Posted on 08/16/2005 3:28:45 PM PDT by I still care
RICHMOND, Va. - 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 as 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.
An estimated 5,500 people turned out at the Richmond International Raceway in hopes of getting their hands on one of the 4-year-old Apple iBooks. The Henrico County school system was selling 1,000 of the computers to county residents. New iBooks cost between $999 and $1,299.
Officials opened the gates at 7 a.m., but some already had been waiting since 1:30 a.m. When the gates opened, it became a terrifying mob scene.
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.
Seventeen people suffered minor injuries, with four requiring hospital treatment, Henrico County Battalion Chief Steve Wood said. There were no arrests and the iBooks sold out by 1 p.m.
"It's rather strange that we would have such a tremendous response for the purchase of a laptop computer and laptop computers that probably have less-than- desirable attributes," said Paul Proto, director of general services for Henrico County. "But I think that people tend to get caught up in the excitement of the event it almost has an entertainment value." (excerpt)
(Excerpt) Read more at msnbc.msn.com ...
You don't even have to do that. Check out eBay in the next few days.
"For sale: 500 MHz Apple G3 iBook, four years old. Retrieved in the middle of the Great Richmond Apple Riot! A real collector's item! You can still see the imprint of the little old lady's face from where I ripped it out of her hands and went upside her head with it!"
}:-)4
I wonder how many people are thinking of suing because they didn't receive the computer to which they were entitled.
i remember reading that punk parents at clinton's white house egg rolling would run and step on young kids to get to the eggs first
My wife tried to go out there and wisely turned around; my boss was out there shortly after 5:00 am and swears there were already thousands of people there. The estimate being thrown around now is 5,500, but some official sources say that 11,000 to 12,000 might be closer.
The herd goes ballistic. If the 'tards who held the sale would've offered *sealed bids* for those laptps they wouldn't have had this insanity. So much for common sense among rubes.
They weren't free, the government didn't provide them. We all did. The government doesn't make or provide anything. It only takes from one place and deposits in another. The school officials have a responsibility to their children to manage their assets responsibly. This includes getting top dollar for any that they sell. If more people thought this way instead of not worrying about it because the government will provide what they need maybe we wouldn't have to pay so many taxes.
Computer sale or WWF tryout? You decide.
Can't get the video to work. Got a link to the file itself anyone? I wanna see the newbies run...
Selling 4 year old laptops. No wonder school taxes are so high. They could have given them to our school since our district can't afford those we were promised two years ago.
.............
More proof of government inefficiency when the lack of intelligence occupy the majority of administration positions.
Sorry - I know I shouldn't laugh - but that's funny right there.
I saw somebody on e-bay earlier selling t-shirts that say "I went to to Henrico County for a $50 i-Book, but all I got was kicked in the b*lls".
Now that's what I call an ambitious entrepreneurial individual!
$50 laptops? Looks more like a commodity cheese giveaway
Dang, If you where in a group of 10 and spent $500.00 for 10 of those iBook, You could have resold those for around $500 and made $5,000. Now thats what I call ambitious. But if you took all 1,000 iBooks, Thats $500,000 minus, The $5,000.00 Investment, the salaries and expenses. You could almost retire instantly.
"If the 'tards who held the sale would've offered *sealed bids* for those laptps"
Even better would have been a lottery type sale to folks who put up the 50 bucks ahead of time (losers get their check back).No one has to line up and get antsy before the sale, do it all by mail. I've seen this work well in the past on high demand concerts. Animals like this ruin everything for civilized people
iPee?
Embarrasing Virginia ping.
There are so many people at fault here, I just don't know where to start.
Idjits, from Henrico County on down...
"One woman went so far as to wet herself rather than surrender her place in line."
I've only heard of that happening in one other type of establishment, gambling casino tables. Yuck!!!
I love capitalism. No matter what happens some bright soul will figure out how to make a buck off it.
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