iBook Sale Turns To An Ugly Stampede

Sometimes I wish I made these news stories up, because I'm embarrassed to admit I come from the same human species as these people do. We all know Mac people can be a bit crazy, but crazy enough to stomp on one another just to save some cash on an iBook computer? Damn, that is nuts! It did happen though. Chaos erupted at Richmond International Raceway in Virginia as people stampeded through the gates in a rush to buy used iBook laptops for $50 each. Mothers clutched their children for protection, people screamed as they were knocked to the ground, a stroller was demolished and cars inched through the crowd. I won't deny it is a great deal, but seriously get a grip.

Photographed above, a crowd rushes through an open gate, some falling down but all hoping to get a cheap iBook at the RIR complex. "It was total mayhem, I can't believe people are so barbaric" exclaimed one woman. The crowd started forming at 1:30AM and by the time dawn broke, people on foot had formed a line half a mile long. Others waited in cars parked nearby or milled about the entrance. An official estimate put the crowd at 5,500. Other observers estimated a crowd size more than twice that. When gates opened just before 7AM, the crowd had already grown surly. Many in the crowd were yelling at police officers who said they were there to just try and keep people from "inciting a riot." When the gates swung open, the stampede began - literally.

Several people sustained minor injuries. One person was taken to the hospital with a leg injury. In all, 17 people were treated, the majority for heat or diabetic related problems. Inside the gates, a second crush surged outside the warehouse where the laptops were being sold as people pushed to get through the door. Police struggled to keep the crowd under control and relieve pressure on those at the front. It was like the people are going to die if they don't get a computer. The scene calmed significantly when police back-up arrived and barricades were erected. Inside the warehouse, the pace slowed and people civilly purchased all 1,000 laptops for sale.

This catastrophe could of been avoided by building your own "new, not used" Mac for under $200 and tomorrow I am going to tell you how to do just that. Too bad all these crazy people who got stomped didn't know about my blog beforehand because then they wouldn't be picking their teeth up out of the asphalt. Oh well, like they say...live and learn.