My brother called my mom yesterday and told her this story:

My brother, who lives in LA, is friends with an older woman who has a 15 year old son. Recently, at the supermarket, the son noticed that a "middle eastern" man had left his wallet at the checkout. As any good boy scout would do, the son grabbed the wallet and chased after the man to return it. The man was very grateful, and offered to give the son a reward for his good deed. Apparently, the wallet was loaded with large bills, and the son was offered $200. The son refused, and the man became annoyed. Then he said, "Well, I'm very grateful to you, so I will save your life. Don't drink any dark-colored cola for the next one to two years." Then the man promptly left. The son told his mom, and they called the police, but they were laughed at.

This seems pretty scary to me, but you have to keep in mind that I'm probably hearing this FOURTH-hand, and my mom is not always a reliable source (nor my brother for that matter). Either way, it bothered me enough to research it on the internet. I found out that this is a HOAX. Here's some more info about it. Here too. This story has been circulating on the internet and by word of mouth since 2001. I'm sure my brother doesn't really know this woman and her son, but read about it in an email, and my mom was confused about the whole thing.

The only problem is that this version of the story is different from all the other versions. In the other versions, the man doesn't have enough money to pay; he doesn't lose his wallet. Also, in the other versions, there is a date, on which the "attack" will begin (which probably gives it away that they are hoaxes).

Either way, we all should probably drink less soda anyway for health reasons. If we can scare people into being healthy, I'm all for it!