Can anyone vouch for Peyter Reyd's whereabouts? For added amusement sub India etc for makem references. This is off Yahoo's stuff...

India's monkey man blamed on mass hysteria

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - An investigation has found that a mysterious "monkey man" who spread terror and panic in the Indian capital last month was a product of mass hysteria, newspapers said.

The probe by forensic experts and psychiatrists concluded the monkey-man was a "mere figment of the imagination of emotionally weak people", The Times of India said, quoting police sources.

Large colonies in New Delhi were gripped by fear of attacks after dozens of people reported they were bitten or clawed by the nocturnal "monkey man".

At least three people panicked and fell to their deaths from buildings during the two-week saga because they were convinced the attacker -- described varyingly as a monkey-like creature with metallic claws and a cat with tawny, glowing eyes -- was pursuing them.

Delhi's Joint Commissioner of Police Suresh Roy told Reuters the experts' report had been submitted to the police department during the weekend and would be made public later this week.

Forensic experts and psychiatrists conducted detailed examinations of victims of the attacks and had also visited the locations of the attacks, the newspaper said.

"In most of the cases, the injuries were found to be too superficial to arrive at any conclusion. Most of the wounds could have been self-inflicted," the Times of India quoted police sources as saying.

"It was found many victims changed their statements on several occasions. Psychiatrists concluded most of them were hysterical and could not be relied on."

The Hindustan Times newspaper said at least 35 victims examined by the experts suffered from trauma.

The experts said sensational media coverage of the "monkey man" episode blew it out of proportion.

"It was due to unsubstantiated media reports that people were encouraged to come out with bizarre accounts of the creature though no one had actually seen it," the Hindustan Times said quoting the report.

At the height of the panic, vigilante groups armed with sticks patrolled the streets at night on the lookout for the creature and police announced a reward for information leading to its capture.

Police said they received nearly 350 complaints of sighting or attacks by the shadowy "monkey man".

-- Anonymous, June 18, 2001

Answers

Assaulting Primate

-- Anonymous, June 18, 2001

Reasons for NUFC's poor season discovered.

Early Alzheimer Clues Discovered Treatment

A total of 1,449 people examined in the 1970s and 1980s were re- examined in 1998 when aged 65-79.

Even after smoking, alcohol consumption and age were taken into account, people who had experienced raised blood pressure or high cholesterol levels in mid-life had a significantly higher risk of Alzheimer's disease later.

But the study pointed out that both raised blood pressure and high cholesterol levels can be treated - and could help prevent the development of Alzheimer's.

Recall

Around 60,000 people in the UK have Alzheimer's - named after the German doctor Alois Alzheimer, who first identified the symptoms in 1906.

The disease accounts for 75 per cent of cases of senile dementia, mostly affecting people from 60. A quarter of sufferers are over 80.

A typical symptom is an inability to recall recent events, while old ones can still be remembered clearly. It can take just two years for people to become totally confused by Alzheimer's.

-- Anonymous, June 19, 2001