鈥淔LY to London with all expenses paid and speak to 450 people at Bexley College Holly Hill campus.鈥� This email invitation from Professor Arthur Peterson sounded both plausible and tempting to an American science fiction writer who wants to remain nameless, so we鈥檒l call him SF.
A search confirmed the college exists, but its website did not list staff members, so SF couldn鈥檛 check on Peterson. When SF asked for more details, the organisers offered him an honorarium of 拢3000 to compensate him for his time and trouble. It looked like a nice package.
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Except that there was, of course, a catch. That came a little later, when 鈥淧eterson鈥� said that as a non-British citizen, SF would need to arrange a special work permit for the lecture through an official at the British embassy. That seemed a bit odd, because SF had never needed one before, but he went ahead and contacted the supposed official 鈥� who responded that the work permit required a payment of 拢768, and it would have to go to the official鈥檚 personal account because the embassy was having a problem with money-transfer firm Western Union. At which point the penny dropped.
Yes, it鈥檚 a variation on the fake conference invitation scam (27 October, 2012), this time targeting people who regularly give public talks. The invitation to speak at Bexley College about the 鈥淢ystery of Life and Death鈥� went to science fiction writers on an online speakers list. Luckily, most of them caught on fast, aided by alerts on science fiction forums ().
Meanwhile, a speaker on a separate list of business experts was contacted to talk about leadership for $10,000 at a church in Newport, Wales. He fell for the work-permit scam, but balked at the next step 鈥� a 拢2500 鈥渞efundable bond鈥�, which the organisers said was also required. ().
So the scams keep evolving. What Feedback would most like to know, however, is what criterion the scammers used when they decided to invite science fiction writers to speak at a college 鈥� but business experts to speak at a church.
鈥淐hew your way to immortality,鈥� Terence Kuch suggests, on seeing The Silver Diner loyalty card: 鈥淵our Eat Well Do Well Card is a lifetime card and it will never expire!鈥�
DEODORANTS for children? Feedback鈥檚 first response was 鈥渋ck鈥�. The age of puberty may be declining 鈥� but even so鈥�
Of course, the new product 鈥渃ontains natural ingredients鈥� 鈥� which prompts us to wonder what doesn鈥檛.
And there are 鈥渘o chemical preservatives鈥� 鈥� which led The Huffington Post to the headline 鈥溾��. Feedback reader Barry Cash wonders whether the company 鈥渕akes chemical-free soap to wash them with first鈥�.
Perhaps most intriguing is the observation by Andrew Roberts, co-founder of Keep It Kind, the UK-based . 鈥淭here are approximately 3500 online UK searches for kids deodorants every month,鈥� he says, 鈥渨hich shows the demand for this age group.鈥�
Following that logic, expect to see unicorn steaks (100 per cent horsemeat?) and second-hand flying saucers on the market very soon.
THE world was shocked by North Korea鈥檚 latest nuclear weapons test, which prompted by the US Office of the Director of National Intelligence: 鈥淭he US Intelligence Community assesses that North Korea probably conducted an underground nuclear explosion in the vicinity of P鈥檜nggye on February 12, 2013. The explosion yield was approximately several kilotons. Analysis of the event continues.鈥�
Presumably, this analysis will determine more precisely whether the yield was 鈥渆xactly several鈥�, 鈥渕ore than several鈥� or 鈥渏ust a few鈥� kilotons.
鈥淣EW update on the Prime Minister鈥檚 Dementia鈥� was the truncated message that appeared in Andy Coleman鈥檚 email inbox on 12 February 鈥� when Andy thought the UK PM 鈥渨as having an unusually lucid period鈥� dealing with the marriage equality bill in Parliament that day. The missing word 鈥渃hallenge鈥� after 鈥淒ementia鈥� provides a clue: the message was from the organisers of a series of initiatives on Alzheimer鈥檚 that David Cameron had lent his support to.
THE headline that David Blacher sends from the Albuquerque Journal reads: 鈥淗orse rejects study of horse slaughter鈥�.
Well, it would do, wouldn鈥檛 it? Clever of it, though, to convince the New Mexico House (of Representatives) to reject the scheme, too.
Nominative determinism鈥檚 complex chain
FINALLY, despite their sensitivity towards Feedback鈥檚 feelings, several readers have felt compelled to tell us about an event that, in reader Tom Boardman鈥檚 words, 鈥渕ust surely justify opening the nominative determinism file yet again鈥�.
The event was a between Hartlepool and Notts County on 2 February. Hartlepool won the game 2-1, the winning team鈥檚 goals being scored by players bearing the names Hartley and Poole.
鈥淲hat complex chain of events led to that?鈥� Tom wonders.