Stardate: September 1999
Procter & Gamble revisited
25th SEPTEMBER – A malicious rumour about Procter & Gamble, the manufacturer of detergents, shampoo, toothpaste and many other household products, resurfaced on the Net during August and is generating huge quantities of unwanted email.The rumour, which is documented by Rich Buhler in our Urban Myths pages, first appeared in the early 1980s, claiming that the company's president appeared on a US talk show, admitted he belonged to the Church of Satan, and announced that a large percentage of the P&G profits go to Satanism. This story has been shown repeatedly to be false, but has a determined life of its own. The latest version has all the usual features, but with a new date and talk show for the president's confession. The email begins: "The President of Proctor & Gamble appeared on the Sally Jesse Raphael Show on Monday, July 19, 1999. He announced that 'due to the openness of our society', he was coming out of the closet about his association with the church of Satan..." Maurice Tunick, Executive Producer of the Sally Show, has issued a categoric denial of the claim, calling it "a complete hoax". His letter, along with others by Christians leaders, is reproduced on the Procter & Gamble website. Meanwhile, email from visitors to our Urban Myths pages show the impact of the rumour, which calls on Christians to boycott P&G products. "The story was told as true at a Bible Study," says one reader from Wiesbaden, Germany. "I said it was an urban legend, but we discussed it for several minutes, even down to which products we couldn't buy anymore." Another message reads: "The scary part is that the email had been forwarded to almost every individual in our company." Since late July, 74 visitors to our Urban Myths pages have expressed their view of the rumour after reading Rich Buhler's account of it. Asked whether they thought the rumour might actually be true, 72 per cent said "no", 4 per cent said "yes", and 24 per cent said "maybe". 
SOF:1, BG:421st SEPTEMBER – He used to say: "I want you to get up out of your seats..." But these days Billy Graham would prefer you to stay firmly in your seat and surf onto his website. But alas! The Billy Graham website has been beaten into 4th place in a Top 10 of most-visited Christian sites by none other than Ship of Fools, which has taken this week's number 1 spot. The Top 10 is compiled weekly by Premier Radio, London's Christian radio station, which monitors the most popular of 200 sites on their Premier Webway UK Directory.Tomato speaks out
19th SEPTEMBER – Wondrous news from Bradford in West Yorkshire. Last week, Shabana Hussain was slicing tomatoes in his small terraced house, when one fell open and attracted his attention. Written in Arabic on the veins of the tomato were the words: "There is no God but Allah". Hundreds of people are now reported to be visiting the house for a glimpse of the Testifying Tomato. It's somehow comforting to know that Christianity doesn't have a monopoly on events such as this. Can Holy Ketchup be far behind?
Guesting at the Last Supper10th SEPTEMBER – Two separate reports have reached us of unexpected faces appearing in church windows or paintings of Jesus and the disciples.George Lambert reports that a church in his home city of Montreal, Canada, "has a picture of the Last Supper that is conventional in all respects, except that one of the servants has the face of Benito Mussolini." Apparently, the church, Notre Dame de la Defense, in the "Little Italy" section of Montreal, was built in the 1930s with the help of money from the Italian fascist government... and what better way to say "thank you" than to include dear Benito among the blessed in this key biblical scene? Meanwhile, the stained-glass window behind the altar at Virginia Theological Seminary in Alexandria, Virginia, also has a celebrity guest. For there, among the faces of the disciples surrounding Jesus after the resurrection, is Confederate General Robert E. Lee, at Jesus's right hand, no less. Another disciple resembles General Stonewall Jackson. A reward is available for any further reports or photographs! Career change for postevangelical leader 5th SEPTEMBER – Hats off to postevangelical-in-chief Dave Tomlinson, who is evidently pursuing a career in modelling these days. The image above left, which appears in a UK advertising campaign for dimunutive Café Crème cigars, has an almost supernatural resemblance to former house-church leader Dave. The fact that he's been known to puff a cigar himself is final confirmation of this new career change. Thanks to Charismaniac of Bradford for alerting us to this development. Top | Old Logs | Current Log | SOF Home © Ship of Fools 1999 |