The Craig Shergold Fiasco

A correspondent named Cathleen asked me what the Craig Shergold Fiasco was. Here's my reply (with verified facts, etc).

In 1989, Craig Shergold was a 9 year-old boy in England with terminal cancer. Before he died, he wanted to get into the Guinness Book of World Records for te most post cards received. His story was spread over the Internet and via office fax, flyers, etc. He was inundated with post cards. He made the Guinness Book of Records.

Post cards continued to pour in. The postal service was not amused any more than Craig's family, as several bags of mail arrived each day for the next few years. The pleaded with people to stop. The story went out by Internet, fax, flyers, etc, but nowhere nearly as fast as the continued pleas for post cards. Just this past year, my wife's mother got a 12th generation or so copy of a flyer asking people to send him business cards so that Craig could get into the Guiness Book of World Records before he died. Craig never wants to see another card of any sort as long as he lives, I'll bet. The Guiness Book has done away with this type of record, precisely because of all the problems.

8 or 9 years later, the UK post office still gets bags of post cards (and probably business cards, playing cards, birthday cards, and get-rich-quick offers) for Craig Shergold. People still think he's a dying kid in the UK.

That's what I'm trying to prevent by controlling distribution.

You can also read the official Make-A-Wish versionof the story on the Web.

Last updated: 24 May 1997

Miles O'Neal <meo@XYZZY.rru.com> [remove the "XYZZY." to make things work!] c/o RNN / 1705 Oak Forest Dr / Round Rock, TX / 78681-1514