Not what you expected
By TheRealDawn
@dawnald (85146)
Shingle Springs, California
February 15, 2013 12:32pm CST
So I get these e-mails from AARP. Some of them have useful tips, or information about health, jobs, travel, etc.
Yesterday, I got one about avoiding romance scams. It said that a lot of romances that start online end up with one person sending the other one money. And then it went on to talk about a bunch of totally unrelated scams. Mind you, the information was somewhat interesting, but it didn't match the headline. They weren't romance scams, and I feel like I was drawn in by the headline, and fed something else. I didn't like that. Does that annoy you?
A couple of days ago there was one that had tips about things you could do for your health. The first one kind of surprised me. It said that when using a public restroom you should go into the first stall. Most people go past it to another stall, so the first stall tends to have fewer germs. Funny, I always go for the 2nd stall or the third one. I think I just assumed more people would grab the first one. What about you guys? Do you all automatically go farther back?
What would you have expected to read about if you had seen those headlines?
3 people like this
13 responses
@celticeagle (166757)
• Boise, Idaho
16 Feb 13
Yes, it does annoy me. I have heard some men say that they don't want any foreign/asian women because they just want money. First stall huh? Makes sense. I usually go to the second or third too. I wonder why. I expect to read what the headline says I would think. ALthough I understand how they must get their readers interested.
@celticeagle (166757)
• Boise, Idaho
20 Feb 13
Haven't you heard things about asian women online? I have for years.
1 person likes this
@WildHorses (718)
• United States
16 Feb 13
I would find it annoying but if the information is at least would my interest, I'd probably let it go.
As for the toilet stall issue.. all I can say is.... 
1 person likes this
@dawnald (85146)
• Shingle Springs, California
20 Feb 13
Why stall when you can go into the first one? :D
@dawnald (85146)
• Shingle Springs, California
20 Feb 13
I have now started going for the first one...
@dawnald (85146)
• Shingle Springs, California
20 Feb 13
Very odd. I had to think about it every time I went in, or I'd go straight to the 2nd one.
@MakingCents (743)
•
18 Feb 13
Haha! I always go past the first stall. I guess it makes sense. If everyone thinks that way, then nobody actually uses the first stall.
As far as the other question, I hate when I read stuff like that, where the headline doesn't match. I read one that said, "Tricks $3,000 this year." aso I read it and it was ways to save money but it was obvious ways like; cancel your cable, turn the lights off when you leave, buy food in bulk. I was like, yeah, those aren't tricks, that's common sense.
1 person likes this
@wolfie34 (26771)
• United Kingdom
16 Feb 13
Thinking about it I actually go into the first stall, if it looks clean I will use it, sometimes men can be so disgusting and disgraceful that I have to go into the second cubicle because the first one is well you know YUCK! They have a crafty way of ensnaring you by giving a juicy headline, kind of like a honey trap, then you can't help but read the other stuff, which as you say is totally unrelated.
1 person likes this
@dawnald (85146)
• Shingle Springs, California
20 Feb 13
Some women are pretty disgusting and disgraceful too!
I had to laugh. The upstairs bathroom at work today had a sign up on how to properly wash your hands...
@GardenGerty (160624)
• United States
16 Feb 13
I would expect more about the romance scams than what you were given. I knew about the toilet stalls, think I read it in Prevention a long time ago. I always take a look at whatever stall I go into, sometimes the first one is cleaner but other times it is not.
1 person likes this
@sharonercastillo (888)
• Philippines
16 Feb 13
it is annoying yes. you feel as you are betrayed. but just think on the bright side, you said it was interesting, i assume you learned something from reading the email.
1 person likes this
@wilsongoddard (7291)
• United States
15 Feb 13
I think that there is a certain irony in doing sort of a bait-and-switch in an article that is supposed to be about romance scams. I, too, would have been expecting that the article be wholly devoted to romance scams; they are certainly prevalent enough to warrant an entire article, and a writer could easily find enough information to support an article specifically devoted to that topic.
1 person likes this
@dawnald (85146)
• Shingle Springs, California
15 Feb 13
Even the one they did talk about just basically said that scammers hit people up for money, hardly any details about it.
@alberello (4752)
• Italy
15 Feb 13
Well laying around there are all kinds of scams, this, unfortunately, does not surprise me at all!
But the thing that I'm very surprised, when I read your discussion, I will focus the attention on the fraud of lovers! Frankly speaking, I never expected we got even with these points!
The rest where you have described the bathroom as stables, and more, they know almost the taste of the classic urban legends.
Take care!
1 person likes this
@dawnald (85146)
• Shingle Springs, California
15 Feb 13
yes, lots of scams, but I was expecting an article about romance scams based on the headline...
@dawnald (85146)
• Shingle Springs, California
20 Feb 13
This wasn't a scam, it was an article about scams.
