I looked into it

Dinner with a friend the other night and we get to telling outrageous news stories, many of which had the sound of distorted myth. Since I stopped watching TV regularly, I am never in on the topics people are talking about, but I think it gives my dinner mates the floor without interruption, and I am sure they enjoy that to some degree.

There were 2 stories I just had to verify. So I looked into them.

Man loses diamond ring in metal detector
If you are picturing it riding through on the conveyor, all on its own, as I did, you can see how you would suspect this story of being questionable. But that's not how it happened.

The facts:
April 2007 - Bangkok
German tourist Richard Chrobop, age 60, claims the 2.5 ct ring was in his waistcoat (waistcoat? Where were his spats and top hat?) which was in a plastic bin when it went through the Xray. When it came out, it was gone.

So he's lying, right?
Not necessarily. The airport is known for thefts, and the ring was photographed by the scanner.

So he'll get reimbursed, right?
Not necessarily. After admitting the ring was photographed, the airport manager refused any further cooperation.

But they have a suspect, right?
The police investigator, pictured below, deduced, '"I believe someone took the ring while it was passing through the machine,"

MIT student arrested for suspicious t-shirt
The facts:

September 2007 - Boston
Star Simpson, age 19 was charged with "possessing a hoax device." She has pleaded Not Guilty, and her case is still active.

That's crazy, right?Not necessarily. Simpson did disregard an "airport employee's" questions about the shirt she was wearing, which contained a clumsily taped-and-batteried circuit board and some obscure handwritten scrawl on the back.

Police Maj Scott Pare, pictured below, said, "Thankfully because she followed our instructions, she ended up in our cell instead of a morgue."
In one version of the story she is described as holding "a lump of...putty," though that detail disappears in later editions. Because it was Play-Doh.

To your point, though, the guns-drawn surrounding and take-down of her on the sidewalk may have been extreme.

What is wrong with you people? What is your fear of circuitry?
I dunno. These guys, mostly. But to your point, they didn't have any circuitry.

She wouldn't knowingly do something dangerous, would she?
Star writes, "When I was very young, my mom told me to never mix electricity and water. I had to know why, so I loosened the bathroom night-light from its socket, turned on the tap, grabbed the contacts, and stuck my other hand into the running water. ZAP! The shock sparked a lifelong interest in electricity and electronics." aaaw-sum.

How did this turn out?
The case is continued to July. You can follow updates here, or by email. Simpson is unable to comment until then.

Fly safely. Bookmark this.

and remember.....
Potentially explosive water is perfectly safe when bunched together in nearby bins