Have a heart and forward an email, u sucker!

Every few days, I receive an email with a very touching story about some kid who's always dying of cancer with the footnote that if I forward it to a zillion guys, The Great Benevolent Society of Boneheads or something like that will pay the kid 3 cents for each person on the list. It's so easy to help someone, right? Just click on the names in your address book, and presto, you've reserved a plush seat in heaven for yourself! One email I received a couple of days ago said that someone actually forwarded that email to 500 friends! (Shame on you!) Now that set me thinking... If every person forwards the email to at least two people (ya, stingy friendless buggers), then it would form a geometric progression, so at the rate of 3 cents per email, the poor kid would receive.. let's see:(approx figures)

after 1 stage : 6 cents

after 5 stages : 2 dollars

after 10 stages : 60 dollars

after 30 stages : 64 million (uh, oh!)

after 50 stages : 67,500 billion! (faint.)

not bad, eh? or are we all suckers? Neither can anyone track your email to find out how many people you forwarded it to, nor does anyone have enough money to fulfill the above fantasy. Just forward the email to your trash can. That way, you can at least be charitable to your email provider by not clogging their networks.