The toxic candy myth is an urban legend about an evil alien who hides poison or sharp objects such as razor blades, needles, or broken glass in candy and distributes candies to harm random children, especially during Halloween tricks - or -Make. These stories serve as modern memorials for children and parents. These stories repeat two common themes in urban legend: danger to children and food contamination.
No case of a foreigner who kills or injures children permanently in this way has been proven. Generally, stories appear in the media when a young child dies suddenly after Halloween. Medical investigations into the real cause of death always indicate that these children did not die from eating candies given to them by foreigners. However, in rare cases, adult family members have spread this story in an attempt to cover up unintentional killings or deaths. In another incident, a child who has been told about toxic candies puts a dangerous item or substance in a pile of sweets and pretends that it is a work of a stranger. This behavior is called the copycat effect .
Folktaleists, clerics, and law enforcement experts say these stories are "totally disputed".
Video Poisoned candy myths
History
The claim that candy is poisoned or forged earned a general belief during the Industrial Revolution, when food production moved from home or local area, where it was made in a manner known to people known and trusted, to foreigners using unknown materials and machinery and unknown processes.. Some doctors openly claim that they treat children who are poisoned by candy every day. If a child becomes ill, and has been eating candy, the candy is widely assumed to be the cause. However, no cases of illness or death have ever been demonstrated.
In the 1890s and 1900s, tests by the US Bureau of Chemistry and other state institutions on hundreds of candy types found no evidence of poison or counterfeiting. These tests reveal that cheap glucose (from corn syrup) is commonly used for cheap candy, that some sweets contain small amounts of copper from uncoated copper pans, and that coal tar dye is used for coloring, but there is no evidence of many types of toxins , industrial waste, garbage, or other adulterers allegedly present. Finally, the claim that children fall sick because candy is put into indigestion due to overeating, or other causes, including food poisoning due to cooking, hygiene, or storage of meat and other inappropriate food.
Maps Poisoned candy myths
Development of the modern candy-destruction myth
Some events cultivate the myth of candy destruction.
In 1959, a California dentist, William Shyne, gave candy-coated laxative pills to a trick-or-treater. He was charged with the anger of public courtesy and illegal drug delivery.
In 1964, the annoyed Long Island, a New York woman gave packets of inedible items to children she believed was too old to be deceived or treated. Packages contain items such as steel wool, dog biscuits, and ant keys (which are clearly labeled with the word "poison"). Although no one was hurt, he was tried and convicted of endangering the children. In the same year, media reports about gum containing alkali in Detroit and rat poison were given in Philadelphia, although this media report never proved to be a real event.
Another important milestone in spreading the myth of candy contamination is an article published in The New York Times in 1970. This article claims that "Halloween Goods collected by children this weekend in a round of 'tricks or treats 'can bring them more horror than happiness', and provide a specific example of potential damage.
Reports and copycat incidents peaked shortly after the assassination of Chicago Tylenol, first reported one month before Halloween in 1982. The incident involved a killer who added poison to several bottles of over-the-counter medication after the drug had been sent to stores.
Destroying the myth
Joel Best, a sociologist at the University of Delaware, specializes in the scientific study of the legend of candy-wreckers. He collected newspaper reports from 1958 to 1983 to look for evidence of candy damage. Fewer than 90 examples may qualify as true candy. In none cases he attributes events to "random attempts to harm children" on a Halloween holiday. In contrast, most cases are adults' attempts to obtain financial compensation or, far more generally, by children for attention. It is best to find five deaths of children who were initially regarded by local authorities as being caused by foreigners who committed murder, but none were supported by the investigation.
Manufacturing by children is very common. Children sometimes copy or portray stories about the broken candies they hear, by adding pins or pouring household cleaners on their own candy and then reporting unsafe candies to their parents. In this incident, children are not harmed; they know that the dangerous stuff exists and it is not safe to eat the candy.
Much more common during the same period were reports of vandalism or children injured in pedestrian vehicle collisions on Halloween.
Misorbat death poisoning
The deaths of five American children were initially blamed for the poisoning of strangers. However, none of these claims are retained after investigation.
- In 1970, Kevin Toston, a 5-year-old boy from the Detroit area, discovered and ate the heroin his uncle kept. The boy died after a four-day coma. The family is trying to protect the uncle by claiming the drug has been sown in children's Halloween candy.
- In 1978, Patrick Wiederhold, a two-year-old boy from Flint, Michigan died after eating Halloween candy. However, toxicological tests found no evidence of toxins and deaths determined because of natural causes.
- In 1990, Ariel Katz, a seven-year-old girl in Santa Monica, California, died while trick-or-treating. Initial press reports blamed poisonous candy, although his parents told police he had been diagnosed with a serious medical condition, an enlarged heart, which was the real cause of death.
- In 2001, a four-year-old girl in Vancouver, British Columbia died after eating Halloween candy. However, there was no evidence of toxic candy, and he actually died of a streptococcal infection.
In a 1974 case, an 8-year-old boy from Deer Park, Texas, died after eating a Pixy Stix cyanide package. The subsequent police investigation finally determined that toxic candy had been planted in a trick-or-treat pile by the boy's father, Ronald Clark O'Bryan, who also gave poisoned candy to other children in an effort to cover up the killing, even though no other child who consume the toxic food. The killer, who wanted to claim life insurance money, was executed in 1984. In this case, the distribution of poisoned candy was true, but no children other than the intended victim were harmed.
Media and myths
Although these poisoned candy claims eventually proved false, the news media promoted the story continuously throughout the 1980s, with local news stations displaying frequent coverage. During this time poisoning cases are repeatedly reported on unclaimed claims or before a full investigation can be completed and often never been acted upon. This one-sided coverage contributes to the overall panic and causes rival media outlets to issue a candy disturbance report as well. However, Joel Best says that the spread of the myth can not be blamed solely on the media, and it must have been passed word of mouth as well.
In 1985, the media has prompted hysteria about candy poisoning to the point that the ABC News/ Washington Post poll found 60% of parents worried that their children would be hurt or killed because of the sabotage of Halloween candy.
The advice columnists entered the fray during the 1980s and 1990s with both Ask Landers and Dear Abby warning parents about the horrors of destructive candy:
"In recent years, there have been reports of people with crooked minds placing razors and toxins in taffy apples and Halloween candies, it's no longer safe to let your kids eat food coming from strangers." -Ann Landers in 1995
"A person's child will become violently ill or die after eating poisoned candy or apples containing razor blades." -Dear Abby in 1983
This collective fear also serves as a boost to the "safe" tricks offered by many local malls.
Effects
Because of their fear, parents and society limit the trick-or-treat and develop alternative "safe" events.
The story also promotes the sale of individually wrapped candies, brand names and discouraged people from providing homemade snacks to children.
References
Further reading
- Colin, Chris (June 21, 1999). "Fight fear with fear". Salon .
- Lewis, Dan (October 6, 2013). "Where are the Fears of Toxic Halloween Candies Coming From?". Smithsonian .
External links
- Non-Poisoned Halloween at Snopes.com
- Pin and Needle on Snopes.com
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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