HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban
Subject: Wet Suits and Deep Diving (was UL: Monumental LSD overdose)
Date: Thu, 17 Dec 1992 18:44:34 -0500

Recently, Bill Nelson posted:

  bn> : (While we're at it, how much pressure will a wet-suit take before
  bn> it's useless?)
  bn> 
  bn> It won't become useless. The pressure inside and outside the wetsuit
  bn> is the same. They rely on the poor heat conductivity of water to keep
  bn> you warm, not on any insulating ability of the suit itself.

Excuse me Bill, but that's not quite right.  As I pompously expounded in a
posting elsewhere, a wetsuit works on two principles:  the insulating properties
of water (the "wet" part) and the insulating properties of gas bubbles within
the neoprene that the wet suit is made out of.  

A properly fitted wetsuit is very snug, so that once water enters it, the water
is warmed by the body and serves as insulation.  Water has a very high heat
capacity, and is a poor heat conductor.  That part you got right.  The second
part is air or nitrogen bubbles within the neoprene which also serve to
insulate.  As you go deeper, the bubbles shrink due to the increasing pressure,
and the lower the insulating effect of the neoprene.  The effect is very
noticeable, especially if you are wearing some sort of strap over your wetsuit,
because as it constricts the straps loosen and dangle.  Eventually, with
repeated use, the neoprene becomes "crushed" and you have to replace the
wetsuit.  The thickness of the neoprene very much determines how well the suit
insulates, a 1/8-inch suit is noticeably less warm than a 1/4-inch suit.

You are right on the other count, however.  Nitrogen narcosis can kick in at
60-80 feet, while oxygen toxicity is usually experienced at deeper depths (below
130).

I can also testify that you can see just as many stars during the day as you can
at night from the bottom of a flooded quarry (almost a well).  

Regards,
Tom Rettie

Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban
From: styri@hal.nta.no (YuNoHoo)
Subject: Re: I Live to FAQ!
Reply-To: styri@nta.no
Organization: Bohemians and Globetrotters, Unlimited
Date: Thu, 17 Dec 92 13:24:38 GMT

In article <BzDMCE.Du3@rahul.net>, phil@rahul.net (Phil Gustafson) writes:
|> In article <1992Dec10.162940.7754@nntp.nta.no> styri@balder.nta.no (YuNoHoo) writes:
|> >> F. Person high on drugs stares at sun -- gets partial blindness.
|> >
|> >Here's a medical reference.... 
|> 
|> We're missing the UL part of this story.  Nobody questions the fact that
|> it's possibly to damage one's eyes badly by staring at the sun -- remember
|> all the cautions last time an eclipse came around?  (Do eclipses get as
|> far north as Norway? But I digress.)

True, the referenced guy was only high on the straigt dope. I admit that I
posted to reiterate the story. Christmas is coming and I'll have some Spare
Time to go looking for loose ends. And, FAQ entries like the above makes me
ask stupid questions...

Anyway, it's the "F" that bothers me. Staring at the sun may kill your view.
It sounds reasonable to believe that some "trips" may cause people to stare
at bright lights. Now, "it could have happened" seems to be a cute label that
probably helped the UL get around.

The "F" label says "100% falsehood" as opposed to the "T" (Tiberius or Terry?)
label that says "100% scientific truth". Now, I interpret the "F" to have
a "couldn't have happened" meaning. I may be wrong, but I sure am confused.

|> The legend is that LSD caused some
|> unspecified number of people to stare at the sun till they went the Helen
|> Keller route.

Good, then it's "LSD" rather than "drugs".

|> This story is the easiest UL to trace that I have come across.  It seems
|> that in September or October of 1967  _Newsweek_ magazine, and probably
|> other contemporary sources, cariied the story.  Two or three folks tripped,
|> stared, and blew their retinas.  A month or so later, the same magazine
|> printed a retraction:  the whole story had been a fiction put together
|> by antidrug activists.

Sure, but labelling the generic scenario as 100% falsehood? Is this an
extension of the legal (UL) principle that you cannot be tried twice for
the same crime?

---
YuNoHoo  "now, where did I put that eclipse path map"
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban,ba.general,alt.locksmithing
From: richg@hatch.socal.com (Rich Greenberg)
Subject: Re: Liquid Nitrogen to defeat The Club (was: where to buy a CLUB ...)
Organization: Hatch Usenet and E-mail.  Playa del Rey, CA
Date: Sat, 19 Dec 1992 21:45:38 GMT

In article <93Ch020z2f.E01@JUTS.ccc.amdahl.com> tjc50@juts.ccc.amdahl.com (Terry Carroll) writes:
>In article <1992Dec16.200733.28306@pony.Ingres.COM>, kevinq@Ingres.COM (Kevin 
>Quinn) writes:
>> Another good way to clobber the Club, apparently used by some pros, is
>> to pour liquid nitrogen on the lock area; once cold-soaked, a smart
>> rap with a hammer shatters the sob.
>
>With all due respect, sounds like bullshit to me.  I'm following up to 
>alt.folklore.urban; any comments?

Terry, this has been covered on alt.locksmithing almost as completely
as we have covered Craig Shergold here.  The short answer is that
it is not BS,  but carrying liquid N2 isn't the easiest thing to
do.  Cutting the steering wheel with a hacksaw or bolt cutters is easier.
-- 
Rich Greenberg      Work: rmg50@juts.ccc.amdahl.com   310-417-8999
N6LRT               Play: richg@hatch.socal.com       310-649-0238
What?   Me speak for Amdahl?  Surely you jest....
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban
From: obrien@netcom.com (Robert O'Brien)
Subject: Re: I Live to FAQ!
Organization: Netcom Online Communications Services (408-241-9760 login: guest)
Date: Thu, 17 Dec 1992 22:39:44 GMT

Rather than make you wade through a pile of other people's stuff first,
here's what I have to say:

This sounds like a perfect use for the FAQ style "Fb "  -meaning that
although we are NOT convinced that it ever *has* happened,
we can believe that it *could* happen

Terry?  I think this calls for a small edit:

 F. Person high on drugs stares at sun -- gets partial blindness.
*to*
 Fb. Person high on drugs stares at sun -- gets partial blindness.


	Bob"stares at a.f.u -- gets partial stupidity" O'Brien

* * * beyond this point, only stuff you've probably already read * * *

In article <1992Dec17.132438.2743@nntp.nta.no> styri@nta.no writes:
>In article <BzDMCE.Du3@rahul.net>, phil@rahul.net (Phil Gustafson) writes:
>|> In article <1992Dec10.162940.7754@nntp.nta.no> styri@balder.nta.no (YuNoHoo) writes:
>|> >> F. Person high on drugs stares at sun -- gets partial blindness.
>|> >
>|> >Here's a medical reference.... 
>|> 
>|> We're missing the UL part of this story.  Nobody questions the fact that
>|> it's possibly to damage one's eyes badly by staring at the sun -- remember
>|> all the cautions last time an eclipse came around?  (Do eclipses get as
>|> far north as Norway? But I digress.)
>
>True, the referenced guy was only high on the straigt dope. I admit that I
>posted to reiterate the story. Christmas is coming and I'll have some Spare
>Time to go looking for loose ends. And, FAQ entries like the above makes me
>ask stupid questions...
>
>Anyway, it's the "F" that bothers me. Staring at the sun may kill your view.
>It sounds reasonable to believe that some "trips" may cause people to stare
>at bright lights. Now, "it could have happened" seems to be a cute label that
>probably helped the UL get around.
>
>The "F" label says "100% falsehood" as opposed to the "T" (Tiberius or Terry?)
>label that says "100% scientific truth". Now, I interpret the "F" to have
>a "couldn't have happened" meaning. I may be wrong, but I sure am confused.
>
>|> The legend is that LSD caused some
>|> unspecified number of people to stare at the sun till they went the Helen
>|> Keller route.
>
>Good, then it's "LSD" rather than "drugs".
>
>|> This story is the easiest UL to trace that I have come across.  It seems
>|> that in September or October of 1967  _Newsweek_ magazine, and probably
>|> other contemporary sources, cariied the story.  Two or three folks tripped,
>|> stared, and blew their retinas.  A month or so later, the same magazine
>|> printed a retraction:  the whole story had been a fiction put together
>|> by antidrug activists.
>
>Sure, but labelling the generic scenario as 100% falsehood? Is this an
>extension of the legal (UL) principle that you cannot be tried twice for
>the same crime?
>
>---
>YuNoHoo  "now, where did I put that eclipse path map"


Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban
From: porges@beretta.camb.inmet.com (Don Porges)
Subject: Re: "In Bed" - The origin of...
Keywords: in bed
Organization: Intermetrics Inc.
Date: Mon, 14 Dec 1992 22:27:31 GMT

In article <1g7jacINN15l@pms706.pms.ford.com> ekimmina@pms001.pms.ford.com (Eric Kimminau) writes:
>HI!  
>
>
>Can anyone else think of where they heard this first
> used? Im trying to find out for sure if I am the true
> originator "in bed"...
>
>
>Eric Kimminau
>ekimmina@pms860.pms.ford.com

My mother reports that she first heard of this in junior high school,
which would be the mid-1940s.
-- 
					-- Don Porges
					porges@inmet.camb.inmet.com
					..uunet!inmet!porges
From: jfurr@polaris.async.vt.edu (Joel K. Furr)
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban
Subject: Re: The El
Date: 20 Dec 92 03:00:24 GMT
Organization: Escape from Blacksburg, VA

In article <28085@dog.ee.lbl.gov> TWChan@lbl.gov (Terry Chan) writes:
>jfurr@polaris.async.vt.edu (Joel K. Furr) writes:
>
>  +Interestingly, it's called the El because it's an elevated train.  Not the
>  +"L"... the El.
>
>Oh.  I thought it was the "L" for "Lemur Train."
>

Dammit, Terry, I don't think about lemurs ALL day long.

Sometimes I think about fruitcake.

But while we're on the subject of elevated train folklore, is there any
not having to do with ice?  Given that subways and elevated trains bring
you in contact with LOTS of people, some of whom have sex right there in
front of you and then DARE to smoke a cigarette, you'd think there was
lots of urban train folklore.  

About the only case I can recall was told me by a friend in New York who
said that transit cops had recently gotten in trouble for letting a dead
passenger ride around for at least a week without checking on him. 
Passenger in question was apparently a homeless person who died hunched
over in his seat, like he was sleeping.  It was a week before anyone
noticed anything out of order and went over to check on him.  He'd been
dead long enough that he was starting to smell, but of course other
passengers and the cops said that they thought all homeless people smelled
like that.  
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban,alt.shenanigans
From: kodak@mentor.cc.purdue.edu (Jason 'KodaK' Balicki)
Subject: Re: mailing for almost nothing (was Re: Send ....)
Keywords: money
Organization: Purdue University Computing Center
Distribution: Here.......there. 
Date: Mon, 14 Dec 1992 08:19:29 GMT

In article <Bz8JtH.4qG@mentor.cc.purdue.edu> boenne@mentor.cc.purdue.edu (Robert C. Boenne) writes:
>Well, I'm interested too but correct me if I'm wrong, but if you make the return
>address the same as the sending address and don't put a stamp on it, it'll get
>there.

Well, now that depends on where you send it from and where you send it to.
If you try to send it to Ontario, CA from W. Lafayette, IN that way, 
you aint got a snowballs chance in hell, if you send it to someone
else in W. Lafayette it may work.

I've tried various things: trying to get a good seal and filling it 
(the envelope) with helium, didn't work at all.
And putting a baloon filled with helium in the envelope.  It makes
it too bulky.  I did manage to send an empty box for less money
than it would have taken normaly.  (Yes, I did use a control.)

>	Robert
>
>
>-- 
>How far you go in life depends on your being tender with the
>young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving,
>and tolerant of the weak and the strong.  Because someday in life
>you will have been all of these. -George Washington Carver


--Jason Balicki
kodak@mentor.cc.purdue.edu
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban
From: ruthc@sco.COM (lucy throb)
Subject: Re: "In Bed" - The origin of...
Organization: The Santa Cruz Operation, Inc.
Date: Mon, 14 Dec 1992 15:38:10 GMT
Keywords: in bed


In article <1992Dec11.075404.2356@adobe.com> cjackson@adobe.com (Curtis Jackson) writes:
>In article <1g7jacINN15l@pms706.pms.ford.com> ekimmina@pms001.pms.ford.com (Eric Kimminau) writes:
>}Can anyone else think of where they heard this first
>} used? Im trying to find out for sure if I am the true
>} originator "in bed"...
 
>You *must* be joking. I heard that one at least 20 years ago,
>although we always used "between the sheets" instead -- slight
>variant.

I'd always heard "between the sheets", tho just recently
was introduced to the varaint "in bondage"...

heh.

-r
-- 
"but uni doesn't do permanent damage if left on too long"
                                                  -chucko@westmark.stanford.edu
From: rperkins@astro.as.arizona.edu (Rachel J. Perkins)
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban
Subject: Re: Mnemonics
Date: 15 Dec 92 00:01:31 GMT
Distribution: na
Organization: University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ

In article <200@kc2wz.bubble.org> bob@kc2wz.bubble.org (Bob Billson) writes:
>sysbrc@loki.albany.edu (Brian Cuttler) says:
> [...stuff gone...]
>
>>>>Only problem is that this is wrong. Pluto is closer to the sun that Neptune.

>>
>>Pluto and Neptune cross orbits.  Neptune is currently inside of Neptune's
>                                  ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>>orbit and will be inside of it for another 6 or 7 years.  90% of the time
> ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>>tho Pluto is on the outside.
>
>Now that IS a neat trick! :-)  Been talking to the Professor of Mathematics
>who recently put forth his theory on sci.astro?  He proposes moving Venus to
>Earth's orbit and thereby making Venus inhabitable. :-)
>
>(I know the above was a typo, just couldn't resist. :-)

sorry, the above was NOT a typo. the two orbits are not exactly circular
 (in fact all orbits in our solar system are elliptical), and so it is the 
case that for some of its orbit, neptune is on the inside, and for some of 
it, pluto is on the inside.  since the two planets are in different planes
of elevation, they are EXTREMELY unlikely to collide. so it's not a case
of putting them in the same place at the same time, although their paths do 
cross in two places. so, prepare to have your diodes rearranged for those
misused smileys. phil?

bah.

rachel "astrophysics student who should be studying for her final" perkins


--
		    -just give me what for,
	rachel perkins =  rperkins@astro.as.arizona.edu
      coed naked internet grep! always keep your link up!
From: bls@sector7g.Eng.Sun.COM (Brian Scearce)
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban
Subject: Re: challenger explosion
Date: 12 Dec 1992 01:51:00 GMT
Organization: Sun Microsystems
Distribution: world
Reply-To: bls@sector7g.Eng.Sun.COM
NNTP-Posting-Host: sector7g

In article 37267@dosgate, steve.ginter@canrem.com (steve ginter) writes:
> Pardon my asking, but are you the Cindy Davies I knew at the University
> of Waterloo?

No, I'm not.

Brian "Although I did attend that august (or is that jejune) institution" Scearce
---
Brian Scearce                                           bls@sector7g.eng.sun.com
              The above does not necessarily represent Sun policy.
                  "You can't fit the truth on a t-shirt, man."
                                 "That'd fit."

Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban
From: starfish@stein.u.washington.edu (Sarah Skovronsky)
Subject: More on "Thad"
Organization: University of Washington
Date: Thu, 17 Dec 1992 17:42:05 GMT

I am listening at the moment to a newsradio interview with the people who
are analyzing "Thad's" letter.  According to the experts, there is a certain
amount of doubt regarding the fact that this letter was written by a child,
and a certain amount of suspicion that the whole thing is quite bogus.

(One of the people on the radio was checking the handwriting, and it has
some signs of an adult trying to imitate a child's writing.)

The Port Angeles, WA police department is still treating the letter as if
it were real, and they are continuing the search for the mystery child...

-- 
************************************************************************
*            Sarah Skovronsky     starfish@u.washington.edu            *
*     "Gamera is really neat, Gamera is full of meat..."  --MST3K      *
**********fnord!********furrfu!********hi-keeba!********meep!***********
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban
From: bls@sector7g.Eng.Sun.COM (Brian Scearce)
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban
Subject: Re: Mnemonics
Date: 12 Dec 1992 01:50:27 GMT
Organization: Sun Microsystems
Distribution: world
Reply-To: bls@sector7g.Eng.Sun.COM
NNTP-Posting-Host: sector7g

In article 28484@sarah.albany.edu, sysbrc@loki.albany.edu (Brian Cuttler) writes:
> Neptune is currently inside of Neptune's orbit [...]

Neat trick.

Brian "Set of all sets that do not have themselves as members" Scearce
---
Brian Scearce                                           bls@sector7g.eng.sun.com
              The above does not necessarily represent Sun policy.
                  "You can't fit the truth on a t-shirt, man."
                                 "That'd fit."
From: twcaps@dante.lbl.gov (Terry Chan)
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban
Subject: Re: Mnemonics
Date: 16 Dec 1992 05:38:36 GMT
Organization: Department of Redundancy Department
Reply-To: TWChan@lbl.gov (Terry Chan)
NNTP-Posting-Host: 128.3.13.76

Unsuspecting trevor@advent.co.uk (Trevor Pretty) writes:
  +
  +POSH?
  +
  +As any Englishman (none of this namby pamby englishperson here (this 
   will cause flames!)) will tell POSH was stamped on tickets when going 
   to India (back in the days when we had an Empire). It simple stood for
  +
  +Port, Out, Starboard, Home 
  +
  +as these were the coolest cabins

But were they WAY COOL cabins or just COOLEST?

Terry "Well, maybe 'Hep' in those days" Chan
--
Energy and Environment Division   | Internet:  TWChan@lbl.gov
Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory      | 
Berkeley, California  USA  94720  | Carpe Per Diem
Xref: sparky alt.folklore.urban:31132 rec.arts.startrek.misc:12627
From: craig@ug.cs.dal.ca (Ryan Craig)
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban,rec.arts.startrek.misc
Subject: Re: Mnemonics
Date: 14 Dec 92 20:09:24 GMT
Organization: Math, Stats & CS, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada

In article <11DEC92.15321755@vax.clarku.edu> lfinkelstein@vax.clarku.edu writes:
>In a previous article, mcohen@vax.clarku.edu wrote:
>>In a previous article, schamber@sciborg.uwaterloo.ca (Sylvain Chamberland) wrote:
>>>In article <6u8mVB1w165w@codewks.nacjack.gen.nz> system@codewks.nacjack.gen.nz (Wayne McDougall) writes:
>>>>brownea@cc.uvcc.edu writes:
>>>>
>>>>> 	"Mother Very Easily Made a Jam Sandwich Using No Peanuts, Mayonaise or
>>>>> Glue" - 
>
>I always liked "My very elderly mother just sat upon needles and pins"
>
>>>>> 	Mercury
>>>>> 	Venus
>>>>> 	Earth
>>>>> 	Mars
>>>>> 	Jupiter
>>>>> 	Saturn
>>>>> 	Uranus
>>>>> 	Neptune
>>>>> 	Pluto
>>>>> (in some universes)
>>>>> 	Mickey
>>>>> 	Goofy
>>>>
>>>>Only problem is that this is wrong. Pluto is closer to the sun that Neptune.
>>> 
>>>You're kidding!!!!!
>>> 
>>>Where did you get that???
>>> 
>>>I'm no astronomer, but back in high school, people told me Pluto is the
>>>9th planet and was discovered only because of ambiguities in Neptune's
>>>orbit...
>>> 
>>Most of the time Pluto is the outermost planet.  Because of its offset orbit 
>>it is within Neptune's orbit for part of its "year".  I don't know if that's 
>>currently the case or not.
>> 

That is the case at the current time and will, I believe, be the case for
some years to come, the outermost planets taking as long as they do to make
an orbit of the sun.  It is still correct to say that Pluto is farther away
than Neptune, however, as long as you're comparing the average distance
of each from the sun, and not the maximum distance of one to the minimum
distance of the other.  I know that there is terminology for this, but I
can't remember it.

-- 
+--------------------------------------------------+-------------------------+
|Ryan Craig: Comp Sci Co-op, Dalhousie University  |  Disclaimer: My opinions|
|craig@ug.cs.dal.ca               are mine, all mine, and you can't have them|
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban
From: PAPAI@kcgl1.eng.ohio-state.edu (Jonathan Papai)
Subject: Re: walt disney's present temperature
Organization: The Ohio State University
Date: Sun, 20 Dec 1992 02:40:01 GMT

In the sci.cryonics FAQ, mention is made of folks who've chosen
to become frozen.  A particularly chilling example is:

>6-8.  How long has this been going on?
>
>Robert Ettinger proposed the idea in The Prospect of Immortality
>which was published in 1964.  According to the July 1992 issue of
>Cryonics magazine, the first person suspended was Dr. James
>Bedford.  He was frozen on 12 Jan. 1967 at the age of 73 by the
>Cryonics Society of California and is now with Alcor.
>
>Bedford has never thawed during that time. When he was moved to
>another dewar in 1991 (?) the original ice cubes were still intact
>and several other signs indicated that he had never thawed out.

	What of Walt Disney?  Why is his condition not publicized
in the sci.cryonics FAQ?  While it is in the Alt.folklore.urban FAQ.
Perhaps some bad publicity that the procedure has could be alleviated if
the cryonics industry didn't rely on outsiders to dispell rumors
about it.  And, besides, where did this Walt Disney stuff get started?

Alt.folklore.urban FAQ notes the falsity of the story:
>F. Old Walt disney's dead body was frozen for later revivification.

Jon "It's chilly in here" Papai
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban
From: torsten@cwis.unomaha.edu (Torsten Wesley Adair)
Subject: Re: Free drinks from vending machines
Organization: University of Nebraska at Omaha
Date: Thu, 17 Dec 1992 04:12:51 GMT

<MIWHC@CUNYVM.BITNET> writes:
> Mad Magazine put 3-dollar bills (with Alfred Neuman's picture)
> in their magazines about fifteen years ago that worked in bill changers,
> etc, and the Secret Service raided their NYC headquarters with over
> 50 agents to get the printing plates.

Some guy in Texas bought the magazine for $0.25, cut out the dollar bill, and
made $0.75 profit.

Torsten at Omaha
Xref: sparky alt.folklore.urban:31243 sci.skeptic:21390
From: styri@hal.nta.no (YuNoHoo)
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban,sci.skeptic
Subject: Re: Wwy is the sky blue? (was Re: Daytime Stars - Not Donahue or Oprah)
Date: 15 Dec 92 17:13:05 GMT
Reply-To: styri@nta.no
Organization: Bohemians and Globetrotters, Unlimited

In article <1992Dec14.172424.12830@xilinx.com>, dif@xilinx.com (Diana Foss) writes:
|> 
|> 
|> The sky is blue because of scattered light. It was right the first time.
|> Air molecues are approximately the same size as the wavelength of blue
|> light (~ 4000 Angstroms) so blue light is scattered more strongly than
|> red. Incidentally, this is why the setting and rising Sun looks red. At low
|> angles, sunlight goes through lots more atmosphere, so much more blue light
|> gets subtracted from the beam. White - blue = red.

Hmm... Maybe it's possible to see dayime stars through a hole in the ozone
layer? (Standing in a well to avoid skin cancer.)

And, if "white - blue = red" I should get "white = blue + red"? Funny,
maybe I should take the _green_ grass into the equation?

[Sure, the 4000 Angstroms scatter filter this is correct. The color theory
 is a bit thin.]

---
YuNoHoo  "once in a blue moon, but never seen a red sun"
Xref: sparky alt.folklore.urban:30949 alt.sex:39449 alt.flame:16435