People threw themselves forward, screaming and pushing each other. A little girl's stroller was crushed in the stampede. Witnesses said an elderly man was thrown to the pavement, and someone in a car tried to drive his way through the crowd.
Posted on 08/16/2005 12:20:19 PM PDT by misterrob
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) -- A rush to purchase $50 used laptops turned into a violent stampede Tuesday, with people getting thrown to the pavement, beaten with a folding chair and nearly driven over. One woman went so far to wet herself rather than surrender her place in line.
"This is total, total chaos," said Latoya Jones, 19, who lost one of her flip-flops in the ordeal and later limped around on the sizzling blacktop with one foot bare.
More than 1,000 people turned out at the Richmond International Raceway in hopes of getting their hands on one of the 4-year-old Apple Computer Inc. iBooks, which retail for between $999 and $1,299. The Henrico County school system was selling 1,000 of the computers to county residents.
Officials opened the gates at 7 a.m., but some already had been waiting for hours in line. When the gates opened, it became a terrifying mob scene.
--SNIP
Jesse Sandler said he was one of the people pushing forward, using a folding chair he had brought with him to beat back people who tried to cut in front of him.
"I took my chair here and I threw it over my shoulder and I went, 'Bam,"' the 20-year-old said nonchalantly, his eyes glued to the screen of his new iBook, as he tapped away on the keyboard at a testing station.
"They were getting in front of me and I was there a lot earlier than them, so I thought that it was just," he said
(Excerpt) Read more at boston.com ...
You get what you pay for...........
When Mac users go bad.
"Son, did I ever tell you about the Apple Riots of 2005?"
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1464323/posts
That article may have a misprint...it says "over 1,000 people" showed up. According to the Times-Dispatch, Henrico County police estimated the crowd at TWELVE THOUSAND. For 1,000 four-year-old beat-to-hell laptops.
}:-)4
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1464535/posts
Seems like my post came a few moments after someone else's
Did a search though...
There isn't enough money to pay me to live in a large city.
People threw themselves forward, screaming and pushing each other. A little girl's stroller was crushed in the stampede. Witnesses said an elderly man was thrown to the pavement, and someone in a car tried to drive his way through the crowd.
Not only are the Mac users snobs, they are MEAN snobs. ;^)
What's the true market value of a 2001-era iBook, anyway? I'll bet it's not significantly more than $50.
"Officials opened the gates at 7 a.m., but some already had been waiting for hours in line."
.
.
....or they could have went to work, earned a few bucks and bought a real computer...
Just go to eBay and buy one there.
My thinking exactly.
Mac users would NEVER be rude like this.
What imbecile decided to sell iBooks for $50? More living proof that below-market prices create shortages, and that government prices never line up with market realities.
Next time, the school system should have a lottery. $10 per ticket, and if your number is drawn, you get the opportunity to buy a used computer. These stampedes are crazy.
Good point. According to Froogle, you can get them for about $120 (if they're G4s--G3s would be cheaper). The article suggests that people are comparing the price to the $1K for a new iBook, which was the price in 2001 and is still the price today. So this incident also provides a lesson in market inefficiency: lack of information can really throw off our ex ante estimate of the value.
Hilarious!
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