IJMC - Trojan Horse Warning!

Some mornings, you have to wake up far too early. I almost wonder if 
airlines perhaps shouldn't be allowed to fly before ten am or so. Then 
you wouldn't have to wake up around five to catch a flight...you can 
always sleep on the plane, yes, but that's not the same. Today I think 
will just be a day of sleeping half the day away. Zzzzzz.        -dave






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Hey Hector, 

 This was forwarded to me by Cassandra--it looks legit. Please distribute
 to Priam, Hecuba, and your 99 siblings. 

Thanks, 

Laocoon 

WARNING! WARNING! WARNING! 

IF YOU RECEIVE A GIFT IN THE SHAPE OF A LARGE WOODEN HORSE DO NOT DOWNLOAD
IT!! !! It is EXTREMELY DESTRUCTIVE and will overwrite your ENTIRE CITY! 


The "gift" is disguised as a large wooden horse about two stories tall. It
tends to show up outside the city gates and appears to be abandoned. DO
NOT let it through the gates! It contains hardware that is incompatible
with Trojan programming, including a crowd of heavily armed Greek warriors
that will destroy your army, sack your town, and kill your women and
children. If you have already received such a gift, DO NOT OPEN IT! Take
it back out of the city unopened and set fire to it by the beach. 


FORWARD THIS MESSAGE TO EVERYONE YOU KNOW! 

Poseidon 

 =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= 

FROM: hector@studmuffin.com 
TO: laocoon@doomgloom.edu 
RE: Greeks bearing gifts 

Laocoon, 

I hate to break to you, but this is one of the oldest hoaxes there is.
I've seen variants on this warning come through on other listservs, one
involving some kind of fruit that was supposed to kill the people who ate
it and one having to do with something called the "Midas Touch." Here are
a few tipoffs that this is a hoax: 


1) This "Forward this message to everyone you know" crap. If it were
really meant as a warning about the Greek army, why tell anyone to post it
to the Phonecians, Sumerians, and Cretans? 

2) Use of exclamation points. Always a giveaway. 

3) It's signed "from Poseidon." Granted he's had his problems with
Odysseus but he's one of their guys, isn't he? Besides, the lack of a real
header with a detailed address makes me suspicious. 

4) Technically speaking, there is no way for a horse to overwrite your
entire city. A horse is just an animal, after all. 


Next time you get a message like this, just delete it. I appreciate your
concern, but once you've been around the block a couple times you'll
realize how annoying this kind of stuff is. 


Bye now, 

Hector