After yet another email/myspace bulletin claiming that I must pass around said chain letter or suffer bad luck for the next fifteen years, I was wondering why people do this. Is it the fear of actual bad luck or do people just find it fun to pass them around? Also, I would love to hear some of the historical context behind chain letters if you know of it.
2007-03-07 04:20:56 · 4 answers · asked by toomuchtimeoff 3 in Society & Culture ➔ Other - Society & Culture
http://www.silcom.com/~barnowl/chain-letter/evolution.html
Abstract: Apocryphal letters claiming divine origin circulated for centuries in Europe. Around 1900 shorter and more secular letters appeared that demanded the reader distribute copies. Billions of these "luck chain letters" have circulated since then. During thousands of generations they have accumulated remarkable methods of getting themselves copied. For example, complementary testimonials developed, one exploiting perceived bad luck, another exploiting perceived good luck. Using a sample of over 600 dated letters, predominant types are identified and analyzed for their replicative advantage. Key events in chain letter history are examined in detail, including the puzzling origin of money chain letters. A reconstruction of uncollected intermediate forms suggests that around 1932 a luck chain letter actually brought unexpected money in the mail to some who lived in small towns. In 1935 the first money chain letter appeared, the infamous "Send-a-Dime," which was copied over a billion times worldwide within a few months. Newly discovered sources are used to argue that the unknown author of Send-a-Dime was a Denver woman motivated by charity.
2007-03-07 04:57:32 · answer #1 · answered by Cajun_ Creater 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
This Site Might Help You.
RE:
What is the story behind chain letters and why do people spread them around so much?
After yet another email/myspace bulletin claiming that I must pass around said chain letter or suffer bad luck for the next fifteen years, I was wondering why people do this. Is it the fear of actual bad luck or do people just find it fun to pass them around? Also, I would love to hear some of...
2015-08-16 15:32:08 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Origin Of Chain Letters
2017-02-22 06:04:25 · answer #3 · answered by steinbacher 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Here's another write-up on chain letters, why they are started, and why they are spread.
http://chainsmashers.mixxt.com/networks/content/index.Why%20Chain%20Letters%20Are%20So%20Bad%20Pt%201_%20What%20They%20Are%20And%20Who%20Starts%20Them
2014-04-16 05:50:20 · answer #4 · answered by Miss Capri 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
it's all people that are "click-sters",.
http://www.wishbone13569.com..
2007-03-07 04:29:40 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋