Threat Management

Facebook-style feng shui phooey

Facebook is the 21st century chainletter channel of choice.

While I've seen the occasional traditional hoax/chain letter go whizzing past, I've seen nothing amazingly new.

Then I saw this on Facebook. Well, this isn't all that new either, but at least it's mildly exotic.

GOOD LUCK EVERYONE !!~~This year October has 5 Mondays, 5 Saturdays and 5 Sundays. This Happens once every 823 years. This is called money bags. So copy this to your status and money will arrive within 4 days. Based on Chinese Feng Shui. The one who does not copy, will be without money. Copy within 11 mins of reading. Can't hurt so I did it :)

I have trouble believing that this fools anyone, but one of my Facebook friends evidently believed it and passed it on. In fact, a version of this seems to pop up every time there are five weekends and five Mondays or Fridays in a month. What's more, in some variants, it doesn't seem to matter which days it applies to, as long as there are five of three in the month. (Or was that seven of nine? No, that's a different stardate...)

Last year, the same message circulated referring to Oct. 2010, but it was then referring to Friday, not Monday. And that will happen again in Oct. 2121: a lot less than 823 years away. (Do the math, people....)

You may wonder what a system of building aesthetics originating in China has to do with the Gregorian calendar. Well, I'm not an expert, but although the Gregorian calendar is in use in modern East Asia – not least for sound global business reasons – I understand that the rather different, traditional lunisolar calendar is used for purposes such as finding auspicious dates for ceremonies, so I would guess not much.

And if you really think that whether or not you pass this on will make any difference to your financial condition... well, I guess you probably believe everything you read on the internet and don't read articles like this.

Can't hurt? Well, I actually think that any message that makes even the mildest of threats toward anyone who doesn't “conform” to a silly chain letter is encouraging gullibility, and that isn't healthy, whatever calendar you use.

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