Got this from a friend this morning, and thought it was intresting as to what is happening to the Snopes newsletter, Syl bject: Urban Legends Reference Pages Update #340
snopes.com Urban Legends Reference Pages: Update #340 Hello again from snopes.com, where we shed light on the wild tales you've heard! This e-mail gives information about new articles recently added to the Urban Legends Reference Pages and provides pointers to older pieces about rumors and hoaxes still wandering into everyone's inboxes. Our last update mailing was December 1, 2007. If after this update you are left wondering about something newly arrived in your inbox, our search engine stands ready to assist you. Bookmark that URL - it's a keeper! An RSS feed for our What's New page is available at the following URL: http://www.snopes.com/info/whatsnew.xml And now to the legends, the mayhem, and the misinformation! ---------------------------------------------------------- New Articles a.. E-mail memorializes the shaken baby death of 3-month-old London Marie Sherwood. b.. "12 Days of Whataburger" coupons are being circulated on the Internet. Can they be redeemed for free food items at Whataburger outlets? c.. Of 1957 Chevys and a rumor that a group of former General Motors workers furtively produced an almost never-ending supply of them for ten years. d.. "A Recovering American Soldier" update: Red Cross implements program for sending holiday greeting cards to wounded sevice members at military hospitals. e.. Video clip shows a mid-1960s imagining of what technology would be like in the year 1999. f.. Photograph shows a 1956 computer disk memory storage unit. g.. Cricket thermometer: Can the outdoor temperature be worked out by counting the chirps of crickets? h.. Misguided love: Photograph shows a moose mounting a statue of a bison. Worth a Second Look a.. 2002's hoax about women being robbed in mall restrooms and divested of their clothes by the thieves to keep them from summoning help is experiencing a revival. Still Haunting the Inbox a.. Yep, Sears pays the difference in salary and maintains benefits for its called-up military reservist employees. b.. The 2007 film The Golden Compass is based on a series of books with anti-religious themes. c.. Petition advocates buying/not buying gasoline from Citgo. And no, Citgo did not change its name to Petro Express. d.. There was no letter to Starbucks from coffee-seeking G.I.s serving in Iraq, so no response from the coffee retailer saying it didn't support the war and anyone in it. As for Oscar Mayer refusing troops free hot dogs, the 2004 Starbucks e-mail was altered in 2007 to aim it at the blameless hot dog maker. e.. The entreaty to aid 7-year-old Amy Bruce who is dying of lung cancer and a brain tumor by forwarding an email and a sappy poem titled "Slow Dance" is a hoax. f.. 15-year-old Evan Trembley of Wichita Falls, Texas, isn't missing - it's a hoax. g.. The missing child alert about 13-year-old Ashley Flores of Philadelphia is a hoax. h.. E-mail describes actor Denzel Washington's large donation to the Fisher House Foundation. i.. Dialing #77 or *677 is not a surefire way of reaching the local highway patrol - the service is in place in some regions, but not in others. If in need of assistance, dial 911 instead for the sure thing. j.. About the artificial sweetener Aspartame being responsible for a host of diseases. k.. 809 area code scam: Unsuspecting phone customers have been gulled by con artists into placing calls to area codes in the Caribbean that result in hefty charges. l.. Yup, Ben Stein did indeed deliver a commentary about the observance of Christmas. m.. No, the new dollar coin doesn't omit "In God We Trust" - that phrase has been stamped into its edge. n.. We look at two eraser sponge rumors, that they contain formaldehyde or have caused chemical burns when rubbed on skin. o.. While there's no scientific reason to believe rubbing Vicks VapoRub onto a child's feet at bedtime will alleviate the tot's cough, a surprising number of folks who have tried this swear by it. p.. Will pressing #-9-0 on your telephone allow scammers to make long-distance calls and charge them to your phone bill? q.. Don't add "Any Recovering Soldier" to your Christmas card list - neither the Post Office nor Walter Reed Hospital will accept such mail. r.. No, commentator Andy Rooney did not write the "I like big cars, big boats..." polemic. s.. Yep, the photograph that shows Illinois Senator Barack Obama without his hand over his heart while the U.S. national anthem was being played is the real thing. t.. No, Jay Leno did not write the "Hits the Nail on the Head" essay - it was Craig R. Smith. u.. Hillary Clinton is the subject of many e-mailed items, and our "Clintons" section contains write-ups about a number of them. v.. No, Bill Gates is not sharing his fortune with everyone who forwards a specific e-mail on his behalf. This tired leg-pull continues to romp through everyone's inbox, the most widespread incarnation swearing "This took two pages of the Tuesday USA Today!" w.. Virus announcement and virus hoax e-mails are afoot! We try to keep current on them and do our best to point readers to authoritative links confirming or debunking them. Fraud Afoot a.. Seems like everyone has become the recipient of mysterious e-mails promising untold wealth if only one helps a wealthy foreigner quietly move millions of dollars out of his country. The venerable Nigerian Scam has discovered the goldmine that is the Internet. Beware - there's still no such thing as "something for nothing," and the contents of your bank account will end up with these wily foreigners if you fall in with this. b.. Likewise, look out for mailings announcing you've won a foreign lottery you don't recall entering. c.. Or that because you share the surname of a wealthy person who died without leaving a will you're in line for a windfall inheritance. d.. And be especially wary if, while trying to sell or rent anything online (car, boat, horse, motorcycle, painting, apartment, you name it) you're approached by a prospective buyer/renter who wants to pay with a cashier check made out for an amount in excess of the agreed-upon price and who asks the balance be sent to a third party. e.. Aspiring work-at-homers promised big bucks for acting as intermediaries for international transactions wherein they cash checks for other parties or reship goods to them have been defrauded by con artists. Don't you be next. f.. If someone telephones to announce you can have a $200 Wal-Mart shopping spree or $200 in gasoline coupons in return for a $3.49 processing charge to be debited directly from your bank account, hang up. You're being set up via the promise of "something for almost nothing" into authorizing a swindler to help himself to the contents of your bank account. g.. If someone calls to announce you've failed to appear for jury duty and will be arrested, do not give the caller your personal and financial information in an effort to prove he's sending the gendarmes after the wrong guy. You're being tricked into giving up this information to an identity thief. " In the darkness, there is wonders of light that cannot be seen with the human eye " -Sugar --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ Access the Recipes And More list archives at: http://www.mail-archive.com/recipesandmore%40googlegroups.com/ Visit the group home page at: http://groups.google.com/group/RecipesAndMore -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
