The original post that ticked-off an unstable person (you decide who I'm talking about).

This is a thread of e-mails between three people, one being me. It all started with one of those urban legend e-mails I received. I hate those things. I hope you enjoy the correspondence!

FW: letospirosis - very dangerous

Spebma wrote…

Here's another warning! We certainly live in a dangerous world. This incident happened recently in North Texas.A woman went boating one Sunday taking with her some cans of coke which she put into the refrigerator of the boat. On Monday she was taken to the hospital and placed in the Intensive Care Unit. She died on Wednesday. The autopsy concluded she died of Leptospirosis. This was traced to the can of coke she drank from, not using a glass. Tests showed that the can was infected by dried rat urine and hence the disease LeptospirosisRat urine contains toxic and deathly substances. It is highly recommended to thoroughly wash the upper part of soda cans before drinking out of them. The cans are typically stocked in warehouses and transported straight to the shops without being cleaned. A study at NYCU showed that the tops of soda cans are more contaminated than public toilets (i.e).. full of germs and bacteria. So wash them with water before putting them to the mouth to avoid any kind of fatal accident. Please forward this message to all the people you care about.(I JUST DID)



Artie Lange wrote…

While I think it is a good idea to wipe cans clean, I wouldn't characterize letospirosis as the killer it is made out to be, nor would I consider it a can to mouth disease, since it is more likey to be transmitted through swimming in lakes or splashing in puddles.

According to the CDC, there are approximately 100- to 200 cases in the US each year (and almost hald of those in Hawaii), most leading to nothing more than aches, pains, and fever that usually go away on their own. 1 out of 10 cases may include jaundice, menengitis, serious kidney or liver complications and even death. Antibiotics can effectively treat letospirosis. In other words, at most, 10 people might die each year from Letospirosis. If that number frightens you, you better not drive a car or swim, your chance of death with those two activiites are expotentially higher.

Have a great day!

Love,
the Coca Cola Bottling Company
(Rat free since November 23, 2006)



Mustard10 wrote…

I appreciate the warning no matter what. If it was your kid who was the one in 10 you are not going to care about the stats then, not for anything swimming or driving either bc it won't seem like 1 in 10 then. Thanks for the heads up Marty!



Artie Lange wrote…

I couldn't disagree more with your train of thought. To tell me to be warned about a disease that affects 100 to 200 people a year (that is a 1 in 3,000,000 chance of getting sick, and, at its worst, a 1 in 30 million chance of dying--though the number is more like 1 in 150 million) is nothing more than creating unwarranted paranoia and undue anxiety.

Be worried about this...

Deaths per Disease per year

Diabetes 74,219 (maybe our dear children shouldn't be drinking coke at all given that it is 37,190% more likely one will die from diabetes than letospirosis)
Chronic lower-respiratory disease 126,382
Stroke 157,689
Cancer 556,902
Heart disease 685,089 (342,544% more likely to die from this)
Letospirosis 2

Lastly, thanks for pointing out the very demagogic and obvious fact that stats don't matter when it is my kid with the disease. My children don't have the disease and likely never will. What they will have, God willing, is a clear sense of scientific inquiry and a patrilineal disdain for urban legend e-mails sent under the guise of public service. Yes, the story you read is an urban legend. Please refer to http://www.snopes.com/ if you don't believe me.

That said, clean your soda cans if you want; it is probably a good idea.

Veritas


Mustard10wrote…

Who are you? Other than quite rude so far? I am glad to hear about anything that I can do to keep my kids from getting sick at anytime from anything. I am open to knowledge of all sorts and even if it comes from an "urban legend" that there is some truth to it in there is an actual thing called letospirosis. I am beyond well aware about the other stats you posted to me although quite condescendingly you should know. To be warned about anything that can be harmful is called knowledge and if it creates paranoia and undue anxiety in people who can't just clean the can that is more of a personal issue. I happy to recieve knowledge no matter how insignficant as no one knows everything and we should never think we do. It is more likely at that point that we start to know less and less. I agree with the stats and the fact that kids shouldn't be drinking soda but I bet at a party now and then they might sometime in their lives have one (even yours) and if a little peice of knowledge is what reminds them or I to wipe the top then so be it. Who are you to pass judgement on what stats/things are "demogogic"?! Have you ever wrapped the body of someone's dead child while the parents are uncontrollably sobbing about what "might have been"? Have you ever felt true empathy for someone other than yourself? Given the tone of your email I would describe you as puffed up with way too much pride, but hey pride comes before the fall, eh? I have wrapped many bodies and I have grieved with families who lost children to things with lower stats working as a nurse for many years. So I continue to be grateful for what knowledge I get no matter how large or small if it benefits in any way my family, even if just to remind me of the small little things as the days fly by. So you worry only about the "bigger" things, and I hope all is well with you and yours. Next time try being nicer though, makes the world go 'round better.....


Artie Lange wrote…

I appreciate your reply and the conviction of your beliefs. I even enjoy your characterizations of me, as inaccurate as they are. But that happens when you have limited information on a subject (i.e., me). Same goes for inaccurate e-mails about a fictional guy who died as a result of a fictionally unclean soda distributor, from a disease that is so limited in scope that its only publicity comes from patently false and overly alarming e-mails. Last time I checked, the Letospirosis Society had yet been formed. As a nurse you should know the difference between information gained from bad sources and those gained from peer-reviewed sources.

Think it doesn't matter that the source and information is false and/or misleading? OK, let's play that out with Marty's other e-mail, the one urging you to reverse your PIN when it is demanded of you by a criminal. Go ahead and do it. After all, you received the information from an e-mail, it must be right. What will happen is Mr. or Ms. Gun-toting thug will go the ATM and be frustrated by the fact that he/she can't get money. Given that he/she probably has your wallet and therefore knows your whereabouts, there is some chance that he/she will be back to exact revenge. Oh, it might not be tomorrow or the next day, it might be never. But it could happen. In fact, I'd put those odds as significantly better than contracting letospirosis.

As I said, clean your cans. I personally think it is a good idea. Live life. Be happy. Enjoy! Enjoy!

You ask who I am. I am the guy who received an e-mail from you that said, damn the facts, this information is good. Then you evoked, what I consider, the hackneyed (and demagogic) mantra, what about the children?!!! It's all about the children, the children! You may disagree with my characterization. I have no problem with that.

I love children. I love mine and I love others. They deserve our love. I feel for the pain you must feel facing the death of an innocent child as part of your job. It is a noble calling that you (and my mother) have endeavored. But if I may use an analogy: hitting me in the head with a lead pipe to demonstrate the need for bicycle helmets, will get the point across, but it will also cause damage. The original e-mail that was our source of contention was written with the explicit desire to evoke emotion and cause fear. What makes it successful is that it is plausible and therefore gets spread virally through the internet. It is up to those of us who know better (and I include you in the group who obviously knows better) to discourage such e-mails. From a sociological standpoint, it is that same "plausible, but not based on all facts, conclusion" that stigmatizes the poor, the disabled, the mentally ill, and those of color.

It has been said "where you stand depends on where you sit." Given your experiences and the attitudes that were shaped by them, your welcoming Marty's information is valid. As for me, given my experiences and the attitudes that were shaped by them, I think of things this way. I should get about 60% of my diet from carbohydrates, but I shouldn't eat a box of Ho Hos to accomplish my nutritional goals. Junk food is junk, and junk information is junk, regardless of whether there is some good to come out of it. In the end, we are both right...just arguing different things.

I enjoy the dialogue. Sorry if you don't like the way my message was delivered.

Spebma wrote….

Artie, I know you love a good banter, I GET THAT, but if you had an issue with my FW:email which originated from another source, you should have contacted me directly. Not everyone gets your humor. BTW ....since when have you ever referred to me as Marty in the 17yrs I've known you...even to other people? I would love to say you're not an ass at times, just as I am obsessive...but we all know it's true. Kerri, he's enjoying every minute of this aggravation...so don't let it get to you. Believe it or not, Artie's not all that bad- just twisted.
Just LET IT GO!
Warmly, Marty


Mustard10 wrote…

I agree with Matry Artie, let it go. This is too much work and very tiring. I give your wife credit for having a patient soul for you. I get the impression that a lead pipe might not get the point across with you though.;-)
Have a great day Artie, take care.


Artie Lange wrote…

Stop brining my family members into this. It is not about my wife or my children. You've referenced both. And save the winks for your friends.

No need to respond. I do not care to hear from you.

Signed,
Matry Artie (commas, like facts, matter)

Artie Lange wrote (just to Spebma)…

Ah hominem: attack the man when you can't attack the argument.
I did contact you and everyone else about the veracity of your e-mail.
She responded by saying "if it was your child, statistics wouldn't matter" (duh)
Keep my child out of it. Stick to the facts.
I was worried if I called you MP, people might not know whom I was talking about :)

As a measure of atonement, I will send Mustard10 information on an archaic, yet vitally important, rare disease each day. After all, she appreciates it and it's all about the children. It is always about the children. Here is my first:

Alert Alert Alert

Beware of Achard Thiers Syndrome!

This disease, which was first diagnosed by a friend in East Texas, Arkansas, is very serious. According to a professor at the esteemed Harvard University, we must protect the children.

Also known as bearded woman disease, Achard Thiers Syndrome can severely hamper the dating habits of post menopausal, insulin dependant, diabetic women. Ladies, if you look in the mirror and see a scruff of hair on your chin, go to Home Depot at once and buy dimmer light bulbs for around your house, then make a bee line for CVS and the Norelco section, lastly, stop at the store and pick me up some beer. I'm thirsty.

This message is about 10% fact, that makes it good and worthy of distribution. No reasonable person can refute or object to the posting of this message. For more information, go to *******.


Mustard10 wrote…

Ay yi yi Artie, I am not bringing family members into anything I was complimenting her since you emails are so intense most likely you are that way everywhere. No need to be so defensive, none of us is perfect. Commas like facts matter and so does spelling, see your email below. Just relax, no need for hard feelings, there are none here. Take care.


Artie Lange wrote…

I thought I asked you not to contact me.


Mustard10 wrote…

Just like the last email I told you to let it go and you didn't. You are not the last word or thought Mr. Arrogant. I guess you have as much trouble with direction as I do.


Artie Lange wrote…

Really, you don't understand. I don't care what you think about me. Look at all the e-mails and total up the adjectives that directly describe you. Compare that to the adjectives used to describe me. Know what? I still don't care. I only want to be left alone. Please.

*******Editors note*******

Mustard10 was in a serious car accident an hour after Artie's last post. In her car police found a sawed off shotgun and directions to artie's home.