crg@vax135.UUCP (Catherine Grimes) (07/10/86)
Subject: a warning to parents: ACID TATTOOS Newsgroups: net.kids net.general att.general btl.general The notice below was posted at the daycare center where my son is enrolled. I had not heard of this before and thought that others might be interested in it as well. Catherine Grimes "The notice below was received from the Hazlet Township Schools." "The message that appears below is being shared with you for your information. Although I am not aware that the material described is being circulated in the Hazlet area, I nevertheless do believe you should be alerted to its existence. Sincerely, Dr. Joseph A. Dispenziere Superintendent of Schools" "A Warning to Parents" "According to San Diego police authorities, a form of tattoo-- BLUE STAR -- is readily available to young children. This is a new way of getting ACID to unsuspecting kids. It is in the form of a small sheet of white paper containing blue stars in the size of a pencil eraser, with each STAR impregnated with LSD, and can be removed from the paper and placed in the mouth. Absorption can also occur through the skin by simply handling the paper tattoo! There are also brightly colored tabs, resembling postage stamps, which have pictures of Superman, Mickey Mouse, and other Disney characters, and are placed in red cardboard boxes wrapped in foil in a clear, lock-type bag. A young child could happen upon these and have a fatal TRIP. It is also feared that little children could be given a free TATTOO by older children who want to have some fun. It is important that all parents be alerted in case their child is involved, even innocently! As you know, stickers are very popular now, especially among small children. BE CAREFUL!" ----- News saved at Wed, 9-Jul-86 17:31:42 EDT Several days ago, I posted an article on acid tattoos which had been posted at the daycare center where my son is enrolled. Since, then several people have responded that a similar story had been published in a book by Brunvald(spelling). I did attempt to find the source of the notice. I contacted the school system which had distributed the notice to the daycare center--they had received it from another school system. I also contacted the San Diego Police Department. The woman that I spoke with did not have any information. It seems that yes, it is probably a FOAF(friend of a friend) story, but since nobody is absolutely certain that it is not factual, I am not going to take any chances. I'll be keeping my eyes open for anything that resembles these tattoos. Thanks to all who responded, I certainly hope that those of you who were aware of the book by Brunvald(sp), will still exhibit caution concerning anything that resembles the described tattoos. Catherine Grimes Subject: Re: Acid Tattoos Newsgroups: net.kids,net.general,att-general,btl.general Several days ago, I posted an article on acid tattoos which had been posted at the daycare center where my son is enrolled. Since, then several people have responded that a similar story had been published in a book by Brunvald(spelling). I did attempt to find the source of the notice. I contacted the school system which had distributed the notice to the daycare center--they had received it from another school system. I also contacted the San Diego Police Department. The woman that I spoke with did not have any information. It seems that yes, it is probably a FOAF(friend of a friend) story, but since nobody is absolutely certain that it is not factual, I am not going to take any chances. I'll be keeping my eyes open for anything that resembles these tattoos. Thanks to all who responded, I certainly hope that those of you who were aware of the book by Brunvald(sp), will still exhibit caution concerning anything that resembles the described tattoos. Catherine Grimes
colonel@sunybcs.UUCP (Col. G. L. Sicherman) (07/10/86)
[Sent to Ms. Grimes on July 10.] Dear Ms. Grimes, I have children too, so I understand your concern. But since information about nonexistent dangers is dangerous, let me explain how I (and others on the Net) recognized the "Blue Star" article as a hoax. > The notice below was received from the Hazlet Township Schools. > > The message that appears below is being shared with you for your > information. Although I am not aware that the material described is > being circulated in the Hazlet area, I nevertheless do believe you > should be alerted to its existence. > Sincerely, > Dr. Joseph A. Dispenziere > Superintendent of Schools In most cities superintendents of schools are chosen from political clubs. Buffalo's superintendents have been boneheads for as long as I can remember, and I expect that superintendents in other cities are no better. Dr. Dispenziere says that he believes that the drugs in question exist, though he has no evidence for it. Thus he did _not_ check with the police. > A Warning to Parents > > According to San Diego police authorities, a form of tattoo-- > BLUE STAR -- is readily available to young children. This is a > new way of getting ACID to unsuspecting kids. It is in the form of > a small sheet of white paper containing blue stars in the size of a > pencil eraser, with each STAR impregnated with LSD, and can be > removed from the paper and placed in the mouth. Absorption can also > occur through the skin by simply handling the paper tattoo! Hoaxers love circumstancial detail, and this paragraph contains plenty of it. Typically, it also contains some glaring absurdities. (1) If the tattoo contains LSD, why are people distributing it to young children? Young children have little money, are likely to inform parents or teachers, and are more likely to be scared than exhilarated by LSD. (2) Why would an "unsuspecting" kid peel off a tattoo and place it in his _mouth?_ (3) The raw materials for LSD are tightly controlled. For some years now, LSD has been notoriously hard to obtain. No dealer who had any would distribute it to young children, especially since LSD is not addicting. The only way to explain these manifest absurdities is to conclude that they were invented to alarm the reader. > There are also brightly colored tabs, resembling postage stamps, which > have pictures of Superman, Mickey Mouse, and other Disney characters, > and are placed in red cardboard boxes wrapped in foil in a clear, > lock-type bag. A young child could happen upon these and have a fatal > TRIP. It is also feared that little children could be given a free > TATTOO by older children who want to have some fun. It is important > that all parents be alerted in case their child is involved, even > innocently! Also typically, there is a grain of truth here. In the '60s, LSD was distributed on paper tabs, and some was marketed with cartoon characters as a kind of trademark. Indeed, some young children may well have discovered such tabs and "tripped out" ... 20 years ago. But this paragraph can be recognized as unauthoritative from its language. "It is also feared ..."; "It is important that ..." There is no hint of who fears or who finds it important. Police statements do not sound like this! > As you know, stickers are very popular now, especially > among small children. BE CAREFUL! The clincher! What should you do if your child has drug-impregnated transfers or stickers? If this article were genuine, it would tell you to notify the authorities, giving the name and number of a govern- ment agency. This article leaves you in the dark about what to do. Of course--its only purpose is to upset people! Finally, there is NO SIGNATURE. The superintendent of schools got the article secondhand. * * * Now, what should parents do? 1. If you still think the article is honest, call the police and find out instead of debating it on the Net. 2. Learn to recognize hoaxes. If you have ever received chain letters, you may have observed in them the characteristic traits of a hoax: much circumstancial detail, vagueness about sources and motives, and statements calculated to provoke strong emotional reactions. 3. If you must post rumors to the Net before checking them, post them to net.rumor. 4. Get some reliable information about how drugs are distributed in schools. Real drug dealers don't use elaborate subterfuges and disguises for their products--they don't need to. (But some of them issue phony articles to divert attention from the way they really do business!) -- Col. G. L. Sicherman UU: ...{rocksvax|decvax}!sunybcs!colonel CS: colonel@buffalo-cs BI: csdsicher@sunyabva
minkus@usc-oberon.UUCP (07/15/86)
Several months ago I happened to catch at TV show (I don't remember which one) but they showed samples of the tattoos so they are real.
jeffw@midas.UUCP (07/18/86)
Humor Scavengers, Inc. goes to work again, this time on a bit of urban folklore - In article <536@usc-oberon.UUCP> minkus@usc-oberon.UUCP (Minkus) writes: >Several months ago I happened to catch at TV show (I don't remember >which one) but they showed samples of the tattoos so they are real. I suppose they believe everything thOy read in the newspaper, too. Jeff Winslow "See you on the Dating Game"
pete@valid.UUCP (07/18/86)
> Several months ago I happened to catch at TV show (I don't remember > which one) but they showed samples of the tattoos so they are real. Today's San Jose Mercury News (18 July 1986) has a picture of a UFO, so they must be real too. -- -Pete Zakel (..!{hplabs,amd,pyramid,ihnp4}!pesnta!valid!pete)
cej@ll1.UUCP (07/19/86)
> Several months ago I happened to catch at TV show (I don't remember > which one) but they showed samples of the tattoos so they are real. This story makes me wonder a bit. As I recall LSD can be produced in liquid form, and is on small pieces of blotter paper, which are apparently purchased in sheets. They have small cartoon like pictures on each "hit" as a "target" for the LSD. The samples that I saw on T.V. could fit the above description. Could some children have actually been caught with drugs, and come up with a story that their parents bought, even to the point of still believing that their children didn't know about the acid after it's discovery? And when the press got a hold of it, they bought it? This seems more reasonable the news story version. Or can somebody who has seen both this "commercial" form of LSD and these tattoos say that they aren't the same? Who are these strangers that come in the door, cover your action, and go you one more? ...ihnp4!ltuxa!ll1!cej Llewellyn Jones
rynes@cwruecmp.UUCP (Edward M. Rynes Esq.) (07/21/86)
The story I read in the paper about six months ago was that a young couple was selling LSD by putting it on the back of stamps. (Snoopy stamps as I recall) Their young daughter found them one day and since the class project for the day was sending out Christmas cards she took them to school with her. When the whole class started acting strange the school sent them all to the hospital where they were watched until they came down. The parents of the young girl were promptly arested. This sounds much more likely than someone actively distributing LSD to small children. If tattoos were involved it was probably a simmilar "mistake". -- ______________________________________________________________________________ Edward Rynes Facilities Manager | "The next time, I dedicate Dept. of Computer Eng. and Science | My life's work to the friends I make. Case Western Reserve University | I give them what they want to hear. Cleveland, Ohio 44106 | They think I'm up to something weird. ...!decvax!cwruecmp!rynes | And up rears the head of fear in me." rynes@case.csnet (216) 368-6471 | Kate Bush ______________________________________________________________________________