Page 27 - 201210 - The 'X' Chronicles Newspaper - October 2012

5 Halloween Myths 5 Halloween Myths You poisons (a hotdog soaked in radiator fluid works Florida physicist Costas Efthimiou, if the Shouldn't Let Trick You well) are all suitable tools," ran the common myth of vampires were true (that they suck their victims' blood and turn them into grammatically challenged message, attributed to someone named Terry Jordan. "Their owners vampires, too), the entire population of the like brag about there [sic] high threshold for world would have been converted into vampires pain. So don't worry them suffering they can in a mere 2.5 years after vampire legends take it." emerged. Using a human population of just over In fact, as debunking site Snopes.com 5 million (the population in the 1600s), uncovered, the messages and warnings were all Efthimiou assumed that vamps would convert, a hoax aimed at punishing Terry Jordan of at minimum, one person per month (hey, why Slater, Mo., a councilman who was a major not?). At that rate, the entire world would be player in developing an animal ordinance for vampires in less than three years, he found, even the city. An early version of the ordinance taking into account human population growth. singled out pit bulls as vicious, but the wording Of course, creative sorts could fudge the was later changed so as not to specify any numbers — what if vampires make other particular breed as aggressive. Presumably vampires only rarely? That is, after all, the fun someone in town was angry enough at the of Halloween. [] original draft to go vigilante on Jordan with the false "Kill a Pit Bull" post. It worked. According to the Marshall Democrat-News, FAMOUS PEOPLE Yahoo News Jordan and the city were both inundated by WHO DIED angry and threatening calls after the post went up. ON Halloween is a time to let the imagination run wild, whether that means dressing up as your Myth #3: Halloween is nearly as pricey favorite fantastical creature or telling ghost OCTOBER 31 stories in a dark room. as Christmas But enjoying the spooky treats of Halloween doesn't have to mean getting tricked A common bit of folk wisdom holds that (Alphabetically by Last Name) by common myths and urban legends. From Halloween is second in consumer spending only poisoned candy to vampires, read on for the to Christmas. That may feel true as you're P.W. Botha - 2006 - World Leader, Prime truth about Halloween. hauling giant bags of bulk candy home while wearing your custom-ordered Steampunk Witch Minister Myth #1: Evildoers use Halloween as costume, but unfortunately, Halloween isn't that Joseph Campbell - 1987 - Anthropologist, Academic Author, Journalist an opportunity to poison children big a boost to the economy. In fact, according to the National Retail Charles VI - 1422 - King Federation, spending on Halloween costumes Eleuthere Irenee Du Pont -1834 - It seems the perfect crime, albeit one out of a and candy is expected to hit $8 billion this year. Entrepreneur, Chemist fairy tale: Wait for innocent kiddies to show up Federico Fellini - 1993 - Director on your doorstep, then poison them with tainted That's dwarfed by Christmas holiday sales, Indira Gandhi - 1984 - Prime Minister which are expected to reach $586.1 billion this Twix bars. year. And other holidays pull ahead, too: Joseph Hooker - 1879 - General The only problem is, this "stranger Harry Houdini - 1926 - Magician danger" just doesn't happen. In only one case Father's Day spending was estimated at $12.7 John Houseman - 1988 - Film Actor, billion this year, and Mother's Day regularly has a child died from eating poisoned Producer, Television Producer Halloween candy. The candy was planted by the pulls in more than that, clocking in at $14.1 Joe Papp - 1991 - Television Producer billion in the lean year of 2009. Even schmoopy 8-year-old boy's father in an attempt to get the Valentine's Day does better than Halloween, River Phoenix - 1993 - Film Actor child's life insurance money. The convicted Max Reinhardt - 1943 - Director murderer, Ronald Clark O'Bryan, was executed with lovers spending around $17.6 billion on Egon Schiele - 1918 - Painter that holiday in 2012. in 1984 for the 1974 crime. Ted Sorensen - 2010 - Lawyer, Writer The only recent exception to the Studs Terkel - 2008 - Radio Talk Show surprising lack of Halloween candy tampering Myth #4: Sex offenders hunt on Host, Journalist is one odd case in 2008 in Ontario, where a Halloween handful of children in a single neighborhood To See The Famous People Who Were found cold medicine pills in sealed boxes of Like tales of poisoned candy and apples filled Born on Smarties. However, the orange gel capsules with razor blades, the idea that sex offenders October 31 were obvious outliers from the rest of the candy, target trick-or-treaters appears to be an urban Go To Page 30 and no child consumed the medication. legend. According to a study published in 2010 Halloween is dangerous for kids in in the journal Sexual Abuse: A Journal of another way, though. According to an analysis Research and Treatment, there was no uptick in commissioned by insurance company State child sex crimes on Halloween. Farm, Halloween is the deadliest day of the year Of 67,307 non-family sex offenses for child pedestrian accidents. An average of 5.5 reported, none were more common on children die after being hit by a vehicle on Oct. Halloween, the researchers found. In fact, 31 each year, compared with an average of 2.6 according to the anti-sexual abuse organization child deaths on other days. The message? If you Stop It Now!, 85 percent of sexually abused want to protect kids on Halloween, drive safely. children are abused by someone they know, with as many as 47 percent of abusers in the Myth #2: Armed gangs will hunt pit child's own family. bulls in the streets this year Myth #5: Vampires are real A message spread on Facebook and Twiiter this ‘X’ ZONE TRIVA: September warning dog owners to lock their We're not sure how many people really believe Since 2004, Rob McConnell, Creator, Host doors on Oct. 31 because Halloween had been this one, but just for fun, let's go over the and Executive Producer of The ‘X’ Zone declared "National Kill a Pit Bull Day." mathematical reasons why vamps can't exist. $,/48 &(A%38? 3,; 47<0:>40?0/ 68:0 <3,7 "Baseball bats, knives, bricks and According to University of Central 3,800 people!