On the way to Canton, driving on Michigan Avenue, on Thursday morning, I saw an infant car seat on the side of the road with a blanket draped over it.

I did not stop even though I had all kinds of thoughts running through my head. When I got to my destination, I called the Canton PD and they were going to check it out. This is what I was told:

Gangs and thieves are plotting different ways to get a person to  stop their vehicle.

There is an initiation scenario reported by the local police department that gangs are placing a car seat by the road with a fake baby in it, waiting for a woman to stop and check on the baby. The location of the car seat is usually beside a wooded or grassy area, and when the person stops to check, they are then dragged into the woods, beaten, raped and usually left for dead.

DO NOT STOP
Dial 911 and report what you saw.

If you are driving at night and eggs are thrown at your windshield, DO NOT OPERATE THE WIPER and DO NOT SPRAY ANY WATER or WIPER FLUID because eggs mixed with water become milk and block your vision up to 92.5%. You will be forced to stop beside the road and to become a victim of thieves. This is a new technique used by gangs.

Please inform your friends and relatives. These are desperate times and these unsavory individuals will take desperate measures to get what they want.

Fan death is a South Korean urban legend which states that an electric fan, if left running overnight in a closed room, can cause the death of those inside (by suffocation, poisoning, or hypothermia). Fans manufactured and sold in Korea are equipped with a timer switch that turns them off after a set number of minutes, which users are frequently urged to set when going to sleep with a fan on.

There is nevertheless some research to indicate that the use of an electric fan can cause or contribute to hyperthermia, in rare conditions.

The following was stated in a press release from July 2005:

Beware of Summer Hazards!

The Korea Consumer Protection Board (KCPB) issued a consumer safety alert after analyzing injury data related to summer accidents collected for the past three years through its Consumer Injury Surveillance System (CISS).

The top five recurring accidents are ▲ asphyxiation from electric fans and air conditioners ▲ children’s asphyxiation inside cars ▲ explosions inside cars ▲ air conditioner explosions and ▲ sanitary accidents at home.

■ Doors should be left open when sleeping with the electric fan or air conditioner turned on

If bodies are exposed to electric fans or air conditioners for too long, it causes bodies to lose water and hypothermia. If directly in contact with a fan, this could lead to death from increase of carbon dioxide saturation concentration and decrease of oxygen concentration. The risks are higher for the elderly and patients with respiratory problems.

From 2003~2005, a total of 20 cases were reported through the CISS involving asphyxiations caused by leaving electric fans and air conditioners on while sleeping. To prevent asphyxiation, timers should be set, wind direction should be rotated and doors should be left open.

Reader Submitted,
by unknown from Las Vegas,NV

While everyone alive is aware of the Eiffel Tower, many are unaware that the tower you see today is NOT the tower originally built in 1889. The Tower was built in the years 1887 – 1889 for the Universal Exposition in Paris out of 18,000 pieces of iron. Those pieces were joined together with 2.5 million rivets, and since the structure is nothing but a big frame, it is – in an image all American boys understand – nothing more than a big Erector Set.

As part of the routine maintenance, the people who run the Tower regularly check the iron pieces that make up the structure. Even though the Tower is re-painted every seven years, the iron still rusts. After all, the Tower is exposed to the roughest of elements 365 days a year. To keep the building structurally sound, inspectors go over the Tower and look for the most deteriorated pieces of metal. Each year 300 of the worst pieces of iron are removed from the Tower – one at a time – and replaced with brand new pieces. The process of reaching the old piece, removing the rusted rivets (which usually requires grinding and drilling), and placing the new piece is quite cumbersome. As a result, the workers can usually only replace one piece a day. After replacement, the new pieces are painted to match the surrounding area.

At 300 replacements a year, the 18,000 pieces in the Tower are replaced completely every 60 years. Today, the Tower is 118 years old, so the Tower has now been "replaced" almost twice.

One more thing: the Tower was a gift to the City of Paris and the bequest specified that Paris could not sell or dispose of "any part" of the tower without permission of the corporation that paid for its original construction. If they were to do that, ownership of the Tower would revert back to the corporation. As a result, the old pieces removed from the Tower – the number is around 35,400 now – are all in a warehouse outside of Paris and their number is growing by 300 per year. Presumably, you could reassemble these "used" tower pieces into another full-size (albeit rusty) Eiffel Tower and still have plenty left over.

Reader Submitted
by Steve Lehto

Our Response

It seems parts of the above legend are true, according to the official Eiffel Tower website – the numbers stated above are all true, except we didn’t find any information about one metal piece being replaced each day. We also found no information about the "not for sale" clause mentioned in the paragraph above. The information we found on the renovation of the Eiffel Tower follows:

"In the 80s, a very ambitious program of renovation was launched. The Tower structure was given a thorough examination, strengthened in certain locations and lightened in others with the removal of 1,340 tons of material that had been added over the years. Safety standards were redefined and adapted to modern requirements, particularly where they concerned fire safety. The third level elevator was replaced, as was the old spiral staircase, which gave way to a new rectilinear staircase in keeping with the Tower design, reducing the transparency of the spire. This ongoing maintenance is intended to keep the Tower in excellent condition: meticulous care is given to the monitoring of change relying on the latest techniques available so as to prevent any possible deterioration. This rejuvenating process helps give the Tower a very long life expectancy."

On the Jersey Shore, the origin of the word "benny" is disputed. Some believe it may be derived from the word "benefit"; early day-trippers to the Jersey Shore were given free trips as an economic "benefit" to the area.

Locals in the northern part of the Jersey Shore – usually the beaches of Monmouth County – will customarily explain the origin of the word as an acronym for "Bayonne, Elizabeth, Newark, New York," which are the four main areas of which "bennies" were originally residents.

Wikipedia tells us another theory, that the term arose from a health spa fad, which began in the second half of the 19th century and continued up until World War I. This movement was popularized by Sylvester Graham, best remembered for the Graham Cracker, and Dr. John Harvey Kellogg, of cereal fame. People traveled to the shore to enjoy the "beneficial airs" of the ocean, "bene-" becoming "benny" in the process.

The term "benny" is usually infused with scorn by locals. From their viewpoint, as described on a local website bennygohome.com,

“Loosely, a benny is a person from north of the Raritan river, or mile 129 on the Parkway, especially a New Yorker, who travels to the Jersey Shore in the summer for the purposes of recreation, vacation, or fornication.

To clarify, a benny is not simply a person from Newark. We welcome visitors, whether they be from north Jersey, Canada, or the other side of the world, so long as they are respectful of the local population and the place we call home. The term benny is reserved for those who visit and then find it acceptable to spit in the face of their local hosts. They are disrespectful towards the shore itself as well as those who live here. These rude, self-centered, loud, arrogant, and obnoxious summer tourists are bennys.”

I lived in NJ most of my life, even though I was born in NY. When I went to Walter C. Black Middle School, I had a teacher who worked at the Cranbury Inn.

She told us all that it was haunted by the ghost of a man who was killed there in the 1790′s. The man was run over by a stagecoach after having a few too many drinks. Apparently, ever since then he has been haunting the place he died, especially when the owners tried to renovate.

As it was told, while my teacher was working there, the kitchen was beginning to be remodeled, and suddenly pots and pans started coming right out of the cabinets and striking people! I did hear that quite some time ago, so the preciseness of my memory may not be exact, but I assure you, that there is certainly something haunting The Cranbury Inn in Cranbury, NJ.

Reader Submitted,
Someone from Garden City NY

In England in the city of York there is a Minster built a long time ago.

During the construction of the Minster the project manager made sure that all the building went correctly and everything was being followed to the schedule. He had a dog that followed him everywhere and the dog would often bark at the builders and it got on their nerves.

One day when the dog’s owner was busy elsewhere in the Minster three of the workers coaxed the dog with some meat. The dog, very foolishly, followed the men. The men gave the dog the meat and set him up to dine next to a wall that they were about to fortify by building another wall next to it. The two walls were designed to have a gap between them and so they bricked the dog inside.

to this day, if you go down to the cellars of the York Minster at 4pm you can hear the dog barking and scratching at the wall, hoping for its long dead master to hear it and free it.

Reader Submitted,
Emma

The truck driver’s wife works in Boston on the docks where this little white dog comes around at noon and everyone feeds it a little something from their lunch. The wife went home and asked her husband if he would mind if she got a dog. She told him about the stray that everyone has been feeding. He said that he didn’t think she wanted a dog. She said it would be nice company since he was away from home a lot, so he agreed.

The next time she went to work, she saw the little stray as usual. Everyone gave him something to eat and she coaxed the dog into her car and brought him home. She washed, cleaned and bathed him, and the dog slept with her in their bed that night and the next.

The next day she came home from work and found the dog had eaten her beloved cat! Horrified, she was confronted with the gruesome sight of a large spot of blood on the floor and all that remained was her cat’s skull sitting nearby.

The panicked woman called the veterinarian who told her to bring the dog right in. He could not do anything for the cat, but the bones from the cat could do injury to the dog.

She brought the dog in to see the vet and was in the waiting room when one of the vet techs nervously asked her to step into one of the rooms immediately! When she got in the room the vet asked her where she got the dog and she told her it was a stray she found where she works near the docks in Boston.

The vet told her the animal needed to be put down immediately. The stray she had taken in was not a dog, but a 40-pound Cambodian rat that came in from one of the ships in the harbor. The rat was so big that it looked liked a small dog with a little snub tail.

Reader Submitted,
Jane from Hampshire, England
Analyn from Sanfernando CA
Kayla Syckle from Breckneridge MI
Jocelyn Ortiz from Bridgeport CT

Variation

Sometimes, the couple has a baby and the mother finds the “dog” has bitten off the babies ear.

There was a couple from Florida who owned a python. It was a very large snake and they’ve had it for a while so they did not put it in a cage and they let it be free in the house. The couple started to become concerned when the snake stopped eating. All the snake would do is lay around and occasionally it would slither onto their bed and stretch its body out.

They finally decided to take the snake to the veterinarian because it would not eat anything, even its favorite meals. They doctor did a thorough exam and turned to the couple and said: "You need to get rid of this snake immediately. It has been refusing his food because it’s getting ready to eat you. When it stretches out he’s measuring how tall you are and if he can fit you in his body."

Reader Submitted,
Doreen Howard from Miami, FL

1. Of course I look familiar. I was here just last week cleaning your carpets, painting your shutters, or delivering your new refrigerator.
2. Hey, thanks for letting me use the bathroom when I was working in your yard last week. While I was in there, I unlatched the back window to make my return a little easier.
3. Love those flowers. That tells me you have taste … And taste means there are nice things inside. Those yard toys your kids leave out always make me wonder what type of gaming system they have.
4. Yes, I really do look for newspapers piled up on the driveway. And I might leave a pizza flyer in your front door to see how long it takes you to remove it.
5. If it snows while you’re out of town, get a neighbor to create car and foot tracks into the house. Virgin drifts in the driveway are a dead giveaway.
6. If decorative glass is part of your front entrance, don’t let your alarm company install the control pad where I can see if it’s set. That makes it too easy.
7. A good security company alarms the window over the sink. And the windows on the second floor, which often access the master bedroom-and your jewelry. It’s not a bad idea to put motion detectors up there too.
8. It’s raining, you’re fumbling with your umbrella, and you forget to lock your door-understandable. But understand this: I don’t take a day off because of bad weather.
9. I always knock first. If you answer, I’ll ask for directions somewhere or offer to clean your gutters. (Don’t take me up on it.)
10. Do you really think I won’t look in your sock drawer? I always check dresser drawers, the bedside table, and the medicine cabinet.
11. Helpful hint: I almost never go into kids’ rooms.
12. You’re right: I won’t have enough time to break into that safe where you keep your valuables. But if it’s not bolted down, I’ll take it with me.
13. A loud TV or radio can be a better deterrent than the best alarm system. If you’re reluctant to leave your TV on while you’re out of town, you can buy a $35 device that works on a timer and simulates the flickering glow of a real television. (Find it at faketv.Com.)
14. Sometimes, I carry a clipboard. Sometimes, I dress like a lawn guy and carry a rake. I do my best to never, ever look like a crook.
15. The two things I hate most: loud dogs and nosy neighbors.
16. I’ll break a window to get in, even if it makes a little noise. If your neighbor hears one loud sound, he’ll stop what he’s doing and wait to hear it again. If he doesn’t hear it again, he’ll just go back to what he was doing. It’s human nature.
17. I’m not complaining, but why would you pay all that money for a fancy alarm system and leave your house without setting it?
18. I love looking in your windows. I’m looking for signs that you’re home, and for flat screen TVs or gaming systems I’d like. I’ll drive or walk through your neighborhood at night, before you close the blinds, just to pick my targets.
19. Avoid announcing your vacation on your Facebook page. It’s easier than you think to look up your address.
20. To you, leaving that window open just a crack during the day is a way to let in a little fresh air. To me, it’s an invitation.
21. If you don’t answer when I knock, I try the door. Occasionally, I hit the jackpot and walk right in.

Sources: Convicted burglars in North Carolina , Oregon , California , and Kentucky; security consultant Chris McGoey, who runs crimedoctor.Com; and Richard T. Wright, a criminology professor at the University of Missouri-St. Louis, who interviewed 105 burglars for his book Burglars on the Job.

Protection for you and your home

If you don’t have a gun, here’s a more humane way to wreck someone’s evil plans for you.  (I guess I can get rid of the baseball bat.)

Wasp Spray

A friend who is a receptionist in a church in a high risk area was concerned about someone coming into the office on Mondayto rob them when they were counting the collection.  She asked the local police department about using pepper spray and they recommended to her that she get a can of wasp spray instead.

The wasp spray, they told her, can shoot up to twenty feet away and is a lot more accurate, while with the pepper spray, they have to get too close to you and could overpower you.  The wasp spray temporarily blinds an attacker until they get to the hospital for an antidote. She keeps a can on her desk in the office and it doesn’t attract attention from people like a can of pepper spray would. She also keeps one nearby at home for home protection… Thought this was interesting and might be of use..

Wasp And Hornet Spray

On the heels of a break in and beating that left an elderly woman in Toledo dead, self defense experts have a tip that could save your life.

Val Glinka teaches self-defense to students at  Sylvania Southview High School .  For decades, he’s suggested putting a can of wasp and hornet spray near your door or bed.

Glinka says, "This is better than anything I can teach them."

Glinka considers it inexpensive, easy to find, and more effective than mace or pepper spray.  The cans typically shoot 20 to 30 feet; so if someone tries to break into your home, Glinka says, "spray the culprit in the eyes".  It’s a tip he’s given to students for decades. It’s also one he wants everyone to hear. If you’re looking for protection, Glinka says look to the spray.

"That’s going to give you a chance to call the police; maybe get out."

Maybe even save a life.
Please share this with all the people in your life.

UrbanLegendsOnline found the following blog post addressing the email above from a Pepper Spray promoting website. Though it’s in their best interest to play the devil’s advocate here, they may have some valid points in their rebuttal.

Wasp Spray vs Pepper Spray

An old lady was asked to look after her neighbors Terrier dog, and being the kind-hearted lady she was, she agreed. When taking the dog for a long walk, it started to rain, hurrying back, the old woman returned home, both her and the Terrier were soaked.

The poor little animal was shivering, and wanting to dry the dog, she decided to put the animal in the microwave for a short time. When the dog was put inside, the lady’s phone rang, and upon answering, she was hooked into a conversation with her friend who had been in hospital. When she ended the call, the microwave was still on. As she opened the microwave door, all that was left of the dog was a gory mess.

Reader Submitted,
Lucas Clarke, Essex