It’s one of the most widely spread rumors at this university.
If you go to Madam Flora — a palm-reading stop located about a mile north of the campus on Route 1 — and ask for “change for a penny,” you end up paying a little more than a penny for a lot more than a palm reading.
But after undercover Prince George’s County Police officers recently tested the line at Madam Flora more than once and came up blank, owners of the “family-oriented” business said they hope this will finally put an end to what they called nothing more than a rumor that students occasionally attempt to cash in on.
On two separate occasions, District 1 Commander Robert Liberati said, undercover police officers went into Madam Flora, which is rumored to double as a brothel, and attempted to solicit something extra by using the well-known phrase. Both times it didn’t work. Liberati couldn’t offer many details, noting he didn’t want to compromise the identities of the county’s undercover officers.
“I’m sure they were dressed to blend with whatever the clientele [at Madam Flora] is,” Liberati said.
He said the officers were told the notion that the business was anything more than advertised was a mere wives’ tale.
“This is a family business,” said Larry Miller, a spokesman for Madam Flora. “This [rumor] has been going on for a while, and I’d like for it to stop.”
Miller said when palm readers started getting the request, they didn’t know what it meant. Once a patron explained what it was supposed to suggest, the psychic shop made it a habit to ask those who test out the rumor to leave — without a palm reading or anything else.
Flora’s employees have even threatened to call the police, Miller said.
Inside, the business looks as nondescript as they come. The living room, freshly decorated for the holidays, houses a big-screen TV and a couple of couches scattered about the largely empty space. Hunter, a German shepherd, greets visitors as they enter.
A small side room, no bigger than a walk-in closet, is where the fortune telling takes place.
Miller said students frequently use the shop for its designated purpose — to get their fortunes told and palms read.
Prices range from $25 for a palm reading to $75 for a crystal ball reading.
“Sometimes you just get these quacks that want to come in and say stupid things,” he added.
Still, the rumor persists among students, many of whom will swear that they know someone, who knows someone, who has successfully solicited sex at Flora’s.
“I actually am a little surprised,” junior history major Aryaan Azarbarzin said after he learned police declared the rumor false.
Azarbarzin said he had heard of a student, whose name he didn’t know, confirming the tale years back. But as most rumors go, he added, he couldn’t say for sure.
“I’d say like 50-50 [it actually happened],” he said.
Other students said “change for a penny” is one of those stories everyone passes around but never bothers to actually test.
“It’s one of those things you hear as a freshman, but no one actually does it,” sophomore English and chemistry major Chris Kelly said. “All my creepy friends know about it.”
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