whatisee

Mon, 26 Apr 2004 09:54:24 -0500

There was a great article I'll have to remember from where a few months after 9/11 during the whole Anthrax thing. Apparently, schools around the country were being striken with waves of these rashes. There was no medical way of explaining it as you could track who gave it to who, but in many cases, it was over the phone. The symptoms were real (raised welts, red spots or splotches) and didn't appear to be psycho-somatic. Parents of course flipped out and demanded the board of health investigate, which they would do and yet never found anything. The article went into detail about how districts which kept arguing with parents that there was nothing wrong exacerbated the problem with parent rage frequently taking over. Districts which closed the school for a "cleaning just in case" day were able to assuage the parents and the rash would go away. Comparisons were made to the Salem witch trials. The author also delved into research about the human mind and how suggestible it is, particularly about itches and even more particularly in teenagers. Even though all of her interviews were over the phone, it didn't take long for her to be driven mad with the itchies.

jen h.

Mon, 26 Apr 2004 09:01:12 -0500

Mystery rashes, eh? We called them hickies when I was in fifth grade.

Rashy

Mon, 26 Apr 2004 07:28:01 -0500

Oh, rue this day, for my life has become a Gothamist punchline! The seasons are changing, and so will the winds. Watch out, Upper West Side -- your stacks of hundred-dollar bills can keep out the proles, but not the mystery plagues!

Gothamist: Mystery Rash Plagues Brooklyn Fifth Graders

whatisee

jen h.

Rashy