Oh, great--just what I need...

Just got an interesting interoffice memo out of the mailbox:

SUBJECT: Threat Letters From Brazil

The following information has been received from the North Alabama Joint Terrorism Task Force:

A number of threat letters have been received nation wide, which originated in Brazil (Brazilian postmark). The letters contained a green, leafy substance, which the sender claims is contaminated with a flu-like virus called Zamparina.

Due to the nature of the Zamparina virus, it is highly unlikely it could have been spread in this manner; however, two locations each in Tuscaloosa and Montgomery have reported threat letters of this type being received. Most letters have been addressed to the local Chamber of Commerce or the local City Hall.

Please contact the Chief's office if you investigate or receive any letters or packages from Brazil, or any other threat-related correspondence.

Well, you know a phone number would have been nice to include, but hey, whadda I know.

Well, for one thing, how to use Google, from which I found that the only information about this mysterious zamparina is confined almost entirely to the fact that it afflicted one Antonio Francisco Lisbon, a.k.a. Aleijadinho; sculptor, architect, wood carver, considered an important Brazilian artist of the colonial period, and was the bastard son of the architect and Portuguese master builder Manuel Francisco Lisbon. This site delves a bit into the supposed identity of the disease, which was characterized by crippling degeneration of the extremities. The name of the illness is supposedly taken from an Italian singer who also suffered from it, and it is variously speculated that it could have been leprosy, rheumatoid arthritis, syphilis, polio, and even porphyria. Basically, no one really knows what it was, but it's doubtful he got it from a box of leafy, green substance.

Just me, but it seems like it would have been nice to explain in the memo a little of this, just to keep folks from wondering if they've got the zamp or not.

Other information that would have been nice to see is something about the North Alabama Joint Terrorism Task Force, which is administered out of the U.S. Attorney's office here in Birmingham. But there you go.

Man--I used to love Brazil nuts...
posted by Terry at 1:21:00 PM