Vanity - White, powdery, flaky stuff found on my mail...

[Born in a Rage]

Hi everybody. Today when I got my mail, I casually put it on the dining room table. This evening, as I started going through it, I noticed a white powder material with very small white flakes inbetween 2 magazines...it 'fell' onto the table and left powder on my fingers (like baby powder). The small flakes are various small sizes (it is hardish and reminds me of paint). I called the police but got disconnected 2 times - I figured maybe that was some sort of omen that I'm overreacting and that's when I decided to post this on the FR. Can anyone help me out with this? Could this be the anthrax white powder...or would those little flakes rule that out? Or could it have flaked from being wet or something?

Any help would be appreciated. I don't want anthrax - obviously; but I also don't want to call men in biohazard suits to get this stuff if it is nothing. Thanks so much...

[cantfindagoodscreenname]

I have no idea, but I have a feeling this thread is going to get funny fast and no one will give you a straight answer.

[deport]

Maybe your postal server has dandruff.......

Seriously if you are really concerned then the only way to find out is to make the call.... Good luck

[RaceBannon]

You could call someone in the police to ask them to check it! That is, if you want the attention from the media, that is.

[What Is Ain't]

Back during the big anthrax scare I remember some people voicing a similar concern regarding magazines that came in the mail. As I recall there is some kind of white powder used in processing and it's nothing to worry about.

[DWSUWF]

What did the powder smell like?

[Born in a Rage]

Thanks guys for the advice and the smile :-)

[Born in a Rage]

...if you want the attention from the media, that is.
Ugh! No way, they'd turn me into a 'right-wing whacko' type with 60 seconds of spin.

[What Is Ain't]

Magazines and Powdery Substances

Many magazines contain faint traces of a cornstarch-based powder and/or paper dust. The powder is used to aid in the drying process, to reduce static electricity and to prevent magazines and their pages from sticking together.

Found Here

[bluesagewoman]

I worked in a printing shop years ago. Magazines are printed on an offset printer. A "poof" of a starchy powder is sprayed out the back of the machine between each page to assist in drying and prevent running onto the pages that touch. The powder is harmless, and it is not unusual for the powder to not shake completely loose and free during handling.

[Born in a Rage]

As I recall there is some kind of white powder used in processing and it's nothing to worry about.
Now that's good news. Maybe I can google it and find out some more info. Thanks!

[alcuin]

The small flakes are various small sizes . .

Just stay calm.

How small is the smallest flake? Is it VERY small?

Just stay calm.

[Born in a Rage]

What did the powder smell like?
It was odorless as far as I could tell.

[stboz]

...white powder used in processing...

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, I worked in a print shop. We used talcum powder to prevent successive printed sheets from sticking to each other while the ink was drying. It was sprayed on in small quantities, but sometimes the sprays would get a little rambunctious.....big white cloud in the shop.

[Born in a Rage]

Thanks for the link!

[DCBurgess58]

NOT FUNNY AT ALL

The poster of this thread has a 99.99999999% chance that there is nothing dangerous associated with the white substance on his mail.

I wonder however how DWSUWF would feel however to know that his suggestion to sniff the substance resulted in a death.

DWSUWF appears to be a total a$$hole for making such cavalier remarks.

[Random Access]

It was odorless as far as I could tell.

Great news! If you already took a nose full, it does not make any difference. Go out tomorrow and buy a Mercedes on time, run up the credit cards, forget the diet and eat anything you want, french fries are your friend.

[piasa]

Anthrax isn't white- it's beige or yellowish, so they say. And if it were the bad stuff it sure wouldn't be flaky.

Whoever was pulling the anthrax thing appears to have run short; or something else happened to him/her.

[cantfindagoodscreenname]

Maybe the way to keep a thread from getting silly is to announce that it will. I'll try that next time I ask a serious question that I know Freepers will want to give me a hard time about.

I'm glad you got some answers, btw.

[WhiteKnuckles]

cough ... snicker snicker ... cough

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Now THAT was funny!