http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/200 ... dorm_x.htm
Now that I think about the university I go to (University of Oklahoma) and how public it is... it would be very easy for anyone to carry out a chemical attack in any of the buildings here since all of them are public during business hours... Kinda of a scary thought.
Ricin found in dormitory
Re:
Yep, you can pick up a roll of coins from pretty much any bank. I've never thought about it before, but you're right; getting access to money pre-distribution would be a very effective means of spreading some sort of toxin. Not exactly the most comforting thought, either. I'm just glad that our dorms have a swipe-card-based system of payment for washers/dryers as an option; I don't want to have to think of doing laundry as a potentially risky business...roid wrote:where do quarter rolls come from anyway? banks?
i'm just thinkin... a roll of quaters would be a great way to spread a biological toxin - everyone touches money.
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Samuel Dravis
- DBB Ace
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- Location: Austin, Texas
funny, i live in austin where this occurred. i was hanging with a few friends last night when the story was repeated that it IS ricin.
My first response was, \"i guarantee you it is not ricin.\"
let's get this straight...white powder found on quarters in a laundry room? holy crap...what if it is...detergent!? what a waste of time, money, and a absolutely not news...
http://news8austin.com/content/top_stor ... rID=156287
My first response was, \"i guarantee you it is not ricin.\"
let's get this straight...white powder found on quarters in a laundry room? holy crap...what if it is...detergent!? what a waste of time, money, and a absolutely not news...
http://news8austin.com/content/top_stor ... rID=156287
what are the bets that this \"not actually ricin\" story will be covered with MUCH less gusto than the original \"omg ricin!\" story, and as a result many people will never be educated that this whole story was a non issue and nothing to be frightened about - and it will therefor add to their general everyday fear.
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Samuel Dravis
- DBB Ace
- Posts: 196
- Joined: Sun Oct 24, 2004 11:00 pm
- Location: Austin, Texas
Re:
So do I, but I didn't catch it on TV because I don't have one. ^_^Palzon wrote:funny, i live in austin where this occurred.
Yeah, I guess some people just need something to get excited about. :p
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CarzyRoBoT
- DBB Cadet
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White powder=toxin. Why am I thinking \"faulty reasoning\" here?
Just because it's white and powdery doesn't mean it'll kill you. It means it's white and powdery, and nothing else. And toxins don't always come in white powder, either; some come in the form of gases, while others come as liquids.
This would be a classic case of news reporters jumping onto a story without all the facts (as in, none at all?).
Just because it's white and powdery doesn't mean it'll kill you. It means it's white and powdery, and nothing else. And toxins don't always come in white powder, either; some come in the form of gases, while others come as liquids.
This would be a classic case of news reporters jumping onto a story without all the facts (as in, none at all?).
\"You've scored!\" 
Again, all story, no real info. They found white powder, and found stuff in it like the stuff in something dangerous. Using those two facts that don't really prove anything, they assumed it was a deadly toxin before they knew for sure whether it was ricin or not.
Like I said before (under a different login that resulted from email fits
), just because it's white and powdery doesn't mean it's deadly; it means it's white and powdery. The same applies to what it's made of; just because it has ONE property of something that is dangerous doesn't mean it IS that something. Viceroy butterflies have the same color patterns and are of the same species as Monarch butterflies (which are poisonous to birds that eat them), but that doesn't make them Monarchs. In fact, if you look close enough, you can see where there are differences in Monarch patterns and Viceroy patterns.
If the media would hit the brakes and DO THEIR HOMEWORK FIRST, they could save themselves so much embarrassment over false alarms such as this.
Like I said before (under a different login that resulted from email fits
), just because it's white and powdery doesn't mean it's deadly; it means it's white and powdery. The same applies to what it's made of; just because it has ONE property of something that is dangerous doesn't mean it IS that something. Viceroy butterflies have the same color patterns and are of the same species as Monarch butterflies (which are poisonous to birds that eat them), but that doesn't make them Monarchs. In fact, if you look close enough, you can see where there are differences in Monarch patterns and Viceroy patterns.If the media would hit the brakes and DO THEIR HOMEWORK FIRST, they could save themselves so much embarrassment over false alarms such as this.