HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: mrice@eniac.seas.upenn.edu (Matt Rice)
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban
Subject: Re: google??
Date: 12 Jan 93 02:46:38 GMT
Organization: University of Pennsylvania

In article <1993Jan12.005135.11898@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu> PAPAI@kcgl1.eng.ohio-state.edu (Jonathan Papai) writes:
>davew@willow03.cray.com (Dave Wagner) writes:
>>I remember hearing once that a 'google' is 10^100 or something like that. 
>
>1) yes

I thought a google was 10^10, and a googlePLEX was 10^100.

I also think that the number is used/was coined to help deal with molecular
level math stuff, ie modelling canonical ensembles for statistical mechanics
and other heady stuff like that.  And maybe to help deal with distances 
or stars or something when talking about astronomy.

ObQuote: My physical chemistry teacher said the following when talking
about Boltzmann's Distribution Law:  "In stating this law, Boltzmann was 
stating God's truth.  But he didn't know it.  That's why he committed 
suicide."

matt "s = k ln w" rice
U. of PA.
My opinions, blah blah blah...
Xref: sparky alt.folklore.urban:33054 alt.rave:6163
From: jack@dcs.glasgow.ac.uk (Jack Campin)
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban,alt.rave
Subject: Re: Druggie, gang-member teens suck pacifiers
Date: 9 Jan 93 20:47:37 GMT
Reply-To: jack@dcs.glasgow.ac.uk (Jack Campin)
Organization: COMANDOS Project, Glesga Yoonie

starfish@stein.u.washington.edu (Sarah Skovronsky) wrote in alt.folklore.urban:
> KIDS SINK THEIR TEETH INTO A NEW FASHION TREND--COLORFUL PACIFIERS
> by Jeff Donn
> The Associated Press
> SPRINGFIELD, Mass.--Yesterday's rebel without a cause wore a leather jacket
> and white T-shirt, James Dean-style.  Today's sucks a pacifier.  In the
> tradition of bobby sox, madras shirts or "X" hats, pacifiers are becoming
> the latest teen craze in some places.  The pacifiers are worn on a string
> or chain around the neck and are traded like class rings or friendship
> bracelets.  Some educators worry the baby accessory is really a way of
> advertising gang ties or drug use...

I wondered about this one for a few days when I first saw it catching on
here.  Then the penny dropped.  One of the side-effects of MDMA/Ecstasy is
compulsive tooth grinding.  A dummy might well help that.

[Crossposted to alt.rave in the hope that somebody there can confirm or deny.]

-- 
--  Jack Campin    room G092, Computing Science Department, Glasgow University,
17 Lilybank Gardens, Glasgow G12 8RZ, Scotland   TEL: 041 339 8855 x6854 (work)
INTERNET: jack@dcs.glasgow.ac.uk or via nsfnet-relay.ac.uk    FAX: 041 330 4913
BANG!net: via mcsun and uknet     BITNET: via UKACRL    UUCP: jack@glasgow.uucp
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban
From: wvhorn@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu (William VanHorne)
Subject: Re: Why care what percentage?  (was: Gay Likelihood)
Organization: The Ohio State University
Date: Wed, 6 Jan 1993 18:59:44 GMT

>       I guess I haven't been paying attention to the public service
>broadcasts....   Please explain how those of us who don't fool around with
>anyone and don't do drugs, etc are going to contract AIDS?  Or has there
>been a news release that I missed announcing that AIDS is carried by
>misquito bits or something?
>
No, AIDS is only carried by the naughty bits.

Sorry.

---Bill "still no sign of land" VanHorne
From: andor@inode.com
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban
Subject: DOGGONE (WAS: RING IN
Date: 11 Jan 93 09:04:31 EST
Reply-To: andor@inode.com
Distribution: world
Organization: inode BBS, Usenet Access for NYC (212-679-9146)

 -=> Quoting Popec@unkaphaed.gbdata.co to News <=-

 Po> I remember reading this story years ago, but I forget the source.
 Po> I do recall that the Russians had supposedly trained dogs to run under
 Po> German tanks and stay there until the explosives went off. 

The U.S. Navy did similar things with dolphins. I don't know if they blew any
up or not, but they trained them to put explosives on ships. 

... I call things as I see them; If I didn't see them, I make them up!
--- Blue Wave/QWK v2.10
#! rnews 1
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban
From: dsegard@nyx.cs.du.edu (Daniel Segard)
Subject: Re: Net's Funniest Kitchen Disasters
X-Disclaimer: Nyx is a public access Unix system run by the University
	of Denver for the Denver community.  The University has neither
	control over nor responsibility for the opinions of users.
Organization: Nyx, Public Access Unix at U. of Denver Math/CS dept.
Date: Tue, 5 Jan 93 16:07:39 GMT


       I've heard that it is possible to coat sodium in gelitin so that it
won't react with water -- for a while at least.  The trick I had heard was
that you toss these into a person's gas tank and then eventually the small
amount of water in the gas will disolve the geletin and react with the
sodium -- causing the gas tank, the car and the occupants to blow up. 
Works better with a gas tank that isn't filled to the brim I gather, need
some amount of air to react with the gas.  Not a very sure fire <a hmm>
method of killing someone, since you can't be certain of when the geletin
is going to disolve, whether the person will be in the car at the time,
etc.  I think the source for this is "The Poor Man's James Bond" or the
"Anarchist's Cookbook" or something like that.
 

Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban
From: acase@reed.edu (Andrew Case)
Subject: Re: Architect Suicides
Organization: Reed College, Portland, OR
Date: Wed, 6 Jan 1993 18:50:28 GMT

   This isn't exactly on the topic, but it's close enough for my taste.
A guy at work (agaw) told me the following story -
   The Architect who built the first all-stone railroad bridge in
   the US had never worked with bridges before, and there was
   precious little guidance available from his fellow architects.
   Our hero decided that he would simply do his best with the
   Information he had available and set to work. When the bridge
   was finished, there was a grand opening ceremony, with all
   all manner of dignitaries and what have you (including the
   architect) lined up along the length of the bridge to watch
   the first train roll across. As the train eased its way onto the
   bridge, our hero was struck by a moment of doubt about his
   abilities, and leapt off the bridge into the water beneath,
   hoping to avoid death when the bridge collapsed. Yes, you
   guessed it, he drowned, and the bridge is still standing today.

This story took place "somewhere back east" and was accompanied the
ultimate stamp of veracity - "I read it somewhere"

.......Andrew
-- 
This article was dictated to me in its entirety by the angel Moroni.
From: styri@balder.nta.no (YuNoHoo)
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban
Subject: Re: A twist on the "Eskimos have 100 words for snow" UL
Date: 10 Jan 93 23:44:10 GMT
Organization: Norwegian Telecom Research
X-Newsreader: Tin 1.1 PL3

mjenkins@alfred.carleton.ca (Michael Jenkinson) writes:
: [...]
: 
: For instance, he said, there's an African language that has over 1,000
: different words that connote "walk".

Wow, here we go again. Just to be the first to ask the question - do
all 1000 words have only a handfull roots?

: So Jesus "walking" on water is a completely different concept in this
: language as "walking" the road to Damascus, or having a Christian
: "walk".

Don't tell me - this language have a special word for walking on water.
(And they probably know how to do it as well...)


BibleTidbit: When the Lord divided the sea so Moses and his people
             could cross, the sea was only 2 feet deep to begin with.
             (It's a claim made by some researchers. What puzzles me
              is that the Egyptian troops following after managed to
              drown.)

---
YuNoHoo  "however, there was a company making shoes to walk on water"
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban
From: sbooth@lonestar.utsa.edu (Simon E. Booth)
Subject: Re: Sodium in gas tank ( was: Net's Funniest Kitchen Disasters)
Organization: University of Texas at San Antonio
Date: Mon, 11 Jan 1993 04:09:08 GMT


I saw in a cheezy horror film once (forgot the title) where this high school
student flushes sodium  down a toliet, and the princinal drinking from a
drinking fountain nearby gets sprayed.

Is this accurate or art imitating UL?

Simon
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban
From: flaps@dgp.toronto.edu (Alan J Rosenthal)
Subject: Re: Computer theft
Date: 9 Jan 93 04:48:21 GMT

wingo@apple.com (Tony Wingo) writes:
>I first ran into this story around 1969-1970, and it was old then.  
>
>Supposedly the programmer assigned the dummy account an unlikely name
>begining with Z (something like Zzyz), and he was caught when the bank did
>some sort of promotion that involved giving a prize to the two people with
>names at the beginning and end of the account list.

I heard the story in about 1976 in New England (USA).  I heard that the
programmer transferred the fractional cents of interest into his OWN account,
and was living well until he foolishly bragged about it to someone at a party.
I forget whether the target of the bragging turned him in or if he was
overheard by someone else who then turned him in.

(I also believe that this legend appears in my favourite introductory computer
science book, _Computer_Science:_A_Modern_Introduction_, by Goldschlagger (sp?)
and Lister.  But I could be wrong.)
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban
From: Gregg Woodcock <woodcock@bnr.ca>
Subject: Re: Amusing signs (can make you $$$!)
Date: Tue, 5 Jan 1993 17:13:46 GMT
Reply-To: Gregg Woodcock <woodcock@bnr.ca>
Organization: Bell-Northern Research, Richardson, Texas

In article <C0C24A.CBt@kathunk.phaedrav.on.ca>, nigel@kathunk.phaedrav.on.ca (Nigel M Burnett) writes:
|> Ian A Parkin (twod@socrates.demon.co.uk) wrote:
|> : Well in Holland they have a round red sign with a picture of a dog 
|> : pooping in the middle, with NO diagonal red stripe !! Yes thats right 
|> : folks, if your dog want a poop then this is the place to drag it. 
|>  
|> : Only the dutch eh !
|> 
|> No, I have a photograph of the same sign that I took in Hong Kong two
|> years ago.  In fact, I have photos of wierd signs from all over the
|> world.  I figured that I'd send them all into NatLamp one day but I
|> lost their address.
|> 
|> Nigel (rarely without a camera) Burnett

The newest "Assignment America" for the American TV show "America's
Funniest Home Videos" (also known as "America's Worst TV Personality")
is to find funny street signs and tape them on video and send them in.
I don't know what the address is.  Also, The Andy Rooney tail end of
60 minutes this week was all about stupid street signs, etc.  If you
do send a tape in please also send in a letter telling them that the
host (Bob Sagat) is a moron and his jokes are never funny and always
stupid and insulting to your intelligence and please fire him as soon
as possible (and also cancel "America's Funniest People" as it has no
redeeming qualities).

Gregg "America's horneriest TV viewer" Woodcock
-- 
THANX...Gregg   woodcock@bnr.ca   day 214.684.7380   night 214.530.2495
*CLASSIC VIDEOGAME COLLECTOR BUY/SELL/TRADE PRE-NINTENDO (ARCADE/HOME)*
"If you quote me on this I'll have to deny it; I won't remember because
I have such a bad memory.  Not only that, but my memory is *terrible*."
From: Bruce.Tindall@launchpad.unc.edu (Bruce Tindall)
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban
Subject: Re: Rush!Rush!Rush!
Date: 9 Jan 93 20:33:05 GMT
Organization: University of North Carolina Extended Bulletin Board Service

In article <C0K2Dr.KC8@rahul.net> phil@rahul.net (Phil Gustafson) writes:
>As usual, Bruce is spiking the afu punch with a little class and erudition.

Gee, thanks, Phil!!! 

>|        Satirical matter is not necessarily identified as such.            |

...uh, never mind.


>God-awful voice.  I can't sing much, but I can do better than Mrs. Jenkins,
>even on hard stuff like the forging song from _Seigfried_.

"Nothung! Nothung! Neidliche Zweielektrodenroehre!"  (Look *that* up in 
your RundFunk & Wagner's.)

>I once had a rather remarkable Florence Foster Jenkins album, but can't
>find anything between Jefferson Airplane and Janis Joplin among the
>pop vinyl, or anything with a "J" in the classics.  

There was one, probably a re-issue, circa 1975, entitled "The Glory(???)
of the Human Voice" -- the parens and question marks are part of the
title.  Unfortunately I don't have it any more.  Rhino Records could
have been the publisher but I can't remember.

Bruce "you ain't seen Nothung yet" Tindall

--
   The opinions expressed are not necessarily those of the University of
     North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the Campus Office for Information
        Technology, or the Experimental Bulletin Board Service.
           internet:  laUNChpad.unc.edu or 152.2.22.80
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban
From: rkw@zuni.unx.sas.com (Randy Whitehead)
Subject: Re: kpix SCREWS UP (was Re:    Skyscraper FALLS DOWN.)
Originator: rkw@zuni.unx.sas.com
Date: Thu, 7 Jan 1993 13:46:19 GMT
Organization: SAS Institute Inc.


In article <1993Jan7.032437.2106@samba.oit.unc.edu>, Bruce.Tindall@launchpad.unc.edu (Bruce Tindall) writes:
|> In article <726360869.AA00304@csource.oz.au> Terry.Smith@f870.n800.z3.fidonet.org (Terry Smith) writes:
|> >     I'll duck 'coz I can't give citations, but I believe the book was
|> >originally titled '1948', but the publishers wanted it changed.
|> 
|> I hadn't heard that, but I had heard that Orwell's original title for
|> _1984_ was _The Last Man in Europe_, which doesn't have the right ring
|> to it at all, and is doubly un-PC to boot.
|> 

Just to add to all the Orwell Legends (tm)...

I have here a copy of a newspaper ad from several years ago (I believe
it was in the NY Times) which touts a book called _George Orwell: The
Lost Writings_.  Here's an exerpt:

   "They reveal not only a stunning portrayal of war-torn England 
    but also a unique, unexpected view of the genesis of the great 
    works that followed: _Animal House_, here in embryo as a radio 
    adaptation of an Italian fable..."


-- 
Randy Whitehead         And now, back to your regularly scheduled day...    
SAS Institute Inc.                     
rkw@unx.sas.com
From: scm@harvee.billerica.ma.us (S. Mudgett aka little gator)
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban
Subject: Re: Ring in the New Year with Some FAQs
Date: 5 Jan 93 13:47:44 GMT
Reply-To: scm@harvee.billerica.ma.us
Organization: gators 'r us
X-Software: HERMES GUS 1.10 Rev. Dec  7 1992
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit


>>  - little gator's non-biological gator, harvee (sorry, no use of
>>    the "s" word here)
thank you for getting it right.  fnord, another of my nonbios, has an account
on alt.sex.bondage, in case anyone cares.

-- 
-- little gator aka s. mudgett     email: scm@harvee.billerica.ma.us
-- friend of a gator is a friend of mine
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban
Subject: Re: Amusing street names
From: derek@nezsdc.icl.co.nz (Derek Tearne)
Date: Fri, 8 Jan 93 04:30:01 GMT
Organization: Fujitsu New Zealand

In article <a902t9j@rpi.edu> kasprj@rpi.edu writes:
>In article <1993Jan5.211940.12605@nezsdc.icl.co.nz>, derek@nezsdc.icl.co.nz (Derek Tearne) writes:
>|> Dave Budd writes:
>|> 
>|> >Mornington Crescent
>|> 
>|> But can you remember the rules?
> 
> Is it anything like Foggy Bottom? I was once told that it was a variant
>of a London-based game with some weird name, and Mornington Crescent does
>ring a bell.

Could well be.  Mornington Crescent was popularised on a radio comedy
program called I'm sorry I haven't a clue.  Other games included 'Sound
Charades' and 'I spy in one' and 'late arrivals for the [insert wierd
society] ball'.

They always played Mornington Crescent but made a point of never revealing
the rules.

At first we assumed there were none,  then it dawned on us that it had
something to do with London tube stations.  Not being a Londoner or having
a tube map available I never quite worked out the rules.  Does foggy bottom 
sound similar?  If so, and you know the rules please let me know

Please reply by e-mail as I don't read this newgroup 

Derek "I've always wanted to say that!" Tearne



-- 
Derek Tearne.   --   derek@nezsdc.icl.co.nz   --    Fujitsu New Zealand   -- 
 _______
 _______} This is a Usenet condom<tm>.  Roll the condom over the .signature 
	  file before posting to protect yourself from .sig retro-virii
From: twcaps@tennyson.lbl.gov (Terry Chan)
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban
Subject: Re: Upside-down burglar
Date: 11 Jan 1993 22:17:09 GMT
Organization: Department of Redundancy Department
Reply-To: TWChan@lbl.gov (Terry Chan)
NNTP-Posting-Host: 128.3.12.117

PAPAI@kcgl1.eng.ohio-state.edu (Jonathan Papai) writes:
  +
  +ObUL:  The oboe is the oldest woodwind of essentially unchanged design.
  +It's invention is attributed to Obik, the Swiss-Austrian neolithic
  +homosexual, circa 5000 BC.

So where did they find it?

Terry "Oh.  Never mind." Chan
--
Energy and Environment Division   | Internet:  TWChan@lbl.gov
Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory      | 
Berkeley, California  USA  94720  | Yeah, right.
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban
From: thf2@ellis.uchicago.edu (Ted Frank)
Subject: Re: Pygmy stuff (was; someting else)
Reply-To: thf2@midway.uchicago.edu
Organization: University of Chicago
Date: Tue, 12 Jan 1993 22:38:25 GMT

In article <1isodlINN491@rave.larc.nasa.gov> e.h.bogart@larc.nasa.gov (Ed Bogart) writes:
>This reminds me of the old Bob and Ray bit about the Pygmy tribe that had
>been found living in South america.  They were the world's largest Pygmys
>with an average hight around 5' 4".
>
>If you don't know who Bob and Ray were, I dont' want to talk to you.
>
>Ed "I remember radio" Bogart

Radio?  What's that?

Ted "I have a cousin that went to yeshiva with Ben Stiller" Frank

ObUL:   Stephen Jay Gould wrote about some African woman that was kept in
        captivity in late-19th century England.
-- 
ted frank                     | thf2@ellis.uchicago.edu 
standard disclaimers          | void where prohibited
the university of chicago law school, chicago, illinois 60637
never shout movie in a crowded firestation
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban,alt.folklore.college
From: sbooth@lonestar.utsa.edu (Simon E. Booth)
Subject: Re: Who Kresge was (Was: Re: Architecture (Was: Architect Suicides))
Organization: University of Texas at San Antonio
Date: Mon, 11 Jan 1993 02:59:08 GMT

In article <1993Jan10.160005.21109@samba.oit.unc.edu> Bruce.Tindall@launchpad.unc.edu (Bruce Tindall) writes:
>Sebastian Spering Kresge, 1867-1966, established chains of retail stores.
>In the 1890s he was a partner of John G. McCrory ("McCrory" stores are or
>were until recently to be found in sad parts of declining downtown areas,
>another victim of the shopping malls).  Eventually he became the sole owner
>of his company.
>
>Kresge stores had a policy of selling nothing priced over 10 cents, until
>inflation caused the limit to be raised to 15 cents around the time of World
>War I, and eventually to one dollar.  The company opened the first K-Mart
>in 1962 and changed its name to K mart Corporation in 1977.
>
>(Until K mart changed its logo recently, you could see the two letters
>"SS" in the vertical bar of the "K" -- the founder's initials.  I'm
>surprised this didn't cause a UL to the effect that K mart was a front
>for the Naz

Actually, for the 'SS' in the K-Mart logo to cause trouble they would probably
have had to have been the double lightning bolt design used by both the
Nazis and the rock group 'KISS'


Simon

Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban
From: bill.dehaan@rose.com (bill dehaan)
Subject: Mother Lifts Car Off
Organization: Rose Media Inc, Toronto, Ontario.
Date: Mon, 4 Jan 1993 06:04:09 GMT
X-Gated-By: Usenet <==> RoseMail Gateway (v1.70)


Date Entered: 01-04-93 00:50
In message <1992Dec30.181141.24093@midway.uchicago.edu>,
pynq@quads.uchicago.edu (Jeremy Mathers) writes:

JM>I thought cars only burst into flames on TV.  Isn't it just a UL?

Nope. I've seen it happen. Twice. It's pretty rare, though. Usually,
it's caused by a _major_ sideways collision where the gas tank ruptures,
and there's usually some additional stimuli (in one case, the moron's
back seat was filled with cans of turpentine). But even when it does
happen, it's nowhere near as spectacular as you see on TV. Just sort of
a "whoof", as flames engulf the car, followed by a pop as the gas tank
goes up.

----------------------------------+-----------------------------------------
Deus Ex Machina                   | Internet:   bill.dehaan@rose.com
Software Consulting and Gator Pit | Eradicate Hunger - Eat the homeless
----------------------------------+-----------------------------------------
---
   SLMR 2.1a   Veni, Vidi, VCR -- I came, I saw, I taped.
   RM 2.00 : RoseNet<=>Usenet Gateway : Rose Media 416-733-2285
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban
From: msb@sq.sq.com (Mark Brader)
Subject: Re: Amusing signs
Summary: Boring clarification
Organization: SoftQuad Inc., Toronto, Canada
Date: Wed, 6 Jan 93 08:36:47 GMT

> Well in good old Holland they have a round red sign with a picture
> a dog pooping in the middle, with NO diagonal red stripe !!

I'm surprised I haven't seen another article pointing this out,
but the fact is that in some European countries the red circle
is used for negation both with and without the diagonal stripe.

No, not both ways on the same sign.  Sheesh.
-- 
Mark Brader		"NO LEFT TURN INTO CLOVERLEAF ALLEY EXCEPT FROM THE
Toronto			 MIDDLE LANE OF THE OUTER ROADWAY -- SUNDAYS AND
utzoo!sq!msb		 ALTERNATE HOLIDAYS EXCLUDED UNLESS CHURCH SERVICES
msb@sq.com		 ARE IN PROGRESS"   [former Killington, VT, road sign]

This article is in the public domain.
Xref: sparky alt.folklore.urban:33052 alt.folklore.college:3367
From: mrice@eniac.seas.upenn.edu (Matt Rice)
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban,alt.folklore.college
Subject: Re: Architect Suicides
Date: 9 Jan 93 18:56:28 GMT
Followup-To: alt.folklore.urban
Organization: University of Pennsylvania

In article <1993Jan08.170236.13938@src4src.linet.org> zaphod@src4src.linet.org (Steve Wechsler) writes:
>In article <1993Jan7.182142.11816@crd.ge.com> meltsner@crd.ge.com writes:
>
>>And there's the story of the engineering or architecture student at
>>MIT that had his thesis rejected because he showed the campus's Kresge
>>Auditorium's roof would crumble and collapse.  Twenty years later, it
>>got darn close to doing just that because of water infiltrating under
>>the lead sheathing.
>
>This may be more than legend.  I remember taking a tour of MIT when I
>was a college hopeful (no, I didn't get in) about 10 years ago, and
>the tour guide mentioned that story.  S/he also said that the author
>of the thesis was finally awarded his degree.

This proves nothing.  Here at Penn, the tour guides tell the story of
an architecture student who designed Irvine Auditorium as a thesis.
It was rejected.  Years later, when said student was a rich alum, he
donated lots of money to the school provided they use it to build his
auditorium.  The catch is, he changed the design so it would collapse
after a hundred years or so.  As proof, the guides point out that the
auditorium is around one hundred years  old, and the walls and ceiling
are definitely falling down.

Problem is, this is still an unfounded legend.  The building is
falling down not due to faulty design, but because no preventative
maintenance has been performed on the building since about 1975.
Also, the designer's name and the grad student's name aren't the same.

IMHO, the water infiltration is just a coincidence, as the falling
ceiling is a coincidence here at Penn.

-----------------------------
random punchline of the day:
"They can't figure out how to get two quarts of water into that little package"
matt rice, U of PA
mrice@eniac.seas.upenn.edu