Now...first things first. I heard this through my brother-in-law who thinks it's true but to me it smacked instantly of a new urban myth...because, well it is. It's obviously one. But I'll post it here in case it's going around in other variations.

A bloke (a friend of a friend of a friend type of bloke) is in the US a week or so before the WTC attacks. He's in a shop in the queue behind an Arab guy who's short of change and can't afford the stuff he's buying. The bloke, being nice, gives the Arab guy the money he needs.

When he leaves the shop, the Arab is waiting. He asks the bloke where he's from and the bloke tells him Birmingham in England. The Arab bloke nods and says "You've done a nice thing for me in lending me that money so I will do a nice thing for you - make sure you are not in Birmingham in six weeks time."

Of course, he thought nothing of it at the time. But, when the WTC attacks happened he remembered the Arab bloke and rang the police. They checked the cameras of the shop and ID'd the Arab as a wanted terrorist...

Now, as I said. So obviously an Urban Myth but I thought it interesting how quickly these things spring up. Also interested to hear if anyone has heard any regional variations on this (my brother-in-law lives in Birmingham. Coincidence? I think not...)

 

LMAO

heard the same thing from my old dear whos sister "knows" a person with exactly that story.

urban myth number 75,341.

 

Yup....you can add Chester to the list.

This bollocks is similar to the one about the Indian Restaurant. You know....you mates sister's, best mate goes out for a curry and is violently ill anmd has her stomach pumped to find a wide variety of semen......yawn!!!

 

Just had this one through on email, London underground this time.

Si

 

I heard it was Swindon (near the Brunel rooms!!)

 

In my opinion "dont be in Birmingham" is fairly sound advace coming from anyone.

(and swindon for that matter)

 

What if it's don't be anywhere at all in 6 weeks time!!

 

I heard CHESTER also....

Alledgedly there was some tramp in New Brighton or Liverpool who has been telling anyone who gives him money not to be in Chester in 6 weeks time.

Police have had a number of reports & have (I've been told) put extra cops on the streets....probably just as a precaution anyway & not purely based on the insane mutterings of a local tramp.

Won't be so cocky if something awful does happen in a few weeks time mind....

 

Heard a similar thing from a mate a few days ago. I never believed it.

Mates cousin was at a pub in london on friday night and overheard a bloke telling another bloke to stay out of London on Saturday Night.

They thought best to phone the police and they described the bloke to be told he was the most wanted man in London.

*cough* b0ll0x *cough*

 

Now imagine you work for the intelligence services or for an airport or airline and you hear thousands of variations of this every day....

 

...and just one happens to be nearly true. Everyone shouts "but you were told - how did you allow it to happen!"

Glad its not my Job

 

Yeah, but would an international terrorist really be short of a couple of bucks in a shop???

 

Cash maybe.

 

This one is on all the BBSs today.

It is total utter rubbish.

Other versions have London as the target and older versions have IRA connections.

See EVO BBS for a good debunking of this.

Just imagine that a major terrorist would sacrifice his entir emission that hes going to dir for just because he was a quid short for his taxi/petrol/groceries.

The real saddos are the people that believe this crap and jam up peoples servers by forwarding it to everyone they know.

It had better not appear in my email inbox!