The big chain letter experiment that evolved from the Small World experiment attempted by Stanley Milgram, who is probably better known for his controversial electric shock "obedience to authority" experiment.
There is no real theory or law to this six or any number degrees of separation stuff, and since Mr. Milgram's experiment had certain rules that didn't involve sending out packages to as many people as possible, nor was it an MLM/pyramid scheme, I am reluctant to label his personally conducted "Small world Experiment" as a 'chain letter.
All other copycats with this Six Degrees stuff, especially the online varieties are a whole different story.
Unlike Mr. Milgram's experiment, these email and social network versions of Six Degrees are nothing but a big viral and info collector. The chain letter has come in the form of that ridiculously popular Facebook group everybody seems to be in, and at least two email mutations, of which are about to be mangled.
😮Meme1: Six(6) Degrees of Separation
🧝♀️Ocean Elf: Six degrees of bullcrap. This is nothing but a chain letter dressed up to look like some sort of human social experiment.
Guess what? I didn't fall for this malarkey in email or Facebook group form and was seriously annoyed at seeing so many FB friends on that stupid six degrees group.
😮Meme1: OK guys, here goes.
🧝♀️Ocean Elf: Knock it off with the carefree attitude bit, you're interested in two things, user info collecting, and spreading this meme.
😮Meme1: You’ve all heard the story that everyone in the world is separated from each other by 6 or less people, right???
🧝♀️Ocean Elf: Yeah, I've heard of it, along with the one about the frog who turned into a prince at love's first kiss. I stopped believing every story long ago, certainly grew out of belief in fairy-tales and chain letters before the age of 10.
😮Meme1: For example, I pick a random person that I don’t know. Well, I know someone (first degree), who knows someone (2nd), who knows someone (3rd), who knows someone (4th), who knows someone (5th) who knows someone (6th), WHO kNOWS THE RANDOM PERSON.
🧝♀️Ocean Elf: Bull. I could pick some random person seen on TV in a report about the Ucrane/Russia conflict, and absolutely nobody else I know would know them or have any connections to them…
😮Meme1: When you first think about it, it doesn’t seem possible.
🧝♀️Ocean Elf: It doesn't matter if it's possible or not. What matters is this is a made-up stat theory put into a chain letter scheme for collecting users and info. Six degrees, 2 degrees, 10 degrees, it just doesn't matter, because you either know people or you don't. some are connected with others you know and many more are not. That's life. You can't just group everybody into neat little bunches of six degrees of this or that.
😮Meme1: But think of it like this-say you know 1,000 people, and each of them knows 1,000 people.. etc.
🧝♀️Ocean Elf: It comes out to thousands of degrees of anything from separation to connection/association somewhere. big deal.
😮Meme1: If you multiply it out, it comes to more than 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 people.
🧝♀️Ocean Elf: That's what I just said, thousands of thousands and thousands. You know some, you don't know most. Some know some, most don't know most. Big deal. There is no magic six degrees here.
😲Meme2: I believe, as do others, that everyone knows someone who knows someone else, who knows someone else, who knows you…
🧝♀️Ocean Elf: Fine. I believe sometimes the toss of a coin yields heads, other times tails. Doesn't matter one iota. I don't believe all coin tosses result in 50/50 one or the other every time. So if you and your other people want to believe in the magical six degrees, that's your problem.
😮Meme1: ( this person can’t do math. If I know a thousand, and they know a thousand then 1000 times a 1000 is 1000000.
🧝♀️Ocean Elf: Duh. You are boring the heck out of me. A million people still doesn't make your silly 6 degrees thing work. Neither can a million grains of sand, a million amebas, a million shots in the dark, or a billion chain letters resulting from a million internet shots in the dark.
Your knowing a thousand and their knowing another thousand people doesn't mean that person "can't do math" nor does it change the fact that a thousand thousand is a million… It doesn't matter if you know a thousand people who each know another thousand but for the fact you're trying to get everyone's information and for them to pass on your chain letter and you're doing it through the means of some childish numbers game.
😮Meme1: What a dunce!
🧝♀️Ocean Elf: Yeah, YOU are a dunce!
😮Meme1: BT) Now it seems possible huh??
🧝♀️Ocean Elf: Possible schmossible. Who cares? It doesn't matter if a person knows a hundred people or just one other… It doesn't matter who knows who who also knows who else…
😮Meme1: Well, are you still not a believer??
🧝♀️Ocean Elf: Well duh! I still don't believe in the frog prince either...
😮Meme1: Well, don’t worry, I’m not either. That’s why I’m starting this.
🧝♀️Ocean Elf: That has got to be the most ludicrous contradiction I've read in a while! If you didn't really believe in this crud, you would be mangling this kind of chain letter instead of having actually started it! Stop lying. You're not going to rope me into giving out my info with your pretentious claim to disbelief in something you started, something you say you believe in the first mutation anyway.
😲Meme2: So, as an experiment,
🧝♀️Ocean Elf: Chain letter experiments aren't really experiments, just like chain "tag" isn't real "tag" so let's drop the euphemisms. It's a chain letter.
😲Meme2: I would like to start a list.
🧝♀️Ocean Elf: Translation: you would like to get a chain letter going to collect a bunch of people's names and emails and whathaveyou in a list of info you can collect. Yeah, I'm sure you'd really like that.
😲Meme2: When you get this,
🧝♀️Ocean Elf: I get annoyed.
😲Meme2: sign it
🧝♀️Ocean Elf: no, more like mangle it.
😲Meme2: and pass it onto as many people as you’d like,
🧝♀️Ocean Elf: That would be no one. I like a lot of people, so am not passing this rubbish on to them. I wouldn't even send it to someone I didn't like.
😲Meme2: and then they’ll pass it to someone they know,
🧝♀️Ocean Elf: If they did, they wouldn't have gotten it from me.
😲Meme2: and they’ll pass it to someone they know,
🧝♀️Ocean Elf: Which is exactly how every other stupid internet viral is spread, genius!
😲Meme2: and eventually it’llget
back to you and I with a LOT of names on it…
🧝♀️Ocean Elf: That's back to you, not me, since I don't send crud around. If it gets to me at all, it gets around to me, not back to me. And it's as I've said, it's a big info-collector.
😲Meme2: (Providing you sign this and pass it on,
🧝♀️Ocean Elf: Not happening.
😲Meme2: instead of just leaving this alone or deleting it)
🧝♀️Ocean Elf: No signing or sending. Who said anything about just leaving it alone or deleting it? Without mangling it, how is anyone going to get any chance at getting a hint that spreading memes isn't cool?
😮Meme1: In alphabetical order I listed the states in the USA, Canada, and a spot for others. So here goes. I’ll be the first person to put my name on the list under my state or country. With it I will include my email address, my age, and today’s date so we’ll be able to see how long this thing actually takes. Then I will send this to all the people that I know have email. They will add their names to the list by copying this email and inserting it, and they will send it to all the people they know that have an email address. Now this only works if everyone participates. Just think of how cool this thing would be.
🧝♀️Ocean Elf: See? What did I tell ya? Info and email address collection racket, a spammer's dream!
I say, to heck with your ploy at innocent curiosity. I am not putting my name, age, or anything else under the states/provinces/whatever you have listed, and most definitely not forwarding it on to anyone else!
This chain will lie mangled and bleeding out on this site, exposed for the info-collector it is!
😮Meme1: After you put your name on the list,
🧝♀️Ocean Elf: Which will never happen, dork.
😮Meme1: it should eventually come back to you from other people.
🧝♀️Ocean Elf: Which is exactly one of the big annoyances with chain letters. Only a spammer or an idiot who believes in chain letters would want copies and copies of it coming back to them.
😮Meme1: If you see someone’s name on the list that you know, send them an email to let them know you got it.
🧝♀️Ocean Elf: No. There is nothing at all amazing about seeing people you recognize reposting or being shown in the headers of chain letters.
😲Meme2: This isn’t a chain letter,
🧝♀️Ocean Elf: Big honking lie! It IS a chain letter, and nothing but!
😲Meme2: there is no little curse,
🧝♀️Ocean Elf: Hey idiot! You know that not all tablets are iPads,, not all buildings are houses, not all rodents are mice, right? By the same token, not all chain letters contain silly little "curses". All it takes to be a chain letter is to be a meme. Memes are chain letters, curse or no curse.
😲Meme2: or anything,
🧝♀️Ocean Elf: The "or anything" in this case is the big catch, that it's a user info-collecting chain letter scheme masquerading as some kind of "fun experiment". And, it's annoying as heck!
😲Meme2: so if you don’t want to be a part of this,
🧝♀️Ocean Elf: Oh, brother, cut the reverse psychology tactics. I'm cutting to the chase here. The fact is, YOU WANT people to "take part" in this, and you're trying to soften the hard sell to make this whole stupid thing sound more appealing as you try coming off as not quite the obnoxious jerk you really are for starting this crap.
😲Meme2: then press delete now.
🧝♀️Ocean Elf: *Rolling eyes* In other words, you want nothing but people forwarding this dumb junk along, or simply shutting up and not mangling it, well, this is not going your way.
😲Meme2: Otherwise, sign it and pass it on!
🧝♀️Ocean Elf: No! This chain letter is getting the mangle treatment! Both your suggestions are soundly rejected.
😮Meme1: So here goes guys, have fun!
🧝♀️Ocean Elf: Oh, shut it!
😮Meme1: Oh, and, erase the forwards at the top so we don’t all have to look through a million of em, thanks!!
😲Meme2: (Oh yeah, by the way, DELETE ALL THE FORWARD CRAP ON THIS LETTER!!!)
🧝♀️Ocean Elf: Yet you want everybody's email addresses. So how does cutting them out work to accomplish that?
😲Meme2: For those of you who don’t do it,
🧝♀️Ocean Elf: Don't do what? Delete the headers? Or just not do the chain letter? Stripping out the headers doesn't make it any less a chain letter.
😲Meme2: it’s really annoying for those of us who do!
🧝♀️Ocean Elf: I have news for you, this chain letter is really annoying, period!
😮Meme1: *hug*
🧝♀️Ocean Elf: Ewwww! *Scows and fists fly* Don't you EVER try that again!
To top this off, a bunch of people actually bought into it. First list is from the first mutation, followed directly by the signers of the second.
😮Meme1: Alabama:
1.
Alaska:
1.\
Arizona
1.
Arkansas:
1.
California:
1. Susan L., 16, 7/3/98 MightyKali@aol.com
Colorado:
1.
Connecticut:
1. Jillian Tanner, 15, 6/10/98
JTanner23@AOL.com
2. Christine Truchsess, 16, 6/10/98
Blondi131@AOL.com
3. Shannon van Haaften, 16, 6/10/98
Purple221@aol.com
4. Pete Carlson, 17, 6/10/98
Ooohra1@aol.com
5. Jill Fay, 17, 6/11/98
Astra77777@aol.com
6. Sarah Setear, 6/12/98 Starestar@aol.com
7. Kristin Bojanowski, 19, 6/13/98
LovesBry7@aol.com
8. Cassie Davis, 16, 6/28/98,
Cassied95@aol.com
Delaware:
1. Francesca Selvaggio, 16, 6/29/98
2. Carly, 6/30/98, NovaMush@aol.com
3. Erin, 10/1/81, erinscott@juno.com
4. Mike, 10/04/79, kurita@juno.com
5. Sean, 7/2/98, lucktorn@aol.com
Florida:
1.
Georgia:
1.Gwen Nestlehutt, 38, 7/15/98,
Ttunewg098@aol.c0m
2. Lauri, 30-something :-) 7/25/98,
Laurel4492@aol.com
Hawaii:
1.Mia Takahashi, 14, 8/16/98,
ms_jones6@hotmail.com
2.Keri Yabusaki, 8/17/98,
keri80@hotmail.com
3.Kelly M, 14, 8-27-98,
babydoll_11@goplay.com
4.Jason S., 14, 8-29-98
5.Mychael S. 14, 8-30-98,
ukulele@hotmail.com
6.Jason Sugibayashi 8-30-98
7. Brennan, 8/31/98,
brennyboy78@yahoo.com
Idaho:
1.
Illinois:
1.
Indiana:
1.TOM BINGHAM SPACEmonkey22@juno.com
2.Todd Houchin,14,HoochT83@aol.com
3.Mark Baker, 14, WundRWal84@aol.com
4. Sheryl 40, SheNewt@aol.com 7/25/98
Iowa:
1.
Kansas:
1.Tara Nelson 13, ms.galooskyloo@juno.com
8/14/98
2. Amanda Cless 13, amanaloo@juno.com
8/15/98
Kentucky:
1. LinaInve1@aol.com
2. Freebird56@aol.com (Linda) 7-26-98
3. CUZNSPEEDY@aol.com (Crystal,
Louisville 7-28-98)
Louisiana:
1.
Maine:
1.
Maryland:
1.
Massachusetts:
1. Jonathan Saulmon – 16 – 7/3/98 -
Mercutio33@aol.com
2.
Michigan:
1. Dan Mulka 6-13-98, BGMULK@aol.com (GO
WINGS!!)
2.
Minnesota:
1.
Mississippi:
1.
Missouri:
1.
2.
Montana:
1.Lesli Lodahl 10/6/82 Lildolly@aol.com
(Billings)
Nebraska:
1.
Nevada:
1.
New Hampshire:
1.
New Jersey:
1. Megan Grotrian, 14, Nutmeg260@AOL.com
7/5/98
2. Bailey Burke – 13 – Babs228@aol.com -
7/5/98
3. TR Straub – 14 – MagillaG83@aol.com -
7/5/98
4. Jenna Goldate ~ 14 ~ Pretzel131@aol.com ~
7/5/98
5. Jen
Andzeski…14…Fullrtnap2@aol.com…7/6/98
6. Rob
Hajdas~~14~~Guerilla36@aol.com~~7/06/98
7. Jessica
Fernandez….14…Shme711@aol.com…7/7/98
8. Karishma
Pradhan…..14…Vanilla184@aol.com…7/8/98
9. Stacy Barich…almost
14…Sk8erchi74@aol.com or
>Swtsugar45@aol.com…..7/8/98
10.Chris McIntosh 36, 7/15/98,
CMM620@prodigy.net
New Mexico:
1.
New York:
1. Tracy Heyd, 17, hide@localnet.com 5/27/98
2. Jillian McEvoy 16, rainbow5@localnet.com
6/7/98
3. Candace Litwin, 18, Candi346@AOL.com
6/7/98
4. Heather Menchini, 15, Tropikcana@AOL.com
6/7/98
5. Kasie Paterson 16, Pita KC@AOL.com 6/8/98
6. Jaremy Perry 17, TheHipFan2@aol.com 6/9/98
7.
North Carolina:
1.
North Dakota:
1.
Ohio:
1.Channa Brown 14, Babych4850@aol.com
(7/10/98)
2. Ryan Washburn – 14 – RGSword@Aol.com -
7/11/98
3. Danielle Harlow 14, Sunkist616@aol.com
(7-13-98)
Oklahoma:
1.
Oregon:
1.
Pennsylvania
1. Brittany Frazier, 16, 7/3/98,
Elayne15@hotmail.com
Rhode Island:
1.
South Carolina:
1.Nancy Spires 7/25/98 nspires@aol.com
South Dakota:
1.
Tennessee:
1. Katie Young, 19, TiggerJMM@aol.com
Texas:>
1. Keri Wilhelm, 22, FancyRose1@aol.com
2. Sharon Wilber, 15, 6/15/98,
BryanWhite35@hotmail.com
3. Jessica Oakley, 16, 6-19-98,
khaspers@hotmail.com
4. Lindsay Gallegos, 15, 6-19-98,
lynze_13@hotmail.com
5. Athena Sparrow, 15, 6-20-98,
levithian@yahoo.com
6. Jessi “Cricket” Morris, 15, 6-20-98,
CricketJV@aol.com,
or morriss@texas.net
7. Daniel Griego, 15, 6-20-98,
MMBfan@juno.com or
Icehealer@hotmail.com
8. Megan Mazour,13,8/14/98,luvbug_690@yahoo.com
Utah:
1.
Vermont:
1. Mike Boland,16,ShinGIkari@aol.cum
Virginia:
1. Debbi Arseneaux, 20, 6/27/98,
Tgggr17@aol.com
Washington
1.
West Virginia
1.
Wisconsin
1. Jeni Howe, July 14,1998, Petrie1001@aol.com
2. Dwayne Taylor, june 15,1998,
Dwayne312@aol.com
3. Kari , July 15, 1998, IMKC2000@aol.com
4. Kim, Mommcds or Kimmy62, both on aol.36ys old
July 15
Wyoming
1. Dan Harkins 15, recieved 7/29/98
redgremlin@hotmail.com
2. Heidi Crouch 16, Recieved 7/29/98
auggie_27@yahoo.com
3. Heidi, 14, recieved 7/30/98
heidive@hotmail.com
4. Tessa Schweigert, recieved 8/4/98
tessajeanS@juno.com
Canada
1.
Other
1.
😲Meme2: 1. Jason DeVelvis, Sidney, Ohio, USA (Crashburn@hotmail.com)
2. Gauri HOT Shrotriya, Sidney, Ohio, USA (gauri1@hotmail.com)
3. Anna Search, Sidney Ohio, USA (beth_9@hotmail.com)
4. Jennifer Eblin, Tipp City, Ohio, USA (flirty13@hotmail.com)
5. Rob Schaeffer, Tipp City, Ohio, USA (rts2@hotmail.com)
6. Carol Rutledge, Barrie, Ontario, Canada (carolr@hotmail.com)
7. Christopher Earl Smith, Cleveland, Ohio, USA(mythical187@yahoo.com)
8. Shari Halladene, Brooklyn, New York (tyler_10@hotmail.com)
9. Eva Englund, Sundsvall, Sweden (eva.englund@mailcity.com)
10. Leslie Baur, Daytona Beach, Fl (reddeye@bellsouth.net)
11. David Engel, Clifton,Texas (sportsman62@hotmail.com)
12. Noybe Baskrtte,Alamogordo, New Mexico (spiffycool@hotmail.com)
13. Lynda Coppenbarger, Deming, NM (disoldcat@hotmail.com)
14. Daniel Coppenbarger, Deming, NM (skater_pro@hotmail.com)
15. Nicolas Hurtado, Deming, NM (nico@zianet.com)
16. Brian R. Freeman, Deming, NM (generalpenguin@hotmail.com)
17. Voodoo (voodoo@zianet.com)
18. Duane Williams, Houston, TX (Suzyastro@aol.com)
19. Jennifer Breckon, Kingston, On (breckon@hotmail.com)
20. Marcy Carew, Dayton, OH (carewmaa@flyernet.udayton.edu)
21. Jessica Gruenke, Dayton, OH (gruenkjl@flyernet.udayton.edu)
22. Adam Wieser, New Holstein , WI (wieser@fdldotnet.com)
23. Angie Denny, Fort Atkinson, WI (dennygirls@juno.com)
24. Cyndi Moldenhauer, Fort Atkinson, WI (cyndimoldy@hotmail.com)
25. Ryan Purdy, Fort Atkinson, WI (elpurdo@hotmail.com)
26. Sam Simon, Fort Atkinson, WI (simosam15@hotmail.com)
27. Lesley Baird, Fort Atkinson, WI (drummergurl@hotmail.com)
28. Andy Gerke, Fort Atkinson, WI (pie_tasters@hotmail.com)
29. Rachael Mewies, Fort Atkinson, WI (seawench01@hotmail.com)
30. Eric Lonsdale, Fort Atkinson,WI or DePere,
WI(lonsdale98@hotmail.com)
31. Lizzy Mae Marr, Fort Atkinson, Madison, WI(lizzymae13@hotmail.com)
32. Joy Radcliff, Fort Atksinson, WI or Valparaiso,
IN(jcr98@hotmail.com)
33. Jackie Cola, Middleburg Heights, OH (jackie_cola@hotmail.com)
34. Heidi Johnson, Fort,WI or Whitewater,
WI(englishmuffin@hotmail..com)
35. Amy Stoffel, Huntington, IN (punkchik_42@hotmail.com)
36. Angie Harris, Fort Atkinson, WI (anhee@hotmail.com)
37. Nick Bollis,Brantford,Onatrio,Canada (bloodclawx@hotmail.com)
38. Andrea Sherwood, Denver, Colorado (VampyreChyld@hotmail.com)
39. Allen Bishop, Stratford, New Jersey (delicious_420@hotmail.com)
40. Jeffrey Yakaski, Clementon, New
Jersey(Jeffrey.L.Yakaski@drexel.edu)
41. Melissa Hargus, Pittsgrove, New Jersey (mhargus@vt.edu)
42. Kirstyn White, Pittsgrove, New Jersey (whitekr@clarkson.edu)
43. Tiffany Mavica, Clifton Park, New York (mavicatc@clarkson.edu)
44. Kate Ivanowicz, Piqua, OH (ivanowke@clarkson.edu)
45. Maryann Wilson, Sidney OH (maryannw@hotmail.com)
46. Diana Egbert, Sidney, Ohio (princess_di79@hotmail.com)
47. Ruth Steurnagel, Delta, Ohio (angel_eyes2741@hotmail.com)
48. Carl Bradley , Sidney, Ohio (rallycmb@bellsouth.net or
carlos_555@hotmail.com)
49. Matt Sontag , Houston, Ohio (msontag@hotmail.com or
sontag@edison.cc.oh.us)
50. Jason DeVelvis, again, Sidney, Ohio, USA (crashburn@hotmail.com)
51. Doug Oliver , Versailles Ohio (douglasoliver@hotmail.com)
52. Ben Neikirk, Troy, Ohio (neikirk@bright.net)
53. Adam Voisard, Troy, Ohio (akavois10@bigfoot.com)
54. Tricia Miller, Eaton, Ohio (milrinc@hotmail.com)
55. Erika Rupp, West Lafayette, Indiana (erupp1@purdue.edu)
56. Megan Ott, Oxford, Ohio (ottmc@muohio.edu)
57. Adam B. Ewing, Fairborn, Ohio, (ewing.2@wright.edu)
58. Ryanne Mawer, Eaton, OH, (Knoxville, Tennessee) (rmawer@utk.edu)
59. Jason Lange, Piqua, Ohio (Knoxville, Tennessee) (elange@utk.edu)
60. Elizabeth Lavy, Piqua, Ohio (Mishawaka,
Indiana)(elilavy@hotmail.com)
61. Leslie McDonald, Olmsted Falls, OH (mcdonale@po.muohio.edu)
62. Colleen Donahue, Olmsted Falls, OH (cldonahu@kent.edu or
Langs315@aol.com)63. Leigh Melendez, Olmsted Falls, Ohio
(MoDew22@aol.com)64. Jon Wirtz, Mentor, Ohio, (jonwirt@bgnet.bgsu.edu)
65. Brian Redenshek Oxford,OH (redensbm@muohio.edu)
66. Cory Parker Erie, PA, ( parker005@mail1.gannon.edu)
67. (i wanted to be 69) Breanne Farrell Erie,Pa,
(farrell002@mail1.gannon.edu)
68. Samantha Bouquin home-Monahans, TX, school-Lubbock, TX
(sexysam@netscape.net)
69!!BROCK BEJCEK!! Lubbock, Tx (TTU) 70. Kelly Allbright Lubbock, TX (TTU) {kellyallbright@hotmail.com}
71. Cara Hamm Greenville, SC (Furman University){cara.hamm@furman.edu}
72. Katrina McClanahan Roswell, GA (Furman Univ.
Greenville, SC)
(katrina.mcclanahan@furman.edu)73. Ashley McClanahan Prince
Frederick MD
(ashley@chesapeake.net)74. Beth Radford Dunkirk, Maryland
(radforb@wam.umd.edu)75. Ben Bannister Dunkirk Maryland
(gbbannister@yahoo.com)76. Matt Joncas Mclean Virginia
(mattjoncas@yahoo.com)
77. Kevin Hendricks Louisville, Kentucky
78. Stacey Zanger Louisville, Kentucky
79. whitney carter….louisville, ky.
80. Meryl Shoshana Levine….. Louisville, Kentucky
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