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McDonald's Ball Pit Death Hoax

Summary:
Email claims that 3-year-old Kevin Archer died after being pricked by a heroin filled hypodermic needle left in a McDonald's ball pit (Full commentary below.)



Status:
False

Example:(Submitted, June 2007)
DONT IGNORE THIS BECAUSE ITS A LONG ARTICLE PLEASE!! PLEASE

READ!!

McDonalds, Chuck E Cheese, Discovery Zone... All places with ball pits in the children's play area. One of my sons lost his watch, and was very upset. We dug and dug in those balls, trying to find his watch. Instead, we found vomit, food, feces, and other stuff I do not want to discuss. I went to the manager and raised hell. Come to find out, the ball pit is only cleaned out once a month. I have doubts that it is even done that often. My kids will never play in another ball pit. Some of you might not be parents, but you may have nieces, nephews, grandchildren, or friends with children. This will pertain to you too. As I read the following, my heart sank. I urge each and every one of you to pass this on to as many people as you can. I cannot stress how important this is!

Hi. My name is Lauren Archer, my son Kevin and I lived in Midland,TN.

On October 2nd, 1999 I took my only son to McDonald's for his 3rd birthday. After he finished lunch, I allowed him to play in the ball pit. When he started whining later on, I asked him what was wrong, he pointed to the back of his pull-up and simply said "Mommy, it hurts." I couldn't find anything wrong with him at that time. I bathed him when we got home, and it was at that point when I found a welt on his left buttock. Upon investigating, it seemed as if there was something like a splinter under the welt. I made an appointment to see the doctor the next day, but soon he started vomiting and shaking, then his eyes rolled back into his head. From there, we went to the emergency room. He died later that night. It turned out that the welt on his buttock was the tip of a hypodermic needle that had broken off inside. The autopsy revealed that Kevin had died from a heroine overdose. The next week, the police removed the balls from the ball pit. There was rotten food, several hypodermic needles: some full, some used; knives, half-eaten candy, diapers, feces, and the stench of urine.

(You can find the article on Kevin Archer in the October 10,1999 issue of the Midland Chronicle.)

Don't think it's just McDonald's either. A little boy had been playing in a ball pit @ a Burger King & started complaining of his legs hurting. He later died too. He was found to have snake bites all over his legs & buttocks. When they cleaned the ball pit they found that there was a copperhead's nest in the ball pit. He had suffered numerous bites from a very poisonous snake. Repost this if it scares the crap out of you!! Repost this if you care about kids!! Please forward this to all loving mothers, fathers and anyone who loves and cares for children!! What has this world come to?? If a child is not safe in a child's play area then where??

AND FYI:

In Florida and other places on the East Coast a group of people are putting HIV/AIDS infected and filled needles underneath gas pump handles, so when someone reaches to pick it up and put gas in their car, they get stabbed with it. 16 people have been a victim of this crime so far and 10 tested HIV positive. Instead of posting that stupid crap about how your love life will suck for years to come of you don't re-post, post this. It's important to inform people, even if you don't drive, a family member might, and what if they were next?




Commentary:
This email forward combines three widely circulated messages into one. Firstly, it claims that a child died of a heroin overdoes after being pricked by a heroin filled hypodermic needle in a McDonald's ball pit. Secondly, it claims that another child died in a Burger King ball pit after being bitten by venomous snakes. Thirdly, it claims that HIV infected needles are being deliberately left under gas pump handles. All three of these claims are entirely untrue

The first part of this hoax email about hypodermic needles in McDonald's ball pits began circulating late last century and has spawned a number of versions. The tale is so horrific that it is not surprising that the email continues to spread.

Thankfully, the email is a hoax. No little boy named Kevin Archer died as a result of being pricked by a heroin filled hypodermic needle in a McDonald's ball pit.

When the story first began circulating, McDonald's responded with a statement debunking the rumour. According to McDonald's:

We have thoroughly investigated this rumor and it is absolutely not true. There have been no such incidents ever reported at any McDonald's. In addition, there has never been an article in any newspaper regarding this rumor

Another indicator that this is a hoax is that the details keep changing. An early version claimed that little Kevin Archer died in October 1994. The version included above claims that he died in October 2002. Some versions mention Sugarland, Texas as the location of the little boy's death. Others are set in different towns or do not specify any location at all. Some versions state that the story was featured in the Houston Chronicle. However, David Galloway, a former writer for the Houston Chronicle, has denied this.

Frankly, I would not be surprised if various undesirable items found their way into playground ball pits. I guess that it's even plausible that a needle could end up in a ball pit. (When one of my children was in Grade 1, a needle was found in the school sand pit).

However, this vague plausibility in no way warrants the dissemination of this exaggerated and misleading tale. The fact of the matter is that the email contains false information and it should not be forwarded.

Write-up by Brett M.Christensen