When a California woman ordered a tiny Russian hat from Amazon, the Jacobin magazine writer didn’t expect the online retailer to mix up her order and deliver illegal scorpion venom instead.
Journalist Megan Day took to Twitter on Thursday to tell her story and reveal how Amazon accidentally sent her the wrong package in a series of tweets.
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BOY DO I HAVE A STORY FOR YOU. I tried to order some felt sauna hats that say “oligarch” on them from an Amazon seller named RussianBear, for me and my friends who like to sauna, like as a joke (though I actually really wanted one) pic.twitter.com/uRZGzTKVFx
— Meagan Day (@meaganmday) January 25, 2018
“Boy do I have a story for you,” Day wrote in all caps in her first tweet. “I tried to order some felt sauna hats that say “oligarch” on them from an Amazon seller named RussianBear, for me and my friends who like to sauna, like as a joke (though I actually really wanted one).”
A month later I got a package from Ukraine containing only a contraband Cuban cancer drug made from blue scorpion venom. That’s it. That’s my story. pic.twitter.com/imGNv87nIF
— Meagan Day (@meaganmday) January 25, 2018
“A month later I got a package from Ukraine containing only a contraband Cuban cancer drug made from blue scorpion venom,” Day wrote in the second tweet. “That’s it. That’s my story.”
Along with the tweet she posted a photo of a yellow envelope covered in mail stamps and a small white box with the lable “Videtox” on the front.
“I just wanted to schvitz in style, now I’m an illegal venom owner,” Day joked.
Twitter naturally found the whole experience to be hilarious.
This story takes exactly one turn, but it’s a good one https://t.co/jxpXKlqn9r
— Seth Pollack (@sethmpk) January 25, 2018
My favorite thing on the internet today: https://t.co/cuiJI7mPAS
— Elizabeth Harball (@ElizHarball) January 25, 2018
“This story takes exactly one turn, but it’s a good one,” Twitter user Seth Pollack tweeted.
“My favorite thing on the internet today,” wrote Elizabeth Harball.
One woman who saw Day’s story actually reached out and offered her advice on where to find the type of hats she was looking for without having a similar mishap happen again.
“If you really want a sauna hat, order from the St. Petersburg store in Brighton Beach,” user Jerri Bell wrote. “They have a good selection & can probably order what they don’t have in stock.”
Day appreciated her help, responding with, “Thank you, this is actually very helpful in my time of need.”
Amazon hasn’t commented on the situation, but Day appears to have formulated a theory.
“Theory: somewhere on the dark web are instructions to purchase these oligarchical felt hats from Amazon in order to receive the illegal scorpion drugs. The seller intentionally chose a bizarre niche product that no one would ever organically, mistakenly order. Except me of course,” she wrote.
