July 20, 2004
Killer GSM phones
Nigerians are panicking over rumours that it is possible for a GSM phone to kill people, reports Cellular News via Techdrit.
Killer numbers
"Local media reported that the stories claiming people have died after they received phone calls from certain numbers owned by the local GSM operator, Vmobile.
Vmobile has issued a statement confirming that they own the number, but quite naturally confirming that it is impossible for a phone call to kill. There has never been a confirmed report of anyone dying simply from answering a phone call".
Cell phones, a symptom of madness
This reminds of a wonderful story, published last year by All Africa, whereby tribe elders in Uganda assembled and concurred that cell phones were a symptom of madness. So they dispatched surveillance teams to monitor the outbreak of the illness.
No one had bothered to explain to the Africans why foreigners where talking to themselves holding up a small gadget to their ear.
Luck Cell Phone Numbers
The "killer cell phone numbers story" is an unusual twist, as usually, cell phone numbers are considered lucky and some of them sell for a very high premium
-- In Bahrain, a number with an unusual number sequence, considered a status symbol went up for sale for $13,200 in June 2004.
-- In Switzerland, Orange is also selling "premium" numbers, but the cost is considerably less $250-$400.
-- Lucky numbers are very big in China as well as bidding online for them. Last April, the Shanghai Daily wrote about a bidder who offered to pay 9 million yuan ($ 1.1 million) for a "lucky" mobile phone number. The number, 135 8585 8585, when prounounced in Chinese sounds like "let me be rich be rich be rich be rich". Numbers related to birthdays and lucky numbers generally sell between 100 yuan ($12.-) and 100,000 yuan ($12'000.-)
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