HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: billmcc@seanews.akita.com (Bill McCormick)
Subject: Re: What makes an urban legend work?
Organization: SEANEWS - Seattle Public Access News & Mail
Distribution: world,local
Date: Sat, 5 Sep 1992 16:26:34 GMT

In article <1992Sep3.145411.26996@mintaka.lcs.mit.edu> gfm@hal.gnu.ai.mit.edu (George Francis McBay) writes:
>	If it's true, it is pretty sick.  I doubt highly that it's some
>coincidence either.  Just goes to show how incredibly BAD MS is despite all
>their sales.. They have no-brained PC users thinking they are the end-all of 
>software programming.

You missed a smiley here.

For the record, this silliness is just that, silliness.  The glyph encodings for
WingDings fonts were grouped together loosely by topic.

I'm still confused as to why anyone would think there's a message hidden
in the characters "NYC."  What's so special about this string?

ObUL (T): The person who determined the glyph encoding is Jewish, along
with the program manager for the project, along with his manager (the
GM of the group), along with his manager (the VP for Windows).

Bill "I'm not a Microsoft Program Manager; I just play one at work" McCormick
-- 
SEANEWS  []  Seattle News + Mail  []  Public Access  []  +1 206 937 9529
E-mail for PGP key.                   sum -r billmcc.pub gives "33931 1"
From: danoc@earlybird.Eng.Sun.COM (Dan O'Connell [CONTRACTOR])
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban
Subject: Re: A bird in the hand v. 10 birds in the FAQ
Date: 9 Sep 1992 22:45:46 GMT
Organization: Subvert the Dominant Paradigm, Inc.
NNTP-Posting-Host: earlybird

(Sara Maxwell) writes:

 >>Jonathan Papai writes:
 >>>ObFACT : In 1906, a Pygmy was sold to the Bronx Zoo to sweeten a
 >>>deal for a chimpanzee.  They believed the Congolese man, named
 >>>Ota Benga, to be closer on the evolutionary scale to monkeys than
 >>>to humans.  Clergymen raised a fuss, and he was removed from
 >>>display after ten days and placed in an orphanage for black kids
 >>
 Actually, a biography of this fellow was just published--see review in
 last Sunday's NYTimes.  I think "sold" is a bit harsh.  Ota Benga
 travelled back to Europe with some white tourist and worked at World's

ACTUALLY, one of the authors recently invited comment
on his new book in rec.arts.books over the weekend.
Check it out.

Dano

Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban
From:  (Michael Snider)
Subject: Re: Bridges
Followup-To: alt.folklore.urban
Organization: BNR
Date: Wed, 9 Sep 1992 17:05:35 GMT

In article <kefDNTO00XQCNFbGIb@andrew.cmu.edu>, "Robert S. Huss"
<rh50+@andrew.cmu.edu> wrote:
> 
> 	I wouldn't be surprised if the original bridge which
> started the UL about bridges collapsing due to soldiers
> marching in step had some other cause, but I believe the
> possibility exists of "shaking" any structure apart.
> 	Most objects have a resonance frequency, at which
> they will continue a vibration, and amplify it.

[dorm story deleted]

Indeed, I have seen the film (so it must be true!) of the Tacoma Narrows
Bridge shaking itself to pieces because its supports were at the resonance
points.  A very silly mistake on a long suspension bridge.  The film was in
the Engineering Library at Speed Scientific School of the University of
Louisville, presumably to teach proper humility to engineers.

***** Michael Snider ********** alas, no email, so reply by post ******

Talk of fame, honor, pleasure, wealth, all are dirt compared with
affection.
                                                   Charles Darwin          

Critics quarrel with other critics. With an artist, no sane man quarrels.  

                                                   George Santayana        

                      
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban
From: arielle@taronga.com (Stephanie da Silva)
Subject: Re: Third to be bombed...
Organization: Taronga Park BBS
Date: Tue, 8 Sep 1992 05:21:19 GMT

In article <1992Sep4.184825.18056@ultb.isc.rit.edu>, bmb1021@ultb.isc.rit.edu (B.M. Buck ) writes:
> In at least two cities I've lived in there is the claim that that city 
> is "third" on the list of sites to be bombed by the Soviets, because of 
> some strategic importance of the city.  

I always heard Houston was high on the list because of all the oil
refineries and because of the Port of Houston (third largest port in
the US).
-- 
Stephanie da Silva                                    arielle@taronga.com
"I am *not* Tuskernini -- and this is an excellent disguise!" -- Tuskernini
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban
From: warren@nysernet.org (Warren Burstein)
Subject: Re: IS TOLEDO GOING TO THE DOGS?
Reply-To: warren@nysernet.org
Organization: Mail to News Gateway at Wang Labs
Date: 6 Sep 92 00:45:03 GMT

In <1992Sep3.192636.25516@acuson.com> lawson@acuson.com (Drew Lawson) writes:

>I heard that Walt Disney is frozen.

Guess we'll need a larger cannon.
-- 
/|/-\/-\       In real life, the Vice President chastises Murphey Brown
 |__/__/_/     for her morals.  Bill Clinton plays the sax on "Arsenio
 |warren@      Hall."  Though "Batman Returns" is fiction, it's not too
/ nysernet.org much stranger than truth - Caryn James, The New York Times
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban
From: jyc@leo.Stanford.EDU (Jon Corelis)
Subject: Re: North Pole (was: The Flat Earth Society???)
Organization: DSO, Stanford University
Date:  8 Sep 92 23:44:59 GMT

phil@zorch.SF-Bay.ORG (Phil Gustafson) writes:

>Much as I hate to followup to my own postings, I just remembered 
>The first party to reach 90 degrees North, and to be able to prove it
>within reasonable historical doubt, was that led by Roald Amundsen in
>the airship Norge on May 12th or so (strange time zones up there),
>1926.

   This raises an interesting question that I hadn't thought of before:
what time is it at the North Pole?  If the Pole is in a time zone, then
what zone is it in?  If it isn't in a time zone, then is there no way to
tell what time it is there? 
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban
From: perry@Unify.Com (Perry Clarke)
Subject: Re: Colour perception (was: Death by sneezing)
Keywords: n
Organization: Unify Corporation
Date: Wed, 9 Sep 92 22:27:15 GMT

swaim@owlnet.rice.edu (Michael Parks Swaim) wrote:
>In article <n76pbzbc@csv.warwick.ac.uk> csuah@warwick.ac.uk (~WISP at CU~) writes:
>> BTW, I was in Houston a long time ago, and never saw any odd lights:
>>are they new? Where are they???
>  As a matter of fact there's a great one on the corner of Rice at South
>Main and Sunset. The lights are mounted horizontally, and the light for the
>left turn lane has TWO red lights, a yellow one, and a green one. As best
>I can tell, they're being phased out in favor of more traditional lights.
>>The Wisp. [curiouser and curiouser...]
>
>-- 
>Mike Swaim            | Canada will become the next world power
>swaim@owlnet.rice.edu | and they will work to ENSLAVE all the nations
>Disclamer: I lie      | of your planet. -Ricardo
>Cthulhu in '92! The stars are right!

There's at least one set of signals hereabouts that is horizontal and has five
lights.  The two outermost ones are red, the next two in are amber and the
middle one is green.  Good for a double take.

--
Perry Clarke                   perry@unify.com                 (916) 928 6287
Unify Corporation, Sacramento, CA                   I speak only for Me, Inc.
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban
From: flaps@dgp.toronto.edu (Alan J Rosenthal)
Subject: eating minority racial groups (was Re: Eating Dogs)
Date: 7 Sep 92 00:29:54 GMT

jlysagh@hubcap.clemson.edu (james joseph lysaght) writes:
>This was a poor neighborhood but the families were all given seriously
>expensinve cars and fancy homes and all sorts of luxuries to replace and
>compensate their losses.        

Give me a break.  When has an American government ever done something like this?
From: dogbowl@dogbox.acme.gen.nz (dogbowl)
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban
Subject: Re: Colour perception (was: Death by sneezing)
Date: Wed, 09 Sep 92 16:53:42 Y
Organization: The Dawghaus BBS
Comments: Hmmm...

ray@nmsb.larc.nasa.gov writes:

> ObFact: Air Force regulations state that taxiing with your flaps down
> is a request for armed intervention, hijacking in progress.

I wonder how the Surface movements Controller would react if you were
doing this in a 1 or 2 seater?



dogbowl at The Dawghaus BBS  ( +64 6 357-9245 )
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban
Subject: Re: Junk FAX Mail?
From: dogbowl@dogbox.acme.gen.nz (dogbowl)
Date: Sun, 06 Sep 92 06:33:50 Y
Organization: The Dawghaus BBS
Keywords: fax lists
Summary: Some telcos distribute fax directories
Comments: Get a fax-modem, don't waste paper!

grimjack@milton.u.washington.edu (Leslie Basel) writes:

> In article <1992Sep4.184125.17231@sunova.ssc.gov> Chuck Adams <chuck_adams@qm

[ stuff about junk faxes deleted ]

> >This scenario of "Junk" FAXes implies that there is a "list" of telephone
> >numbers out "there" that is somehow passed around/sold like mailing lists ar
> >I don't know of any way that FAX machines could be specifically targeted for
> >FAX messages unless someone dials every phone number in sequential order wit
> >FAX machine to see if a FAX machine on the other end responds.
> >
> 
> Yes I have received junk fax and I know how the phone numbers get around.
> 
 [ (probably correct) theory on how lists are circulated deleted ]

At one point the telephone company in this country had a *fax* directory
I saw a copy of it, but don't know how they got the information.

Best cures for junk faxes I've heard of

 1: Get a faxmodem - that way you only need to print the stuff you want to keep
 2: Send 1000 copies of the offending fax back to its source.
    - This was done recently by the SysOp of a BBS here,
      and is relatively easy to do with a faxmodem
 3: Complain to your Telephone company. Most have strict policies on nuisance
    calls, and regard junk faxes as such.

*environmental plug* - if you must have a fax machine, use a plain paper one -
                       thermal paper is made from chipped hardwood.




dogbowl at The Dawghaus BBS  ( +64 6 357-9245 )


Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban
From: fielden@spot.Colorado.EDU (j.a. fielden)
Subject: Re: The Brady Bunch
Organization: University of Colorado, Boulder
Date: Thu, 10 Sep 1992 18:47:43 GMT

In article <1992Sep9.102718.19462@yang.earlham.edu> uril@yang.earlham.edu (I will not expose the ignorance of the faculty...) writes:
>In article <c8922369.715760702@jupiter.newcastle.edu.au>, c8922369@jupiter.newcastle.edu.au (Leon James Garde) writes:
>> Now, none of the actors who played any of the kids in the Brady Bunch 
>> has died, ok.
>> However there are lots of stories about the deaths of all the young actors.
>> 
>> BTW:  David Knight is in Australia at the momemt flogging software, and
>> looked pretty much alive . The coincedence is that The Brady Bunch 
>> opened as a stage show today, whilst David was around to comment on
>> what it was like being a Brady.
>> 
>> I just thought it would be interesting to hear some of the stories 
>> of the deaths of these infamous actors/actresses.
>> 
>> leon
>
>Recently both "Bobby" and "Cindy" were on the Howard Stern show.  They 
>particpated in a game called "Hooker Howiewood Squares."  It was just like 
>"Hollywood Squares" except there was a real prostitute in each square.
>-- 
>
>Uri J. Lessing |  Earlham College |  Richmond, Indiana

And word is there is going to be a Brady Bunch movie(recast with new people)
with cameos from original cast members.

Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban
From: stame@emunix.emich.edu (Stewart Tame)
Subject: Re: So, what IS the shelf life of Twinkies?
Organization: Eastern Michigan University
Date: Sat, 5 Sep 1992 23:19:13 GMT

In article <1992Sep5.075912.17905@uwm.edu> spice@convex.csd.uwm.edu (James G Spice) writes:
>In article <1992Sep4.015941.4310@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu> jcopelan@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu (James c Copeland) writes:
>>OK, I have heard that Twinkies could last for 20 years?  What is the  basis
>>for this claim?  What is the REAL shelf life of these things?
>>(I have a steak dinner riding on this one).
>>
>I have heard that the Twinkie mascot (that cowboy thing), as well
>as the packaging design have remained relatively unchanged since
>the late sixties so that very old Twinkies can be place on grocery
>shelves right next to new ones.  If they changed anything on the box,
>all the old ones would have to be destroyed.
>

Geez, what is this?  I've often told stories about twinkies being injection-
molded and having an indefinite shelf-life but only in fun.  I never really
believed it.  Twinkies are a processed snack food and, therefore, fun to
pick on but I keep getting the impression that a lot of these people
posting actually *believe* all those stories.  I don't have any twinkies
handy to check at the moment (look for a "To be sold by" date) but I'm
quite sure their shelf-life is *not* twenty years or even one year for
that matter.

		-- Stewart "if the darn things are so able to resist
			decay, how do you think you *digest* them?" Tame

****************************************************************************
 I understand it's obligatory to mention Kibo somewhere in one's postings.
****************************************************************************
		Email:  stame@emunix.emich.edu
****************************************************************************
Disclaimer:  Not only do my opinions represent those of Eastern Michigan
University, but also those of Dan Quayle, Richard Nixon, Frank Zappa,
Pee-wee Herman, Bart Simpson, Tipper Gore, Murphy Brown, Maggie Thatcher,
and the Easter Bunny.
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban
From: thf2@ellis.uchicago.edu (Ted Frank)
Subject: Re: What makes an urban legend work?
Reply-To: thf2@midway.uchicago.edu
Organization: University of Chicago Computing Organizations
Date: Tue, 8 Sep 1992 13:24:39 GMT

In article <x17pbfr4@csv.warwick.ac.uk> csuah@warwick.ac.uk (~WISP at CU~) writes:
>Pre Alka-Seltzer, surely. It would be a brave man whoi'd stand in front of an
>F-16 to cram some down an oncoming bird's throat...
>
>Seriously for a mo: aren't chickens at least as heavy as the average seagull?
>I know their dimensions are smaller, but given that they are bred for food
>rather than function, and so consist almost entirely of succulent cutlets, I
>would have thought their mass would be at least the same as an average
>seagull, if not more.
>
>[no, snopes, no references, nor knowledge of the subject, just a question
>based on observation from afar/from an oven...]
>
When did you see a seagull in an oven?

Ted "susie sells seagulls by the seashore" Frank
-- 
           .........................................................
          ted frank | thf2@midway.uchicago.edu | standard disclaimers
         the university of chicago law school, chicago, illinois 60637
         here i sit looking for a warming smile in a house of cold wit
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban
From: phil@zorch.SF-Bay.ORG (Phil Gustafson)
Subject: Re: Bridges
Organization: Where the wolf has slept by the silver stream
Date: Sun, 13 Sep 1992 18:30:50 GMT

In article <1992Sep11.200543.16837@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu> PAPAI@kcgl1.eng.ohio-state.edu (Jonathan Papai) writes:
>	I heard alot of rumors about the celebration of the 50th
>anniversary of the Golden Gate Bridge.  Appearently (sp?), the
>celebration organizers had planned for people to cross the bridge
>on foot, much like the president and a bunch of Yoopers did the
>other day in  Mackinac.  What I heard was that they started from
>both ends of the bridge, met in the middle, and just stayed
>there.   Something like 500,000 people (hey its a UL, I don't
>know the actual number) on the bridge and the center bending 16
>feet below normal.  Some bridge designer says they were lucky it
>didn't collapse.  I guess they're lucky they didn't start singing
>Louie Louie and jumping up and down.
>
On the bridge's 50th birthday, in 1987, it was closed to vehicles and
opened to pedestrians.  Lots of pedestrians.  Contemporary photographs
show a clear scary deformation in the structure's classic curve.

phil

-- 
|play: phil@zorch.SF-Bay.ORG; {ames|pyramid|vsi1}!zorch!phil                |
|work: (Under Construction)              | Phil Gustafson                   |
|              I'm the cultural elite.  And I vote.   "                     |
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban
From: warren@nysernet.org (Warren Burstein)
Subject: Re: What makes an urban legend work?
Reply-To: warren@nysernet.org
Organization: Mail to News Gateway at Wang Labs
Date: 7 Sep 92 14:53:52 GMT

In <bfqn7lb.obrien@netcom.com> obrien@netcom.com (Robert O'Brien) writes:

    I was led to believe the chickens were chosen such that they would
    approximate about a certain percentile of the seagull population,
    smaller than 'average' but I don't know by how much.

Seagulls you say?
-- 
/|/-\/-\       In real life, the Vice President chastises Murphey Brown
 |__/__/_/     for her morals.  Bill Clinton plays the sax on "Arsenio
 |warren@      Hall."  Though "Batman Returns" is fiction, it's not too
/ nysernet.org much stranger than truth - Caryn James, The New York Times
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban
From: shafer@rigel.dfrf.nasa.gov (Mary Shafer)
Subject: Re: Mnemonics
Organization: NASA Dryden, Edwards, Cal.
Date: Wed, 9 Sep 1992 21:55:15 GMT

On 6 Sep 92 20:16:28 GMT, tb13@ellis.uchicago.edu (leon joel gross) said:

leon> I heard that Adidas was named after the owner, Adi Dasler, who I believe
leon> is Greek.

German, not Greek.  Adi's brother, somebodyelse Dassler, was the
founder of Puma.  Nothing like a little sibling rivalry.

--
Mary Shafer  DoD #0362 KotFR NASA Dryden Flight Research Facility, Edwards, CA
shafer@rigel.dfrf.nasa.gov                    Of course I don't speak for NASA
 "There's no kill like a guns kill." LCDR "Hoser" Satrapa, gunnery instructor
                       "A kill is a kill."  Anonymous
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban
From: stame@emunix.emich.edu (Stewart Tame)
Subject: Re: Notorious Toothpaste Skit
Organization: Eastern Michigan University
Date: Tue, 15 Sep 1992 00:19:05 GMT

In article <1992Sep10.172818.8887@unislc.uucp> dw@unislc.uucp (Dan Wright) writes:
>
>On a small table are a glass of water, a toothbrush, and a tube of
>toothpaste.  The first performer comes on, squeezes some toothpaste onto
>	[description deleted]
>several times, till every last drop is gone.
>
>Have any of you seen a similar trick?  Do any of you know of some other
>device or explanation for this skit?

Yup.  Just do it.  It's disgusting as hell but it's usually possible to
find enough people out of a large group willing to do it.  I remember
being a sophomore at high school band camp and a counselor suggested
that for our mandatory skit, we get together with the freshmen (we shared
a cabin with them) and do the toothpaste routine for our skit.  I can't
recall what we sophomores wound up doing but we *did* persuade the freshmen
to do the toothpaste routine by themselves.  [evil laughter]  I think that,
if this qualifies as magic at all, it's the sort known as "geek magic."
One gentleman I took a closeup class from brought in a small leghold
trap and had it snap on his fingers.  We were all conviced there was a
trick to it but he finally persuaded me to try it.  It really didn't hurt
that much.  I was surprised.

	-- Stewart "of course I'm *much* more mature these days" Tame

****************************************************************************
 I understand it's obligatory to mention Kibo somewhere in one's postings.
****************************************************************************
		Email:  stame@emunix.emich.edu
****************************************************************************
Disclaimer:  Not only do my opinions represent those of Eastern Michigan
University, but also those of Dan Quayle, Richard Nixon, Frank Zappa,
Pee-wee Herman, Bart Simpson, Tipper Gore, Murphy Brown, Maggie Thatcher,
and the Easter Bunny.
Xref: sparky alt.folklore.urban:23235 alt.religion.kibology:3770
From: friedman@gnu.ai.mit.edu (Noah Friedman)
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban,alt.religion.kibology
Subject: Re: Viruses: was(Re: aids started by cia?)
Date: 10 Sep 92 11:23:42 GMT
	<QK4JC04@taronga.com> <BuC2wp.AIz@cs.psu.edu>
Followup-To: alt.folklore.urban
Organization: Free Software Foundation, 675 Mass Ave. Cambridge, MA 02139
In-reply-to: ward@math.psu.edu's message of 9 Sep 92 23:07:37 GMT

In article <BuC2wp.AIz@cs.psu.edu> ward@math.psu.edu (Brian Ward) writes:
>arielle@taronga.com (Stephanie da Silva) writes:
>|Does this mean you're the owner of all those convenience stores?
>
>Of course. Kibo is the big granddaddy of _all_ convenience stores.

   During the past two weeks I spent looking for a new place to live, one
of the major factors in deciding which apartment I chose was how far away
it was from a convenience store that was really open 24 hours a day.  Some
of them, like Christy's, say "always open" but they're not.  Most of them
seem to close at midnight, as kibo can attest to.  Buzzy's is ok, but it's
a long walk. 

   The second consideration was how far away the apt. was from the subway.
From: henryc@panix.com (Henry Chan)
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban
Subject: Re: Safety Margins (was: Sinking libraries)
Date: 7 Sep 92 21:34:25 GMT
Organization: PANIX Public Access Unix & Internet, NYC

In article <1992Sep7.145121.3961@news.columbia.edu> lasner@watsun.cc.columbia.edu (Charles Lasner) writes:
>In article <1992Sep3.190044.25338@acuson.com> lawson@aldia.UUCP (Drew Lawson) writes:
>>
>>The Brooklyn Bridge was mentioned stating that the designer was aware
>>of the problem but didn't have any way to calculate the strengths
>>needed.  So he intentionally overcompensated to make up for the
>>unknown.
>
>The Brooklyn Bridge is known to have been overcompensated with lotsa cables,
>but the usual reason given is that sometime during the course of construction
>it was found out that the cable supplier(s?) were involved in selling
>substandard materials, although I never heard anything to confirm/deny whether
>the actual cable stock used on the Brooklyn Bridge was known to be inferior to
>spec.  The story goes further to explain that 3 times as many as necessary
>were then used to make sure it would function correctly anyway.
>
During the Brooklyn Bridge Centennial PBS broadcasted a couple of shows on
the history of the bridge.  Roebling (not sure of spelling) the main engineer
of the bridge and a member of the board of directors bowed out from the
competition for supplying the iron cables.  The firm which won the contract
didn't know sh*t about manufacturing iron cables and kept submitting the
same good sample over and over again to cover up for their incompetence.
When the fraud was brought to light, the manufacturer was prosecuted, the
engineers quitely added the extra cables and the publicity kept to a minimum.
I forgot the exact reason why, but the program mentioned that Boss Tweed
was a major sponsor of the Bridge and the scandal would've tanish his image.

I don't make this stuff up, I watch public television.  (^-^)

-- 
" I am from the planet Larson on the far side of the Galaxy" said the
space cow invading St. Canard -Dark Wing Duck

HenryC@Panix.Com
From: myk@muppet.bt.co.uk (Mike Holland)
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban
Subject: Re: Colour perception (was: Death by sneez
Date: 8 Sep 92 21:11:49 GMT
Reply-To: myk@muppet.bt.co.uk
Organization: British Telecom Laboratories

> I read once somewhere that scientists discovered a variation in the gene
> that produces the red-sensing pigment of the eye.  The variation is one
> amino acid, and it causes the sensitivity peak of the red cones to be at
> a slightly longer wavelength, and also allows a little extension of the
> visible range into the infrared. 

I've heard that the retina can see some ultra-violet which is filtered by the lens or
 something.  Eye surgery can remove that part and enable the patient to see
ultra violet. I wonder how much difference this makes to vision?

---
 Mike Holland, G38 B83, BT Lab's, Martlesham Heath IP5 7RE, England.
 phone: +44 473 648160; fax: +44 473 648219; e-mail: myk@muppet.bt.co.uk
 <witty quote still on order>