The Trojan Hoax

 
TO: Trojan Army Listserv < Trojans-L@troy.org
RE: WARNING!! BEWARE GREEKS BEARING GIFTS!
 
Hey Hector,
 
This was forwarded to me by Cassandra--it looks legit. Please
distribute to Priam, Hecuba, and your 99 siblings.
 
Thanks,
 
Laocoon
 
WARNING! WARNING! WARNING!
 
IF YOU RECEIVE A GIFT IN THE SHAPE OF A LARGE WOODEN HORSE DO NOT
DOWNLOAD IT!!!! It is EXTREMELY DESTRUCTIVE and will overwrite your
ENTIRE CITY!
 
The "gift" is disguised as a large wooden horse about two stories
tall.
 
It tends to show up outside the city gates and appears to be
abandoned.
 
DO NOT let it through the gates! It contains hardware that is
incompatible with Trojan programming, including a crowd of heavily
armed Greek warriors that will destroy your army, sack your town,
and kill your women and children. If you have already received such a
gift, DO NOT OPEN IT! Take it back out of the city unopened and set
fire to it by the beach.
 
FORWARD THIS MESSAGE TO EVERYONE YOU KNOW!
 
Poseidon
 
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FROM: hector@studmuffin.com
TO: laocoon@doomgloom.edu
RE: Greeks bearing gifts
 
Laocoon,
 
I hate to break to you, but this is one of the oldest hoaxes there
is.  I've seen variants on this warning come through on other
listservs, one involving some kind of fruit that was supposed to kill
the people who ate it and one having to do with something called the
"Midas Touch." Here are a few tipoffs that this is a hoax:
 
1) This "Forward this message to everyone you know" junk. If it were
really meant as a warning about the Greek army, why tell anyone to
post it to the Phonecians, Sumerians, and Cretans?
 
2) Use of exclamation points. Always a giveaway.
 
3) It's signed "from Poseidon." Granted he's had his problems with
Odysseus but he's one of their guys, isn't he? Besides, the lack of a
real header with a detailed address makes me suspicious.
 
4) Technically speaking, there is no way for a horse to overwrite
your entire city. A horse is just an animal, after all.
 
Next time you get a message like this, just delete it. I appreciate
your concern, but once you've been around the block a couple times
you'll realize how annoying this kind of stuff is.
 
Bye now,
Hector
 

last update: 11 May 1999