BRIAN GARRITY

[June 22nd, 2005] An enticing email came in last week to WW with the heading, "News story?"

"There is an Item on ebay called 'An Earthquake in a can' for sale," the email continued. "They claim it's tied to two other earthquakes in the U.S. during experimental practices in the late 50's or something. I thought it was weird. You may not. Todd." The name attached to the sender's email address, bra_todd@yahoo.com, was Brian Garrity.

Wow, a tip from an alert reader! And there it was on eBay, posted just 49 minutes earlier: "A rare item! A piece of history! One of a kind!" along with a gripping 568-word tale about how the "invention" was first "conceptualized" in Portland in the 1940s by James Hodge, "renowned insurance salesman." Cost: a cool 250 smackers. No bidders as of Monday, but the eBay moniker of the seller, Garrity1979, was curious. Hmm: Where had we heard that name before?

A little digging found that Brian M. Garrity, born in 1979, used to live in Gresham before moving to Florida and New York City. Contacted by WW, Garrity confirmed that he could be reached through bra_todd@yahoo.com. As for his eBay offering, he said Hodge was his grandfather, and as for the story he posted, "I don't know if it's folklore or if it's something that actually happened."

WW: "Do you go by Todd or do you go by Brian?"

Garrity: "I go by Brian."

Garrity's father, Thomas, confirmed that Hodge was Garrity's late grandfather. Thomas' comment when he hears his son's sales pitch: "That's gotta be a joke."

A Google search shows that a novelty called "earthquake in a can"-containing a motor that rumbles when the can is picked up-is available in tourist shops, roadside convenience stores, and online, where it goes for $14.95. (As of Monday, Garrity1979 had no bidders at $250.)

Re-contacted by WW, Brian changed his story, denying he sent the email. So he didn't send an email pretending to be someone other than himself to scam us, get free publicity for a hoax and rip someone off for more than $200? "No." Told that the Yahoo address is affiliated with the name Brian Garrity, Garrity responded: "That's weird."