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Just thought I'd post to say the needles-in-the-cinema-seats UL is doing the rounds in Liverpool (again!)

I wonder if you could show the popularity of specific ULs like this one on a world map, in timelapse (like they show Ozone levels or global temperatures) would you see the UL ebbing and flowing around the globe?
 
Ewwww. :cross eye
From the Edinburgh Evening News(Needs registration)
I WAS recently handed a copy of an e-mail that made chilling reading. It warned: "For your information, a couple of weeks ago, in the Odeon cinema, Festival Park, a person sat on something sharp in one of the seats. When she stood up to see what it was, a needle was found poking through the seat with an attached note saying, 'You have been infected with HIV'."

The e-mail then claimed that the Centre for Disease Control in Birmingham had reported similar incidents in several other cities.

Scary stuff, so you can imagine my initial sense of relief when Thursday's Evening News reported that the e-mail was, in fact, a hoax. However, the incident got me thinking, and reminded me of a report published a couple of years ago by a team of scientists from the Department of Forensics at University College, London, after they had removed a row of passenger seats from a Tube carriage for analysis.

Tests revealed seven types of insect, mostly fleas, mostly alive; the vomit of at least nine people; the urine of at least four people; human excrement and rodent excrement. And worse, when they took the seats apart they discovered the remains of six mice, two rats and a previously unknown fungus.

Maybe we should be more aware of where we're sitting, after all.
So from this its been going round here as well but I'm not sure I believe it. ;)
 
Sounds like that warning about bowls of peanuts in bars.
 
I'm almost afraid to ask - what warning about peanuts would that be, then?
 
The story goes that in every bowl of peanuts left out on a bar, there are traces of about nine different people's urine on them, because some people who eat the peanuts don't wash their hands after they've been to the bathroom. Same goes for those bowls of mints in coffee shops. Probably not true, though.
 
Heard this one the other day about a certain nightclub in Edinburgh . A girl at work said the police were called there because syringes were being found taped under the toilet seats and on the door of the cubicle it was written that they had just been infected by AIDS.

Naturally , even though this happened on Firiday , it still hasnt appeared in the local papers , and the Lothian Borders Police website has no mention of it . Normally under such circumstances they would issue a warning.

I think this UL will be doing the rounds for a while yet .
 
We recently had this one circulated at work. It was attached with the comment that management believed it to be a real situation and for everyone to be vigilant. I managed to resist sending them a link to Snopes. ;)
 
I work in a primary school, and today there was an email pinned to the staff notice board which warned of needles being left on bus seats.
It stated that 'a girl travelling to school (which was named, but I am not going to, it is local to me) on the bus on Friday 27th Jan 2006 sat down and felt a sharp pain in her back. Upon checking the seat, a needle was found, and the girl is currently undergoing blood tests. The needle was found in the gap between the seat and backrest. Anybody travelling on the bus is advised to place a bag or coat on the seat before sitting down, or check the area carefully'
 
bigaggie1 said:
I work in a primary school, and today there was an email pinned to the staff notice board which warned of needles being left on bus seats.

*snip*

The needle was found in the gap between the seat and backrest.

I'm sure I've posted about it on here before (maybe even in this very thread.. oohh!), but this happened to a close friend of mine a few years ago - exactly as described.

He still says that you don't know real terror until you're waiting for the results of an AIDS test :(
 
No urban legend, I live in what is acknowledged a rough area and every day I see abandoned used needles and those special black cool looking sharps boxes. I know that as a child I would've played with a syringe if I found one, and the sharps containers look so cool I would've been at it like a caveman trying to get inside of it. In fact the 1st time I saw one I thought it was a bike drink bottle. Some of the local junkies are very bitter nasty aggressive folk, and yes I do know them some of them I've known for years, and I can easily believe they would try to give other people 'hep'. The reason for this is they are pissed off at how crap their lives are, and blame soc for making their drug illegal and thus crap adulterated and expensive. these are folk who mug burglar and pimp for money :twisted:
 
A friend of my boyf and I has just started a new job as a Quantitive Surveyor. He told my boyfriend that because his job will require site visits, he had to attend a safety course or some kind of course about health and safety. J was told that when going into flats and using lifts, he should never press the buttons with his fingers but use his pen because there could be a needle inbetween the buttons. Apparantly it has happened to QS's in the past. Needless to say, had I been there I would have asked more searching questions where as my boyf took it at face value (Sigh). I don't know whether this is an UL or whether it really did happen. I'm sure some of the flats they go into are quite nasty but I don't know if this is a new variation or not!
 
Creamstick1 said:
bigaggie1 said:
He still says that you don't know real terror until you're waiting for the results of an AIDS test :(

True, I was there when my girlfriend told me she had been sleeping with her ex and he had a STD. The guy had drug problems and was a high risk subjet. Anyway, let's just say that I dumped the gf and had do endure some really tense examinations for a while, but everything turned out to be fine :D
 
Needling

A "dirty needle" story broke here in Cincinnati just this past week.

Students at a middle school spent THREE WEEKS jabbing each other with "dirty hypodermic needles" - so help me, that's the amount of time it took the school authorities to realize what was going on!

There was great screaming and panic at first when it was believed that these were drug addicts' needles picked up from the streets, but the truth turned out to be not so tragic. The needles came from one student's live-in nurse who is diabetic. She had properly disposed of the needles in a carefully sealed container manufactured for precisely this purpose but her schoolboy charge dug the container out of the trash, opened it, took out the needles and distributed them to his schoolmates.

The nurse has no physical illnesses other than her diabetes and has never used illegal drugs of any kind. Since diabetes isn't communicable the only thing the children exposed themselves to were each other's childhood illnesses. There were, thank God, no AIDS children involved.

Even so, all the children who were poked by the needles will be required to have blood tests regularly performed over the next year and more.

So far 22 students have been suspended (including a number of the pokees). Now maybe they can start on the faculty?

Again, three weeks.
 
So after printing a letter about the #90 phone hoax as fact, my local paper in Tamworth Australia has printed a warning that the Red Cross email about needles in cinema seats and ATMs is a hoax. Seeing as this email was first posted here in 2001, it's only taken them 5 years to catch on! I wrote to them about the other hoax letter, so perhaps the same person sent in this one and they were a bit more careful.

Mind you, they also printed an article about some local crank who thinnks we should ban Halloween in Australia, because it is an American festival and so dangerous with all the kiddies being hurt by the razor blades and broken glass hidden in lollies!
 
DougalLongfoot said:
Mind you, they also printed an article about some local crank who thinks we should ban Halloween in Australia, because it is an American festival and so dangerous with all the kiddies being hurt by the razor blades and broken glass hidden in lollies!
Unfortunately, some people wouldn't know a FOAF tale if it hit someone that their mate vaguely knows over the head with a rolled-up newspaper.
 
I know one of those people. Every so often, she tries to be ever so helpful by sending on some (obvious to me, but apparently not to her) hoax email warning about something or other. Which always prompts a rant from me about trying the check whether these things have any basis in truth before forwarding them to all and sundry. And then, a year or so later, she does it again :roll: I know she means well, but some people never learn. She always sends them to a mailing list we're both on, so I always send my reply to the whole list, in the hope that at least someone will learn.
 
Needle Panic In Manchester

Anybody else had this recently? It appears to be a variation of the usual surreptitious attack by hypedermic needle..

Why do people believe this rubbish??
:confused:

Dear All,
>
> I would like to bring to your attention a
> terrible incident which
> happened to me on Friday 2nd February 2007 at
> approximately 18.05. I had
> left work (8 King Street, Manchester) and I
> proceeded up King St. There were
> plenty of people around finishing work for the
> weekend and about half way up
> King Street (outside The White Company) a woman had
> come out of the walk
> through from St Ann's Square and said to me she was
> having a terrible day as
> she had just found her husband in bed with another
> woman. I thought it was
> strange that she would tell a complete stranger this
> information so I
> carried on walking. She then stopped me and asked
> for 32 pence to catch the
> bus home.
>
> I was immediately suspicious of the situation
> as I would imagine a bus
> to anywhere would be more than 32 pence and she
> wasn't the stereotypical
> person that normally asks you for change for the
> bus. She was clean, well
> dressed and well spoken. She also had a handbag.
> Feeling uncomfortable with
> the situation I agreed to give her some change, just
> so I could get away as
> promptly as possible. I gave her what change I had
> which was approximately
> 80 pence. She then said she was grateful and she'd
> send me £20 back. I
> thought she was going to ask for my address (which I
> wouldn't have given)
> but she didn't. She said thank you and squeezed my
> arm as a token of
> appreciation. As she walked away she dropped some of
> the money & didn't
> retrieve it which certainly aroused suspicions; if
> she didn't need the money
> why did she stop me?
>
> I proceeded up King St towards Cross Street
> but realised something was
> wrong. My left hand side had gone completely numb
> and my arm went into a
> spasm. I knew she had done something to me when she
> touched my arm. I needed
> to tell someone quickly what had happened as I
> assumed in a few seconds I
> would be unconscious and what I assume would be her
> accomplice would be
> waiting for me to be completely helpless and do the
> unthinkable to me. I
> managed to get my phone out of pocket and just
> pressed last number re-dial.
> At the same time I stopped a lady and realised
> I sounded stupid at
> what I was saying but she could also hear me on the
> phone so she realised I
> was genuine. I started to lose the power of speech.
> She stayed with me and
> we got to Bootle Street police station.
>
> My arm was hurting but whatever I was injected
> with couldn't have
> penetrated completely so I got the feeling back
> about 10 minutes later. The
> fact it had a coat, suit jacket and blouse to get
> through must've saved me.
> I had the smallest scratch mark on my arm, there is
> an identical one on my
> coat and suit jacket.
>
> It will probably be impossible to tell what I
> was injected with, and
> although I still await the results of blood tests
> they are only checking for
> diseases I may have been given. The police are
> confident it will be caught
> on CCTV and I await father information in that
> regard.
>
> The reason for sending this e-mail is to
> please ask you to warn
> EVERYONE you know, not just women but men too and
> ask them to tell
> girlfriends, wives, sisters & mothers. The message
> needs to get through to
> be extra vigilant. I was one of the lucky ones
> (blood results pending) and
> if I can make people aware of these people then I'd
> like to think it can
> make a difference.
>
> Thank you.
>
>
> Leo.
 
Yes, I got this last week.
I submitted it to Snopes.
The version I received had a link to the story reported on the bbc news website.
 
Here's the BBC report: -

Victim 'injected' in arm by woman

A woman was treated in hospital after apparently being injected in the arm by a woman who asked her for money in a Manchester shopping area.


The 32-year-old victim was walking on King Street at about 1800 GMT on Friday when she was approached by a woman.

She gave her some change but the offender then grabbed her arm and scratched it with an unknown implement.

The woman immediately felt unwell and was taken to Fairfield Hospital for treatment, but was later discharged.

Police are urging people to be on their guard when approached by strangers wanting money.

Anyone with information is urged to contact police or Crimestoppers.

Story from BBC NEWS:

Published: 2007/02/06 13:18:40 GMT

© BBC MMVII

It seems odd that the BBC would report a 'FOAF'-type tale on both its website and on Teletext - I'd be far more inclined to believe that someone is making mischief capitalising on the original news story :?
 
A variation? ....or does it deserve a new thread?

West London as reported in Friday's Standard.

Kids are throwing acid into the faces of complete strangers. Happened to a man getting of at Fulham.

You heard it here first!

Initially I though "Oh don't give 'em ideas"...but then I thought it's highly unlikely they'd be reading the Standard.

mooks
 
Where would they get acid from? I know we had some weak acid in the physics classroom as kids, but with all the health and safety scares in the UK I can´t imagine you have it there.
 
Didn't keep the article to hand but as I recall one victim said that a nearby restaurant provided him with running water or he would have gone blind.

So I would guess it's not that strong acid...if it is indeed acid that they're throwing! If indeed they're throwing liquids...

Back to needles!

mooks
 
I've heard that years ago criminal syndicates used to throw ammonia into peoples' faces as a final warning that genuine acid would soon follow if extortion payments weren't quickly made.
 
It's usually Battery Acid ... and judging from the number of old car batteries dumped on Wandsworth and Fulham streets, there no shortage of supply for these thugs.

And Moooksta, you might have read in your local rag about the two police officers who got acid thrown in their faces by a young thug in Tooting late last year. :(
 
TheBoggart said:
And Moooksta, you might have read in your local rag about the two police officers who got acid thrown in their faces by a young thug in Tooting late last year. :(

Hadn't actually. But read all about the "Tooting Boys" in tonight's press. (shudders)

Back on topic......
 
Needle Panic in China

Unrest is continuing in China's Xinjiang province as riots and panic spread in relation to supposed attacks with hypodermic syringes.

A series of unexplained stabbings using hypodermic syringes appears to be a trigger for the protests.
Chinese media said that nearly 500 people, almost all Han, have sought treatment for stabbings in the past few weeks. Reports said 89 people had "clear syringe marks" but that no-one had been infected or poisoned.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8237259.stm

Seems there is more going on there than meets the eye - particularly as it (allegedly) relates to China's little known Muslim community which may provide the usual convenient 'free-bash pass' so beloved of governments of all stripes and hues and useful as a cloak to conduct God-knows-what nefarious activity without any inconvenient questions.

Actually, for those interested in such things, the Muslim community in China is quite a fascinating study and very different from many other formulations. It is one of the oldest communities (early 7th century) and is notable for having female Imams.

They also have an ancient martial art which greatly influenced later kung-fu and is characterised by the 'flying style' sometimes seen in martial arts movies.
 
The fact that these incidents allegedly involve hypodermic 'stabbings' is very interesting, and highly suggestive of there being something 'more' to the story.

I can't (yet) think of a plausible scenario in which widespread non-lethal attacks would recommend hypodermic needles as the implement of choice.
 
Nine held over Xinjiang syringes
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8249848.stm

Nine suspects have been arrested for the recent syringe attacks in Xinjiang, China's official news agency, Xinhua, and the China Daily have reported.

The attacks have panicked communities already tense due to conflict between the Han and Uighur ethnic communities.

Last week, tens of thousands of people rallied in the Xinjiang capital, Urumqi demanding action to end the attacks.

The Chinese government has been struggling to restore calm to Xinjiang since major riots in July.

The beating of Hong Kong journalists covering recent events in Xinjiang has also sparked conflict with the former British colony, now a special autonomous zone in China.

Officials in Hong Kong have said they cannot do much to protect Hong Kong people in China, but politicians and press freedom watchdogs plan a Sunday march to defend against Chinese state controls.

Mystery

The latest arrests follow reports earlier in the week that the authorities had identified 45 suspects behind the attacks - it is unclear how many of these are actually in detention or face formal charges.

The source and scale of the recent attacks by hypodermic needle also remain unclear - so far none of the reported victims of the attacks have suffered poisoning or other effects.

The syringe attacks have provoked more panic than actual injuries, according to reports from hospitals where people have appeared claiming attacks but carrying no sign of injury.


Police moved to contain the protesters in Urumqi on Thursday
Police are offering a 5,000 yuan ($735) reward for information about the attacks, Hotan police said. The nine suspects were caught in the Hotan, Altay and Kashgar districts.

Of nine reported attacks in Hotan, three were actually pricked, while in Altay, four of five reported attacks were false alarms and in Kashgar, three of five were false alarms, the China Daily said, citing local officials.

The attacks, which have targeted innocent people, are believed to have been orchestrated in a bid to scare residents and create further unrest, said Du Xintao, an official with the regional public security department.

"The attacks are terror attacks," Mr Du said, in remarks quoted by the China Daily.

Ethnic tension

By last Friday, Urumqi health and police authorities had confirmed 531 people had been stabbed by hypodermic syringes in the city, 171 of the victims showed obvious signs of the attacks, the paper said.

The majority of the victims were from the Han ethnic group. Others were from ethnic groups including Uygur, Hui and Kazak.

The tension between Xinjiang's Uighur and Han communities has been simmering for many years, but the ethnic unrest in July was the worst in China for decades.

The violence began on 5 July when an initially peaceful protest by Uighur youths, apparently prompted by an earlier riot in a factory in southern China, spiralled out of control - with shops and vehicles burned and passers-by attacked.

About 80 people have been charged over the violence but no date has been set for their trial.
 
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