Giant Lizards Threaten NY?

[Bruce Appelbaum]

Not quite alligators in the sewer, but has a pynchonian turn.  From
 http://www.scifi.com/scifiwire/art-main.html?2001-07/12/12.00.sfc
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 Giant Lizards Threaten NY?

It takes a lot to catch the attention of New Yorkers--but a crew of workers
in haz-mat suits did just that last week as they handed out flyers and
affixed stickers warning of impending street spraying to ward off "sewer
lizards," giant underground reptiles that threaten the city. Even the New
York Daily News took note of the distribution in its pages.

What the New Yorkers didn't know at the time was that the men and their
warnings were part of a hoax perpetrated by The SCI FI Channel to promote
its upcoming paranormal series The Chronicle.

The hoax became clear when residents consulted the "Sewer Alert" Web site,
which quickly linked them to SCIFI.COM and the Chronicle's home page. The
promotion was in keeping with the show's theme, "Believe Everything," and
its storyline, about a New York tabloid newspaper whose stories about
monsters and unusual phenomena are absolutely true.

"It's amusing," Frank Allman, 29, of Michigan told the Daily News. But his
friend, Jared Shapiro, 25, wasn't as charmed. "It's not amusing," Shapiro
told the newspaper "It's not clever, and/or funny." The Chronicle, starring
Rena Sofer and Chad Willett, premieres at 9 p.m. July 14.


end

Regards

Bruce Appelbaum
Yorktown Heights, New York