Millennium bug thingy... wassat then?

Jane Wakefield ZDNet.co.uk

Published: 05 Oct 1999 16:05 BST

Not everyone is getting the message about the millennium bug. One Hong Kong woman is convinced it is a stomach upset.

The woman, known only by her surname Chan, handed over $9000 to conmen offering her pills to cure the bug. Chan became suspicious about the pills after attempting to sell them and informed local police.

It is not the first example of millennium bug confusion according to government appointed bug watcher Action 2000. Plenty of UK residents are equally baffled by the bug.

Here are some of the silliest questions asked to Action 2000 in the last 12 months

My friends and I are planning to get stacks of beer in for a New Year party. Have the 'widgits' in beer cans been programmed so that they will work after midnight or should we play safe and buy bottled beer instead?

I've got a lot of Do It Yourself to do around the house before the end of the year. Should I encourage my husband to complete it before January 1 in case his power tools don't work next year?

When will the millennium bug strike again?

My hair dryer has just blown up and is now smoking. Has it got something to do with the millennium bug?

Does the millennium bug mean that I will need to replace the batteries in the kid's toys I purchase for Christmas on New Year's Day?

If everyone knows about the millennium bug then why don't they do something to stop it?

And the silliest:

Is the vaccination against the millennium bug available on the NHS?

Got a special millennium bug question? Tell the Mailroom