Somebody or somebodies are making life just a little more difficult in Calgary right now - just about every day we hear another story about someone putting metal objects/push pins in food at local grocery stores. Grocery stores have increased security, we’re warned to check all our food that might have foreign objects imbedded in them, but this is starting to suck, and somebody is going to get hurt if this continues. People have found the pins in food as they’re preparing it, but it isn’t a far leap to assume that someone is going to get one in their mouth at some point. I don’t really understand why they’re doing this, either - I assume it is a crazy person who has their own crazy reasons for tampering with food, or maybe it is people who think it’s exciting to mess with other people’s food, but I wish they’d knock it off.
At this stage I expect several of them will turn out to be copycats. People who think its fun to ramp up the paranoia again, bored teenagers wanting to see what will happen next. Who knows really.
I check my food about the same as what I usually do, check for any obvious signs of tampering or open packages (as a matter of course I’ve always done this having had to take food back after finding it was opened in some way already). I always inspect my vegetables, maybe not minutely but to pick the best of what is there so it’s just another thing on the mental checklist between minimal bruising and how fresh does it look. I look at bread a little closer now, pondering going back to making my own again (like the taste better anyway).
That’s all you can do really.
But I really hope they catch the idiot(s) doing this soon, I’ll be glad to hear the last of it.
At the corner store someone was loosening all the caps to the spagetti sauce jars and poking holes in the bread bags. They found out it was kids doing it. Pins are really scary and that takes a really sick person to do that. I hope they catch them soon.
You really think bored teenagers? I suppose it’s possible, but it’s been going on for so long, and in so many different stores - I wouldn’t have thought teenagers would have the attention span for that.
If a recent Muslim immigrant was found to be responsible, it would be looked upon as an act of terrorism. I hope it’s treated just as seriously if it turns out to be “bored” teenagers.
Go get a tampon mister astikov, you’re bleeding on the bread.
The first person arrested was 43 years old but at this point I think it’s more copycats than the work of one or two people. Notice that the first three happened in one store and all the rest except for two iirc have happened at different stores and locations in different areas of the city. (What is it now? 5 different chains and in the SW and NW? For a total of 11 incidents, 3 in one store, 2 in another and spread out over the rest?)
Okay one person might travel to all these stores, but the simplest explanation is usually the best, which would be the more its on the news stupid people decide it might be a thrill to see if they can get away with it and they go to the stores they can get to easiest.
Thus why the police are stopping with the announcements.
A couple years ago, a beach volleyball tournament was booby trapped. I don’t remember the details ell, but I think someone was hiding boards with nails in the sand so barefooted players would be seriously injured. The first was discovered when player dived for a ball, landed on his stomach and saw near his face that he’d pushed a board out of the sand. They had to shut down the tournament to rake through the sand and go over it with metal detectors.
Shortly thereafter there was a spate of booby trapped playgrounds around he city. More nail boards hidden in the sand and sharp stuff on playground equipment. Similar to the Calgary food tampering it seemed to be more an issue of different (likely unconnected) stupid people playing a version of copycat. I don’t think anyone was ever arrested. It was all random acts of sabotage/boobytrapping inspired by one initial act of depraved idiocy.
Oh, that’s nasty. You know, when you think about it, I suppose it’s a bit of a miracle that we don’t actually have more of people doing idiotic things to hurt other people.
Nice way of getting around the “cunt variant” rule, but you were in the wrong forum.
Do you want to bring it up in the Pit, where you can elaborate on your cleverness, and I don’t have to be polite to you?
That is it, exactly. If humans were really as bad as some would like to paint us, this kind of shit would be happening all the time and everywhere.
Reported to the Mods.
may_be_ignorant, you’re new here, so let me spell things out for you – the most basic rule at the SDMB is “don’t be a jerk.” This is jerkish. Don’t do it.
twickster, MPSIMS moderator
All I could think while following this story is that I have to make my son’s lunch the night before. Some mornings (especially when I get off a night shift) I slap the sandwich together and put the fruit in his lunch without careful inspection)Im not in Calagary or suffering any copy cats here, but damn, vigilence is required. Too many idiots out there.