SMALL POX AND HALLOWEEN CANDY- A short primer on viral disease transmission

Dr. Brian Kopp (proud2bRC)

[68-69TonkinGulfYachtClub]

"From here on out, I'm going to hold these tali-whackers personally responsible for anything that goes wrong in my life."

Hey, my coffee is cold!
Get a rope!

[68-69TonkinGulfYachtClub]

"I wondered if anyone would ever have a typo in their screen name, I never noticed yours"

It took almost 3 weeks before I realized it! LOL

[Lion's Cub]

Revenge for the "one million Iraqi children" bin Laden keeps blabbing on about?

Yeah, I've thought about that, too.

OTOH, it could just be a financial attack against the candy manufacturers. I'm sure this is one of their big seasons, and these guys would love to put another sector of the economy in the brink. The fact that they bought so much makes me think they wanted to be noticed...

[AD from SpringBay]

I'm with you on this one. And so what if the kids miss out on one year of begging for candy? If I'm wrong I'm wrong, but at least my kids won't catch smallpox on Halloween because I was careless.

[mindwest]

Just news ... Large candy purchases investigated by FBI Saturday, October 20, 2001 By MITCHEL MADDUX and PETER POCHNA Staff Writers The FBI said Friday that it is investigating the cash purchase of "large quantities" of candy from Costco stores in Hackensack and Wayne. "We have been advised and we are looking into the incident of a gentleman buying large quantities of candy," said Sandra Carroll, an FBI spokeswoman in Newark. Carroll declined to identify the purchaser, but indicated that he is in federal custody for immigration law reasons not related to the purchase of the candy. "I cannot comment on INS detainees," Carroll said. Carroll said it would be premature to draw conclusions about the purchaser's intent for the candy, which agents had not found by Friday night. She declined to describe the candy. "We have no evidence or information for us to suspect there is any reason to cancel scheduled events," Carroll said when asked if the FBI had concerns about the safety of Halloween. "However, the public is encouraged to remain alert but calm." Hackensack police took a report from Costco about the candy purchase at the Hackensack store at 11:40 a.m. Wednesday. The police then contacted the FBI. "They told us to stay out of it," said Hackensack Police Chief Charles "Ken" Zisa. Zisa said the FBI had already learned about the purchase. A local Costco manager had reported the incident to corporate headquarters, near Seattle, and had sent a videotape from a store security camera, Zisa said. An official at Costco's corporate headquarters said Friday night that no one was available to comment on the matter. Another Costco official, who declined to be identified, said such large purchases from the chain of wholesale grocery and household goods stores are not uncommon. Kerry Gill, a spokesman for the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service in Newark, said he could not discuss the case because of confidentiality policies.

[Geezerette]

Would you be so kind as to add me to your growing list of pings? I agree with the poster (I forget which one) who said you "hang out with" a group of cool FReepers (not an exact quote, but close!)

Thanks ever so!

g

[Victoria Delsoul]

Thanks for the info. I hope sales don't go down during Halloween, Thanksgiving or Christmas because of this "scare."

[ihatemyalarmclock]

The concern is that infected candy will be surreptitiously placed back on store shelves like poisoned Tylenol was back in the 80s.

Personally, I think this particular scare is a bit overblown, but I'm forced to admit that they never caught the Tylenol poisoner.

[Eaker]

Please add me to your bump list, and thanks for your input.

Eaker

[Sabertooth]

"Personally, I think this particular scare is a bit overblown, but I'm forced to admit that they never caught the Tylenol poisoner."

Keep in mind, the FBI has taken some of the large candy purchasers into custody...

I don't think it's because they're a threat to diabetics.

[68-69TonkinGulfYachtClub]

"Please add me to your bump list"

You have been added!

[68-69TonkinGulfYachtClub]

"Would you be so kind as to add me to your growing list of pings?"

You have been added!

[Don Joe]

"I for one will not inspect my kids candy for anything. Eat up kid -- don't worry about the urban legends."

Are you aware that the urban legend website has investigated this case and determined it to be true?

It's your business what you do to your kids, but common sense would suggest that there's wisdom in knowing what's an urban legend and what's not an urban legend when one goes about the business of rejecting urban legends.

But then again, my late mother used to muse that "there's nothing common about common sense."

[Paul C. Jesup]

They stopped vaccinating for smallpox in 1982, not 1972.

I know this because I was one of the last children to be vaccinated for smallpox in 1982.

Of course if this is weapons grade smallpox, it does not matter if you have been vaccinated for smallpox or not, because it will probably kill you either way.

[StoneColdGOP]

Those little chocholate liquers make great Halloween candies for the kids...

[Don Joe]

"He's something to scare the sh!t out of you! Whats going to stop a terrorist with smallpox from spraying cans of juice or tomato paste while shopping? Or touching fresh fruit or vegetables! Scare you from eating yet? Get a life!"

I wasn't aware that middle easterners were purchasing large quantities of juice, tomatoe paste, and fresh vegetables, and then returning them to the stores where they've been restocked.

Cite, please.

If you haven't seen these yet, please take a look:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/fr/552988/posts

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/fr/552863/posts

http://www.snopes2.com/rumors/candy.htm

Status: TRUE

Note that in one case, a large amount was *returned*, and put back on the shelf after being "checked". Did they check *every* piece of it? Impossible, IMO.

[rwfromkansas]

Just what would they do w/the candy though? They can't give it out to half the nation's youth?

[Jack Barbara]

Is the antrax attack over yet? Can I take the plastic bag off my head yet? I'm turning blue.

[Don Joe]

"Nothing like fomenting a little hysteria... Checking over the kid's candy and discarding certain items is something a responsible parent should always do. Worrying about terrorists infecting your kid's candy? I don't think so. Of course, a lot of people play the lotteries so I'm sure many will buy into the poisoned candy hysteria."

Nothing like fomenting a little hysteria?

Sure there is. It's called "casting caution to the wind."

Remember the rentacops who told the people in the second tower to go back to their offices, because only the first tower was hit? Remember how thousands of people are dead because the rentacops didn't want to "foment hysteria"?

When middle eastern men are buying mass quantities of candy -- and then returning it for restocking a few days later -- that's just business as usual, right? Certainly no more "suspicious" than carring a box cutter onto an airplane.

By the way, tres drole advice vis-a-vis "Checking over the kid's candy and discarding certain items is something a responsible parent should always do."

Just out of curiosity, can you advise these "responsible parents" on how to determine if there's a microgram or two of smallpox on the candy wrapper?

If you haven't seen these yet, please take a look:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/fr/552988/posts

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/fr/552863/posts

http://www.snopes2.com/rumors/candy.htm

Status: TRUE

Note that in one case, a large amount was *returned*, and put back on the shelf after being "checked". Did they check *every* piece of it? Impossible, IMO.

[rwfromkansas]

THEN AGAIN, IF they have smallpox, it might not take infecting many people to do the job of killing millions sooner or later, as evidenced by Project Darkness or whatevever it was called.