Needles in public places...

[Porter]

My mum sent me this email that she got from one of the people she works with at the hospital. Sorry if its bull shit or if there is already a thread about this... just thought you guys should know. If it's true then its scary stuff...

This message is serious and has been passed to us from Cheshire RFU.

Could you please cascade as quickly as possible as this came through our

NHS web page.

For your information, a couple of weeks ago, in the odeon cinema,

Festival Park, a person sat on something sharp in one of the seats. When

she

stood up to see what it was, a needle was found poking through the seat

with an

attached note saying, "you have been infected with HIV".

The Centres for Disease Control in Birmingham, reports similar events

have taken place in several other cities recently.

ALL of the needles tested HAVE been found positive for HIV. The CDC also

reports that needles have been found in the coin return areas of pay

phones and coke machines. Everyone is asked to use extreme caution when

confronted with these types of situations. All public chairs should be

thoroughly

but safely inspected prior to any use. A thorough visual inspection is

considered the bare minimum. Further more, they ask that everyone notify

their familymembers and friends of the potential dangers, as well.

The previous information was sent from hanley police station to all of

the local councils in the Staffs area and was interdepartmentally

dispersed.

We were all asked to pass this to as many people as possible.

xxx

[Hog]

Woah, that is so sick and scary!!! The chances of being infected are low (watched a programme about a guy who worked for the cleaning dept in a UK city who was cut my an infected needle). He had to wait ages for the HIV result but it turned out he was fine and the risk was small but even although, very scary!

[ToasterCoaster]

It's an urban legend. Don't worry guys.

http://www.snopes.com/horrors/madmen/pinprick.asp

[french_disko]

Terrifying.

That's unfathomably sick but also deeply worrying.

If that was to happen to someone close to me I have no idea how I'd react.

I can only hope it doesn't.

Thankfully it's highly unlikely it would happen.

it won't happen because it's an urban myth.

[framheim]

http://www.snopes.com/horrors/madmen/pinprick.asp

relax, take a deep breath and repeat after me "piece of shit".

[ToasterCoaster]

I don't know if you were just reiterating or your missed my post...

anyway

http://www.snopes.com/horrors/madmen/pinprick.asp

[PrincessHolly]

I understand that it's a myth but it does sound like the sort of sick thing you'd expect to happen in Britain today. (And I'm in no way implying that HIV sufferers are terrorists or anything.)

When I was about 11 I was shopping in Basingstoke (in Hampshire) with my Mum when a man who had just discovered he had HIV slashed his wrists outside Burger King in the centre and started running at everyone trying to get blood on them. That was pretty scary.

I also was told to be careful when pressing buttons in lifts because people put needles in between the buttons then break them off leaving a little bit exposed just ready to scratch some unsuspecting person.

In may be a myth but if it were true, I wouldn't be surprised.

[ToasterCoaster]

In may be a myth but if it were true' date=' I wouldn't be surprised.[/quote']

That's where the urban myth strength comes from.

[Uncle Mog]

I heard that one years ago when I was a wee lad, urban legend.....

[PrincessHolly]

That's where the urban myth strength comes from.

Yes I am aware how urban myths get started and spread. But I feel that this one is far more believable than your average "old lady put her dog in the microwave to dry him off" tittle tattle.

[ToasterCoaster]

What I meant is "that's where the strength of this particular myth comes from". I was actually just agreeing with you

[french_disko]

I understand that it's a myth but it does sound like the sort of sick thing you'd expect to happen in Britain today. (And I'm in no way implying that HIV sufferers are terrorists or anything.)

When I was about 11 I was shopping in Basingstoke (in Hampshire) with my Mum when a man who had just discovered he had HIV slashed his wrists outside Burger King in the centre and started running at everyone trying to get blood on them. That was pretty scary.

I also was told to be careful when pressing buttons in lifts because people put needles in between the buttons then break them off leaving a little bit exposed just ready to scratch some unsuspecting person.

In may be a myth but if it were true' date=' I wouldn't be surprised.[/quote']

Are you the sort of person that filled your tank with petrol because of the "imminent petrol shortages" the other week - and therefore created a petrol shortage?

It reminds me of the people that started taking bikes to work in London after the terrorist bombings - despite the fact they were statistically more likely to get run over & killed than murdered by a suicide bomber.

Can everyone PLEASE read the links - and the sources listed at the bottom - rather than get a flap into a non-existant HIV needle infection? It IS a myth - it's up there with ancient Greek gods, winged serpants & the Loch Ness Monster. It just doesn't happen, it's not real. A myth cannot be true - how can you be not be surprised if a myth is true? That's a bit of a paradox.

Now, can you all put down your copies of the Daily Mail & go outside - the world is not a really scary place, people.

[french_disko]

Yes I am aware how urban myths get started and spread. But I feel that this one is far more believable than your average "old lady put her dog in the microwave to dry him off" tittle tattle.

** bangs head off desk in frustration **

it's either true or it's not.

And it's not.

You don't have different levels of lies, you know.

[PrincessHolly]

I don't have a car. I still got the tube every single day after the London bombings while I was still living there. And I'm not getting in a flap about anything, I was simply just saying that with all the bullshit that goes on in the UK today, I would not be at all surprised if this really did happen.

Needles are all over the place in Aberdeen, we found one in the toilets in the cinema a couple of months ago. The likelyhood of getting pricked by one might be slim, and the likelyhood of getting HIV from that is even smaller. I'm not an idiot, I'm not about to start going out dressed in a protective suit. I'm just saying that with all the sick stuff that goes on these days this happening wouldn't come as a shock to me.

[PrincessHolly]

** bangs head off desk in frustration **

it's either true or it's not.

And it's not.

You don't have different levels of lies' date=' you know.[/quote']

For fucks sake, what is your problem? Yes this particular story is a myth but it's not talking about something that could never happen.

[Rachie]

Thank god for Snopes...

[french_disko]

For fucks sake' date=' what is your problem? Yes this particular story is a myth but it's not talking about something that could never happen.[/quote']

yes, and the possibility of Martians invading Venus over a disputed interglactic football result could also happen as well.

ok, that may be stretching things a bit far, but think of it like this - it would be perfectly feasable for Al Queda to kdnp thousands of homing pigeons, infect them with anthrax then let them loose all over the country & kill all the sheep & 50% of the population by the name of George. Unlikely, yes. Could it happen though? possibly. it's as likely as an outbreak of AIDS infected needles (as opposed to a one off incident) - an utterly plausable scenario but, quite frankly, pretty bloody unlikely.

Here's another thing to consider as well, from http://www.avert.org/faq1.htm#q10 -

Can I become infected with HIV from needles on movie/cinema seats?

There have been a number of stories circulating via the Internet and e-mail, about people becoming infected from needles left on cinema seats and in coin return slots. However these rumours appear to have no factual basis.

For HIV infection to take place in this way the needle would need to contain infected blood with a high level of infectious virus. If a person was then pricked with an infected needle, they could become infected although there is only a 0.4% chance.

Although discarded needles can transfer blood and blood-borne illnesses such as hepatitis B, C and HIV, the risk of infection taking place in this way is extremely low.

Further information on this can be found on the following page of the CDC website: http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/pubs/faq/hoax1.htm

That means if you got pricked by the needle then you'd only have a 1 in 250 chance of actually being infected. Now, how many seats in a cinema? 500 for the sake of argument? ok, so you've got a 1 in 500 chance of sitting on a "needle seat". You'd also have to take into account the chance of actaully choosing that screen room in a ten screen cinema, in a city with 3 cinemas - now, take into consideration the size of the average arse, the size of a seat & the chances of actually sitting on the needle then the chances are increased again. Take into consideration the chances of a junkie positioning a needle in the correct place - that will not be disturbed during cleaning as well - and, let's face facts here, you're more likely to be the outright winner of the lottery every Saturday for a year rather than actually sit on an infected needle in a cinema.

To summarise - possible, yes. Changes of it actually happening, next to none.

I bet I go & sit on an fucking infected needle in the cinema after all that.....

[PrincessHolly]

Valid points, perhaps I didn't make myself clear. I wasn't specifically saying that I wouldn't be surprised if someone sat on a needle in a cinema and became infected with HIV, I was saying that I wouldn't be surprised to hear about needles being put in places like that, coke machines, phone boxes, lift buttons, pedestrian crossings and wherever else fucking morons could think of to put them to scare people.

Every one of those grit boxes has a needles warning on the front of it, kids manage to pick them up in the playground, take a walk down market street and you'll see more than one lying on the pavement.

What I was getting at, is that there's so little respect in the UK today, I wouldn't be alarmed to hear of any of these things actually happening. If I got pricked by a needle, I'd be terrified that I might have HIV, even though I know, rationally, it's not likely.

Having said all of that, this entire thread, emails about it, endless discussions, probably just gives people ideas.

[Guest DustyDeviada]

yes' date=' and the possibility of Martians invading Venus over a disputed interglactic football result could also happen as well. [/quote']

Where are scene points when you need them?

[Alan Cynic]

Valid points' date='......[/quote']

arf!!!!!

[Porter]

I'm so relieved its not true. I'll have to tell my worrying mother. Sorry it was bull guys.

xxx

[french_disko]

I'm so relieved its not true. I'll have to tell my worrying mother. Sorry it was bull guys.

xxx

She has no idea what she started.....

Three people have been seriosuly hurt & one had a minor flesh wound in the course of this thread.

[Larsen B]

God i thought somebody might have seen me injecting on the bus and taken offence to it.

[Cloud]

Is it only me that's worried about the fact that hospital staff are passing this on as gospel?

[french_disko]

Is it only me that's worried about the fact that hospital staff are passing this on as gospel?

No, that was why I got a bee in my bonnet about the whole thing.....