Here on the top half of the planet, it's time for Spring Cleaning, which
prompted us to revive this well-traveled hoax mail:



  FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

  CONTACT Richard Schvanski, Corporate Communications
  SOUTHCOAST BELLCOM TO CLEAN PHONE AND INTERNET ACCESS LINES

  Los Angeles, CA - April 22, 2002 - Southcoast Bellcom, a subsidiary of PCG
Communications, is preparing to join telephone companies throughout the U.S.
in a nationwide "cleaning" of all phone and telecom lines this Sunday. "We
do this about every 10 years," said a Richard Schvanski, spokesperson for
the National Telephone Association. "Over time, dust collects in the lines
and this leads to weak connections and static, as well as to broken and slow
Internet connectivity."

  To clean the lines, Schvanski said, all telephone companies will use air
compressors at their central locations in each city to blow a blast of air
through phone lines and cable networks. The 10-minute process will cause
dust to blow through telephone receivers, fax and answering machines, and
both traditional PC and DSL modems in homes and offices throughout the U.S.

  Schvanski explained that most people are being urged to set a newspaper
under their telecom device before going to bed Sunday night. The cleaning
will be done between 2 a.m. and 4 a.m. so as to disturb as few people as
possible, he said. In the past, the spokesperson said, some people have put
a plastic baggy over their telephone's handset to catch the dust, or wrapped
the handset with a cloth to keep dust from getting on their furniture. Cell
phones, pagers, and other wireless devices are not affected.