Hey all,must read this one.

Rhoadie · 09-05-2002, 05:32 PM

Hey Soul Hubby,

I kind of think this one needs to get around to several places. You are one of the moderators, I will bring this one to this board and see what you think. Should this be posted elsewhere?

I think there is some (if not a lot ) of truth in this one. Since this site deals with health issues, I thought I should post this one.

One of the young ladies I work with passed this one on to me in an Email. This is a cleaned up copy of the email I recieved
Can anyone confirm this one. I have a part time gig working in a engraving shop. I have found some nasty stuff on some of the materials used in making signs. I shutter to think what may exist in a glue or factory where envolopes are made.

Subject: licking envelopes

If you lick your envelopes...You won't anymore!!!!

A woman was working in a post office in California. One day she
licked the envelopes and postage stamps instead of using a sponge. That very day the lady cut her tongue on the envelope. A week later, she noticed an abnormal swelling of her tongue. She went to the doctor, and they found nothing wrong. Her tongue was not sore or anything. A couple of days later, her tongue started to swell more, and it began to get really sore, so sore, that she could not eat. She went back to the hospital, and demanded something be done. The doctor took an x-ray of her tongue, and noticed a lump. He prepared her for minor surgery. When the doctor cut her tongue open, a live roach crawled out. There were roach eggs on the seal of the envelope. The egg was able to hatch inside of her tongue, because of her saliva. It was warm and moist...

Andy Hume wrote: Hey, I used to work in an envelope factory.

You wouldn't believe the things that float around in those gum applicator trays. I haven't licked an envelope for years.

To All: I used to work for a print shop (32 years ago) and we were told
NEVER to lick the envelopes. I never understood why until I had to go into storage and pull out 2500 envelopes that were already printed for a customer who was doing a mailing and saw several squads of roaches roaming around inside a couple of boxes with eggs everywhere. They eat the glue on the envelopes. I think print shops have a harder time controlling roaches than a restaurant. I always buy the self-sealing type. Or if need be I use a glue stick to seal one that has the type of glue that needs to be wet to stick.

PLEASE PASS THIS ON!!!!

SoulHubby · 09-05-2002, 06:01 PM

I did a little research on this, to find out its validity and came up with the following article.

--

One of the hardest legends to stomp out involves a woman who cuts her tongue while licking an envelope. Her tongue’s sore for days, until finally surgeons find the cause: a fully-grown roach that hatched from eggs secreted in the envelope’s glue.

Like other urban legends involving insects (bees in the hairdo, spiders in braids, spider eggs in Bubble Yum, roach eggs in tacos), this one thrives on the sheer gross-out factor. Just the thought that something like this could have is enough to give people the willies – and get them clicking that forward button.

This urban legend has been around for a good long time, and despite the CNN reference, it’s age is starting to show. After all, who with self-adhesive stamps, who needs to lick postage any more?

A little research can poke some holes in this legend right off the bat:

* The science isn't right: Roaches don't lay individual eggs ... they lay their eggs in cases called "ootheca".

* The attribution doesn't hold up: CNN allegedly reported the story, but they have no mention of it on their web site. Same goes for Andy Hume, who may be a source or a reporter -- the legend doesn't tell us -- but can't be found on the CNN web site.

* Where's the coverage?: The gross out factor on this is perfect for the evening news, and I find it hard to believe that we wouldn't have heard about it from a repubtable news source. 'Cause what are the chances that someone would cut their lip on an envelope, get infected with a cockroach, have the thing removed and then not launch a billion dollar lawsuit against the company?

* It's mutated: This is one of the great things about urban legends -- they mutate! Other versions don't include the Andy Hume attribution, and the entire legend is very similar to one in which Taco Bell tacos are infected with roach eggs.

--

So, there you have it.... go on licking the envelopes w/o fear

-- in answer to your question, Rhoadie, well, no. I dont think this should be posted anywhere.

Thanks for a chuckle though!

btw: my source for this is http://www.nuketown.com/hoaxes/roach_envelope/

Two other hoax-related sites are http://www.snopes.com and http://www.hoaxkill.com

-=\Eric/=-

Rhoadie · 09-05-2002, 06:10 PM

Oops
Just found the link to this story. I can't believe I fell for an urban legend. I am red faced. I usually check them a little closer

Should have checked a little closer before saying anything
Here is the debunking link
http://www.snopes.com/horrors/food/tacobell.htm

Moral of the day:
Let them think you a fool, rather than open your mouth and remove all doubt

TennGirl · 09-06-2002, 08:22 PM

Either way, I'm going to have a very tough time licking envelopes now. Yuck!