-----Original Message-----
>TO: Trojan Army Listserv <Trojans-L@troy.org>
>RE: WARNING!! BEWARE GREEKS BEARING GIFTS!

Hey Hector,

This was forwarded to me by Cassandra--it looks legit. Please distribute
to Priam, Hecuba, and your 99 siblings.

Thanks,

Laocoon

>WARNING! WARNING! WARNING!
>
>IF YOU RECEIVE A GIFT IN THE SHAPE OF A LARGE WOODEN HORSE DO NOT
>DOWNLOAD IT!!!! It is EXTREMELY DESTRUCTIVE and will overwrite your
>ENTIRE CITY!
>
>The "gift" is disguised as a large wooden horse about two stories tall.
>
>It tends to show up outside the city gates and appears to be abandoned.
>
>DO NOT let it through the gates! It contains hardware that is
>incompatible with Trojan programming, including a crowd of heavily armed
>Greek warriors that will destroy your army, sack your town, and kill
>your women and children. If you have already received such a gift, DO
>NOT OPEN IT! Take it back out of the city unopened and set fire to it by
>the beach.
>
>FORWARD THIS MESSAGE TO EVERYONE YOU KNOW!
>
>Poseidon
>
>=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
>FROM: hector@studmuffin.com
>TO: laocoon@doomgloom.edu
>RE: Greeks bearing gifts
>
>Laocoon,
>
>I hate to break to you, but this is one of the oldest hoaxes there is.
>I've seen variants on this warning come through on other
>listservs, one involving some kind of fruit that was supposed to kill
>the people who ate it and one having to do with something called the
>"Midas Touch." Here are a few tipoffs that this is a hoax:
>
>1) This "Forward this message to everyone you know" junk. If it were
>really meant as a warning about the Greek army, why tell anyone to post
>it to the Phonecians, Sumerians, and Cretans?
>
>2) Use of exclamation points. Always a giveaway.
>
>3) It's signed "from Poseidon." Granted he's had his problems with
>Odysseus but he's one of their guys, isn't he? Besides, the lack of a
>real header with a detailed address makes me suspicious.
>
>4) Technically speaking, there is no way for a horse to overwrite your
>entire city. A horse is just an animal, after all.
>
>Next time you get a message like this, just delete it. I appreciate your
>concern, but once you've been around the block a couple times you'll
>realize how annoying this kind of stuff is.
>
>Bye now,
>Hector