> Craig Shergold has a brain tumor and is said to not have long to live.
> He says his wish is to be in Guiness for having the largest business
> card collection in the world. If you would like to help make his
> wish come true, send business cards to the following address:
Sigh. Don't bother. He's already in Guinness, and they will never run
changes to this entry again. Here's why:
>From alt.society.cu-digest Tue May 26 08:52:47 1992
Date: Thu, 14 May 92 16:26 GMT
From: Jean-Bernard Condat <0005013469 at MCIMAIL.COM>
Subject: File 2--Resurgence of a Myth ("The Dying Child")
The resurgence of a myth: Craig Shergold
If you happen to see a message on your local packet BBS about sending
post cards to a dying child, you might wish to consider the following
and perhaps even follow up on the BBS message.
If you call the "Children's Make a Wish" foundation, you will find
that they are not soliciting any form of card for Craig Shergold or
anyone else. Better yet, if you call the Guinness people (US
publisher is "Facts on File" @ 212-683-2244, ext. 336), you can get
this same story confirmed. You will also find that they will no
longer endorse or support any effort to break this record.
Many years ago, Craig Shergold had a brain tumor, believed inoperable.
He sought to set the Guinness record for get-well cards. The call was
well-publicized, and he did, indeed set the record (consult a recent
edition of the book--he has received in excess of 16 million cards
to date; he officially set the record as of 17 Nov 1989).
As part of this whole story, his plight caught the attention of John
Kluge, the US billionaire, who paid for Craig to come to the US and
receive specialized treatment. As a result, Craig has recovered
completely from his tumor. He is also no longer seven, but well into
his teens (you can see how out-of-date the request for cards is from
this--it's like circulating a letter encouraging people to vote for
Carter for President).
The problem is that the mimeographed sheets and letters seeking cards
for Craig have continued to be circulated. As a result, cards
continue to pour in to the post office for Royal Marsden Hospital in
England. Worse, the appeal has mutated into various other versions,
such as an appeal for business cards, one for postcards, and another
version that appeals for holiday cards.
The Shergold family has publicly appealed many times that people cease
to mail them cards and letters, and that no more appeals be made on
their behalf. One easily accessible way to verify this is with the
article on page 24 of the 19 July 1990 NY Times. People Magazine wrote
an article about it on June 1, 1991, page 63. Even Ann Landers has
carried an item on this [6/23/91], but people still keep trying to send
cards. Both Guinness and Royal Marsden have repeatedly issued press
releases asking people to stop circulating requests for cards, as they
are creating an undue burden on both the hospital and the postal service.
The Guinness people have discontinued the category to prevent this
kind of thing from ever happening again, and are doing their utmost to
kill any further mailings. The Royal Marsden Hospital is at a loss
what to do with the cards that continue to arrive--most are being
sold to stamp collectors and paper recyclers, and none go on to Craig.
This appeal for Craig, as well as many urban legends, regularly appear
on electronic bulletin boards around the world, and in many
organizational newsletters and bulletins. It is both heartening and
unfortunate that there are so many well-meaning people who continue to
propagate these stories. It is too bad that so many people are
unwilling to verify their information before passing such things
along, especially when a simple phone call will suffice to do so. In
this case, opening a recent copy of a book carried by nearly every
library and bookstore would illuminate the situation.
If you would still like to do something for a dying child, consider
making a donation to a charity such as UNICEF or to the International
Red Cross (Red Crescent, Red Magen David). Many thousands of children
are dying daily around the world from disease and starvation, and
countless millions more are suffering from the ravages of war, famine,
disease, and natural disaster. Think how many of them might be helped
by the millions of dollars in postage spent on cards to Craig
Shergold...
Also, I encourage you to save this announcement, in either electronic
or hard copy form, and to post it to any bulletin board you've seen the
original plea on. If you see it in the future, as you probably will,
you can attach a copy of this announcement. Wouldn't it be great to
finally kill this story, which spreads like a virus? - JBC]
Forwarded by:
Dr Jean-Bernard Condat
Chaos Computer Club France [CCCF]
B.P. 8005
69351 Lyon Cedex 08, France
BIBLIOGRAPHY
1. PR Newswire: "Young Recipient of Millions of Greeting cards undergoes
successful surgery." March 5, 1991, 585 words;
2. PR Newswire: "Requests for cards and letters for Craig forwarded to
Make-A-Wish Foundation (Craig Shergold)." April 5, 1990, 350 words;
3. "Youth who set card record takes vacation." in: Sun Sentinel (FL),
Nov. 6, 1990, page 17A, 158 words;
4. Rose BOCCIO: "Deluge of cards swamp sick boy, give him record." in:
Sun Sentinel (FL), April 4, 1990, page 4B, 528 words;
5. Jane SEABERRY: "Boy gets more than get-well wishes: life virginia
billionaire pays for his surgery." in: San Francisco Chronicle, March 22,
1991, page B3, 748 words;
6. "Get-well cards; enough already." in: San Francisco Chronicle, August
9, 1990, page B4, 538 words;
7. Ann LANDERS: "English Boy with tumor will be fine." in: Akron Beacon
Journal (AZ), June 23, 1991, page E8, 643 words;
8. Jane SEABERRY: "Fairy-tale ending for get-well-card king." in: Akron
Beacon Journal (AZ), March 21, 1991, page A1, 943 words;
9. David GROGAN: "Miracle in the mail; little Craig Shergold's recovery
was in the cards; brain tumor patient goes for world record in get-well
cards." People Weekly, vol. 35, page 63(2), June 10, 1991;
10. Robert ALBRECHT: "Get-well cards continue after "Guinness" record try
has ended." in: Colombus Dispatch, May 3, 1991, page 8C, 494 words;
11. News Editors: "Make A Wish: Update on Craig Shergold and erroneous
chain letter." March 4, 1992, 433 words;
12. "Don't keep those cards and letters coming, folks." in: Orlando
Sentinel, June 20, 1990, page A6, 421 words;
13. Paula MONAREZ: "Well-wishers help sick boy attain guinness record."
in: Daily News of Los Angeles, April 8, 1990, page L3, 563 words.
((Moderators note: The ease of electronic communication helps spread
urban legends rather quickly. Despite subsequent disclaimers, they
often continue to spread. Two recent examples include the "chocolate
chip cookie recipe" and the "FCC modem tax". Perhaps somebody could
write a short article on "urban legends and computer dissemination)).
---
Mike McBain Faculty of Business & Economics
mjm at monu6.cc.monash.edu.au Monash University - Caulfield
+61 3 903 2646 Australia 3145