From: crispen@NETSQUIRREL.COM
Reply-To: TOURBUS-Request@LISTSERV.AOL.COM
To: TOURBUS@LISTSERV.AOL.COM
Subject: TOURBUS -- 10 SEP 98 -- SHAMPOO ALERT HOAX/BBB/COMPANY INFO
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\___/ \___/ T h e I n t e r n e t T o u r B u s \___/
TODAY'S TOURBUS STOP(S):
SHAMPOO ALERT HOAX / BETTER BUSINESS BUREAU /
INVESTIGATING COMPANIES
TODAY'S TOURBUS ADDRESS(ES):
http://urbanlegends.miningco.com/
http://www.bbb.org
http://www.bbb.org/alerts/index.html
http://www.bbb.org/library/travel/travel.html
http://www.bbb.org/reports/charity.html
http://www.bbb.org/reports/index.html
http://www.netguide.com/Snapshot/Archive?guide=Money&id=1327
Hi, kids!
If you have been on the Net for a while, you have probably seen those
"Netscape Now" or "Download Internet Explorer" buttons at the bottom
of everyone's Web pages. Several alert readers have wondered why
TOURBUS does not have its own Web button. Well, in an effort to
appease these inquisitive riders, and at the same time to promote our
little bus of Internet happiness, I am proud to announce the first
ever "design a Web button for TOURBUS" contest.
Here are the rules:
1. Your button should be 88 pixels wide by 33 pixels high (this
seems to be the standard Web button size).
2. Your button should be an original creation (no "TOURBUS Now"
buttons, kids).
3. Your button can either be a GIF or a JPEG (preferably the
former).
4. Send your button as an email attachment to
crispen@netsquirrel.com
In a few weeks, I will create a Web page with all of the submissions
and let everyone vote for their favorite button. The winner will
receive:
1. A slightly used copy of "Multinational Financial Management,
Fifth Edition," by Alan C. Shapiro;
2. A slightly used copy of "The Economics of Money, Banking, and
Financial Markets, Fourth Edition," by Frederic S. Mishkin;
3. An AOL Gold Version 3.0 CD-ROM addressed to "Occupant" and
4. Whatever else I can dig up around my apartment.
Remember, send your buttons to crispen@netsquirrel.com, and be looking
for the URL for the voting in a future TOURBUS post.
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On with the show ...
--------------------------------------------------------
Urban Legend: The Sodium Laureth Sulfate Shampoo Warning
--------------------------------------------------------
A "SHAMPOO ALERT" has been floating around the Net recently, warning
you that a common shampoo and toothpaste ingredient (sodium laureth
sulfate) causes cancer. The message warns that in the 1980s "the
chance of getting cancer [was] 1 out of 8000" but that rate has
recently dropped to "1 out of 3." You are told to forward the
"SHAMPOO ALERT" message to everyone you know so that we can "stop
'giving' ourselves the cancer virus."
The "SHAMPOO ALERT" message is a complete and total hoax. Sodium
laureth sulfate doesn't cause cancer, the cancer rate in the 1990s is
actually LOWER than what it was in the 1980s, the cancer rate in the
1990s is nowhere near 1 out of 3, and cancer is not a "virus."
According to fellow Internet mythologist David Emery, the "SHAMPOO
ALERT" hoax seems to have been started by independent distributors for
various multi-level marketing companies hawking "natural personal care
products." In other words, the "SHAMPOO ALERT" hoax is designed to
scare you to the point that you stop using your regular shampoo and
toothpaste and instead purchase the hoaxster's "all natural" products.
You can read David's complete story about this hoax at
here.
Despite the fact that David's web site picture makes him look like a
magician (a fact that I remind him of often), David's "urban legends
and folklore" is the best hoax-debunking site I have ever seen. :)
--------------------------
The Better Business Bureau
--------------------------
Clearly, the "SHAMPOO ALERT" hoax is an example of consumer fraud.
Consumer protection is a big issue in many countries, and one of the
United States' biggest consumer protection advocates is the Better
Business Bureau. The Better Business Bureau (BBB) is a local,
private, non-profit organization that provides reports on business and
information about charity groups and organizations. In effect, the
BBB is a local watchdog organization whose mission is to "promote and
foster the highest ethical relationship between businesses and the
public through voluntary selfregulation, consumer and business
education, and service excellence."
The Better Business Bureau's online site
here
provides links to some of the BBB's business reports, but one of the
site's best resources is its "Alerts" page
here .
Updated several times a month, the BBB's alerts are
urgent warnings to notify consumers and businesses about recently
discovered, fraudulent business scams or are brief advisories to
help the public know how to deal with specific buying decision
situations.
While most of the BBB's alerts are not Internet-related, they do talk
about business scams that everyone needs to know about.
The Better Business Bureau's site also includes a wonderful resource
called "Come Visit the United States -- Tips from The Better Business
Bureau for Foreign Travelers"
here .
The BBB's Tips for Foreign Travelers section discusses the United
States' entry requirements and it also gives you tips on how to travel
in the States, where to stay, where to eat, and what to do. For those
of our bus riders planning a trip to the States soon, put the BBB's
Tips for Foreign Travelers section at the top of your "must read"
pile.
Finally, you can find the Better Business Bureau's charity reports
here
and a couple of its national business reports
here .
While the BBB's charity reports are pretty complete, the business
report section is a little sparse. You can try to find a business
report in the e BBB National Information System database, but US
citizens might consider skipping the database and instead contacting
their local BBB for business reports (you can find the BBB's number in
the white pages).
-----------------------
Investigating Companies
-----------------------
Our final stop of the day is at a Web page recommended by fellow
TOURBUS rider Don Hawkinson. The Web page is Karen Miller's NetGuide
article on how the pros research companies, and the article can be
found
here.
Karen's article contains links to dozens of corporate information
sites around the Net.
That's it for this week! Have a safe and happy weekend. :)
TODAY'S TOURBUS STOP(S):
SHAMPOO ALERT HOAX / BETTER BUSINESS BUREAU /
INVESTIGATING COMPANIES
TODAY'S TOURBUS ADDRESS(ES):
http://urbanlegends.miningco.com/
http://www.bbb.org
http://www.bbb.org/alerts/index.html
http://www.bbb.org/library/travel/travel.html
http://www.bbb.org/reports/charity.html
http://www.bbb.org/reports/index.html
http://www.netguide.com/Snapshot/Archive?guide=Money&id=1327
------------------------
SOUTHERN WORD OF THE DAY
------------------------
FOWER (phrase). Two squared.
Usage: "We need a CSM to register fower."
(Special thanks to the Tuscaloosa Wal-Mart for today's wurd)
You can find *ALL* of the old Southern Words of the day here.
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.~~~. ))
(\__/) .' ) )) Patrick Douglas Crispen
/o o \/ .~
{o_, \ { crispen@netsquirrel.com
/ , , ) \ http://www.netsquirrel.com/
`~ '-' \ } ))
_( ( )_.' Warning: squirrels.
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