Humour

Did you know that the dates of 4 October and 15 October 1582 do not exist? Due to the fact that the "quarter" day of every year hadn't been added together by inserting leap-years, the calender had eventually grown pear-shaped to such a degree that calender dates and seasons were no longer being properly synchronized. In order to correct this problem Pope Gregory XIII decreed that these two dates would be skipped. In so doing the Julian calander was converted to the new one, which history knows today as the Gregorian character.

The question is: what would have happened if you had been born on either of those two dates? Would you have found yourself "without a birthday?" It is interesting to note that although the numerical squence of the calender was changed, the weekly sequence was not. So there wasn't a week which started with a Monday, and then skipped to a Thursday the next day. The weekly sequence continued as it always has--unchanged by time.

Labuschagne variation of the Nigerian Coalition 401 fraud technique

Many people know about the 401 scam which is still being conducted from primarily African countries--in most cases specifically from Nigeria. Multiple thousands of variations of the basic fraud scheme exist. In most cases, the fraud hinges around some large amount of money which the fraudster supposedly needs help in claiming, in return for a share of the loot. The mark would by various clever means, gradually be lured into eventually sending money in order to smoothe over some hitch in the bogus process, at which point the fraudster and the money would disappear for good.

Various international law enforcement agencies have dedicated branches that concentrate solely on this kind of scam. Citizens are usually warned not to play with such fraudsters as there have been incidences where participants had actually been murdered.

One of the most interesting 401 examples, is the one below, in which reference is made to a certain Walter Labuschagne. Of course, no such person exists, but it is a slightly more clever angle to target a mark which bears the same family name. Read the story at your own peril for its entertainment value alone, but be warned not to even attempt making contact.

From: "barry williams" <unionchambersv@hotmail.com>
To:unionchambersv@hotmail.com
Subject:Late Labuschagne Estate
Date:Wed, 19 Nov 2003 23:14:56 +0000

BARRY WILLIAMS & ASSOCIATES UNION CHAMBERS BARRISTERS AND SOLICITORS-AT-LAW 42 KOFI ABOYOMI ST./CALCUTA CRESCENT APAPA-LAGOS TELEPHONE: 234 8033448839 Dear Labuschagne, I am Barrister Barry Williams, a solicitor at law.I am the personal attorney to Mr.Walter Labuschagne native of your country, who used to work with Shell Development Company in Nigeria and as well a one time secret agent in the transferring of moneyoverseas for the Late head of state of Nigeria {Late Gen.SANIABACHA}.. Here in after shall be referred to as my client. My client {Walter} deposited as family belongings in a CONSIGNMENT (ie jewelries} with the value of $12,500,000.00 at Equity &Trust Finance Company here in Nigeria for himself, with the hope of transferring it to his country as soon as he is on leave. On the 21st of April 2000, my client, his wife and their three children were involved in a car accident along sagbama express road.All occupants of the vehicle unfortunately lost their lives. Since then I have made several enquiries to your embassy to locate any of my clients extended relatives this has also proved unsuccessful. After these several unsuccessful attempts,I decided to contact you giving the fact that you have the same surname with my late client. I have contacted you to assist in repatriating the money and property left behind by my client before they get confiscated or declared unserviceable by the bank where this huge deposit were lodged.Particularly,the EQUITY & TRUST FINANCE COMPANY where the deceased had a TRUST ACCOUNTvalued at about 12.5Million dollars has issued me a notice to provide the next of kin or have the account confiscated within the next twentyone official working days. Since I have been unsuccessful in locating the the relatives for over 2years now I seek your consent to present you as the Next Of Kin of the deceased to have the same last name so that the proceeds of this account valued at 12.5Million dollars can be paid to you and then you and I can share the money 50% to I and 50% to you. I have all necessary legal documents that can be used to backup any claim we may make. All I require is your honest cooperation to enable us see this deal through. I guarantee that this will be executed under a legitimate arrangement that will protect you from any breach of the law. Please do acknowledge your acceptance by forwarding the following to me:Your full name ,your private telephone and fax numbers get in touch with me on my private mail: *********** or call me on my directline:234-80-33448839 to enable us discuss further. Best regards, Barrister Barry Williams ESQ

Non-Politically Correct Tombstone

Inscription: "Sacred to the memory of Fred J Sanders
Shot in a skirmish with kafirs on the 27th Aug 18178
Aged 21(?) years"
Photo: Pilgrimgsrest cemetery

The Robber's Grave

What happens if you should rob stage coaches and be shot and killed one day?
Answer: You'll be buried with a tombstone which simple reads: "The Robber" and you'll be buried as you fell, like this person in the Pilgrimsrest cemetery. Note that as convention determines, the surrounding graves are orientated east-west so that the sleeping sould should wake up to face the sun, on the resurrection morning, according to old legend. The Robber, however, was buried contrary to convention, just as he lay when he died. His face wasn't meant to see the sun.

Another politically-incorrect tombstone

This tombstone is in the Bathurst Anglican Church cemetery. It reads:

To the memory of Stephen Brown
Born Jan 30, 1771 at Middlesex England
Died at Bathurst 1840
And of William Brown
Born at Chelsea England
Feb 29 1816
Treacherously killed by kafirs in time of peace
July 24 1843

Quote:

"Baie getroudes is soos twee linker - handskoene: goed gemaak en pas goed, maar is ongelukkig net nie 'n paar nie." --Onbekend.

Data on this site is managed using Legacy genealogical software.

Legacy 5.0 is a full-featured professional genealogy program that helps you track, organize, print, and share your family history. Includes source documentation, dozens of beautiful reports, expert merging capabilities, To Do list, pictures, videos, Web page creation, spell checking, Internet searching, relationship calculation, name tag printing and more. The program imports and exports standard GEDCOM files as well as directly reads PAF files.

Hit Counter