lover, a young, good-looking man, entered. 'So, my good Suzette, I find you nave lost your place!' cried he; 'I am come to offer you one for life — will you marry me?' 'I, sir ? — you are joking.' 'No, faith, I want a wife, and I am sure I can't find a better.' 'But everybody will laugh at you for marrying a poor girl like me.' 'O! if that is your only objection, we shall soon get over it: come, come along; my mother is prepared to receive you.' Suzette hesitated no longer; but she wished to take with her a memorial of her deceased uncle: it was a cat that he had had for many years. The old man was so fond of the animal that he was determined even her death should not separate them for he had had her stuffed and placed upon the tester of his bed. As Suzette took puss down, she uttered an exclamation of surprise at finding her so heavy. The lover hastened to open the animal, when out fell a shower of gold. There were a thousand louis concealed in the body of the cat; and this sum, which the old miser had starved himself to amass, became the just reward of the worthy girl and her disinterested lover."

[See also The Book of Three Hundred Anecdotes. Historical, Literary, and Humorous. A New Selection (London: Burns & Oates, n.d.), pp. 127-8.]

Cattle Baron Caught in "Missing Boy" Hoax

http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=695585

ninemsn [Australia]
12 December 2008

Cattle baron caught in 'missing boy' hoax

By Emily O'Keefe

A millionaire cattle baron from northern Queensland has been caught up in an out-of-control internet hoax started by an American teenager.

For the past year, Dale Appleton has been bombarded daily with calls to his remote cattle station Bulliwallah and his mobile phone.

The calls are from concerned people who have read a heart-wrenching email supposedly written by the parents of a missing 15-year-old boy, Evan Trembley. [...]

Baltimore Gang Initiations

http://www.baltimoreexaminer.com/opinion/columns/gregorykane/120708kane.html

Baltimore Examiner
7 December 2008

Baltimore gang initiations: Urban legend or real threat?

By Gregory Kane
Examiner Columnist

http://www.baltimoreexaminer.com/local/crime/121108kane.html

Baltimore Examiner [MD]
11 December 2008

Gang initiations: Real or urban legend? Part II

By Gregory Kane
Examiner Columnist

Science Journal's Cover Is Chinese Brothel Ad

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/china/3687483/Advert-for-brothel-mistaken-for-classical-Chinese-poem.html

The Daily Telegraph [UK]
9 December 2008

Advert for brothel mistaken for classical Chinese poem

A respected German scientific magazine has been embarrassed to discover it printed a Chinese-language advertisement for "jade-like girls" and "coquettish and enchanting housewives" across its front cover.

By Richard Spencer in Beijing

The striking white-on-red text was intended to show off the Chinese focus of the official journal of the Max Planck Institute. [...]

http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/news/chinese-classical-poem-was-brothel-ad-1058031.html

The Independent [UK]
9 December 2008

Chinese 'classical poem' was brothel ad
Science journal mistakenly uses flyer for Macau brothel to illustrate report on China

By Clifford Coonan in Beijing

A respected research institute wanted Chinese classical texts to adorn its journal, something beautiful and elegant, to illustrate a special report on China. Instead, it got a racy flyer extolling the lusty details of stripping housewives in a brothel. [...]

Armenian Rumors

http://www.reporter.am/go/article/2008-12-10-from-earthquake-theories-to-plane-crashes-the-art-of-spreading-rumors-in-armenia

Armenian Reporter

10 December 2008

From earthquake theories to plane crashes, the art of spreading rumors in Armenia

by Maria Titizian

[Titizian recounts rumors about imminent earthquakes and banana exports to the Bahamas; that onboard gunfire caused the 2006 crash of Armavia Flight 967; and, as related below, that a bride was killed by a scorpion in the Sourp Krikor Lusavorich cathedral in 2001.]

I recall the day my young daughter came home from school in a fluster and said she had heard the most horrific tale. A young bride standing at the altar with her groom, just married, had collapsed on the cold marble floor of the church and died. The rumor was that a scorpion, hidden among the many layers of tulle and veil had bit the young woman, killing her instantly. I was horrified but questioned the truth of the story; yet my daughter's eyes were full of so much conviction that I told her it was indeed a tragedy. That week the rumor spread like wildfire and everyone was talking about it. Of course, it never happened. The reason for starting that rumor I'll leave to the imagination, but I suspect after that most brides checked to make sure there were no hiding scorpions in their wedding dresses.

Women Flash Breasts at Disneyland's "Jack Sparrow" Actors

KTLA-TV [Los Angeles]
8 December 2008

Flashing Girls Prompt Disneyland to Can 'Jack Sparrow' Actors

KTLA News

ANAHEIM -- Disneyland management has fired the four actors who played pirate Jack Sparrow because officials were worried about young female park-goers flashing the swashbuckling actors late at night, according to one former cast member.

"They lost control when they saw Jack Sparrow," said former pirate Brandon Pinto, who left the role after a dispute with management a year ago. "This is a sexy, rock-star pirate." [...]

http://www.ktla.com/landing_news/?Flashing-Girls-Prompt-Disneyland-to-Can-=1&blockID=154946&feedID=171

KTLA-TV [Los Angeles]
9 December 2008

Disneyland's 'Jack Sparrow' Actors Fired

KTLA News

[...] Disneyland officials confirmed that the pirate was indeed fired (due to declining relevance and diminishing visitor requests), but flatly denied published reports that the dismissal had anything to do with female fans flashing their breasts at the swashbuckling actors who portray Jack Sparrow at the Anaheim theme park.

Disneyland spokeswoman Suzi Brown called the breast-flashing rumors “absolutely false” and “simply not true.” [...]

Willow Run Rumors

[General Motors' Willow Run transmission factory in Ypsilanti Township, Michigan, has been in operation since 1953.]

http://www.mlive.com/annarbornews/business/index.ssf/2008/12/future_of_historic_willow_run.html

Ann Arbor News [MI]
6 December 2008

Future of historic Willow Run plant uncertain

by Stefanie Murray
The Ann Arbor News

[Sidebar]

Urban legends

Myth: There is a bomber airplane stashed somewhere underneath the Willow Run plant. [...]

Myth: There were thousands of dollars stashed away in lunch pails in the plant by an employee who had survived a World War II concentration camp. [...]

Myth: All the parts for two World War II .50-caliber machine guns are buried in a hole under the plant. [...]

Daphne's Pearls

George Hamilton and William Stadiem, Don't Mind If I Do (NY: Simon & Schuster, 2008), pp. 190-91.

[Hamilton was in Spain for the shooting of L'Homme de Marrakech (1965).]

All the action in Madrid seemed to take place in bordellos. At another house of mirth I got into a scrape on behalf of the actor John Ireland[.] [...] Times had gotten tough in Hollywood for John, so he too was in Europe trading on his noir reputation. John took me to a brothel[.] [...] Because of my Spanish skills, John asked me to translate to his obscure object of desire what his specific desire was. I blush to tell you, so I won't, but it had something to do with a rare set of pearls John had bought for his wife, Daphne, in Majorca.

The next morning, John called me in a panic. He had left the pearls at the brothel, Daphne was flying in imminently from London, so could I go and retrieve them for him? Let me tell you that there is no place sadder than a Spanish brothel in the dead of morning. Bodies were everywhere; it looked more like Gettysburg than an orgy. There was no trace of Daphne's pearls. Surely the girl had absconded with them. But as I played my Inspector Clouseau act, I discovered that the girl in question was the consort of the owner. The owner called her to task. She was still drunk, but then she woke up. Of course the pearls weren't in plain sight. They were still in the unmentionable orifice where John kinkily had placed them. I got them back and left a huge tip. I arrived back at the hotel with the pearls just as Daphne was arriving. Daphne was never the wiser, but for John and me, "Daphne's pearls" became a running joke that had us laughing for years.

GRADUALISM and the Boiled Frog

Salem Kirban, Satan's Mark Exposed (Huntingdon Valley, Pa.: Salem Kirban, Inc., 1981), pp. 11-12.

GRADUALISM is that system of achieving social or political changes by almost imperceptible steps or degrees. Imperceptible...that's the key...so slight and gradual that the mind or senses do not see any real change!

Put a frog in a pot of hot water and he will quickly jump out.

But place him in a pot of cold water and gradually heat it and he will bask in its warmth with a hypnotized tranquility until the water reaches a boiling point and it is too late!

That's exactly the technique Satan is using on us today as we approach the soon coming Rapture.

Penis Thefts (Africa)

http://www.crtv.cm/cont/nouvelles/nouvelles_sol_fra.php?showSection=national&idField=2124&table=noticias

Cameroon Radio Television
28 November 2008

Strange Phenomenon in the Far North: handshake equals disappearance of penis

In the Town of Guidiguidi in the Mayo Danay division in the Far North Region, fear and confusion now plague the men’s world after repeated reports of a strange phenomenon.

It all started few weeks ago when three men alleged that their sex organs had disappeared mysteriously, pointing fingers at another gentleman. [...]

http://www.ngrguardiannews.com/policy_politics/article01/indexn2_html?pdate=061208&ptitle=Men%20Allege%20Disappearance%20of%20Sexual%20Organs

The Guardian [Nigeria]
6 December 2008

Men Allege Disappearance of Sexual Organs

Abiodun Fagbemi, Ilorin

RANDY men who go after anything in skirt seemed to have reduced their nefarious activities going by the rumour of sudden disappearance of the manhood of some men after marathon sexual acts with suspected prostitutes in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital. [...]

"White Christmas" Banned

http://www.geelongadvertiser.com.au/article/2008/12/05/35711_news.html

Geelong Advertiser [Australia]
5 December 2008

White Christmas carols ban rumour rejected

FALSE rumours that City of Greater Geelong had ordered the song White Christmas to be dropped from the Denis Walter Carols by the Bay due to racial connotations have been laughed off by organisers. [...]

Japanese Obsession with Blood Types

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/dec/04/japan-world-news

The Guardian [UK]
4 December 2008

Typecast - Japan's obsession with blood groups

Justin McCurry in Tokyo

[...] The idea that blood type defines our personality, temperament and ability to mingle is routinely dismissed as nonsense, but that has not stopped four books on the subject from occupying Japan's top 10 bestseller list for the past year. [...]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/japan/3547109/Japan-in-grip-of-blood-type-obsession.html

Daily Telegraph [UK]
4 December 2008

Japan in grip of blood type obsession

By Danielle Demetriou in Tokyo

Ring Recovered from Fish 21 Years Later

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hHlu-z-y0xXEp1KDcb3CKjzaZ-8wD94RHAKG1

The Associated Press
4 December 2008

The one that didn't get away yields long-lost ring

BUNA, Texas (AP) - The one that didn't get away held an unlikely surprise for a Texas man. The blue-stoned class ring of Joe Richardson, engraved with his name, turned up inside an 8-pound bass 21 years after he lost it while fishing on Lake Sam Rayburn. [...]

http://www.silsbeebee.com/news.php?viewStory=559

The Silsbee Bee [Texas]
4 December 2008

Fishy story has familiar ring to it

By LISA RICHARDSON
Special to The Bee

Man Arrested for Gang Initiation Warning

http://www.nj.com/news/jjournal/jerseycity/index.ssf?/base/news-7/122820271458240.xml&coll=3

The Jersey Journal [NJ]

2 December 2008

'YELLING FIRE' ON A CROWDED WEB SITE
Hoax posts said women being shot in gang violence

By MICHAELANGELO CONTE
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

A Jersey City man who allegedly made mischief on the Internet on Mischief Night by spreading false reports of gang violence in Jersey City and Bayonne was arrested yesterday.

Officials subpoenaed information from Comcast and the Web site JCList.com, where the postings appeared, leading to the arrest of Andrew T. Lazaro, 19, of Bentley Avenue, on a count of causing false public alarm, Jersey City Police Chief Tom Comey said in a press release last night.

The sick warnings posted on JCList on Oct. 30 under the moniker "Tom" claimed that several schoolgirls and women in Jersey City and Bayonne were shot as part of a gang initiation, and caused a flood of 911 calls, officials said. [...]

Unpatriotic Starbucks

http://www.stalbansreview.co.uk/news/3940143.Starbucks_forestalls_St_Albans_boycott/

St Albans & Harpenden Review [UK]
1 December 2008

Councillors' outrage at "unpatriotic " coffee chain

By Emma Clark

AN email which has aroused outrage across St Albans against global coffee company Starbucks has been refuted by the chain.

Many town, district and county councillors across St Albans were shocked today to receive an email alleging the company had refused to send its coffee abroad to army camps because it did not support military action in Iraq, or the soldiers fighting there.

But the chain insists the email, sent out by an American Marine sergeant, has been circulating since 2004 and is totally untrue. [...]

Essex Cop Forwards Burundanga E-mail

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/lawandorder/3530921/Detective-sent-hoax-date-rape-email-around-the-world.html

The Daily Telegraph [UK]
27 November 2008

Detective sent hoax date rape email around the world

A detective accidentally forwarded a hoax email about a powerful new date rape drug to hundreds of thousands of women around the world.

The bogus email claimed business cards impregnated with a drug called Burundanga were being handed out by criminals to women at petrol stations.

The drug was said to knock them out and leave them vulnerable to attack.

Detective Constable Simon Lofting, 34, from Essex Police received the email and forwarded it on to intelligence officers to check if it was real. [...]

Shanghai Sperm Bank Denies "Helping Hand" Rumor

http://www.shanghaidaily.com/article/?id=381959&type=Metro

Shanghai Daily
25 November 2008

Sperm bank denies 'helping hand' rumor

By Cai Wenjun

SHANGHAI Sperm Bank has been forced to issue a statement on its Website to clarify its procedures, after explicit photos circulated on the Internet, claiming to show female nurses helping men to "donate" at the sperm bank.

Officials from Renji Hospital, where the sperm bank is located, said yesterday they had received several inquiries about their practices after the hoax photos appeared online. They said the hospital's sperm-collecting procedure is in line with professional regulations and that the misleading pictures could tarnish the reputation of the hospital and the sperm bank. [...]

Unwitting Cannibalism

http://www.gazettelive.co.uk/news/teesside-news/2008/11/21/cannibal-call-not-a-hoax-say-tfm-bosses-84229-22310645/

Evening Gazette [UK]
21 November 2008

Cannibal call not a hoax say TFM bosses

Karen Faughey, Evening Gazette

A RADIO station has denied presenter Graham Mack's discussion with a former cannibal are part of a bold publicity stunt.

Listeners to TFM were left in shock after a caller admitted live on air that she was once an unwitting cannibal. [...]

"It was when I was a child when I lived in Africa. We always went to the same butcher and then suddenly ... the meat started to get so much better. It was only when we moved back to England ... that we realised that the butcher had been arrested because he farmed little black girls." [...]

http://www.gazettelive.co.uk/news/teesside-news/2008/11/22/identity-of-tfm-cannibal-is-revealed-84229-22317059/

Evening Gazette [UK]
22 November 2008

Identity of TFM "cannibal" is revealed

by Sarah Judd, Evening Gazette

THE identity of an unwitting "cannibal" who shocked TFM radio listeners with the tale of her former butcher's grisly secret can be revealed today.

Guisborough mum Anthea Harrison, 36, told how she may have eaten human flesh while living in Zambia. [...]

She wanted to make it clear the family could not be certain they had ever eaten human meat when they lived in Mufulira, Zambia.

Anthea also corrected her on-air claim that the man had killed "little black girls," as her mum later explained only one teenage girl had ever been found in his freezer. [...]

Business Owner Lays Off Obama Supporters

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08326/929664-85.stm

Post-Gazette [Pittsburgh, PA]
21 November 2008

Local businessman an innocent victim of Obama layoff hoax

By Ann Belser, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

[...] Someone sent out an e-mail advising business owners that Mr. [Dan] Remely had resigned himself to having to lay off employees because of tax increases expected when Barack Obama becomes president.

According to the letter, he walked through his company's parking lot and found which cars had bumper stickers supporting Mr. Obama for president. Then he decided to lay off those workers.

The e-mail finishes with: "These folks wanted change; I gave it to them." [...]

Roof of Temple Dome Contains Iridium (India)

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cities/Thirupuram/Temple_in_limelight_for_reactive_power_of_dome/articleshow/3737498.cms

Times of India
20 November 2008

Temple in limelight for 'reactive' power of dome

PTI

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A little known temple in the sleepy hamlet of Muthavazhy in Aalapuzha district of Kerala has shot into limelight following speculation that its dome may contain iridium, a metal costlier than gold.

The 'power' of the dome became an object of curiosity and discussion as people found that the cells of their torchlights 'burnt out' and batteries of mobile phones 'damaged' when kept close to it. [...]

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Rumours_of_iridium_in_temple_dome_has_Kerala_village_in_a_flutter/articleshow/3742188.cms

Times of India
22 November 2008

Rumours of iridium in temple dome has Kerala village in a flutter

G Ananthakrishnan, TNN

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A little-known temple in Kerala's Alappuzha district has suddenly more visitors than ever before. And not all of them are interested in offering prayers to the deity of Karthikeya: some are even offering crores of rupees to buy its dome.

The new-found interest is because of rumours about the presence of radioactive iridium on the dome of the Karthikeya temple in Pandanad village. [...]

http://www.hindu.com/2008/11/16/stories/2008111661310900.htm

The Hindu [India]
16 November 2008

Archaeology team inspects temple

Dennis Marcus Mathew

ALAPPUZHA: A team of the State Archaeology Department conducted inspections at the Pandanadu Muthavazhi Subrahmanya Swami temple near Chengannur here on Saturday, following claims and reports that the dome of the temple contained iridium, a precious metal several times costlier than gold. [...]

Tomato Sauce Infected with HIV+ Blood (S. Africa)

http://www.saps.gov.za/_dynamicModules/internetSite/newsBuild.asp?myURL=879

South African Police Service
21 November 2008

Another hoax e-mail
Tomato sauce infected with HIV+ blood

Pretoria

An e-mail is being widely circulated in which it is claimed that a well-known food chain sent letters out to schools warning about tomato sauce which could have been deliberately contaminated with the blood of an HIV+ person.

This e-mail has been brought to the attention of the South African Police Service and a thorough enquiry has revealed it to be a hoax which, unfortunately, is becoming an urban legend. Similar hoaxes have been discovered on web sites in other countries. [...]

http://www.capetimes.co.za/index.php?fArticleId=4727336

The Cape Times [South Africa]
24 November 2008

Wimpy says contaminated sauce claims are a 'hoax'

Natasha Joseph

FAST-FOOD restaurant chain Wimpy says its food and condiments are entirely safe and has labelled an e-mail which suggests a man was caught putting blood into a tomato-sauce dispenser "a hoax". [...]