The E-Sylum:  Volume 5, Number 41, October 13, 2002, Article 12

TRY THREE DOLLAR BILLS NEXT TIME

  A promotional cash giveaway went awry last Saturday in
  Sharon, Pennsylvania, a small town short drive from
  Pittsburgh.   As reported in the October 8th issue of
  the Pittsburgh, Post-Gazette, Sharon businessman James
  Winner's stunt idea wasn't so hot.

  "Winner, a savvy businessman and marketer known best
  for his automobile anti-theft device "The Club," hit upon a
  plan: Every Saturday in October, an air cannon perched atop
  The Winner, his four-story women's apparel store, would fire
  into the air $1,000 in cash -- 500 $2 bills -- and 2,000
  coupons worth up to $2 off at any of the myriad Winner
  businesses.

  Surely, he thought, that would create some excitement.
  Did it ever."

  "...  as soon as the air cannon became visible on top of the
  building and fired its first blast, the tone immediately changed.
  The cannon fired in one direction and the crowd surged that
  way. And then it pointed in a different direction and the crowd
  changed directions. Over and over again it fired throughout the
  20-minute promotion."

  "A crowd estimated at upwards of 2,000 -- some who began
  congregating as early as 5:30 a.m. Saturday for the 10 a.m.
  event -- jammed blocked-off West State Street and pushed
  and shoved and even knocked down children and the elderly
  in a mad, greedy scramble for the wind-blown loot.

  At least three people were injured, most seriously a 16-year-old
  girl who broke her foot when she fell while trying to get onto
  the roof of a diner where some money had landed.  A
  73-year-old woman who recently had hip surgery was knocked
  to the ground and treated at a hospital. A newspaper reporter
  was treated after she was hit in the back of the head.

  Disdaining civility or safety, people jumped and shoved and
  grabbed for the cash. The crowd shook the awnings of The
  Winner, a dozen or more people climbed onto the adjacent
  roof of Donna's Diner -- another Winner property, named for
  his wife -- and others dove into the nearby, chilly Shenango
  River, all in their quest for $2 bills."

  "I wish none of it had happened. I wish it would have been
  perfectly quiet. But when you try to do something exciting,
  sometimes it comes with collateral damage."

  "Winner said he'll continue his month-long Saturday
  promotions but from now on will hand out envelopes to
  people wearing red, white and blue or carrying an American
  flag.  The envelopes will contain money -- $1,500 this week
  in denominations ranging as high as $100 -- as well as gift
  certificates and money-off coupons for his businesses."

  [I am not making this up - here's a link to the original story:
  http://www.post-gazette.com/localnews/20021008moneydropreg31008p3.asp

  Other reports noted that some in the crowd were carrying
  fishing nets, which could have done double duty if the
  carrier ended up in the river...

  The incident brings to mind the classic episode of the TV
  sitcom "WKRP in Cincinnati," which featured clueless
  anchorman Les Nessman (tagline: "If It Happens in Cincinnati,
  It's News To Les!").   In the episode, the station manager had
  arranged a promotion for a local grocery store that featured
  turkeys dropped from a helicopter.  Nessman described the
  event live as the turkeys plummeted toward the hapless
  crowd.  "The turkeys are hitting the ground like sacks of wet
  cement!"   "Oh, the humanity!"

  The last line of the show?  Station manager:  "God as my
  witness, I thought turkeys could fly."

  A web search turned up a claim that the incident was based
  on an actual event over I-81 near Atlanta, GA.  -Editor]

  Wayne Homren, Editor

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