# what happend to the anthrax attacks in 2001-2002 ? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 12, 2006, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happend-to-the-anthrax-attacks-in-2001-2002/368480 "2006-08-12T19:42:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Wildfire\_MM](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f08c70/32.png) [@Wildfire\_MM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wildfire_MM)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2006, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happend-to-the-anthrax-attacks-in-2001-2002/368480/1 "2006-08-12T19:42:44Z")
I haven’t heard anything about this case for years did they come to a conclusion? ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2006, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happend-to-the-anthrax-attacks-in-2001-2002/368480/2 "2006-08-12T19:46:22Z")
The case still hasn’t been solved. The [Wikipedia article](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthrax_attacks) gives a good background on it. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2006, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happend-to-the-anthrax-attacks-in-2001-2002/368480/3 "2006-08-12T21:31:51Z")
Sometime around 2002 or 2003 New York came close to a subway anthrax attack. Wisconsin had an adult organizing attacks with teenagers on power and communication equipment. The guy was allowed bail and took off. He was caught in New York getting ready to anthrax the subways. I don’t know if he had acquired any at the point when he was apprehended. ---
**Author:** ![FormerMarineGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/65b543/32.png) [@FormerMarineGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FormerMarineGuy)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2006, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happend-to-the-anthrax-attacks-in-2001-2002/368480/4 "2006-08-12T21:44:16Z")
> [@Harmonious Discord](#): > > Sometime around 2002 or 2003 New York came close to a subway anthrax attack. Wisconsin had an adult organizing attacks with teenagers on power and communication equipment. The guy was allowed bail and took off. He was caught in New York getting ready to anthrax the subways. I don’t know if he had acquired any at the point when he was apprehended. Cite? ---
**Author:** ![HubZilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ccd318/32.png) [@HubZilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HubZilla)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2006, 6:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happend-to-the-anthrax-attacks-in-2001-2002/368480/5 "2006-08-13T06:06:01Z")
> [@Wikipedia](#): > > Five letters are believed to have been mailed at this time, to ABC News, CBS News, NBC News and the New York Post, all in New York City; and the National Enquirer at American Media, Inc. (AMI) Poor FOX NEWS, even the anthrax senders don’t see them as a major player. The National Enquirer is above them, apparently. ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2006, 6:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happend-to-the-anthrax-attacks-in-2001-2002/368480/6 "2006-08-13T06:21:36Z")
Anthrax is so passé. Don’t you watch the news? Liquid explosives are all the rage these days. ---
**Author:** ![Antigen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/848f3c/32.png) [@Antigen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antigen)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2006, 6:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happend-to-the-anthrax-attacks-in-2001-2002/368480/7 "2006-08-13T06:38:21Z")
> [@Rigamarole](#): > > Anthrax is so passé. Don’t you watch the news? Liquid explosives are all the rage these days. Ooh, ooh! Liquid anthrax! Or even better, liquid, _explosive_ anthrax! There was a “letter containing a white powdery substance” received at my school back when mailing anthrax spores was all the rage. Good times. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2006, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happend-to-the-anthrax-attacks-in-2001-2002/368480/8 "2006-08-13T13:11:47Z")
Error: New York: Anthrax: Corrected: Dr. Chaos: Chicago Subway: Hydrogen Cyanide Gas: About a quarter pound of potentially lethal potassium cyanide and a pound of sodium cyanide compounds were found in a subway storage room. Potassium cyanide combined with hydrochloric or sulfuric acid produces lethal hydrogen cyanide gas, the same gas used to execute condemned prisoners in gas chambers. [A very brief summary missing a lot of his terrorist activities and mental aborations.](http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/644987/posts) I got the impression,that not too many people were worried about this man when caught in Chicago. The papers didn’t spend any amount of time on this guy. Had I not been following this guys activities since being charged in Wisconsin for terrorist acts, I would have missed the hiccup this caused. End Of Line: ---
**Author:** ![Wildfire\_MM](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f08c70/32.png) [@Wildfire\_MM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wildfire_MM)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2006, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happend-to-the-anthrax-attacks-in-2001-2002/368480/9 "2006-08-13T14:51:26Z")
> [@Rigamarole](#): > > Anthrax is so passé. Don’t you watch the news? Liquid explosives are all the rage these days. I see you give a lot of help here ---
**Author:** ![Bill\_Door](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@Bill\_Door](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bill_Door)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2006, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happend-to-the-anthrax-attacks-in-2001-2002/368480/10 "2006-08-13T15:25:27Z")
> [@Harmonious Discord](#): > > Had I not been following this guys activities since being charged in Wisconsin for terrorist acts, I would have missed the hiccup this caused. > > End Of Line: So, what terrorist acts were you charged with? ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2006, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happend-to-the-anthrax-attacks-in-2001-2002/368480/11 "2006-08-13T15:33:35Z")
> [@Harmonious Discord](#): > > Had I not been following this guys activities since being charged in Wisconsin for terrorist acts, \ :eek: ---
**Author:** ![boytyperanma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4491bb/32.png) [@boytyperanma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boytyperanma)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2006, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happend-to-the-anthrax-attacks-in-2001-2002/368480/12 "2006-08-13T16:35:21Z")
I have been told by a pretty unreliable source the US is the only country capable of making an anthrax powder. Iraq when it was manufacturing anthrax could only do so in liquid form and that had a shelf life of a few years. Any truth to any of that? ---
**Author:** ![FormerMarineGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/65b543/32.png) [@FormerMarineGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FormerMarineGuy)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2006, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happend-to-the-anthrax-attacks-in-2001-2002/368480/13 "2006-08-13T17:06:38Z")
> [@boytyperanma](#): > > I have been told by a pretty unreliable source the US is the only country capable of making an anthrax powder. Iraq when it was manufacturing anthrax could only do so in liquid form and that had a shelf life of a few years. > > Any truth to any of that? Probably not. Any country is capable of making anthrax in any form, they just need the necessary techology, which is probably not as complicated as one may think. I really do not feel like doing a search for the recipe for anthrax. Feel free to do as you please, and let me know how long before there is a van outside of your house monitoring you. ---
**Author:** ![Excalibre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/898d66/32.png) [@Excalibre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Excalibre)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2006, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happend-to-the-anthrax-attacks-in-2001-2002/368480/14 "2006-08-13T17:29:54Z")
> [@Harmonious Discord](#): > > Had I not been following this guys activities since being charged in Wisconsin for terrorist acts, And this, kids, is why we avoid dangling modifiers. ---
**Author:** ![CynicalGabe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@CynicalGabe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CynicalGabe)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2006, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happend-to-the-anthrax-attacks-in-2001-2002/368480/15 "2006-08-13T17:50:15Z")
As far as the subway guy goes, Dr. Chaos was in Chicago, and here is a quite authoritative source: [http://cnsinfo.miis.edu/db/wmdt/incidents/1190.htm](http://cnsinfo.miis.edu/db/wmdt/incidents/1190.htm) ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2006, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happend-to-the-anthrax-attacks-in-2001-2002/368480/16 "2006-08-13T18:05:29Z")
> [@FormerMarineGuy](#): > > Probably not. Any country is capable of making anthrax in any form, they just need the necessary techology, which is probably not as complicated as one may think. IIRC, and it’s been 5 years, the trick with anthrax was to figure out the right sugar to lyophilize (freeze dry) the spores with. Once that information got out, milling the powder to the right size became a project suitable for the skills of a basement tinkerer. ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2006, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happend-to-the-anthrax-attacks-in-2001-2002/368480/17 "2006-08-13T18:44:12Z")
> [@Wildfire\*\*MM](#): > > I see you give a lot of help here You’ve got to keep with the trends if you want to stay hip. Tune in next time to _Terrorist Eye for the Law-Abiding Citizen Guy_. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2006, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happend-to-the-anthrax-attacks-in-2001-2002/368480/18 "2006-08-13T20:18:21Z")
Using the half of a sentence before the coma in a cut off quotation is not the same thing. Had I not been following this guys activities since being charged in Wisconsin for terrorist acts, I would have missed the hiccup this caused. I’ll change it around for the challenged individuals here. I would have missed the hiccup this caused, had I not been following this guys activities since being charged in Wisconsin for terrorist acts. You’re just lucky this was a day that my brain isn’t using choose for choice. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2006, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happend-to-the-anthrax-attacks-in-2001-2002/368480/19 "2006-08-13T20:27:12Z")
The point is that the man had the materials all ready to go and was about to use the cyinide gas. He aready had done terrorist acts in Wisconsin. You can be assured that the riders on the subways of Chicago came close to a nasty death. CynicalGabe that link makes a password box pop up. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2006, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happend-to-the-anthrax-attacks-in-2001-2002/368480/20 "2006-08-13T22:10:32Z")
Uh, **Harmonious Discord** , you still didn’t get rid of the dangling participle in your re-write. Both of the ways you have it written, it implies that you followed this guy’s story since the time when **you** were accused of terroristic activities. I presume that you meant to say that you followed his story since when **he** was accused. What you should have written was “Had I not been following this guys activities since he was charged in Wisconsin for terrorist acts, I would have missed the hiccup this caused.” (emphasis mine) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happend-to-the-anthrax-attacks-in-2001-2002/368480.md?page=2)