HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: fritz@ra.csc.ti.com (Fritz Whittington)
Subject: Re: Amusing signs
Organization: Texas Instruments
Date: Thu, 7 Jan 1993 17:48:15 GMT

In article <73FXwB8w165w@unkaphaed.gbdata.com> popec@unkaphaed.gbdata.com (William C. Barwell) writes:
>presley@cbnewsl.cb.att.com (Joe Presley) writes:
>
>> In article <254swB2w165w@page6.pinetree.org> fred@page6.pinetree.org (Fred En
>>  : In Ottawa we have green signs with a line drawing of a dog, a pile of 
>>  : dogshit, and a bag.  Arrows go from the dogshit to the bag.
>>  : 
>>  : The pictograms are designed to tell you that it is OK for your dog to 
>>  : shit if you put it in a bag.  The sign neglects to tell you what to do to 
>>  : the bag.
>> 
>> You giftwrap it and put it on your car seat or a park bench.
>> -- 
>> 	Joe Presley
>> 	j.h.presley@att.com
>
>
>No, you put it on a nearby doorstep, light the bag, ring the doorbell and 
>run.
>

The original scheme for these international signs (don't ask me for the
reference, it's been too many years) was quite logical:

red circle == PERMITTED  (and preferred, if appropriate)
red with bar == NOT PERMITTED
green circle == MANDATORY
green with bar == NOT MANDATORY (but no particualr preference)

(The difference between the first and last is pretty subtle.  I think it
was to keep a logical connection if there was for instance a green
circle with a left arrow [meaning this lane MUST turn left] that was
modified with a specific time-of-day range, then below it you could have
the same symbol with a bar and an add-on giving the times when you were
NOT required to turn left.)

Originally, the "P" with a red circle meant "It's OK to park here" as
opposed to the more common one with a bar which means "NO Parking".  (An
equivalent in the case of Parking, especially seen in countries which do
not use the Roman alphabet, is simply a solid blue background within the
circle.) 

Technically, the sign in Ottawa should probably have a red circle,
without the bar, interpreted as "It's permitted for your dog to shit
here if you bag it up."  As it stands, it means "If you see this sign,
you are required by law to (A) find a dog (B) force him to shit and (C)
put it in a bag."  

As it happens, the original grand scheme that was internationally
standardized more than 25 years ago has slowly evolved as a result of
usage, just as spoken language does.

OBPetPeeve: Idiots who attempt to depict the red-circle-and-bar in (1)
black-and-white on a printer [should it be red or green?] and (2) with
the bar sloping in the incorrect direction.
-- 
Fritz Whittington Texas Instruments, P.O. Box 655474, MS 446 Dallas, TX 75265
    Shipping address: 13510 North Central Expressway, MS 446 Dallas, TX 75243  
fritz@csc.ti.com             Office: +1 214 995 0397     FAX: +1 214 995 6194
Since I am not an official TI spokesperson, these opinions contain no spokes.
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban
Subject: Re: Mnemonics
From: derek@nezsdc.icl.co.nz (Derek Tearne)
Date: Thu, 7 Jan 93 22:19:52 GMT
Organization: Fujitsu New Zealand
Keywords: Trig.

In article <1989@spam.ua.oz> jaskew@spam.ua.oz (Joseph Askew) writes:
>In article <2553@rd1632.Dayton.NCR.COM> chenowet@rd1632.Dayton.NCR.com (Steve Chenoweth) writes:
>>In article <1992Dec27.203155.9526@news.columbia.edu>, lasner@watsun.cc.columbia.edu (Charles Lasner) writes:
>
>>ObUL:  Hippopotami once served as a major source of protein for certain
>>Native American tribes.
>
>ObUL: Hippos are in fact one of the most dangerous wild animals in the
>world. They kill more people each year than any other nonhuman species
>and more than all the lions, tigers, wolves, leopards and pumas put
>together.

Shouldn't this be 'they kill more people each year than Lions and Tigers
and Bears oh my'.

ObSignInAnAfricanCampsite: Hippos may graze around the campsite during the
night.  Please do not be alarmed, they are quite placid as long as they are 
not startled. DO NOT shine bright lights or vehicle headliamps at the 
Hippos. DO NOT attempt touch the Hippos.  DO NOT attempt flash photography.  
NEVER place youself between the Hippo and the water.
The crocodiles at the edge of the campsite...

Made going to the toilet in the night an 'interesting' experience.

I did attempt a time exposure photo of a Hippo but that was as succesful
as my attempts to photograph flying Bats.

ObFact: Hippos certainly are the most dangerous wild animal in Africa in 
terms of human fatalaties.

Derek "What's that chomping sound just outside the tent" 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
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban
Subject: Re: African-American-top
From: system@codewks.nacjack.gen.nz (Wayne McDougall)
Date: Tue, 05 Jan 93 10:45:43 NZST
Organization: The Code Works Limited, PO Box 10 155, Auckland, New Zealand

PAPAI@kcgl1.eng.ohio-state.edu (Jonathan Papai) writes:

> 	This brings to mind the story of the local newspaper TV
> section that replaced all occurances of FOX with the local
> affiliates station, i.e. FOX -> WTTE channel 28.  This worked
> fine until a story about 'Back to the Future' appeared.

Which brings to mind my cousin writing a report for her boss at the 
Department of Science and Industrial Research. Running the spell-checker,
it decided that "lug" wasn't a real world, and suggested "lung-fish". This
amused my cousin, so she replied Yes, replace all, thinking it would amuse
her boss, and be very easy to replace back. 

She didn't know that boss was a lousy prrof-reader in a hurry. He gave the
draft report to his secretary, who dutifully typed it up verbatim, and had
it distributed to some soon-to-be perplexed people.



-- 
  Wayne McDougall, BCNU
  This .sig unintentionally left blank.

Hello! I'm a .SIG Virus. Copy me and spread the fun.
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban
From: rhadden@isdres.er.usgs.gov
Subject: RE: General Hooker and whores (FAQ)
Organization: U.S. Geological Survey
Date: Wed, 6 Jan 1993 20:09:39 GMT

Regarding the origin of HOOLIGAN, although the OED (Oxford English Dict)
says the name is uncertain in origin, I remember reading something long
ago about the original HOOLIGANS being mischeiveous spirits (Irish? Druidic?)
that caused damage, much like gremlins. If I remember correctly, they
are often seen as a gust of wind blowing down a street, and you should either
bow or curtsey to it if it passes by you.
        Another note about Gen. Hooker and prostitutes. The sutlers, gamblers,
prostitutes and other hangers-on followed the Army of the Potomac, sometimes
increasing the lentgh of the army in march by as much as ten miles, and surely
increasing confusion and dust. Gen. Hooker established special cloth badges to
be worn by the army according to the corps they were in, so they could be
regulated on the march, and insisted that the camp followers not be able to
intermingle with the troops (which they often did for protection from
bummers and theives). The follwing train was "hooked" to the end of the
army, and thus the pun "Hookers" applied, if not for the first time.
From: twcaps@tennyson.lbl.gov (Terry Chan)
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban
Subject: Re: The revivification of Cindy
Date: 10 Jan 1993 04:34:37 GMT
Organization: Department of Redundancy Department
Reply-To: TWChan@lbl.gov (Terry Chan)
NNTP-Posting-Host: 128.3.12.117

linden@positive.Eng.Sun.COM (Peter van der Linden) writes:
  +
  +But... did snopes survive with you Cindy, too?   Or did he survive
  +the microwave catastrophe, only to be garroted later by Stein 
  +in a passionate jealous rage?

Oh dear, I see there's much more to this story than meets the eye.
 
Terry "As the diode turns" Chan 
--
Energy and Environment Division   | Internet:  TWChan@lbl.gov
Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory      | 
Berkeley, California  USA  94720  | Yeah, right.
From: billn@hpcvaac.cv.hp.com (bill nelson)
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban
Subject: Re: Net's Funniest Kitchen Disasters
Date: 8 Jan 93 19:08:20 GMT
Organization: Hewlett-Packard Company, Corvallis, Oregon USA

grp@Unify.com (Greg Pasquariello) writes:
: 
: Actually  the "recipe" was a bit different, though I'm not sure if this would
: work either...
: 
: It was something like putting metallic sodium into one gelatin (pill) capsule
: and calcium carbide into another.  Presumably when the capsules dissolve
: the explosion occurs.  I don't know if there is a reaction or not, nor will
: I attempt to find out.

I know the procedure - I have both of the books. However, my statement
still stands. Even if you could get a reaction, there would either be
no fire, or a very disappointing one. The people who dreamed up the idea
forgot that oxygen would also be necessary - and it would have to be
present in the right proportions.

As an example of the stupidity - why would you want to add calcium
carbide? All it does is create acetylene, when it reacts with water.
What did they think - that gasoline was not good for a FAE?

Bill
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban
From: Bruce.Tindall@launchpad.unc.edu (Bruce Tindall)
Subject: Re: doggie doodoo
Organization: University of North Carolina Extended Bulletin Board Service
Date: Wed, 13 Jan 1993 01:56:27 GMT

In article <1993Jan13.004427.3056@unislc.uucp> dw@unislc.uucp (Dan Wright) writes:
>With their obsessive neurotic loyalty, dogs often make people feel guilty.

Please ask your sysadmin to get your news-posting program fixed.  It
seems to have garbled your message -- for instance, it posted the above
sentence when in fact you must have written "...loyalty, Clair George & Co.
often make George Bush feel guilty."

Bruce "gloating Democrat" 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
From: twcaps@tennyson.lbl.gov (Terry Chan)
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban
Subject: Re: Ring in the New Year with Some FAQs
Date: 4 Jan 1993 22:56:06 GMT
Organization: Department of Redundancy Department
Reply-To: TWChan@lbl.gov (Terry Chan)
NNTP-Posting-Host: 128.3.12.117

jfurr@nyx.cs.du.edu (Joel Furr) writes:
 +
 +And Nigel the Lemur is my Lemur friend.  Nigel is hurt that he was left
 +out of the FAQ.  Nigel KNOWS where Terry Chan lives.  Nigel is NOT AMUSED.
 +
 +Joel "Who was I to say no when Nigel asked to borrow my rocket launcher?" Furr

Lemme get this straight.  Nigel can use a rocket launcher but he
can't post to USENET?  My respect for lemurs just went down the
toilet (it was on the edge of the seat before).

Terry "How about gibbons?" Chan
--
Energy and Environment Division   | Internet:  TWChan@lbl.gov
Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory      | 
Berkeley, California  USA  94720  | Yeah, right.
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban
From: PAPAI@kcgl1.eng.ohio-state.edu (Jonathan Papai)
Subject: Re: One more for the FAQ
Organization: The Ohio State University
Date: Wed, 6 Jan 1993 01:11:48 GMT

In article <C0EHH2.L5B@taligent.com>,cep@taligent.com (Christophe Pettus) writes:
>In article <C0EEH2.G0y@math.uwaterloo.ca> alopez-o@neumann.uwaterloo.ca (Alex Lopez-Ortiz) writes:
>>Add to the science section of the FAQ
>>
>>F. 10% of the population are homosexuals.
>>   [The origin of the figure is a missaplication of a 1930's study]
>>
>>Recent studies say 3-5% of men are homosexuals, and about half as many
>>for women.
>
>How do these "recent studies" define "homosexual"?

	Yeah.  Some gay fellow from San Fransisco wrote a
letter to Ann Landers yesterday (jan. 4) about the gay
pride parade there, and how he'd like to be in Australia
when it happens. He said that 10 percent of people are gay,
so it must be true.  Ann wouldn't print the big lie. So There.

ObUL: Ann is an abbreviation for Anne.

Jon "The NSA is reading this message." Papai
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban
From: pynq@quads.uchicago.edu (Jeremy Mathers)
Subject: Re: google??
Reply-To: pynq@midway.uchicago.edu
Organization: D. J. Dougherty & Associates
Date: Tue, 12 Jan 1993 01:34:48 GMT

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.  Is
>>this for real?  If so, says who?  If not, has anyone else heard this?  Does
>>it have any mathematical use?
>
>1) yes
>2) generally accepted
>3) lots of people
>4) Expressing big numbers, such as ((2*5)^2^5)^2^5. Had trends continued,
>it would have been a useful number for price of bread in Weimar Germany.

Yes, and although the google is, of itself, a very large number, it is
nothing compared to the googleplex, which is 10^google.  Now, *that* is
a lot of pesos!

************************************************************************
Our buggy newsreader limits
the length of .signature files
to 4 lines, but I have figured out
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	- pynq@quads.uchicago.edu, who is still costing the net
	  hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars, every time he posts -
************************************************************************
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban,rec.arts.startrek.misc,talk.bizarre
From: dsohl@spock.uucp (Daniel Sohl)
Subject: Re: Sex, the Final Frontier?
Organization: Choate Rosemary Hall
Date: Sat, 9 Jan 1993 20:57:46 GMT

In article <C0I3KK.H9w@geovision.gvc.com> pt@geovision.gvc.com writes:
>trsnyder@mcs.drexel.edu (Bob Snyder) writes:
>Paul Tomblin, pt@compass.gvc.com
>(This is not an official opinion of GeoVision Systems Inc.)
>"Beebelbrox, over here!" "No, Beebelbrox over here, who you?"
>"A friend." "Anybody's friend in particular, or just well disposed to people?"
I just thought I'd let you know that his name is "Beeblebrox" not "Beebelbrox".

               <BROUGHT TO YOU BY HITCHHIKER'S ANONYMOUS>
-- 
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dan Sohl        |"If there's nothing wrong with |"I don't know anything
dsohl@choate.edu| me, there must be something   | about music. In my line,
                | wrong with the universe!"     | you don't have to."
                | Dr. Crusher, "Remember Me"    | -- Elvis Presley
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban
From: wolfi@opal.cs.tu-berlin.de (Wolfgang Schwanke)
Subject: Re: Amusing street names
Organization: Techn. University of Berlin, Germany
Date: Tue, 5 Jan 1993 15:32:30 GMT

torsten@cwis.unomaha.edu (Torsten Wesley Adair) writes:

>The longest place name, if memory serves, is someplace in Wales.  Check 
>Guinness.

Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysililiogogogoch is merely the
longest place name in Europe. BTW it's not official any more, and on a TV
programme about it I heard the locals call their village just "PW".

The longest placename in the world supposedly is
Taumatawhakatangihangakoauotamateaturipukakapikimaungahoronukupokaiwhenuakitanatahua
in New Zealand.

Sorry for long lines.

Wolfgang

--
* Wolfgang Schwanke * Technische Universitaet Berlin * Germany * wolfi on irc *
* email: wolfi@cs.tu-berlin.de       *      wolfaefg@w250zrz.zrz.tu-berlin.de *

   Everybody needs a little love sometime; stop hacking and fall in love!
From: bobm@Ingres.COM (Bob McQueer)
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban
Subject: Re: Celestial Seasonings
Date: 6 Jan 93 01:20:55 GMT

In <C0EE26.2w6@undergrad.math.waterloo.edu>,
	dated Tue, 5 Jan 1993 20:25:16 GMT,
	jkshapir@undergrad.math.waterloo.edu (Kivi Shapiro) writes:
> What was the deal with Celestial Seasonings tea again?  Some weird
> religious sect?

What I want to know is what they have against putting strings on their
teabags ...

Tired of steeping my fingers as well as my Red Zinger.
From: pashley@sdcc13.ucsd.edu (Montykins)
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban
Subject: Re: Amusing street names
Date: 7 Jan 93 04:58:55 GMT
Organization: University of California, San Diego

>   >Can anyone identify a major city for me that does not have a street named
>   >after Martin Luther King, Jr.?

Unaccustomed as I am to actually addressing the topic at hand . . .

There's none in San Diego, CA. Is that "major"?

 -Paul "Monty" Ashley

obUL: Chimpanzees are 98% identical to humans. Could be true, I
heard a real live ANTHROPOLOGIST say so on the radio a few nights
ago.

obUL2: Posting an obUL to a thread that's already in most people's
killfiles is a waste of time.
-- 
" 'Socks the cat'? What is this?"
From: tjc50@juts.ccc.amdahl.com (Terry Carroll)
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban
Subject: Re: AFU person of the year?
Date: 6 Jan 93 22:38:23 GMT
Reply-To: tjc50@juts.ccc.amdahl.com (Terry Carroll)
Organization: Amdahl Corporation

In article <1993Jan5.204630.16681@twg.com>, nolan@twg.com (Nolan Hinshaw) 
writes:
> I vote for Trelford Pinkerton, the being who singlehandedly stirred up 
> several maelstroms of activity in the newsgroup.

Sounds like bullshit to me.

Terry Carroll - tjc50@juts.ccc.amdahl.com - 408/992-2152
The opinions presented above are not necessarily those of a sound mind.
Xref: sparky alt.folklore.urban:33228 alt.folklore.college:3381
From: turnerbl@ucbeh.san.uc.edu
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban,alt.folklore.college
Subject: Re: Architect Suicides
Date: 11 Jan 93 15:31:57 EST
Distribution: world
Organization: Univ. of Cincinnati

In article <MfIHSRK00WB_EGmjMR@andrew.cmu.edu>, Joshua Eli Schachter <jsct+@andrew.cmu.edu> writes:
> The Student Union building here at CMU, called Skibo, is said to have been
> designed by a failed architecture student... his father donated enough
> money to build the student's design. (or maybe the design was flunked,
> i dunno)
> 
> However, the building is badly designed, to get from one side of the first
> floor do another you have to go through the second floor...


How true!  I was there recently at a college fair, and I was amazed at the fact
that the building I was in (a beaux arts number called fine arts) was so much
more user friendly, interesting to look at and easier to get around in.  Skibo,
wow, it is a really poor design.  How awful to inflict it on the students.  And
ugly, YIKES, it lloks like what would happen it you stood on a packing box,
squuuuuushed it and then tried to reshape it, all bad edges and "international"
school of design (less is still less, no matter what you call it).  Sorry to go
on and on about this, but they were supposed to feed me there, and by the time
I found the way in, I was too tired to eat.  Like CMU, hate the campus
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban
From: smb@research.att.com (Steven Bellovin)
Subject: Re: Documented mass cannibalism?
Date: Mon, 11 Jan 1993 02:05:26 GMT
Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories

In article <1993Jan10.162432.22042@samba.oit.unc.edu>, Bruce.Tindall@launchpad.unc.edu (Bruce Tindall) writes:
> Our tenet is still intact if it's phrased as follows:  there is "no 
> credible evidence that any society has ever regularly eaten people for
> nourishment."  There's never been any doubt that some societies use
> cannibalism for ritual and symbolic purposes, and the recent stories
> from the so-called People's Republic of China would seem to fit into
> those categories.  There's also no doubt that groups of people 
> sometimes do eat human flesh for nutrition in emergencies.  

There's an interesting article on the subject in the Jan 2, 1993 issue
of Science News.  It lists considerable evidence of cannibalism among
the Anasazi Indians about 900 years ago.  There's also a fair amount
of background material on the controversy.  And no, the new evidence
hasn't persuaded everyone.  Briefly, though, human bones found at the
site exhibit a number of ``signature traits including ``stone tool
cut marks similar to those found on butchered animals, fractures produced
by severe blows, skull abrasions generated by stones striking larger stone
anvils placed atop the head, discoloration and cracking due to burning,
limb-bone breaks that expose marrow, a predominance of cranial bones and
scarcity of vertebrae, and few signs of bone weathering or animal gnawing
(indicating that bone damage and the covering of remains occurred at or
around the time of death).

Btw, the claims against cannibalism are stronger than Bruce has indicated.
``William Arens of the State University of New York at Stony Brook argued
that no researcher had ever actually witnessed an instance of cannibalism,
and the practice probably did not exist except as a last resort to stave
off starvation.''
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban,rec.arts.startrek.misc
From: kasprj@isaac.its.rpi.edu (Jim Kasprzak)
Subject: Re: The canonical Star Trek plot
Reply-To: kasprj@rpi.edu
Organization: The Big Wedge 
Date: Tue, 12 Jan 1993 19:35:11 GMT

In article <ll4c1cINN261@exodus.Eng.Sun.COM>, linden@positive.Eng.Sun.COM (Peter van der Linden) writes:
|> I'm glad to see that they are *still* using "canonical plot #1" though:
|> 
|>          "Trekkers encounter all-powerful & superior life form
|>           who don't understand earthlings, initially imprison them,
|>           but are persuaded to coexist peacefully"
|> 
|> Please post other canonical Star Trek plots, e.g the one about encountering
|> two warring primitive cultures & the conflict with the prime directive.
 
 Harlan Ellison described the canonical Star Trek plot as: "The Enterprise
meets God, and it's a child or a computer." 

A good reference for this is David Gerrold's _The World of Star Trek_, an
excellent book on many aspects of the Trek culture, from inside and out.
Among other things, it explains why the Enterprise has both shuttles and 
transporters, and why they don't put seatbelts in the chairs on the bridge.
The book was originally written after the demise of TOS but before any of
the movies. An updated edition was published just before the release of 
STIII. Does anyone know if it's been updated again to cover TNG?
------------------------------------------------------------------
     __  Live from Capitaland, heart of the Empire State...
 ___/  | Jim Kasprzak, computer operator @ RPI, Troy, NY, USA
/____ *|          he who refuses to do nonsense  
     \_|          is doomed to talk arithmetic.
      ====  e-mail: kasprj@rpi.edu or kasprzak@mts.rpi.edu 
Organization: Carnegie Mellon, Pittsburgh, PA
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban
Date: Tue, 12 Jan 1993 13:43:44 -0500 
From: "Jonathan R. Ferro" <jf41+@andrew.cmu.edu>
Subject: Re: E sharp

"Jonathan R. Ferro" <jf41+@andrew.cmu.edu> writes:
> "well-tempering" to average out these corrections.  So, in fact, E flat
                                                                     ^^^^
> and F were definitely different notes until the piano became the

That should, of course, be E _sharp_, or else the entire thing makes no
sense...  (argh)

-- Jon Ferro               Einsprachigkeit ist heilbar
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban
From: hoey@AIC.NRL.Navy.Mil (Dan Hoey)
Subject: Re: Mnemonics (was Hippos (was Mnemonics))
Organization: Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, DC
Date: Fri, 8 Jan 1993 13:31:22 GMT

jaskew@spam.ua.oz (Joseph Askew) writes:

> What is even less well known is that the Hippopotomi are a migrating
> species. Their native habitat is of course Africa, but they regularly
> migrate each year. They don't fly South for Winter, they swim West in
> Autumn to get to the US. Apparently the bagels are better or
> something. And of course the reason ships have never collided with
> migrating Hippos is that they hold their breath and walk all the way
> on the sea floor.

What is approximately as well known is that observation of Hippos led
to Native Americans discovering bathing (which they taught to Leif
Ericson).  In fact, the very word ``wash'' arises from the mnemonic
hippos use to remember which way to migrate: ``West in Autumn; in
Spring, Home''.

ObUL: ``Posh'' was actually a mnemonic for remembering which direction
to sail to get to India, and which way to sail back.  Before that,
ships captains were always forgetting and going around the long way.

Dan Hoey
Hoey@AIC.NRL.Navy.Mil