- Dust turns sky over Sydney red – Yet another sign of the apocalypse!
- Men duped in money-doubling scam – “Police said the businesses gave about $160,000 in cash to two men in the belief their money would double when soaked in chemicals.” From Sarah.
- Cave divers risk their lives to explore the underworld – “For the past 14 years, photographer and filmmaker Jill Heinerth has been exploring underwater caves around the world, from lava tubes off the coast of North Africa to icebergs in the Antarctic.” Really cool photos. From Ryan.
- The bad science behind having a baby – Dean Cameron’s wife recently had a baby and he’s written about the myths and lies surrounding childbirth that he and his wife had to deal with.
- New light on the plight of winter babies – From Infinite Monkey.
Whenever I hear Dean Cameron, I think Dean Cain.
Demonstrated the process by producing a second hundred dollar bill. The chemicals magically changed the serial number on the second bill.
It is tempting to think that there should be a certain level of fraud which, by virtue of requiring bone shocking stupidity to be duped by, ought to be legal, if only to filter out those people who ought not to be in control of assets. I realize this is not the c ase, but I hates me the stupid some days.
Also, despite her interesting findings, I find it difficult to take seriously someone named “Ms. Buckles.”
@SKrap: I had a hard time not snickering at “Mr. Hungerman”
“Police arrested and charged two men, aged 23 and 25, after being alerted by the business owners who had become suspicious and opened the package to find no money.”
Really? At that point, not when they told you to wrap large bundles of cash in tinfoil and leave it in anonymous drops?
Those pictures of Eastern Australia are truly disturbing.
“Police said the businesses gave about $160,000 in cash to two men in the belief their money would double when soaked in chemicals.â€
Where do people that stupid get $160,000?
See? This is why I’m not rich. That money “cloning” scam is SO stupid, I would never had tried it.
Cohort: “Dude, maybe we could get people to give us money if we convince them we can clone it with chemicals.”
Me: “Nah! Nobody but nobody would be THAT gullible.”
Is that how money laundering works?
While reading the winter baby article, I couldn’t help thinking: winter baby -> spring conception -> senior prom.
This just goes to show that even if you have 100 grand, you can still be unbelievably stupid. How the hell are you smart enough to earn that kind of cash but still fall for the old money cloning scam?
OT: It doesn’t take smarts to make money. Drive, luck, the ability to con, and being at the right place at the right time are all more important than smarts when it comes to making money.
@Steve:
I read the article before it was posted here. After I read the title but before I even started reading the article, I had the exact same thought.
@magicdude20:
Inheritance.
Red sky by morning, sailors’ warning
Red sky by night, sailors’ delight.
@SKrap:
There are many. One popular example is called ‘homeopathy’.
I am a Hedge
@Catgirl
Inheritance… I’m broke and the idea that some moron inheritated that cash and lost it out of stupidity, if there was a god, I’d be pissed at him/her/it/they
@magicdude20:
This is quite off-topic, but I think a lot of people, especially in America, buy into the fallacy that wealth is a good indicator of intelligence, talent, or even hard work. In reality, there are other factors that have a bigger influence on it.
@SKrap: I’m with you on this one. After all, if someone is stupid enough to walk into oncoming traffic, the drivers who hit them don’t get charged.
I don’t know whether I am more stunned that people actually fell for this, or that they couldn’t be charged with anything.
“Hi. We just tried to counterfeit 160 thousand, and it didn’t work. Plus those guys took our money.”
@catgirl: You left out one important concept. Wealth is thought to be a good indicator of intelligence, talent, hard work,
AND…
being favored by God.
’cause you’re only rich or poor because God wants you to be that way. Poor people are sinners.
@SKrap: ”
…there should be a certain level of fraud which, by virtue of requiring bone shocking stupidity to be duped by, ought to be legal…”
The state lottery is legal.
@ryk:
“Hi. We just tried to counterfeit 160 thousand, and it didn’t work. Plus those guys took our money.â€
On the other hand, it’s not illedgal to “invest” in a company and get twice the money you invested back.
Still, it was a cash transfer, there is no paper trail since they didn’t have any legally binding documents like a contract. Essentially the only thing the guys are guilty of is taking large sums of money in exchange for a stack of paper wrapped in tinfoil. Just not what the victims were expecting to buy.
Winter Babies – baloney. Oldest of nine. Born Christmas Day. Poor family at the time but with parents who recognized the value of a good education. My 4 brothers are all winter babies. My 4 sisters are summer babies. Despite my handicap of being a winter baby, I have a Masters in Engineering and am paid a s–tload of money every year. My siblings are equally well educated and hold good-paying jobs as teachers, cops, and engineers. We all worked our way through good schools and thank our parents everyday for instilling a good work ethic into each of us.
It disturbs me to no end when I see ever more excuses provided for people who fail to live up to their potential. Winter baby? You poor dear. Born on a Saturday? How can we possibly expect you to succeed? This article is so wrong on so many levels that it’s apparent that the scientific method wasn’t considered and that the data was cherry-picked. The authors should be ashamed of themselves for producing such a shallow examination of a small slice of life.