FROM: laocoon@doomgloom.edu
TO: Trojan Army Listserv
RE: WARNING!! BEWARE GREEKS BEARING GIFTS!
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! YOU WILL LOSE EVERYTHING!
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
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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
