October 2008 Archives

Intriguing.... mysterious... spam? The invitation is pasted into the jump for your perusal. Click at your own risk. You apparently have to register before you can enter the Paranormal YellowPages site. 

But if you have any paranormal problems, this could be your only hope!

Getting spam with requests for monetary investment in ridiculous schemes is a long-cherished tradition on the Internet. Who can forget receiving their first e-mail from Ethiopia with its tall tales of millions of dollars seeking a home in somebody's U.S. bank account? Ah, the memories. I do hope someone has been cataloging these creative efforts so they are not lost to history. (Here's one spam blog that has a collection going back to 2007, at least.)

We get voluminous amounts of spam here, but I thought this request for money from last August was particularly brazen in its directness. Max Stephenson wants cash for his pricey NYU tuition. So cough it up:

Today we have short, simple, and mystifying e-mail. What did Tim see on our website, exactly, that made him think, "At last! I have found the right company that can supply my clients with exotic dancer clothing and lingerie. I must contact them immediately!" 

Or, if Tim has some sort of elaborate con planned here, how did he expect to make money off of our non-existent lingerie supplies? Spam can be so puzzling.

Hello,
 
I represent a large network of clients, some of whom are searching online for exotic dancer clothing and lingerie.  My job is to find a reputable company to direct these people to. Based on what I see on your site, I'd like to talk with you.
 
Please have the owner contact me at their earliest convenience if you can help us. If not, can you please refer me to reputable company who you might recommend? I can be reached at (574) xxx-xxxx all day today.
 
Thanks,
 
-Tim

I would most certainly buy it if I saw it on the shelves at Target. Read a full description of this joyful flask after the jump.

Why did æ?Žæ—¥ç?? send this to us? Did he or she expect us to be so enticed by the image of this aged Toyota that we'd write back with an offer? 

Or, at least that's what the world's PR people seem to think based on the mind-boggling amount of promotional crap they send our way. We get it all, from every corner of the Earth: press releases, manifestos, "free articles," alcoholic bribes, press kits, and in-office visits from milk maids. (Yes, the Blue Bell ice cream company sent a live milk maid to our office bearing cartons of free ice cream. She was not harmed. But it raised the question: Who makes milk-maid costumes these days, and why?)

Amid this constant stream of propaganda that we shield you from, there are certain items that float to the top. And this is what we'd like to share with you here at Weird Things People Send Us: the most bizarre things that come across our desks. Just so you know what we're dealing with.

To inaugurate this blog, we have this: