# Anthrax in New York not related to 9/11 **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 12, 2001, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anthrax-in-new-york-not-related-to-9-11/87091 "2001-10-12T17:18:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![dragongirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b38774/32.png) [@dragongirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dragongirl)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2001, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anthrax-in-new-york-not-related-to-9-11/87091/1 "2001-10-12T17:18:55Z")
So now we have the 9/11 terrorist attack, 3 cases of anthrax in Florida, and now 1 in New York. Is there anyone that really believes this is not related to the attack on WTC ? ---
**Author:** ![IzzyR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/2acd7d/32.png) [@IzzyR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IzzyR)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2001, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anthrax-in-new-york-not-related-to-9-11/87091/2 "2001-10-12T17:21:06Z")
I don’t. Plus, the officials in charge also don’t. (These two statements are somewhat correlated). My **guess** is that it is the work of someone with a grudge against the media. ---
**Author:** ![IzzyR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/2acd7d/32.png) [@IzzyR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IzzyR)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2001, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anthrax-in-new-york-not-related-to-9-11/87091/3 "2001-10-12T17:30:45Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by IzzyR \* > **I don’t.** Meaning that I believe it is **not** correlated. ---
**Author:** ![Pucette](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/278dde/32.png) [@Pucette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pucette)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2001, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anthrax-in-new-york-not-related-to-9-11/87091/4 "2001-10-12T17:31:59Z")
I work 1 building away from NBC, and I’m not freaking out at all. The skin variety is NOT transmissible human to human, it can be detected and cured very easily, and that’s all there is to it. Is it related to all this 9/11 chaos? Probably not. Could just be some crazy people chiming in with their 2 cents worth. We’ll see if any more cases crop up. (And yes, the media connection is kinda weird, but hey, what can you do…) ---
**Author:** ![Pucette](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/278dde/32.png) [@Pucette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pucette)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2001, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anthrax-in-new-york-not-related-to-9-11/87091/5 "2001-10-12T17:37:53Z")
[sub]As a sidenote, my first sentence is irrelevant and nonsensical. Where I work is irrelevant (except for the fact that we’ve been kept super in the loop), and the fact that I’m not freaking out has nothing to do with where I work either. [/sub] ---
**Author:** ![cher3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/da6949/32.png) [@cher3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cher3)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2001, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anthrax-in-new-york-not-related-to-9-11/87091/6 "2001-10-12T17:42:38Z")
A woman I work next to has been completely consumed by this all morning. Personally, it looks like the work of a lone nutjob to me. If it’s terrorism, it’s remarkably inept compared to what’s come before. ---
**Author:** ![rsa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/839c29/32.png) [@rsa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rsa)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2001, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anthrax-in-new-york-not-related-to-9-11/87091/7 "2001-10-12T17:53:24Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Pucette \* > The skin variety is NOT transmissible human to human… Just to clarify. Anthrax _of any type_ is not transmissible between people. Doesn’t matter if the Anthrax was contracted through skin contact, ingestion, or inhalation. ---
**Author:** ![Pucette](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/278dde/32.png) [@Pucette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pucette)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2001, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anthrax-in-new-york-not-related-to-9-11/87091/8 "2001-10-12T18:13:07Z")
Absolutely correct, **rsa**. Thanks for clarifying. More info can be found at [http://www.cdc.gov](http://www.cdc.gov) ---
**Author:** ![Jodi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/7feea3/32.png) [@Jodi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jodi)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2001, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anthrax-in-new-york-not-related-to-9-11/87091/9 "2001-10-12T18:17:27Z")
> [@](#): > > A woman I work next to has been completely consumed by this all morning. Is Anthrax flesh-eating, then? [sub]someone smack me; I deserve it[/sub] ---
**Author:** ![Acco40](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/58956e/32.png) [@Acco40](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acco40)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2001, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anthrax-in-new-york-not-related-to-9-11/87091/10 "2001-10-12T18:21:32Z")
Correct me if I’m wrong, but this is the first sign of anthrax in, what, 25 years? How could it not be related either directly or indirectly to 9/11? Is it just a co-ink-e-dink? I’m thinking that _this_ is what the gov’t was warning us about yesterday. ---
**Author:** ![Wildest\_Bill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Wildest\_Bill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wildest_Bill)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2001, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anthrax-in-new-york-not-related-to-9-11/87091/11 "2001-10-12T18:23:07Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Jodi \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > A woman I work next to has been completely consumed by this all morning. > > Is Anthrax flesh-eating, then? > > [sub]someone smack me; I deserve it[/sub] \*\* No smack necessary it was funny. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![IzzyR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/2acd7d/32.png) [@IzzyR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IzzyR)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2001, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anthrax-in-new-york-not-related-to-9-11/87091/12 "2001-10-12T18:30:03Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Jodi \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > A woman I work next to has been completely consumed by this all morning. > > Is Anthrax flesh-eating, then? > > [sub]someone smack me; I deserve it[/sub] \*\* OT: I once saw a comic strip with an enormously fat guy looking at himself in the mirror and telling his wife “so tell me a bit more about this flesh-eating bacteria…” ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2001, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anthrax-in-new-york-not-related-to-9-11/87091/13 "2001-10-12T18:43:02Z")
In a way they are related but not how you think. Right after _Tuesday_ there was a rash of fake bomb threats around the country. Why? Well several reasons. One is that in the wake of _Tuesday_ people felt powerless and calling a fake bomb threat and making your building evacuate gave some people a feeling of power. Another is that if someone around called in a fake threat that makes it, in a way, more acceptable for another person to do it. It’s kind of like Mardi Gras in New Orleans. If you asked a woman to show you her breasts in exchange for a strand of plastic beads anywhere and any time other than N.O. during Mardi Gras you probably won’t meet much success. And most women would say that they would never do it. But if you take them to Mardi Gras and everybody around you is doing it then such behavior becomes ‘ok’. So back to the anthrax. The line of acceptable behavior has been seriously crossed. People watched hijacked planes fly into buildings over and over and over and over again. So people on the edge of anti-social behavior get a kind of push. The little voice in their head says ‘hey everybody is randomly lashing out at humanity, what’s holding you back’ and so they go ahead and do what they do. So in a psycological way the mailed anthrax could be said to be related to _Tuesday_. But it works the other way as well. If people around all give blood it makes you want to give blood. In other words if the group behave well then that helps the individual behave well. So behave people! I mean it! Or I’ll turn this car around right now! Oh you think that’s funny Mister? Let’s see if think it’s funny when I take off my belt! ---
**Author:** ![Vinnie\_Virginslayer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/53a042/32.png) [@Vinnie\_Virginslayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Vinnie_Virginslayer)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2001, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anthrax-in-new-york-not-related-to-9-11/87091/14 "2001-10-12T19:04:27Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Acco40 \* > \*\*Correct me if I’m wrong, but this is the first sign of anthrax in, what, 25 years? How could it not be related either directly or indirectly to 9/11? Is it just a co-ink-e-dink? > > I’m thinking that _this_ is what the gov’t was warning us about yesterday. \*\* Well, I thought the same thing when I first heard of the Florida case, but I just went to see my doctor and he had an interesting perspective on anthrax. Anthrax occurs naturally of course, and it is very, VERY possible to have anthrax on your body, in your nose, etc etc AND NEVER KNOW IT, as we just saw this week: the only reason the other two people who are okay got tested is because someone else at their office died of the disease. Therefore while the Florida man is the very first to be **officially** diagnosed with the disease in 25 years, it is quite possible many, many people have been walking around with anthrax spores on their persons for years and never knew it or contracted the symptoms. Again, 2 people had anthrax materials on them, and are 100% fine. This does not discount the obvious that what happened in Florida was intentional, and possibly what happened in NYC could be too. Also, expelling large amounts of anthrax spores on the general population is not a good thing; then again, dumping a ton of asbestos or soot all over New York can’t be the best thing in the world for your health either. He pointed out strep as an example. As we know, contracting strep infection is nasty business, and can result in major illness and a nasty ass sore throat. But there’s people walking around with strep germs in their throat all the time, and never get infected. Nonetheless, what is going to be happening now is that EVERY TIME someone opens a weird looking envlope, they are going to go to their doctor to get tested for anthrax. And wouldn’t you know it? SOME of those people MIGHT test positive, even if the envelope had nothing to do with it. And of course our media will jump all over every case of anthrax, causing more hysteria, because as a society we tend to feed out own fear. This is not to discount the danger of anthrax, nor ignore the 90% fatality rate of infection if not detected in time. Just another perspective . . . ---
**Author:** ![belladonna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9fc29f/32.png) [@belladonna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/belladonna)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2001, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anthrax-in-new-york-not-related-to-9-11/87091/15 "2001-10-13T00:45:03Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Zebra \* > > So back to the anthrax. > > The line of acceptable behavior has been seriously crossed. People watched hijacked planes fly into buildings over and over and over and over again. So people on the edge of anti-social behavior get a kind of push. The little voice in their head says ‘hey everybody is randomly lashing out at humanity, what’s holding you back’ and so they go ahead and do what they do. > > So in a psycological way the mailed anthrax could be said to be related to _Tuesday_. ``` That's all well and good, Zebra, but what with the two weeks plus incubation period, and given the time frame in which the man who died first fell ill, it's been figured that--in the Florida case anyway--the anthrax was delivered BEFORE the events of 9-11 ``` However, I do think the NY case might be based on motivations pretty close to those outlined in your post. In nutty times, people do nutty things. ---
**Author:** ![middleman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9a140/32.png) [@middleman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/middleman)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2001, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anthrax-in-new-york-not-related-to-9-11/87091/16 "2001-10-13T01:33:44Z")
[QUOTE] \*Originally posted by belladonna \* \*\* > [@](#): > > However, I do think the NY case might be based on motivations pretty close to those outlined in your post. In nutty times, people do nutty things. \*\* Yeah. This is true. But how easy is it to get this much anthrax? I know people can get it for medical concerns, but short of going to goats where can they get that much concentrated anthrax if they are just a crazy nut? ---
**Author:** ![capacitor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e47774/32.png) [@capacitor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/capacitor)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2001, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anthrax-in-new-york-not-related-to-9-11/87091/17 "2001-10-13T03:13:34Z")
This was probably a test, to demonstrate that spreading anthrax discreetly won’t cause too much damage. Now, purify the air with a spray bottle of sarin gas. Now there’s potential for massive casualties. ---
**Author:** ![jk1245](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/49beb7/32.png) [@jk1245](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jk1245)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2001, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anthrax-in-new-york-not-related-to-9-11/87091/18 "2001-10-13T05:04:22Z")
I don’t think this is directly related to the 9/11 attacks. By that, I mean I don’t think it’s the same group. This could be someone with a grudge against the media for whatever reason or a lone nut that thought now was a good time to strike because it would be blamed on terrorists. Also, could be another terrorist group emboldened by the 9/11 attacks. Now, get ready for the hoaxes. Just today in Madison, _two_ companies (including one my wife works at :eek: ) received packages containing powder. Haz mat teams and the FBI were called in to seal off the buildings. Turned out to be nothing, thankfully. Hopefully they find the sick f\*\*\*\* responsible ---
**Author:** ![IzzyR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/2acd7d/32.png) [@IzzyR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IzzyR)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2001, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anthrax-in-new-york-not-related-to-9-11/87091/19 "2001-10-15T20:59:21Z")
I retract my previous statements on the subject. The stuff is so widespread by now that it looks like a larger plot. Plus, from what I’ve read, the production of “usuable” anthrax is beyond the scale of anything but a large organization. ---
**Author:** ![PunditLisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2001, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anthrax-in-new-york-not-related-to-9-11/87091/20 "2001-10-15T21:23:59Z")
Vin, I see the good doc’s point. However, all 3 cases were preceded by a letter containing a mysterious powder. And now Daschle’s office received one. Clearly SOMEONE is trying to terrorize the public by mailing anthrax spores around. FWIW, I think it’s DEFINITELY related to 9/11. Also, I think that the terrorists expected the U.S. to bomb bin laden’s camps right away. Remember that bin laden taped his “response to the bombings” PRIOR to the actual bombing and in it he threatened to retaliate. I think the anthrax scare is his way of retaliating. Unfortunately for him, his timing was way off because the U.S. didn’t bomb right away and now the 2 events are disjointed. It could hardly be just a run-of-the-mill prankster because anthrax spores aren’t just laying around for sale at the local A&P. Besides, who has a beef against the media AND the U.S. Congress? He’s trying to intimidate BOTH. And it ain’t working. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anthrax-in-new-york-not-related-to-9-11/87091.md?page=2)