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E-mail Emergencies?
Kurt Vonnegut@MIT
"Ladies and gentlemen of the class of '97… Wear sunscreen." Thus began Kurt Vonnegut's commencement speech to the MIT class of 1997. Or did it? Starting in June of that year, a transcript of the supposed graduation speech tore through the Internet via email. Vonnegut, however, was not the author; Mary Schmich of the Chicago Tribune was. Written as a piece of advice to her readers, Schmich's column has circulated the Internet for almost three years, fooling everyone—including Vonnegut's wife. The popularity of this hoax even led to a song performed by Baz Luhrmann, who attempted to contact Vonnegut for the rights to the speech.
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Click here to read about other famous hoaxes
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Microsoft Sends You to Disney!
Your friends Bill Gates and Walt Disney, Jr. are beta testing a new email-tracking program which tracks and logs all the recipients of its mail. If it reaches 13,000 people, you could receive $5,000 cash or a free trip to Disney World. So forward it to as many people as you know — unless you consider the benefits of the beta test (a total $6.5 million in cash, plus the expense of the trips), the mere existence of one Walt Disney, Jr., or the improbability of such a program. Despite being proven false several years ago, this hoax remains one of the most widely distributed on the Internet.
Dysson — A Cooperative Foundation
Denny Reikert, a member of the Dysson corporation, has a problem with his email program. He accidentally sent you a confidential email. Thus begins a series of confusing, annoying, and downright eerie emails popping up in your mailbox. Two of these emails tell of the suspicious suicide of Reikert and invite you to take his place within the organization. When it first appeared, this extremely elaborate hoax involved emailing about 40 innocent souls. Monty Python player Eric Idle was one of those behind the scenes. Read more about his version of the scam in Idle's A Mystery.
Cookies from Neiman Marcus
A kind, even-mannered mother and her daughter are having lunch at Neiman Marcus. After their salads, they decide to try the chocolate chip cookies. Blown away by the cookies' taste, one purchases the recipe for $2.50, puts it on her tab, and goes home happy. One month later, she receives her credit card bill for $285. How can this be? As it turns out, the recipe cost $250 not $2.50. Unsuccessful in requesting a refund, she decides to fight the system by sending the recipe to everyone she can, via email. As part of the fallout from this hoax, Neiman Marcus has since added chocolate chip cookies to their menu, an item that was previously absent.
Get Well, and Well, and Well...
Does anyone remember the young dying boy, Craig Shergold, whose last living wish was to make it into the book of world records by receiving the most get well cards ever? Well, this poor lad has grown up to be a healthy 20 year-old, who to this day still receives cards—both get well and business. The idea wasn't even Shergold's; the good-hearted nurses at his hospital started it. So please, for the sake of the not-so poor, sick Craig and his local post office, stop sending those cards.
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