At a Cenex convenience store, seven people were taken to the hospital as a result of mysterious symptoms experienced by a cashier.

It started when one particular customer went to the counter, and paid for their purchase with cash. The currency in question was laced with a thin layer of white powder, and when the cashier received it, she felt a burning sensation on her hands.

That cashier was prompted by a paramedic–who happened to be on scene–to rapidly wash her hands. When the burning symptom persisted, she drove herself to the hospital. After a HAZMAT team arrived to conduct an initial analysis, they similarly advised the other six customers in the store to seek urgent care also.

Their fears eventually abated after all seven were released from the hospital. The Mahnomen County Sheriff's Office eventually released a concluding statement to ease the minds of a potentially skittish public, implying that there is no imminent danger.

As it turns out, the white powder was simply a form of carbohydrate, a food compound to which the cashier had a pronounced and noticeable allergy.

"We knew it wasn't airborne because the only person with symptoms was the cashier who held the money, the other employees were perfectly fine," Sheriff Doug Krier told CNN.

"She had to be allergic to the powder, as all the symptoms matched an allergic reaction. We just had to make sure that is wasn't a threat to others."

Potential Preaching Angles: 1) Money; Money can cause people to react in different ways, sometimes healthy and sometimes toxic. You don't know how you'll respond unless you actually have some to touch; 2) Influence; Rumor – One person can influence a large group either for good or bad