HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: pynq@quads.uchicago.edu (George Jetson)
Subject: Re: Another Airport Urban Legend.
Reply-To: pynq@midway.uchicago.edu
Organization: D. J. Dougherty & Associates
Date: Tue, 17 Nov 1992 19:28:01 GMT

In article <Bxttyq.IoH@javelin.sim.es.com> gfowler@javelin.sim.es.com (Gary Fowler) writes:
...
>I was once a victim of such an overt scheme.  I was emerging from the subway
>near Vieux Port in Marseilles France, when a young (about 10 years old) girl
>approached me to beg for spare change.  I stopped and proceeded to reach in
>my pocket and give her what I had.  No sooner had I done this than I was
>mobbed by half a dozen more girls who proceeded to grab at my clothing.  I

Actually, this is the single best reason not to ever give anything to
panhandlers.  It seems to me that once you have your wallet out and
about, you've pretty much set yourself up to lose it.

But, one of these days, I am going to reach into my pocket (where I
often keep change, but no real money) and get out a few pennies and
throw them at them.  Wonder if I will get out alive...

************************************************************************
I've been told to back off on the diode jokes, but I still don't
like smileys ;-)

	- pynq@quads.uchicago.edu, who is still costing the net
	  hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars, every time he posts -
************************************************************************
From: ccaamrg@ucl.ac.uk (Mike Gahan)
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban
Subject: Re: Car Crime
Date: 19 Nov 92 15:07:23 GMT
Reply-To: ccaamrg@rs6-svr-2.cls-4.bcc.ac.uk (Mike Gahan)
Organization: UCL

In article <1eeumtINNes5@usenet.INS.CWRU.Edu>, rxh6@po.CWRU.Edu (Randall Holt) writes:
|>
|> I don't know about confirming the existence of the rumor, but I can tell 
|> you why this unlocking-device is not practical for nefarious purposes. 
|> I have a similar device which (as the tech specs reveal) is based on a 
|> specific sequence of 6 1-byte TTL pulses transmitted at some RF frequency 
|> that is picked up by the reciever in the locking mechanism. That comes to 
|> 256 to the 6th power possible combinations, or more than 2.81e14 combinations. 
|>  
|> If you were transmitting in the RF range, at maybe 50 miliion bits per
|> second, then you could run through maybe 1 million combinations per second,
|> and the maximum time to check all combinations would be 2e8 seconds or a
|> little more than 6 1/2 years. And then you still have to get the Club off
|> the steering wheel, and hot-wire the ignition.
|>  
|> Add to this an additional security measure which exists in the unit on my 
|> car, a 100 ms delay after a _wrong number_ has been transmitted at the 
|> correct frequency. Now the delay time is up to greater than 90,000 years. 

The correspondent slightly misses my point, which is that the device 
listens for the code broadcast by the car owner. The villain then knows
the correct code, and need only run through one combination to open
the vehicle.

Mike Gahan
From: scottst@sybase.com (Scott Stansfield)
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban
Subject: alt.skeptical.inquirier
Keywords: CSICOP
Date: 13 Nov 92 21:53:46 GMT
Distribution: usa

Can anyone tell me if there is a newsgroup whose content is along the lines
of the Skeptical Inquirier.  SI is a publication put out by The Committee
for Scientific Invesitgation for Claims of the Paranormal (or something 
close to that).  

Basically, I'm looking for something along the lines of alt.!pagan.  Or is
this the closest place (which I'm very happy with...all along I thought 
the term FOAF was really an UL until I found this group).

BTW, I've been using the term "foaf" in place of "urban legend" ex: "That's a
foaf!".

BTW again, the Smithsonian article was very enlightening.  I've been looking
for those books (_The Mexican Pet_, et. al.) for a long time but I thought
it started with the words "The Chihuahua..."

skot
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban
From: vince@cadence.com (Vince Gibboni)
Subject: Re: Tomorrow's Conspiracy Theory, brought to you today.
Organization: Cadence Design Systems, Inc.
Date: Thu, 19 Nov 1992 20:00:31 GMT

dpm1960@tm0006.lerc.nasa.gov (snopes) writes:
>  pt@geovision.gvc.com writes...
>
>> Gee, I thought it was because the upper (and upper middle) class snobs who
>> wrote the constitution wanted to give power to the masses, but not _too_
>> much.  If the great unwashed voted for somebody who was obviously wrong, the
>> upper class `Electoral College'' could set things right.
>
> Partly true.  If a populist unacceptable to the upper classes manages to 
> gather broad national support, there's nothing they can do about it.

    Unless the populist candidate gathers broad national support among
    people with lots of weapons he can't overcome the electoral college.
    So long as the electoral college (as it was designed to be) is full
    of fine upper class chaps, it can happily ignore any populist the 
    muddled multitudes may have seen fit to select during their little
    voting thing and go off and elect a proper candidate of its own. 
    That was the whole idea. 

    It's really weird that almost no one seems to know about this...

--
                                                         vince@gda.cadence.com

         Go play in the blender.
             - Garfield
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban
From: u8802356@cs.uow.edu.au (Stephen Lance Rogan)
Subject: Re: Soldiers breaking wind (Was Re: Soldiers breaking step across bridge)
Organization: Dept of Computer Science, Wollongong University, Australia
Date: Tue, 17 Nov 1992 02:38:49 GMT

jmethot@vicorp.com (John Methot) writes:

>In some article I read somebody spewed:
>: Now my Calculus textbook is getting into the urban legends...this from
>: Boyce and DiPrima's _Elementary Differential Equations and Boundary Value
>: Problems_, Fifth Edition.

>That's a funny name for a Calculus textbook!

>: It talks about resonance occurring when "the frequency of the forcing function
>: is the same as the natural frequency of the system" (no, I don't know what
>: this means yet, we just started the chapter).  Then, the juicy stuff:  "For
>: example, soldiers traditionally break step when crossing a bridge to eliminate
>: the _periodic_ force of their marching that could resonate a natural frequency
>: of the bridge."  (Their emphasis.)

>: So, anyone wanna help me with my homework?

>I wonder if the bridge could be saved if the soldiers broke wind instead
>of step?  Now, of course, if the soldiers' buttocks (bullocks?) vibrated
>at the bridge's resonant frequency you could still have problems.

Thats silly.
Where would your average soldier get hold of cattle, just to cross a bridge ?

Besides, aren't soldiers supposed to knock things down, or is that only
th pioneers ?

ObUL : Microwaves vary the frequency of the waves for the same reason. The 
object is to heat the food, not make it shake itself to destruction.

>-- 
>John Methot            |  ACME Consulting, Inc.   | (413)586-ACME
>uunet!vicorp!jmethot   |  P O Box 597             | (413)586-8371 x352
>jmethot@vicorp.com     |  Northampton, MA 01061   |    (customer site)
>CompuServe: 70620,3555 |  USA                     |

Stephen Rogan.
Xref: sparky alt.folklore.urban:28788 soc.culture.african.american:11196 sci.skeptic:19698
From: mcbean@vax.oxford.ac.uk
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban,soc.culture.african.american,sci.skeptic
Subject: Re: AIDS and the CIA (was Question)
Date: 17 Nov 92 02:11:06 GMT
Organization: Oxford University VAX 6620

In article <1992Nov15.051857.25110@oracle.us.oracle.com>, mfriedma@uucp (Michael Friedman) writes:
> In article <ISBELL.92Nov9074842@panther.ai.mit.edu> isbell@ai.mit.edu (Charles L Isbell) writes:
>>thf2@quads.uchicago.edu (Mmmm... Purple) writes:
>>|>|I've seen a similar stat somewhere.  The theory has been most recently
>>|>|espoused by noted epidemologist and viral specialist Spike Lee, and the
>>|>|media's been dutifully reporting his ravings.
>>|>Spike Lee aside, have any of you read _Bad Blood: The Tuskegee
>>|>Syphilis Experiment_?  
> 
>>|No, but I'm aware of it.
> 
>>|>Since the events described therein are true and
>>|>given the other facts of recent history, why would anyone actually be
>>|>surprised that there is a large minority of people who believe such
>>|>things about AIDS, etc?  And in fact, why would anyone dispute the
>>|>reality, however remote, of the possibility?
> 
>>|Because the conspiracy theory detailed so far is impossible.  And,
>>|unlike a Lewis Carroll character, I don't make it a habit to believe
>>|a certain number of impossible things before breakfast.
> 
>>Why is it impossible (I'm unaware of the details of the claim, I
>>suppose)?  Do you take the view all such conspiracy claims are
>>impossible?  COuld you think of any that are less than impossible?
> 
> Sigh.
> 
> It is impossible because tissue samples containing AIDS dating back to
> the fifties have been found preserved at various hospitals arround the
> world.  Back in the fifties we did not have the faintest idea how to
> create a disease like AIDS.  Therefore, AIDS was not created by anyone
> unless it was by accident (ala the Wistar theory.)
> 

Am I missing sonething here?  They didn't create syphillis but they sure as
hell experimented with it, so why couldn't AIDS experiments have been conducted
(irrespective of whether they did or not).  It would seem logical that it
wasn't genetically engineered but that don't stop them from injecting it... 
Whether it was done I leave that to you guys to thrash out.

> -- 
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> I am not an official Oracle spokesman.  I speak for myself and no one else.

McBean
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban
From: PAPAI@kcgl1.eng.ohio-state.edu (Jonathan Papai)
Subject: Re: Soldiers breaking wind
Organization: The Ohio State University
Date: Fri, 20 Nov 1992 18:31:30 GMT

From: lasner@watsun.cc.columbia.edu (Charles Lasner)


>I heard it was the Throgg's Neck Bridge that was so modified, not the
>Whitestone Bridge.

	I once modified a Wheatstone bridge.  I put some diodes in.

Jon "did Wheatstone wire Roebling's house" Papai
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban
From: styri@hal.nta.no (YuNoHoo)
Subject: DIY porn UL comes alive
Reply-To: styri@nta.no
Organization: Bohemians and Globetrotters, Unlimited
Date: Thu, 19 Nov 92 08:52:32 GMT

This was submitted to the RISKS list by Alex Heatley <Alex.Heatley@vuw.ac.nz>:
>
>	Recently in Auckland, Aotearoa (New Zealand) the police were involved
> in an unusual case.  It seems that several people burgled a house and among the
> items taken was a set of videotapes. The tapes contained home-made pornographic
> movies involving the inhabitants of the burgled house.  The burglars then
> attempted to use their possession of the tapes to blackmail the "actors" into
> paying for the return of the tapes.  Unfortunately when the burglars arrived at
> the payment drop off point they were met by the NZ Police, who seized them and
> the tapes.

Nice story so far, but it becomes even better with the final twist added by
the disappointed video-nappers...

>	Any sighs of relief that the "actors" might have had were short-lived.
> The burglars counter-charged that the tapes contained scenes of child
> pornography and bestiality which made them indecent under NZ Law.  The result
> was that several police "had" to view 40 hours of video recordings to verify
> whether these claims were or were not correct (it turned out that the
> recordings did not contain any child pornography or bestiality).

And, of course there is an ending - not a very dramatic ending, but...

>	The tapes were returned to the, by now, extremely embarrassed "actors".

Well, it's not that close to the UL. The burglars didn't sell the tapes to
some porn prtoducer - or did they. Who knows if they made a copy before they
started the blackmailing? Maybe an edited version _will_ come to your local
video rental shop soon...  Maybe the burglars removed the child porn tapes
and only returned the nice ones. (Of course the tape owners will not dare to
report the missing tapes to the police, will they?)

---
YuNoHoo   "Guess this story would have been even better if it had happened
           in a US state with some funny sex legislation"
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban
Subject: Re: Question about "T." in James T. Kirk !!!!!! (As seen on TV)
From: derek@nezsdc.icl.co.nz (Derek Tearne)
Date: Mon, 16 Nov 92 00:58:03 GMT
Organization: Fujitsu New Zealand

[filled in and moved to top of post]
>+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
>|                             Reader's Comments                               |
>|                                                                             |
>|  Did you find errors in this posting?  If so, please specify the error and  |
>|  line number.  Line 10 - You only linked 2 out of a possible 3 threads ___  |
>|                                                                             |
>|  Please indicate the type of reader/poster that you most nearly represent.  |
>|   [ ]  Casual reader  [ ] Serious reader  [ ] Occasional contributor        |
>|   [ ]  Recalcitrant flamer  [*] Just here for the Churchill anecdotes       |
>|                                                                             |
>+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+

1 In article <13NOV199218092072@tm0006.lerc.nasa.gov> dpm1960@tm0006.lerc.nasa.gov (snopes) writes:
2 >In article <1992Nov13.183651.21834@cbnewse.cb.att.com>, 
3 >  random@cbnewse.cb.att.com (David L. Pope) writes...
4 >
5 >>Has anyone bothered to point out that "T" was NOT Kirk's middle
6 >>initial in one of the first episodes? In "Where No Man Has Gone Before",
7 >>the dude with the super-powers caused a grave and headstone to come
8 >>into existence. The Headstone read "James R. Kirk"
9 >
10 >Let's just kill two nagging threads with one stone and put this guy in a snuff
11 >film.


Line 10 should read.

Let's just kill three nagging threads with one stone and put this astonishing
guy in a snuff film at 11

Derek "Corrections 'R US" Tearne
-- 
Derek Tearne.   --   derek@nezsdc.icl.co.nz   --    Fujitsu New Zealand   -- 
Some of the more aware dinosaurs were worried about the environmental
consequences of an accident with the new Iridium enriched fusion reactor.  
"If it goes off only the cockroaches and mammals will survive..." they said.
From: klg@panda.mc.duke.edu (Kim Greer -- rjj)
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban
Subject: Re: Courgettes (was Re: doggy style
Date: 23 Nov 92 22:37:30 GMT
Organization: Duke University

In article <1304000005@igc.apc.org> ebenami@igc.apc.org (Eton Ben-Ami) writes:
+
+An IFOAIF (Imaginary Friend of an Imaginary Friend) once told that during a
+drunken soiree in 1950's, John Cameron Swavey took up a dare, placing his 
+trusty Timex in a condom and ...
+
+When the emergency room surgeon removed it, he was reported to have said,
+"And it's still ticking!"
+
+-- Etan

  Well, I can almost live with that as long as JCS doesn't start that
obnoxious argument about whether its "less filling" or "tastes great".

kg

-- 
Kim L. Greer                       
Duke University Medical Center		 klg@orion.mc.duke.edu
Div. Nuclear Medicine  POB 3949		 voice: 919-681-5894
Durham, NC 27710  		         fax: 919-681-5636
From: seawasp@vm2.cis.pitt.edu (Sea Wasp)
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban
Subject: Re: Calvin has MPD - or possibly something worse
Date: 22 Nov 92 18:52:01 GMT
Organization: University of Pittsburgh
Originator: seawasp@unixd2.cis.pitt.edu

In article <dlphknob.722152347@cs1.bradley.edu> dlphknob@cs1.bradley.edu (Jemaleddin Cole) writes:
>In <1243.55.uupcb@hal9000.UUCP> bill.duetschler@hal9000.UUCP (Bill Duetschler)  writes:
>>Having read the strip my armchair diagnosis is one of MPD.  Perhaps
>>Calvin was traumatized by one or both parents.

>Actually, I think that he may have even more problems.  It is obvious from
>his schoolwork that he is of low general intelligence, with high creative
>inteligence.  Maybe he is suffering from paranoid delusions.  Also, he
>seems to suffer from 'borderline personality' syndrome.....just a guess
>though....

	I beg your pardon!

	"LOW GENERAL INTELLIGENCE"? Calvin exhibits an exceedingly high
level of intelligence -- bordering on genius. However, what he DOES
demonstrate is an isolation from other children, a preference for his
own creations, and a lack of interest in the busywork handed to him in
his school. His schoolwork performance cannot be used as an indicator
of his intellectual capacities; many bright children (myself included)
scored far lower in the classroom than their potential would indicate,
simply because they didn't find it interesting or worthwhile. 

	After all, what would you rather do, a random word-problem
on algebra, or fly out as Spaceman Spiff to battle the forces of evil
alien slime-mongers?

	However, it is clear that the prior diagnosis, of Multiple-
Personality Disorder, is correct. Calvin performs many of the actions
attributable to Hobbes, and is yet honestly unaware that HE is
responsible for them. Hobbes is a separate persona, who often overtly
demonstrates the higher level of intelligence and wisdom which Calvin
possesses but rarely shows.

	Moreover, we must also note (referring to incidents like that
of the tire swing, wherein an automobile was jacked up and the tire
removed from the rim -- a feat clearly beyond the strength of a five-
year old boy) that Calvin is also a psionic of unknown but awesome
potentialities, whose telekinetic powers manifest through the actions
of Hobbes. These powers are erratic, but very impressive. Whether
Calvin would retain these abilities if his personalities were integrated
is an interesting question.

	I'd recommend scientific study of Calvin begin immediately.

				Sea Wasp
From: djohns@elm.circa.ufl.edu (David A. Johns)
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban
Subject: Spelling flames (recursive)
Keywords: Mind if I kibbutz? I don't know I've never kippled.
Date: 23 Nov 92 11:40:33 GMT
Organization: University of Florida, Gainesville

In article <1992Nov17.142218.29569@ms.uky.edu> fehr@ms.uky.edu (Jeff Davis) writes:

# D.M.Procida writes:
#
# >the voracity of her story
#      ^^^^^^^^
#
# I've seen this spelling quite often recently. Was I out of the room
# when this became standard? If so, could someone include it in
# some kind of addendum to the FAQs. After all, we are known to hunger
# after the truth in this forum. Ratcheting it up a knotch or so
# would not be out of line.
# --
# Jeff Davis <davis@keats.ca.uky.edu> My bad.

Knotch?

ObUL: It is impossible to post a spelling flame without making a
spelling errer.

David Johns


Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban
From: gfowler@javelin.sim.es.com (Gary Fowler)
Subject: Re: Another Airport Urban Legend.
Organization: Evans & Sutherland Computer Corp.
Date: Mon, 16 Nov 1992 20:52:02 GMT

jtchew@csa3.lbl.gov (Ad absurdum per aspera) writes:

>I do wonder how much of the classical stealthy pickpocket's art survives. 
>Today, one usually hears about schemes that are much more overt (e.g.,
>stories about packs of brazen children, usually Gypsies if the story is
>set in Europe, who divert your attention and figure you won't be seen in
>public belting a kid even if one of them is plainly lifting your wallet).

I was once a victim of such an overt scheme.  I was emerging from the subway
near Vieux Port in Marseilles France, when a young (about 10 years old) girl
approached me to beg for spare change.  I stopped and proceeded to reach in
my pocket and give her what I had.  No sooner had I done this than I was
mobbed by half a dozen more girls who proceeded to grab at my clothing.  I
felt the hand of one of them reach into my inside coat pocket and remove my
day planner.  I immediately yelled at them to stop, which suprisingly they
did.  They all stood side by side in a line, and I told them to give me back
my day planner.  I explained to them that it had nothing valuable inside but
it did have some important appointments and addresses.  They stood there for
about 10 seconds, then one of them pulled my day planner out from her clothes
and gave it back to me.  The rest of the girls looked at her like they could
not believe that she would steal.  Then a passerby asked me if I wanted to
call the police, which I declined.  It was one of the funniest things anyone
could ever have witnessed.

********************************************************************************
*     Gary Fowler                     *     The storm starts when the drops    *
*     gfowler@esunix.sim.es.com       *     start dropping.  When the drops    *
*     Evans & Sutherland              *     stop dropping then the storm       *
*     600 Komas Drive                 *     starts stopping.                   *
*     Salt Lake City, UT              *     -Dr. Seuss                         *
********************************************************************************
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban,sci.med
From: thf2@ellis.uchicago.edu (Ted Frank)
Subject: Re: Smoke cigarettes -- leave early!
Keywords: Park all day here, they never check
Reply-To: thf2@midway.uchicago.edu
Organization: University of Chicago Computing Organizations
Date: Mon, 23 Nov 1992 00:13:33 GMT

In article <lh07esINN493@exodus.Eng.Sun.COM> linden@positive.Eng.Sun.COM (Trelford Pinkerton) writes:
>Many people have heard the old urban legend that
>   "every cigarette you smoke takes N days off your life".
>
>Now obviously, that's a dramatic oversimplification.
>
>But my question is, overlooking the flaws in the model, 
>what is the value of 'N'?    I.e. can we say that 365 ciggies a day
>takes 1 year off your life, so each cig is worth a day.  

I heard N = 5 minutes.  So 288 cigarettes takes a day out of your life, and
105408 cigarettes takes a leap year out of your life.  So, therefore, this
generation of cigarette smokers is lucky, because the year 2000 isn't a leap
year.

Ted "math is hard" Frank
-- 
ted frank                     | thf2@ellis.uchicago.edu 
standard disclaimers          | void where prohibited
the university of chicago law school, chicago, illinois 60637
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban