Pherotones have had a brief vogue in the States: “you’ve heard of Pheromones, now try Pherotones!” They are ‘subliminal sounds’ that can be used as ringtones to heighten sexual awareness.Personal testimonials on the website included Derrick from NYC who declared “I wasn’t much of a ladies’ man before Pherotones. Now they call me ‘Mr. Lady’”. Sadly it all turns out to be a viral marketing campaign created by an American advertising agency. During an argument with her boyfriend, Melinda Abell, 24, swallowed her mobile phone to keep him from snatching it from her. The boyfriend called 911 (yes, this was in America) because she was choking. That was his story, anyhow. When Ms Abell awoke after surgery she got to tell her side of things. “It appears she didn’t voluntarily swallow this phone,” a police spokesman said. Marlon Brando Gill, 23, has now been charged with felony assault and served with a restraining order to keep away from her. And presumably not to call her either.No-one ever claimed that all criminals are masterminds, of course. A man broke into a house in Overtornea in the far north of Sweden, stealing a mobile phone among other possessions. The police rang the stolen phone and heard him swearing about the late arrival of a taxi which he had ordered. “The thief answered the phone but then just put it away without turning it off,” said the police, who were able to track down the taxi and arrest the man.And two days after robbing a bank in Auckland, New Zealand, the thief decided they hadn’t given him enough money. So he rang the bank from his mobile phone and demanded the manager meet him somewhere with more money. Yes, he used his own phone. No, it didn’t take long for the police to find him.
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