In other news...

(Honestly, I think that this is one of those instances that separates Canunks from Yanks. Canucks would tell cutting assholes to get to the back of the line (or as an MPI commercial said "geek'n deebach"). And if an ass rushed to the front when the doors opened, the people in the line would tattletale, and the person opening the door would politely ask the ass to leave. Except on Boxing Day then it's every fucker for him or her self.

$50 laptop offer sparks a violent stampede
Bargain hunters thrown to pavement, nearly run over

Wed Aug 17 2005


RICHMOND, Va. -- A rush to purchase $50 US used laptops turned into a violent stampede yesterday, with people getting thrown to the pavement, beaten with a folding chair and nearly driven over. One woman went so far as to wet herself rather than surrender her place in line.
"This is total, total chaos," said Latoya Jones, 19, who lost one of her flip-flops in the ordeal and later limped around on the sizzling blacktop with one foot bare.

An estimated 5,500 people turned out at the Richmond International Raceway in hopes of getting their hands on one of the four-year-old Apple iBooks. The Henrico County school system was selling 1,000 of the computers to county residents. New iBooks cost between $999 and $1,299.

Officials opened the gates at 7 a.m., but some already had been waiting since 1:30 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, Henrico County Battalion Chief Steve Wood said. There were no arrests and the iBooks sold out by 1 p.m.

"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."

Blandine Alexander, 33, said one woman standing in front of her was so desperate to retain her place in line that she urinated on herself.

"I've never been in something like that before, and I never again will," said Alexander, who brought her 14-year-old twin boys to the complex at 4:30 a.m. to wait in line. "No matter what the kids want, I already told them I'm not doing that again."

Jesse Sandler said he was one of the people pushing forward, using a folding chair he had brought with him to beat back people who tried to cut in front of him.

"I took my chair here and I threw it over my shoulder and I went, 'Bam,"' the 20-year-old said nonchalantly, his eyes glued to the screen of his new iBook, as he tapped away on the keyboard at a testing station. "They were getting in front of me and I was there a lot earlier than them, so I thought that it was just," he said.

-- Associated Press
By Kristen Gelineau

Reminds me of that article I read, maybe 2 years ago, in the States again. When there was a Thanksgiving Day sale (so the Yankee equivalent to Boxing day) at a Wal-Mart where they had $20 or $10 DVD players and there was a crazy line up and some lady got knocked down and trampled and was hospitalized. Oh yeeah the best thing was that she had a DVD player in her hands, but when she was knocked down (and I think unconscious) someone took the DVD player from her. I think Wal-Mart ended up giving her a DVD player but the lady got messed up.

Makes me wonder why we done stampede at emergency rooms? Probably because the people that end up being knocked down and trampled will end up with the more serious injury and therefore end up moving to the front of the waiting line. This gives me an idea, Gentlemen, Ladies; I propose that we start a business where we kick the shit out of people outside of a hospital for a fee. Mind you, people that want to get beat up and who are already planning to go to the ER for some reason. By beating them up we increase their chances of seeing a doctor right away. Basically it's a service to jump the ER queue line. The more money you pay the more severe the beating, and the higher the chance to see a doctor. I don't know just a thought. It's either that, or we start the 2 tier system.