Hoaxes

What's the one thing that can get motorists' minds off the sting of high gas prices? That's right -- the Attack of the Killer HIV Needle!

An email that I first saw in the Summer of 2000 alleges that some whacko with HIV positive blood is sticking him/herself with needles, and then "affixing" these needles to the underside of gas pump handles. Unsuspecting motorists grab the handle, and suddenly the $2.50 for super isn't the only thing they're wincing about.

Those lunatic gang initiates are at it again. They started out putting strychnine and LSD on phone booth buttons, but now they've moved on to slashing the ankles of unsuspecting women. They lay in wait underneath women's cars at gas stations, and as they get out, they attack!

Fortunately, just like the LSD scare, this is a hoax.

Bill Gates is a very, very rich man. Perhaps wealthier than many of us could imagine, but even with all of his money, not even Bill Gates could afford to give everyone on the net a share of his fortune. Yet that's exactly what a hoax that's been circulating the net for decades (well, in net-time) would have people believe.

And amazingly, they believe it.

A new virus allegedly called "WTC Survivor" virus allegedly threatens to turn victims computers into a digital disaster by deleting dynamic link libraries. Fortunately it's a hoax, albiet one in very bad taste.

Not to long ago, I updated a hoax about killer South American spiders that were allegeldy infesting airplanes as well as a certain restaurant in Chicago. That very same hoax has now mutated, and shows all the signs of becoming a truly enduring urban legend.

Forget about faulty wings and bad engines -- the "killer spiders on airplanes" hoax wants you to believe that scary South American arachnids are preying on our friends in Chicago.

Has the dead hand of a notorious atheist succeeded in getting the federal government to ban the word "God" from America's airways, thus forcing CBS to cancel Touched by an Angel? In a word, no.

This hoax has been circulating since 1975, and shows no signs of going away, despite the fact that its primary antagonist, atheist Madeline Murry O'Hare, is dead. It was circulated for years in print form before making the jump to e-mail. More recent versions make reference to Murry O'Hare's disappearance and the subsequent discovery of her body, but they're just as bogus as the original.

The "Life is Beautiful" e-mail hoax claims a new virus will wipe the hard drives of anyone who triggers it while its cyber-terrorist author goes on to fight Microsoft in court.

The e-mail alleges the virus is contained in a PowerPoint presentation, but while such files can contain viruses, this online threat is bogus.

The SlaveMaster e-mail has returned to stalk the Internet, this time donning the persona of "MonkeyMan935" in an attempt to scare uninformed men and women.

Like its predecessor, the MonkeyMan935 e-mail is a hoax.

Why buy the world a Coke, when you can just forward an e-mail?

That question's at the heart of an e-mail hoax that promises free cola for fowarding a certain e-mail around the Net.

Here's the original e-mail:

Date Captured: April 17, 2000

Subject: FREE COCA COLA FOR A MONTH