Fashion Plate

If you like Texas Jot, please take a look at my other blog, Fashion Plate. It is the home of my handmade retro Barbie clothes and lots of delicious recipes from my cookbooks.
www.yourfashionplate.blogspot.com

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Pinchbeck Emails


(In the 1700's a London watchmaker named Christopher Pinchbeck invented an alloy of copper and zinc that was used as a substitute for gold. The term pinchbeck still refers to that alloy, but is also used to indicate something counterfeit.)
Is your inbox flooded with emails from well-intentioned friends warning you of some nefarious scheme or latest medical alert. Often these bulletins link themselves to a famous organization or institute. In reality, the are just spurious missives with no real substance.
If you receive an email full of warnings, it would behoove you to check with the indicated source of the information. One recent email dealt with the "latest word on cancer" reputedly from Johns Hopkins. After checking their website, I found that they had no link with the email and in fact, discredited the information in it.There are so many urban legends and quack medical emails circulating. Before you pass on any information, you should verify that it is accurate and from the source indicated. Otherwise you are propagating these spam faux-alerts.
Did you ever receive this one?
I JUST RECEIVED A TEXT FROM A FRIEND THAT WAS SENT OUT FROM TEXAS DEPT OF CORRECTION CENTRAL DISPATCH. IT STATED THAT NATIONAL GANG WEEK IS STARTING AND THIS IS THEIR NEW TARGET METHOD. WHILE DRIVING DOWN ANY ROADS, IF YOU SEE A BABY CAR SEAT SITTING ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD, DO NOT STOP!!! THESE ARE GANGS TARGETING PEOPLE, ESPECIALLY WOMEN, TO STOP THEIR VEHICLE TO HELP A BABY. THEY MAKE THIS BABY LOOK AS IF IT HAS BLOOD ON ITSELF OR ON ITS CLOTHES, WHEN YOU GET OUT OF YOUR VEHICLE IN ATTEMPT TO HELP, THE GANGS JUMP OUT FROM FIELDS OR TALL BUSHES. THEY HAVE BEATEN WOMEN TO NEAR DEATH, AND THEN CONTINUE TO RAPE THEM WITH BASEBALL BATS AND OTHER TORTURE METHODS. THIS IS NOT JUST A FORWARD OF INFORMATION, IT IS WITHIN OUR AREA. IF YOU DO HAPPEN TO SEE A CAR SEAT ON THE ROAD, DO NOT STOP CALL THE POLICE IMMEDIATELY!!! PLEASE SEND THIS TO EVERYONE YOU KNOW. (Really??? Baseball bats and other torture methods? Give me a break.)
I thought that it would be interesting to create an email that sounded plausible, but not based on any fact and see how far it would circulate. Then I thought better of it. Why waste my time and everyone else's? There is enough SPAM out there already. Remember Mr. Pinchbeck... all that glitters is not gold.

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