NEWPORTERS ACCUSED OF BEING NUTTY, BARBIE DOLL ARCHAEOLOGIST
07/09/98 02:08PM 2091 characters 44 lines
** The Associated Press (c). All rights reserved. **
NEWPORT, R.I. (AP) _ The tale of the Smithsonian Barbie doll is one of
those hoaxes that has become an urban legend because of the Internet,
where
it's often difficult to differentiate fact from fiction.
As the story goes, a man named Scott Williams of Newport digs up items
from
his backyard, such as the head of a Malibu Barbie, and sends them to the
Smithsonian Institution, claiming they are ancient archaeological
discoveries.
Although it's a hoax, officials at the Smithsonian and folks named Scott
Williams in Newport say the letter has eaten up their time.
``I had The Wall Street Journal call me last week,'' Scott Williams, a
Newport firefighter, told the Newport Daily News. ``When I first heard
about it, I thought some guys at work were playing a joke on me.''
Williams said when he started digging in the yard to build a new deck,
people accused him of being Scott Williams of Malibu Barbie fame.
``It's not me,'' he said.
The wife of another local Scott Williams also denied involvement: ``We've
gotten all kinds of calls. It's not my husband.''
In the phony Internet letter, Smithsonian curator Harvey Rowe rejects the
items sent by Williams.
Rowe disputed Williams' theory that teeth marks in Barbie's skull are from
``ravenous man-eating Pliocene clams.'' The teeth marks are from a dog,
and
``clams don't have teeth,'' the letter says.
A Smithsonian spokesman says he has gotten numerous calls about the
letter.
``You can tell it's fake,'' Hamlet Paoletti said. ``The letter head says
Smithsonian Institute when it's really Institution. And the address is
wrong. And there is no Harvey Rowe. But it is a well-written letter.''
Paoletti said The Wall Street Journal called his office, too.
Paoletti said the Smithsonian has gotten calls off and on since the letter
first made the rounds in November, 1995.
The letter can be found _ and debunked _ on an Urban Legends Web page at
WWW.Snopes.com under the heading Wooden Spoon. Check under Smithsonian
Barbie.
``A story that good should be true,'' the Web page says. ``But it's not.''
_AP-ES-07-09-98 1508EDT<
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