Sometimes things done by a person for his amusement can only backfire at him later. This might be the case with Stephan Lanka, a biologist and a vaccination sceptic that preposterously claimed anyone who could establish to him the existence of measles would be paid €100,000. Stephan was in for a shock if he thought he could get away with such a joke.
A simple ad that he might have put up for his own amusement came back to haunt him when Dr. David Bardens emailed him an email containing an exhaustive study that established the existence of measles in a renowned journal. Stephan was quick then to back step on his words. But Dr. Daid was not the one to be rubbed off easily. The dispute hence ended in court, where the judge of a regional court in Southern Germany ordered the biologist to fulfill his words. Still, Lanka tenaciously holds on to his claim and intends to apply against the ruling.
Since the existence of measles had been scientifically established and thoroughly researched, it seems that Stephan only wanted to get a little media attention by voicing such an absurd statement but he couldn't have dreamed in his wildest dreams that he could be ripped off his money and all possessions for a stupid harmless advertisement.
Lanka's original advertisement said that measles had not been scientifically and biologically proven to exist. It also said that it was the duty of enlightened one to enlighten the less enlightened ones. Ironic how his own comments have come back to bite him in back. Even more ironically, this weird case has concluded at a time when there is a measles outbreak in Berlin. There have been talks to make the vaccination compulsory after hordes of patients are being received every day in hospitals and there are no signs of it receding.
