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David Emery's Urban Legends Blog

By David Emery, About.com Guide to Urban Legends since 1997

Save Toby?

Tuesday February 15, 2005
Some folks are up in arms about a site called SaveToby.com, wherein it is claimed that a cute, fluffy bunny named Toby will be cooked and eaten unless his owner receives $50,000 by June 30, 2005. Word on the Net has it that there used to be a disclaimer at the bottom of the Save Toby home page stating it's all just a joke, but as of this writing it is nowhere to be found.

We can still suppose with a reasonable amount of confidence that Toby's in no real danger, however, given that the concept is an obvious rip-off of "Save Bernd," a prank Website where a similar hapless critter has been held hostage for the past six months while its owner supposedly awaits a cumulative ransom of 1,000,000 Euros. The fine print at the bottom of Bernd's home page reads: "It's a joke."

I should note that while the PayPal buttons on Save Toby do (at the moment) lead to a functioning account where "donations" can be made (which I don't recommend), it is NOT the same account displayed in a screenshot on the home page, which lists a purported $14,000+ in moneys collected so far even though PayPal says it is currently unable to receive funds. Caveat emptor!

UPDATE: Is SaveToby.com Out of Business?
UPDATE: 'Save Toby' Gets a Facelift

Comments

June 1, 2007 at 3:41 am
(1) Brodie says:

I went on the webiste, and it says that Toby has been saved because Bored.com took over the site…

August 7, 2007 at 12:42 pm
(2) Doug says:

I only wish Toby had been eaten.

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