HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: heath@athena.cs.uga.edu (Terrance Heath)
Subject: Re: Afriphobia, Clitoridectomy and AIDS.
Organization: University of Georgia, Athens
Date: Sun, 15 Nov 1992 19:32:26 GMT


	It was the inclusion of clitoridectomy in the subject line
that caught my eye here. This summer I read Alice Walker's new novel
"Possessing the Secret of Joy" in which a character undergoes just
such an operation, and regrets it later.
	I was wondering if anyonone could give me a clue as to why
this practice began and what is the intent behind it.
	As Walker describes it, and as I percieve it, it is an
operation founded in misogyny and machismo, and those are two things
to which even africans are not immune. I realize it is a centuries-old
custom in some parts of Africa, but I believe it is a cruel and
immoral act (especially when done to a small child). I do not believe
that criticizing something African is tatamount to critizinzing
African itself, and even if it is then we should be able to look at
ourselves in the same critical light we focus on others.
	Any ideas out there?
-- 
"Black men loving black men is THE revolutionary act!"
			-Joseph Beam_
Terrance Heath 
heath@athena.cs.uga.edu
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban,sci.med
From: robert@unlv.edu (Robert Cray)
Subject: Re: Smoke cigarettes -- leave early!
Keywords: Park all day here, they never check
Organization: University of Nevada, Las Vegas
Date: Mon, 23 Nov 92 04:22:48 GMT

In article <lh07esINN493@exodus.Eng.Sun.COM> linden@positive.Eng.Sun.COM (Trelford Pinkerton) writes:
>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.  

Smoking puts you at risk for cancer, heart disease and strokes.  Whether
you will get one of these, and if so when depends on the individual, so
what N is won't make much sense unless you happen to be the "average"
person.  If you also have high blood pressure or high cholesterol, then
smoking is worse for you.  Cancer probably has some genetic component,
so that will come into play too.  Why take the chance?

What I can't figure out is the large number of kids, especially teenage
girls that smoke these days.  The other day I saw two girls, about 13 and
16 years old eating dinner at Wendy's with their father.  After a while,
the girls got up, moved to the smoking section, and started smoking.  Dad
stayed put.  Some time later one of the girls came and said to her father
"if you think we're young to be smoking, look at him" and pointed to a boy,
about 12 smoking, so at least he objected, even if he didn't do anything
about it.  Several weeks prior to that I saw the cheerleading squad from the
best high school in town, almost all smoking.  This in a rather trendy
neighborhood too.

				--robert
--
robert@cs.unlv.edu
Xref: sparky alt.folklore.urban:28942 rec.arts.startrek.misc:11761 alt.cascade:3269
From: dave@frackit.UUCP (Dave Ratcliffe)
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban,rec.arts.startrek.misc,alt.cascade
Subject: Re: Question about "T." in James T. Kirk !!!!!! (As seen on TV)
Keywords: We don' nee' no stinkeen' keywords!
Date: 16 Nov 92 21:10:43 GMT
Followup-To: alt.cascade
Organization: Data Factory Services, Harrisburg, Pa.


 In article <1992Nov10.203818.14246@dsd.es.com>, pmartz@dsd.es.com (Paul Martz) writes:
 >In article <BxIEtG.AEs@mentor.cc.purdue.edu>, miles@expert.cc.purdue.edu (Derick) writes:
 >>In article <1992Nov10.051247.26359@midway.uchicago.edu> thf2@midway.uchicago.edu writes:
 >>>In article <BxGwLn.HEo@constellation.ecn.uoknor.edu> bwbrock@midway.ecn.uoknor.edu (Benjamin Warre Brock) writes:
 >>>>Tiberius
 >>>Terry
 >>Timmy
 >Testicular
Titwillow

-- 
 ...uunet!wa3wbu!frackit!dave -or-                       |  Dave Ratcliffe  |
 frackit!dave@uunet.UU.NET -or- dave@frackit.uucp -or-   |  Sys. <*> Admin. |
 vogon1!compnect!frackit!dave@psuvax1.psu.edu            | Harrisburg,  Pa. |
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban
From: thf2@ellis.uchicago.edu (Ted Frank)
Subject: Re: 1950's Darryle, damnit.
Reply-To: thf2@midway.uchicago.edu
Organization: University of Chicago Computing Organizations
Date: Tue, 17 Nov 1992 22:04:30 GMT

In article <9764@blue.cis.pitt.edu.UUCP> pmmst8+@pitt.edu (Paul M Mweene) writes:
>In article <97719@netnews.upenn.edu> weemba@sagi.wistar.upenn.edu (Matthew P Wiener) writes:
>>The British sailor who died ~1962 had symptoms that we would today
>>recognize as AIDS.
>>-Matthew P Wiener (weemba@sagi.wistar.upenn.edu)
>
>I called the CDC today and asked them for the symptoms of AIDS. They told me that there is no such thing. Rather fully blown AIDS is a condition where there is
>no immunity and opportunistic infections impose themselves so that what presentsare the symptoms of the opportunistic infections. This story has been given pro
>minence by those who would like to impose the unsubstantiated allegation that
>AIDS was always there.

Yes, but some opportunistic infections simply aren't found much outside
AIDS victims -- pneumocystitis (sp?), Karposi's syndrome, etc.

The official definition of AIDS is a list of symptoms.  

The "allegation" that AIDS was always there is hardly unsubstantiated.
Several peer-reviewed publications have been cited for the proposition
if you bother to look earlier in the thread.
-- 
ted frank                     | thf2@ellis.uchicago.edu 
standard disclaimers          | void where prohibited
the university of chicago law school, chicago, illinois 60637
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban
From: C521832@MIZZOU1.missouri.edu
Subject: Re: lemurs!
Organization: University of Missouri at Columbia, U.S.A.
Date: Mon, 23 Nov 1992 23:40:27 GMT
X-Posted-From: mizzou1.missouri.edu
NNTP-Posting-Host: sol.ctr.columbia.edu

We never fed the lemurs twinkies, or threw them food for that matter. As
I recall they ate Purina Monkey Chow or somesuch..plus some fruits I
think that the keepers gave them.
 
At other parts of the zoo we sold carrots and stuff for llamas, bears,
and other such critters. But not for lemurs. For all I know they would
have happily gnawed on Burl Ives records.
 
Rev
From: bill.duetschler@hal9000.UUCP (Bill Duetschler) 
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban
Subject: "Microwave in Use"
Date: 16 Nov 92 22:55:00 GMT
Distribution: world
Organization: HAL 9000 BBS, (313)663-4173, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
Reply-To: bill.duetschler@hal9000.UUCP (Bill Duetschler) 

WR > Why do some places (notably at the local county government building    
WR > and at the university) have a sign that says "Microwave in Use"  
WR > outside of rooms where a microwave oven is?  It's like a warning, or   
WR > something, but why would we need a warning?  Microwave ovens don't
WR > cause any harmful radiation outside of the oven, do they?  And being
WR > outside of the room isn't going to make a big difference, is it?

Microwaves DO leak a very small amount of radiation.  Not enough to be
dangerous to healthy folk (one hopes) but enough of it, in the right
frequency range, to screw up a pacemaker.  The sign is there to warn
pacemaker wearers.

Of course, if you're close enough to read the sign you're already
dead.

---
 . JABBER v1.1 . This Is Ground Control To Major Tom...
                                                                                            
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban
From: thf2@ellis.uchicago.edu (Ted Frank)
Subject: Re: Man in the backseat UL
Reply-To: thf2@midway.uchicago.edu
Organization: University of Chicago Computing Organizations
Distribution: usa
Date: Thu, 19 Nov 1992 21:43:42 GMT

In article <pfritsch.722205321@skid.ps.uci.edu> pfritsch@skid.ps.uci.edu (Paul Fritschle) writes:
>One of the ladies I work with told a group of us the story mentioned
>in the subject line. She says it happened to a good friend of hers in
>HS in the 50's. So, is this still a FOAF tale, since it was a friend
>of my friend it happened to? 8-) Seriously, though, I have always
>thought that there was some grain of truth to this particular UL, and
>this just reinforces that opinion.

Nu?  What's the lady's friend's name?

Ted "and does she like frozen chicken?" Frank
-- 
ted frank                     | thf2@ellis.uchicago.edu 
standard disclaimers          | void where prohibited
the university of chicago law school, chicago, illinois 60637
From: jtchew@csa3.lbl.gov (Ad absurdum per aspera)
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban
Subject: Re: The Fabrikant case--did it happen?
Keywords: murder
Date: 18 Nov 92 20:20:00 GMT
Organization: Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory - Berkeley, CA, USA
NNTP-Posting-Host: 128.3.254.198
News-Software: VAX/VMS VNEWS 1.41

>Yes.  In fact, Fabrikant had been posting to the net for days.  Just
>think, the next poster you read could have a screw loose and be a
>homicidal maniac!  Bwahahahahahhaha!

I think this stuff appeared on sci.research, among other places, though
it's probably timed out by now at your average site.  If you can find a
sci.research archive, you can look through various postings, including
Fabrikant's listing of his grievances.

At least one netter posted a rather heavyhanded response and, I'll wager,
felt pretty awful about it after F. escalated from flaming to gunfire.
I'm fond of the old wisecrack, "The reason academic politics is so sordid
is that the stakes are so low," but sometimes the tempests in our campus
teapots become all too real, with genuine financial, emotional, or even
physical injury...

Joe "Yes, these things DO happen, unfortunately" Chew
From: joeg@gagme.chi.il.us (joe grosch)
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban
Subject: Re: LSD Laced Lick-on Tattoos
Date: 15 Nov 92 08:13:15 GMT
Organization: GAGME - Public Access UNIX of Chicago, Illinois, USA, Earth
X-Newsreader: TIN [version 1.1 PL6]

egilmour@ac.dal.ca wrote:
: Last year in my city police were warning the parents and schoolchildren 
: about LSD laced lick-on fake tattoos that were apparently being sold to kids
: in schoolyards.  Bulletins were being sent to schools and the 
: news made mention of these warnings.  I can't believe that this could
: be anything but an urban legend, and I seem to remember
: that even when I was in grade school
: we were issued the same warnings by teachers.  Has anyone else
: heard about this?  Sometimes it is surprising that teachers and police
: cannot even separate urban legend from fact and that they would 
: spread this unsubstantiated information.
: 
I first heard this one when I was growing up in New York City in the late 
60's. I never saw any, nor have I ever met anyone who did find some. I now 
have kids growing up in Minneapolis and about every other year we hear this 
story from the teachers and the police. I've even gone so far as offer my 
kids $10.00 if they find any. Being the mercenary little beggars they are, 
if there is any LSD laced lick-on fake tattoos being sold in the 7 county 
area they will find it. Notice I'm not holding my breath.
 
--
Josef Grosch         | It's been a quiet week in Lake Wobegon, my home town...
joeg@gagme.chi.il.us |       New Yorker by birth, Minnesotan by choice 
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban
From: billn@hpcvaac.cv.hp.com (bill nelson)
Subject: Re: Snuff film?
Organization: Hewlett-Packard Company, Corvallis, Oregon USA
Date: Wed, 18 Nov 1992 21:13:28 GMT

ashall@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu (Andrew S Hall) writes:
: It seems like people who deny the existence of snuff films have forgotten about
: Faces of Death. While no one (that I know of) was killed for the purpose of the
:  videos, it certainly shows people dying.

Nope. If you read the FAQ, you will note that FOD was acknowledged. Films of
people dying are not unusual - that has been happening for over 100 years.
However, that is not the point.

: Also, I think the arguement should be more centered around the contention
: of gangs of people who kidnap women and kill them for movies. This certainly 
: qualifies as a U.L. However, I find it most UNLIKELY that some sicko or sickos 
: HAVEN'T recorded their atrocities, especially with the easy access to vidoe 
: equipment these days. To put in perspective, I know of a few film students who 
: have killed animals for the purpose of their movies.

Certainly, but doing so - solely for your own kicks, is not part of the
description. As such, they are irrelevant.

Bill
From: ccaamrg@ucl.ac.uk (Mike Gahan)
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban
Subject: Re: Gender denoting pictograms on restroom doors
Date: 20 Nov 92 17:10:45 GMT
Reply-To: ccaamrg@rs6-svr-2.cls-4.bcc.ac.uk (Mike Gahan)
Organization: UCL

Holidaying in Czechoslovakia some years ago, our party stayed one
night in a rather run down establishment close to the Hungarian
border. Having taken a quantity of drink in the course of the evening,
and needing to dispose thereof in the night, I stumbled down the
corridor (no en suite here, me boys) to be confronted with two
closed doors, one bearing a 'Z', the other a 'J'. 

There being no one about, I went into 'Z', where there was a 
single WC.

In the morning, it transpired that a lady in our party had found
herself in the same dilemma, and had opted for 'J'. Comparing
notes, we realised that there was no difference between the
cubicles, and remain to this day in some doubt as to the 
relevance of the signs.

Possible UL:

I have heard of a distinguished professor, who was invited to 
the Rumanian Academy of Sciences to deliver some profound paper.
Having no knowledge of that tongue, he was to speak in his native
English, but decided to surprise and delight his audience by 
uttering a few introductory words in the vernacular. He determined
that "Ladies and Gentlemen" would be appropriate, and proceeded to
study the signs on the toilet doors.

He duly began, and was somewhat bewildered when his opening remarks
were greeted with a stunned silence, punctuated only by a few nervous
coughs and a muffled titter. He went on to deliver the paper, then
asked his host if he had made some gaffe. The good academician replied
that this was the first time in the history of the academy that a
speech had commenced with "Water Closets and Urinals..."

Mike Gahan
From: judson@watserv.ucr.edu (Mike Judson)
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban
Subject: Lyrics to Puff the Magic Dragon
Date: 21 Nov 92 18:08:39 GMT
Reply-To: judson@watserv.ucr.edu

Since there's all this talk going around about Puff, could someone post
the lyrics in its entirety?
Thanks.

--
"It takes a big man to cry.
but it takes a bigger man to laugh at that man."
				Jack Handy


judson@watserv.ucr.edu
From: sasbmt@jjoyce.unx.sas.com (Bruce Tindall)
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban
Subject: Re: "Microwave in Use"
Date: 19 Nov 92 23:20:49 GMT
Organization: SAS Institute Inc.
Originator: sasbmt@jjoyce.unx.sas.com


In article <1992Nov19.164216.9782@sunova.ssc.gov>, Chuck Adams <chuck_adams@qmail.ssc.gov> writes:
>I can't speak for Joes' operations, 

...but those famous Reader's Digest authors, Joe's Heart, Joe's Liver,
and Joe's Pancreas, probably can.

Bruce "I Am Leopold Bloom's Kidney" Tindall
-- 
Bruce Tindall, Core Testing Mgr., SAS Institute Inc., Cary, N.C. 27513
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban
From: SESPC307@ysub.ysu.edu
Subject: Re: Reuse of Cemetary Plots?
Organization: Youngstown State University
Date: Tue, 24 Nov 1992 02:45:03 GMT

I'm not very familiar with the practices in Chicago, but I
recall reading in a local newspaper awhile back about the
Potter's Field in New Yor, NY.  Since the field by definitation
is reserved only for unclaimed clients there are no next of kin
to be contacted or concerned with in that regards.  The article
I read mentioned that the change to dust took place in about
7 years (maybe 40).  After this time the plot is reused because
clients were no longer resident in the plot, and their wooden
boxes had also disappearded.
 
As to the total true of this I can't verify it, but it stands to
reason that this is possible.  What do you think?
 
JB SPC YSU
From: david.scarlett@freddy.ersys.edmonton.ab.ca (David Scarlett) 
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban
Subject: Re: Calvin/Hobbes diagnos
Date: 21 Nov 92 14:49:00 GMT
Reply-To: david.scarlett@freddy.ersys.edmonton.ab.ca (David Scarlett) 
Distribution: world
Organization: Freddy's Place BBS - Edmonton, AB - 403-456-4241


TO: bd@fluent@dartmouth.EDU (Brice Dowaliby)
  > Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban,sci.med
  > Subject: Re: Calvin/Hobbes diagnosed as clinical schizophrenic

BD> linden@positive.Eng.Sun.COM (Trelford Pinkerton) writes:

>ObUL:  wrapping even a ribbon around the midriff of a cat
>       puts it off-balance.
>
>ObUL2: Lard'n'sugar does the same for 'gators.

BD> Trelford - how do you wrap the lard and sugar around
  > the gator's midriff?
Very, very carefully
ds


 -- SPEED 1.20 [NR]: Is that Ipsomobile or autokinetikon ?
From: pfritsch@skid.ps.uci.edu (Paul Fritschle)
Subject: Man in the backseat UL
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban
Organization: Miskatonic University Department of Computer Science
Distribution: usa
Date: 19 Nov 92 20:39:55 GMT

One of the ladies I work with told a group of us the story mentioned
in the subject line. She says it happened to a good friend of hers in
HS in the 50's. So, is this still a FOAF tale, since it was a friend
of my friend it happened to? 8-) Seriously, though, I have always
thought that there was some grain of truth to this particular UL, and
this just reinforces that opinion.

--

Paul Fritschle                                         pfritsch@skid.PS.UCI.EDU
                 Have you hugged YOUR shoggoth today?
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban
From: billn@hpcvaac.cv.hp.com (bill nelson)
Subject: Re: Puff the Magic Dragon (was Calvin/Hobbes...) 
Organization: Hewlett-Packard Company, Corvallis, Oregon USA
Date: Sat, 21 Nov 1992 10:19:44 GMT

urban@sideshow.jpl.nasa.gov (Michael P Urban) writes:
: 
: >>: >Dragons last forever, but not so little boys.
: >            live
: 
: When PP&M now perform this song, the line is
: 
:    Dragons live forever, but not little girls and boys.
: 
: It is not clear whether the fact that Jackie Paper's sex is
: unstated is intentional.

They stated, when I heard them a few years ago, that they had
changed the words - so that they would be in sync with the
times. In other words, they wanted to be politically correct.
They did the same thing with "The Marvelous Toy".

Bill
From: FELSON_ADJ@CCSUA.CTSTATEU.EDU
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban
Subject: Re: Smoke cigarettes -- die young
Date: 23 Nov 1992 15:42:06 -0600
Organization: UTexas Mail-to-News Gateway
NNTP-Posting-Host: cs.utexas.edu

From: mcovingt@aisun3.ai.uga.edu (Michael Covington)
Subject: Re: Smoke cigarettes -- leave early!
! 
! In article <1992Nov23.042248.14259@unlv.edu> robert@unlv.edu (Robert Cray) writes:
! >What I can't figure out is the large number of kids, especially teenage
! >girls that smoke these days.  The other day I saw two girls, about 13 and
! >16 years old eating dinner at Wendy's with their father.  After a while,
! >the girls got up, moved to the smoking section, and started smoking.  Dad
! >stayed put.  Some time later one of the girls came and said to her father
! >"if you think we're young to be smoking, look at him" and pointed to a boy,
! >about 12 smoking, so at least he objected, even if he didn't do anything
! >about it.  Several weeks prior to that I saw the cheerleading squad from the
! >best high school in town, almost all smoking.  This in a rather trendy
! >neighborhood too.
! 
! To prove that nobody can tell them what to do.  :)
! 
! Increasingly, smoking has become something that people start at age
! 12, in order to look grown up, and try to give up around age 18,
! _again_ in order to look grown up.
! 
! Although the adult population as a whole is rapidly abandoning
! tobacco, someone recently pointed out that recent movies have an
! inordinate number of heroes who smoke.  Look at it -- although the
! supporting characters don't smoke, the hero often does.  Even Walt
! Disney's _The Great Mouse Detective_ has a scene where Basil has a
! cigarette hanging out of his mouth.

I left the university scene for 7 years to return to finish my degree.... I've
noticed that more than ever are tobocco addicts... What would people think if
there were people shooting up intravenouslys hanging around every exit and
entrance of every building...  I usually have to dodge 2 or 3 people on my way
between classes just to stay upwind of these young drug addicts. 


Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban
From: dpm1960@tm0006.lerc.nasa.gov (snopes)
Subject: Re: Calvin and Hobbes (a different theory)
News-Software: VAX/VMS VNEWS 1.41    
Keywords: aliens, voodoo
Organization: Will pay money for food.
Date: 17 Nov 1992 01:32 EST  

In article <BxtyDq.MCM.1@cs.cmu.edu>, 
  rhuss+@cs.cmu.edu (Robert Huss) writes...

>Calvin and Hobbes are the names of Philosophers

  Which ones?

 - snopes

+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| "In fiscal year 1991, government agencies classified as secret a total of   |
|  7,107,017 documents.  This marks the first time that the total number of   |
|  reported classification decisions in a year is a palindrome."              |
|                                                                             |
|  1991 Report to the President by the Information Security Oversight Office  |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban
From: billn@hpcvaac.cv.hp.com (bill nelson)
Subject: Re: Child Molestors - internationally organized?
Organization: Hewlett-Packard Company, Corvallis, Oregon USA
Date: Tue, 17 Nov 1992 21:17:08 GMT

egilmour@ac.dal.ca writes:
: 
: bill> According to some people from the UK - pedophilia seems to be fairly
: bill> well established there.  It is not in the US.
: 
: bill> Here in the US - most child molesters are relatives of the child, usually
: bill> the father or uncle.  There are no organized groups anywhere in the world,
: bill> that has been documented.
: 
: First of all, what do they mean by a well-organized group?  I believe I saw
: on 60 minutes or some such show that pedophiles from all walks of life
: from many different countries were taking advantage of the situation in 
: countries where prostituting children is legal (or at least overlooked), 
: and that these prostitution rings cater to international pedophiles - 
: even ones from the US.
: Does this constitute an organized group?

Can you believe 60 minutes? It is a sensationalistic news broadcast.

Note that I was talking about pedophelia and child molestation, here in the
US - not in the international scene. It turns out that the largest distributor
of "child porn" here in the US is the US government. They use it to attempt
to entrap pedopheliacs. Apparently, they have had little success.   

As far as organized child molestation groups - I don't think they exist.
Certainly, there are prostitution "rings" - there are "rings" which will
supply anything for which a person is willing to pay a sufficient price.
I have seen no documentation that they are organized. In other words, 
some of the "rings" may know each other - but I doubt if they are organized
into cooperative groups. I might be wrong - is there anyone posting here  
who lives in one of the countries that allows child prostitution?

Bill