HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: mtpins@icaen.uiowa.edu (Michael T Pins)
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban
Subject: Re: Sidewalks . . .
Date: 6 Apr 92 16:16:19 GMT

lt503_424960@EMUNIX.EMICH.EDU (Void where prohibited by law.) writes:

>In Article 38129 of alt.folklore.urban Ted Frank writes:

->In article <259@bbx.basis.com> russ@bbx.basis.com (Russ Kepler) writes:
->>
->>An architect resigned a series of buildings for a university, and the
->>students were amazed to find a complete lack of sidewalks between
->>buildings and instead only grass fields and some bushes and trees.
->>
->>Overcoming their reluctance to trample the grass, practicality
->>overcame them and slowly but surely paths were worn in the grass. 
->>Skinny paths where the traffic was sparse, wide, well worn paths where
->>the traffic was dense.
->>
->>After the paths were clear a landscaping company came in and paved the
->>paths, matching the concrete walks to the size of the paths worn in
->>the grass.
->
->At the risk of cross-posting this to a.f.c, which never discusses
->Winston Churchill and is therefore nowhere near as cool as a.f.u.,
->I'd like to say that I've heard this UL wrt Rice University.

>I originally heard this legend about The University of Toledo.  I was
>visiting their campus to look around and decide whether I wanted to go
>there or here (finally decided here because of a better situation with
>the dorms/students ratio) and the guide showing us around told us the
>story.  Except he said they waited until winter, then flew a helicopter
>over and took a picture of the paths in the snow.  Come spring, the paths
>were duplicated in concrete . . . 

I don't know about the above UL, but at the University of Iowa, there was
one 'shortcut' between sidewalks that so many students took (it did cut a
significantly shorter route) that there was a well worn path.  After 
numerous attempts to stop the flow, the U gave up, took down the chains,
and paved it.

					Firestar


-- 
*****************************************************************************
* Michael Pins (Firestar)     |   Internet: amigapd@isca.uiowa.edu          *
* ISCA's Amiga Librarian      |         #include <std.disclaimer>           *
*****************************************************************************
Organization: Arizona State University
Date: Wednesday, 15 Apr 1992 09:37:08 MST
From: <ICLNM@ASUACAD.BITNET>
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban
Subject: Re: Carbonated Beverages

In article <1992Apr14.155034.23530@PA.dec.com>, mikkelson@breakr.enet.dec.com
(snopes) says:
>
>I was told we wouldn't have to do any chemistry in this group.
>
No physics, no chemistry?  Who told you these things?  We must investigate this
immediately.  I want full details.
Better yet, could I interest you in part ownership of the Brooklyn Bridge?
Loyd Means
Phoenix AZ
From: hwt@bwdlh490.BNR.CA (Henry Troup)
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban
Subject: Re: Vatican Pornography Collection
Date: 6 Apr 92 19:12:40 GMT
Reply-To: Henry.Troup@BNR.CA
Distribution: world
Organization: Bell-Northern Research Ltd., Ottawa, Canada

In article <22305@dog.ee.lbl.gov>, twcaps@tennyson.lbl.gov (Terry Chan) writes:
|>Cecil concludes that this story is bogus, but he does say you could check
|>out places such as the municipal museum of Naples, which is supposed to

Any copyright library inevitably ends up with a tonne or two of porn a year;
I don't think copyright libraries are allowed to dispose of stuff, either.
                                            
  Henry Troup - HWT@BNR.CA (Canada) - BNR owns but does not share my opinions
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban
From: fnord@panix.com (Cliff Heller)
Subject: Re: Ask Marilyn Again
Date: Thu, 9 Apr 1992 14:43:18 GMT
Organization: Right Bleedin' Church of Libertine Obfuscatology
Keywords: Marilyn

In <1992Apr9.003302.7392@midway.uchicago.edu> thf2@ellis.uchicago.edu (Ted Frank) writes:

>In article <73296@netnews.upenn.edu> weemba@libra.wistar.upenn.edu (Matthew P Wiener) writes:
>>"No one ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American
>>people."--Churchill, or maybe Disraeli

>I'm sure it was Jerry Brown who said this.

On a similar note:

"A person who knows what smart people will do is a smart person.
A person who knows what stupid people will do is a genius."

I don't know who said it.

-- 
     / \      Reverend fnord   	             | "King Kong died for your sins!"
    /   \     fnord@panix.com                | 
   / <0> \                                   | "Don't just eat a hamburger, 
  /_______\   Church of Obfuscatology, Inc.  |  eat the HELL out of it!"
From: de@moscom.UUCP (David Esan)
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban
Subject: Re: We are not amused.
Keywords: Say anything here they never check eat all day for free
Date: 17 Apr 92 14:14:58 GMT
Article-I.D.: moscom.3489
Reply-To: de@moscom.UUCP (David Esan)
Organization: Moscom Corp., Pittsford, NY

In article <kurfpfINNhti@exodus.Eng.Sun.COM> linden@positive.Eng.Sun.COM (Peter van der Linden) writes:
%Someone (name forgotten) alleged that Winston was the illegitimate
%son of the King of England, in that his mother had boffed the King while
%her husband Lord Randolph was slowly degenerating from syphilis.
%
%Great theory!   Alas, when the mighty Church-baby became PM in 1940 he
%was 65.  Which means he was born around 1875.  And who was on the throne
%then?   Queen Victoria, that's who, from 1837 till 1901.

Of course, Vickie had a son Eddie, a/k/a King Edward VII.  Eddie, in whose
footsteps his descendant Randy Andy so ably follows, was born in 1841.  By
the time of Churchill's conception (1873, Winnie was born in 1874 - RTF
Dictionary), he was about 32.  Thus Winnie could be Eddie VII's illegitimate
son, and the son of a king.


-- 
 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 -->     David Esan      de@moscom.com  
 
 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban
From: mikkelson@breakr.enet.dec.com (snopes)
Subject: Re: Such a deal!
Organization: Still waiting for the snuff films . . .
Date:  6 APR 92 14:10:02    


In article <1992Apr4.193726.22293@midway.uchicago.edu>, 
  thf2@ellis.uchicago.edu (Ted Frank) writes...

>I don't understand which canard you're referring to, Snopes.  Ask
>rec.puzzles, so we don't get stuck on this thread here, but the correct
>solution to the classical Monty Hall problem (which vos Savant may very
>well have bungled the description of) is to always switch.

I had only seen the reader reaction to Marilyn vos Savant's original, unclear
statement of the problem.  Having subsequently seen a better, more precise
explanation of the situation, I now understand the logic behind switching 
doors.  As the medication I have been taking has been most helpful in
alleviating the symptoms of van der Linden syndrome, I did not fire off a 
letter to Ms. vos Savant castigating her for her answer.

- snopes

+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| NOTE: The signature contained in this posting is proprietary and embodies
| confidential technology.  Possession, use, duplication or dissemination of
| this signature is authorized only pursuant to a valid written license.
|
|  + David Mikkelson  Digital Equipment Corporation, Culver City, CA  USA +
+--------------------------------+--------------------------------------------+
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban
From: peterd@polari.com
Subject: Re: Digits in the Driver's license number
Keywords: licence
Organization: Seattle Online Public Access Unix.  (206) 328-4944 (all lines telebit-equipped)
Date: Mon, 6 Apr 1992 07:57:32 GMT

moroney@ramblr.enet.dec.com writes:


>In article <1992Apr3.192521.5569@henson.cc.wwu.edu>, n8742883@henson.cc.wwu.edu (Perry Pederson) writes:
>|>	Do the three digits in an american driver's liscence mean
>|>anything?  I have the digits 327, while my fiance has the digits 312.
>|>Do they indicate a regional licensing district, or some other more
>|>arcane knowledge?

>Which state?  Each state is different.  New York has a billion-digit number
>that supposedly encoded all kinds of things about you.  Many other states just
>want your social security number.

>-Mike

Now if I was really organized i could pull out my old Arizona and
Bundes Republik liscences for comparisons.  But in Oregon, the
Drivers Liscence number was sequential and I can still real it off.
My Washigton State Liscence is a hash function of first five char 
in Last Name, FI, MI, donor & special codes and the Shoe Size of
the issuing clerk.

Tags are another matter, and I dislike the new "graphic" plates.
'twas enough to make me leave the state.

chus
pyotr

p.s. can anyone explain why I remember the phone number I learned 
in 1960, but not the other line at work?

Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban
From: david.lloyd-jones@rose.uucp (david lloyd-jones)
Subject: What Pepsi Means in C
Organization: Rose Media Inc, Toronto, Ontario.
Date: Thu, 9 Apr 1992 15:46:56 GMT
X-Gated-By: Usenet <==> RoseMail Gateway (v1.2)


Date Entered: 04-08-92 20:38
To: jeremiah@yang.earlham.edu
JE>Subject: Re: What Pepsi Means in Chinese (Was RE:  What Co

JE>Huh...   Ted, you seem to be a little confused here...  Wow, I guess this
JE>is proof of how a rumor can get mixed up. You may have already seen a
JE>later posting on this subject, but the wax whatever UL actually pertains
JE>to China, and never was really that, and certainly isn't any more.
JE>  Furthermore, wasn't it JFK, who said "Ich bin ein berliner", when he
JE>meant to say, "Ich bin Berliner", during a speech in Berlin, where
JE>"ein berliner" is a kind of pastry, and Berliner  is a Berliner...????
JE>Hmmm...
JE>Well, I just read the part about Cordoba, and I guess you are probably
JE>kidding.

Jeremiah,

I've been instructed by the Usenet Moderators' Committee to tell you our
usage.   When you post messages like this you are supposed to use a
":-)" symbol.  This is called a "smiley."

                                                  -dlj.
---
   SLMR 2.0   It's only a hobby ... only a hobby ... only a
   RM 1.60: Usenet: Rose Media - Hamilton (416) 575-5363
From: doctor1@cbnewse.cb.att.com (patrick.b.hailey)
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban
Subject: Re: Carbonated Beverages
Date: 17 Apr 92 08:48:55 GMT
Organization: AT&T

If we're all so worried about keeping carbonated beverages from going flat,
we should not buy them in those N-litre plastic bottles.  It's been my
experience that the c.b. comes pre-flattened, at least in comparison to the
same c.b. in cans or glass bottles.

No one knows why this is, but folklore has it{{
                                               t{{{[th~x~xkd~~at
                                                                }}}~~sxs[~-
wkli}}~Princess Diana and a wombat.

  Thanks awfully,
             Patrick
From: chaloux@mandolin.mitre.org (Dave Chaloux)
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban
Subject: Re: Eating Poison Oak
Keywords: Poison Oak Dinner
Date: 31 Mar 92 19:41:55 GMT
Article-I.D.: linus.1992Mar31.194155.9097
Reply-To: chaloux@mandolin.mitre.org (Dave Chaloux)
Organization: The MITRE Corporation, McLean, Va

I cannot speak about poison oak but I can speak about poison ivy from
experience.

I was at leadership training for boy scouts. I had never had a case of
poison ivy. Apparently, I was one of the lucky ones who just isn't
allergic. A group of us was hanging around and noticed some. Being an
impressionable young idiot, I took up a dare to eat some. I did so and
as far as I could tell suffered no ill affects.

After leadership training was done, it was time for regular camp. As
part of the drill, they had a doctor give us a quick once over. One of
the things he did was look at your throat. He was quite puzzled at the
fact that it was slightly inflamed but that I was oblivious to the fact.

I wasn't about to explain to him what I had done, and as I said, wasn't
feeling it at all.

I don't think I got off quite completely. I have had some very minor
cases of it since. At any rate, with poison ivy, eating it may actually
trigger something of an allergic reaction in those who aren't.
Xref: sparky alt.folklore.urban:12413 alt.beer:2491
From: c3088@moncol.monmouth.edu (CHRIS CANE)
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban,alt.beer
Subject: Re: other fun mistranslations..
Date: 16 Apr 92 13:17:29 GMT
Followup-To: alt.folklore.urban
Distribution: alt.beer
Organization: Monmouth College, W. Long Branch, N.J.  07764

In article <92106.160546FNOTMAN@ESTEC.BITNET> FNOTMAN@ESTEC.BITNET babbles:
>
> Story I heard soem years ago
> A company in 1 of teh Arab countries was launching a new type of Washing
>(cloths) powder. All the supermarkets had big supplies. Come the big day the
>poster adverts were uncovered, 3 pictures, 1st a machine with a pile of dirty
>washing alongside, 2nd the washing going into the machine, 3rd as 1 but the...

yes, but what kind of BEER do they drink???

___________________________________________________________________
|\/| |_| |\| |\/| |_| \_/  |  |-|            |_ |_| |_ |_ |- |_- |-
Christopher E. Cane                       c3088@moncol.monmouth.edu
Beer Lover By Choice                       Computer User By Fortune
From: weemba@libra.wistar.upenn.edu (Matthew P Wiener)
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban
Subject: Re: Parading on Marilyn's Reign
Date: 6 Apr 92 15:55:57 GMT
Reply-To: weemba@libra.wistar.upenn.edu (Matthew P Wiener)
Organization: The Wistar Institute of Anatomy and Biology
In-reply-to: linden@positive.Eng.Sun.COM (Peter van der Linden)

In article <ktpge0INNjfg@exodus.Eng.Sun.COM>, linden@positive (Peter van der Linden) writes:
>> You blew it.  She got it correct, and was widely flamed for it by a host
>> of self-proclaimed PhD's and the like. 

>No.  Your contention is not wholly accurate.  The "Monty Hall" column of
>Marilyn's was extensively discussed on rec.puzzles.  The final consensus
>was that she had used very misleading terminology in her description of
>the problem (sound familiar?).

Misleading only to people who get it wrong, and then look for all sorts
of excuses, like it wasn't spelled out in perfect detail.  Which is not
the usual case with puzzles anyway.

Considering the consensus regarding hypnosis is a "U" in this group, I
am not very impressed with such.

>}       From the PARADE magazine of March 15, 1992:

>}       "Suppose you make $10,000 a year.  Your boss offers you a choice: You
>}can have a $1000 raise (not a bonus) at the end of each year, or you can have
>}a $300 raise at the end of each six months.  Which do you choose?".

>Personally, I say that since the question is "which do I choose?" she can't
>possibly prove anyone wrong on this -- how can she know someone's preferences
>better than the person themselves?

Congratulations.  You are one of the "can't read a puzzle to save his life"
crowd.  Your very own postcard, signed with genuine Churchill (or was that
Disraeli?) Guinness-induced puke, is in the mail already.
-- 
-Matthew P Wiener (weemba@libra.wistar.upenn.edu)
From: billn@hpcvaac.cv.hp.com (bill nelson)
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban
Subject: Re: Falling Bullets
Date: 8 Apr 92 02:05:18 GMT
Organization: Hewlett-Parkard Company, Corvallis, Oregon USA

rr@bing.bang.com writes:
: 
: Some yahoo blowing smoke out of his ass claims:
: >                    But here's a thing: a bullet fired travels
: >faster than sound in many cases, and I guarantee you that no falling
: >object will break the sound barrier on it's own.  So its unlikely that
: >most falling bullets have a vertical velocity equal to muzzle velocity.
: 
: I'll take you up on that guarantee.  Can you prove that no object can
: have a terminal velocity greater than the speed of sound?  Need a hint?
: 
: True or false, "The space shuttle on re-entry exceeds the speed of
: sound?"

Did you even read the thread, much less the posting, before writing this?
The statement was "falling object break the sound barrier on it's own".
This eliminates such things as the shuttle, which are already going faster
than the speed of sound when they re-enter. Given sufficient distance, the
shuttle would slow down, all by itself, to below the speed of sound, even  
if it was traveling straight down.

If you dropped the shuttle from a high altitude, it would not exceed the
speed of sound, at that altitude. All bets are off if you drop it in a
vacuum.

Bill
From: rdippold@cancun.qualcomm.com (Ron Dippold)
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban
Subject: Re: Whacky Flakey License plates
Keywords: licence
Date: 15 Apr 92 05:04:57 GMT
Organization: Qualcomm, Inc., San Diego, CA

djb6@quads.uchicago.edu (dennis joseph brennan) writes:
>>>California license plates have "evolved" over the years...Prior to about
>>> 1958, the plates were ... black on yellow.  Around 1958... 
>>> the plates went to ... yellow on black (basically a color inversion).
>>
>>And don't forget that sometime even earlier than that, the plates were
>>yellow on black background.  They underwent an inversion twice.

>Moving right along...
>New Hampshire licence plates say "Live Free or Die".  Great state motto.

And whose imprisoned criminals make those "Live Free or Die" plates...
-- 
There's a sucker reborn every minute.  -- Old Buddhist saying
From: tzf@cs.arizona.edu (Theron Friedman)
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban
Subject: Re: Tomato Flavor Chewing Gum
Date: 7 Apr 92 20:09:42 GMT
Reply-To: tzf@cs.arizona.edu (Theron Friedman)
Organization: U of Arizona, CS Dept, Tucson

In article <1992Apr7.131524.2264@adimail.uucp>, tel@adimail.uucp (Terry Monks) writes:

|> 
|> But what I want to know is: what *is* bubble gum
|> flavour? Is it a flavour of anything occurring in
|> nature? Especially of interest to me now that I 
|> have found a Peruvian soft drink that is bubble
|> gum flavoured.
|> 
I think it's grenadine (name of the syrup flavor: you can buy it in
fancy liquor stores, sometimes even in supermarkets). Which I believe
comes from pomegranets.
From: bls@sector7g.Eng.Sun.COM (Brian Scearce)
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban
Subject: Re: Why is calculus so feared?
Date: 9 Apr 92 15:16:43 GMT
Reply-To: bls@sector7g.Eng.Sun.COM
Organization: Sun Microsystems
NNTP-Posting-Host: sector7g

In article 8532@berlioz.nsc.com, worden@bouncer.nsc.com (Dennis Worden) writes:
> [Calculus] involved infinite sums of nothing, and instantenous moving
> averages of zero length.  It is a significant departure from the more
> "standard" math that relates to everyday life.
 
Well, yes and no.  There's the old joke about the guy that's pulled
over for doing 80 miles per hour, and he tells the cop, "But I wasn't
going to be out for an hour!".  A little reflection on the joke shows
that your speed is 80 mph for any fraction of an hour, even for an 
arbitrary small fraction.
 
There *are* intuitive ways to teach (introductory) calculus; I found 
using distance and speed useful when I was tutoring it.

Brian "Fully Integrated" Scearce

PS Just in case anyone is keeping track, in Ontario (Canada) c. 1983,
   they taught calculus in high school, but only in grade 13.

---
Brian Scearce                               bls@sector7g.eng.sun.com
        The above does not necessarily represent Sun policy.
From: perry@Unify.Com (Perry Clarke)
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban
Subject: Re: What Pepsi Means in Chinese (Was RE: What Coke means...)
Keywords: n
Date: 8 Apr 92 02:38:21 GMT
Article-I.D.: Unify.5ehjd2q
Organization: Unify Corporation

TANYA@SLACVM.SLAC.STANFORD.EDU wrote:
>This can only make me speculate about sales of the Chevy Nova in predominately
>Spanish speaking areas.  No va = It doesn't go
>... or some such.

Apparently (amazing how often this word crops up in a.f.u :-) Toyota had a
bit of trouble with their MR2 in France.  French phonetics make it:

	EMM ERR DE

which sounds almost exactly like "merde" - which for you non French speakers
is an expletive the translation of which I will leave to your fevered
imaginations.  I never heard how they resolved this problem ... probably 
didn't allow Toyota to import the car at all if their attitude to Japanese
VCRs is anything to go by.

--
Perry Clarke                 perry@unify.com             (916) 928 6287
                    Unify Corporation, Sacramento, CA
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban
From: david.lloyd-jones@rose.uucp (david lloyd-jones)
Subject: Ask Marilyn Again
Organization: Rose Media Inc, Toronto, Ontario.
Date: Thu, 9 Apr 1992 15:47:04 GMT
X-Gated-By: Usenet <==> RoseMail Gateway (v1.2)


Date Entered: 04-08-92 20:38
Definitive answer for: vince@cadence.com (Vince Gibboni)
V(>Subject: Re: Ask Marilyn Again

V(>    Could someone _PLEASE_ explain this one to me. (Perhaps I've just
V(>    never heard the thing fully specified). Does Monty know which
V(>    door the prize is behind ?

Yes.  He owns the show.  He is a very smart, very rich man.

V(>                               Will he never intentionally reveal the
V(>    prize ?

What?  To give you your choice of goats?

V(>             If Monty will intentionally avoid revealing the prize
V(>    then obviously it is better to switch (as there is a 2/3 chance
V(>    that the prize is behind one of Monty's two doors - and he has
V(>    ruled one out for you) - but this seems too simple for anyone
V(>    to argue with. If Monty doesn't know where the prize is, then
V(>    obviously all doors have an equal chance (as no special pre-selection
V(>    has been done), and there is no reason to switch (I will, happily
V(>    bet _lots_ of money on this). So where's the catch ? Why is
V(>    there an argument ?! Am I missing something ?!

Seems to me it's this way: In the opening position there are three
unknown doors.  The chance that you have chosen the prize is 1/3, no
matter which one you choose.

You make a choice.  No matter which choice you make, Monty has a
goat-door available.  He opens it, or one of them.  He does not move the
prize and his fingers never leave his hands.

You now have two unknown doors.  The one you have chosen has a 50%
chance of hiding the prize.  The other one has a 50% chance of hiding
the prize.  It does not matter whether you switch or not, but if you
miss the prize either way it is going to bug the hell out of you for
quite a while.

My then girl-friend, IQ in the high 170's (factors five digit numbers by
looking at them, learned all of Wagner in three months...), was on the
show.  Won it twice, took the money and the fur coat and ran.  Since she
is six feet tall, three feet-eight around, it was a holocaust for
Norwegian blue foxes....

                                         -dlj.

Since I wrote this I have seen another message in which
WJEURLE@ATHENA.MIT.EDU posts a matrix of possibilities.  I have not yet
figured the fallacy in his reasoning, but the following does seem to me
probative: When Monty opens a door to show you a goat, **he has given
you no new information**.  You already knew that there was one or more
goats behind the doors you haven't chosen.

                                                  -d.
---
   SLMR 2.0   Press any key to continue or any other key to quit
   RM 1.60: Usenet: Rose Media - Hamilton (416) 575-5363
From: thf2@ellis.uchicago.edu (Ted Frank)
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban
Subject: Re: Brownie recipe in HOT SHOTS credits
Date: 6 Apr 92 04:37:39 GMT
Reply-To: thf2@midway.uchicago.edu
Organization: University of Chicago Computing Organizations

In article <7438@uqcspe.cs.uq.oz.au> warwick@cs.uq.oz.au writes:
>And a recipe scrolled by.  Is this the same as that Urban Legend with
>the $2.50 becomes $250 mastercard fee for a recipe?

No.
-- 
Ted Frank          + "A word is not a crystal, transparent and unchanged, it
1307 E 60 St, #109 +  is the skin of a living thought and may vary greatly in
U o' C Law Skool   +  color and content according to the circumstances and
Chi, IL 60637      +  the time in which it is used."  --  Holmes