From another site, extract:

Who would do such a thing? The same sort of people who have perpetuated some of the top urban legends such as the claim that Mr. Rogers had a former secret career as a trained assassin, and that ATM users can quickly contact police in the event of an attempted robbery by entering their PIN in reverse. The cyberspace is full of lies disguised as inspiration, political alerts, health warnings, and prayers. Many come complete with enhanced photographs. The ones that are especially ironic are those that state, “Even Snopes has confirmed this,” along with a link to Snopes that attributes it as false. People who forward such emails, obviously do not check the link themselves. (source: To Forward or Not to Forward? By Patti Maguire Armstrong catholicmom.com)



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Forwarded Emails

Saturday, March 12, 2011

Boycott Gasoline: not buying gas on March 14, a chain letter circulating since 1999

Boycott Gasoline? Why Gas Urban Legends Won't Affect Prices, Aaron Crowe, http://www.walletpop.com
The email chain letter or Facebook invitations wading their way through the Internet this week are enticing to anyone who has had to fill up their car with gas lately: "Join a national protest by not buying gas on March 14!" Or, "Send a message to Big Oil by boycotting gasoline for a day."

But like every urban legend, it sounds good until you look at the details and realize it's the same misinformation that has been passed around for years. There are plenty of legitimate ways to save on gas, but these myths won't do it.

The gas boycott that has been called for in some form of a chain letter since 1999 is based on a flawed premise. The "gas out" doesn't ask people to use less gas, only to change their date of purchase and buy it a day earlier or later than they normally would, according to a Snopes.com analysis of the rumor. continue reading: http://www.walletpop.com

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