Wednesday, August 17, 2005

An American snapshot

An estimated 5,500 people turned out at the Richmond International raceway in Henico county, Virginia, in hopes of getting their hands on one of the 4-year-old apple iBooks, which retail for between $999 and $1,299 when they are new. Henico County Public Schools were selling 1,000 of the computers to residents.

Officials opened the gates at 7 a.m. local time, but some already had been waiting since 1 a.m.. When the gates opened, it became a terrifying mob scene.

People threw themselves forward, screaming and pushing each other. A little girl's stroller was crushed in the stampede. Witnesses said an elderly man was thrown to the pavement, and someone in a car tried to drive his way through the crowd.

Seventeen people suffered minor injuries, with four requiring hospital treatment, police said. There were no arrests.

"It's rather strange that we would have such a tremendous response for the purchase of a laptop computer - and laptop computers that probably have less-than-desirable attributes," said Paul Proto, Director of General Services for Henrico County. "But I think that people tend to get caught up in the excitement of the event - it almost has an entertainment value."

   article

Human stampede. Real entertaining.

As I recall, something similar happened over Cabbage Patch Dolls some years back.

Christ.

....but hey, do what you want....you will anyway.

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