Monday 8 March 2010

Please forward this onto all your friends, must read

My friend Silvia (not Sylvia) sent me an email that's doing the rounds, the ones we all seem to get.

This one had all the hallmarks of another conspiracy, and was titled "Closed vehicles left in the Sunlight........MUST READ." It was on-forwarded from, among others, Jo Campbell, a senior constable at the NSW Missing Persons Unit at Police Headquarters.

Now, my first port of call when I get one of these messages is to check it against the Snopes.com database, which contains all things dodgy and suspect on the internet.

I'm often bemused when seemingly intelligent people aimlessly forward on dumb messages to almost everyone in their address book, because they think they're doing some moral duty, saving us from an imminent explosion of our computer or the warning signs if you put the cat in the microwave with a tin foil hat.

Anyway. here's the latest doing the rounds...
  • "Please do not turn on A/C as soon as you enter the car.

    Open the windows after you enter your car & wait several minutes before turning ON the air-conditioner.

    Here's why: According to a research, the car dashboard, & interior materials emit Benzene, a Cancer causing toxin (carcinogen) You can actually observe the smell of heated plastic in your car. In addition to causing cancer, Benzene poisons your bones, causes anaemia & reduces white blood cells.

    Prolonged exposure will cause Leukemia, increasing the risk of cancer & may also cause miscarriages. Acceptable Benzene level indoors is 50 mg per sq.ft.

    A car parked indoors with windows closed will contain 400-800 mg of Benzene. If parked outdoors under the sun at a temperature above 60 degrees F, the Benzene level goes up to 2000-4000 mg, 40 times the acceptable level.

    People who get into the car, keeping windows closed will inevitably inhale, in quick succession excessive amounts of the toxin. Benzene is a toxin that affects your kidney & liver.

    What's worse, it is extremely difficult for your body to expel this toxic stuff.. So friends, please open the windows & doors of your car - give some time time before you turn on the a/c..."

This one has been doing the rounds on line for over a year, and although there is some truth to this story, expose to Benzene via build-up in a vehicle, has never been proven to cause cancer.

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