HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: linden@positive.Eng.Sun.COM (Peter van der Linden)
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban
Subject: Re: We are even less amused.
Keywords: Say anything here they never check eat all day for free
Date: 16 Apr 92 20:53:40 GMT
Organization: Sun Microsystems, Mt. View, Ca.
NNTP-Posting-Host: positive

Ted or Frank, one of them anyway, reminisces :
> I heard the reason that Great Britain has no laws on the books against
> lesbianism is because Queen Victoria refused to believe such a thing
> existed when the Parliament passed its anti-sodomy laws, and the
> appropriate provisions had to be struck from the bill.

It's even better than that!  The King/Queen of England signs all bills
passed by Parliament.  They are not laws until the sovereign has approved them.
Nowadays the monarch always signs and it would create a constitutional crisis
if a bill were left unsigned.

The story goes that the good Queen Victoria got the sodomy bill, read it
through with an ever-increasingly hard stare, and then got to the wording 
"and if any man shall .. blah blah .. with another man, or any woman
shall .. rhubarb rhubarb.. with another woman".  At that point, the old
Queen's jaw dropped and she demanded of her courtiers if this (lesbianism)
was a physical possibility, or some wording oversight by the degenerates down
the Mall in Whitehall.

None of the courtiers had the -err- balls  to explain the matter to Her Imperial
Majesty, or draw her a picture.  So the unamused monarch *took her own pen* and
scratched out the reference to women.   To unite a thread or two, thereby condemning
Alan Turing, but liberating ??? [can't think of any famous gay Englishwomen]

This was not the only time that Victoria's courtiers failed to explain 
something to her, but don't get me started.

Peter "may already be too late" vdL
--
Peter van der Linden    linden@eng.sun.com
Hola!  Villains foiled, bugs executed daily, strong coffee brewed.
From: weemba@libra.wistar.upenn.edu (Matthew P Wiener)
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban
Subject: Re: Miss Savant and Monty
Date: 10 Apr 92 14:47:53 GMT
Reply-To: weemba@libra.wistar.upenn.edu (Matthew P Wiener)
Organization: The Wistar Institute of Anatomy and Biology
In-reply-to: fehr@ms.uky.edu (Jeff Davis)

In article <1992Apr10.85415.8759@ms.uky.edu>, fehr@ms (Jeff Davis) writes:
>I have to confess to something: I've never seen the show. A friend to
>whom I related this discussion says that Monty Hall varies the gag
>from time to time. He sometimes just reveals a prize and asks if you
>want the revealed prize or your original choice. Also, the choices
>aren't always between goats and Cordobas. [...]

The problem, in the Monty Hall form, first appeared in THE AMERICAN
STATISTICIAN, Feb 75, p67.  Monty Hall wrote in, explaining that they
do not offer such a switch as occurs in the problem anyway.  But even
he knew that the odds were 1/3 before the goat was exposed, and that
they remained 1/3 after the goat is exposed.  He thought this was
trivially obvious, which it is.  See the Aug 75 issue, p 134.
-- 
-Matthew P Wiener (weemba@libra.wistar.upenn.edu)
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban
From: fnord@panix.com (Cliff Heller)
Subject: Re: Marilyn Really Doesn't Have to be too Goddam Smart to Keep Her Job
Date: Thu, 16 Apr 1992 18:38:04 GMT
Organization: Right Bleedin' Church of Libertine Obfuscatology
Keywords: dangers of interbreeding and excess fiber

In <33071@darkstar.ucsc.edu> unknown@ucscb.UCSC.EDU (resU nwonknU ehT) writes:


>In article <1992Apr16.002341.7848@zorch.SF-Bay.ORG> phil@zorch.SF-Bay.ORG (Phil Gustafson) writes:
>}  You pour one cup of 100% bran cereal in a bowl.  Then you pour one cup
>}  of 40% bran cereal on top of it.  What percent bran cereal do you now
>}  have in the bowl?  My wife says 140%, and my brother-in-law says 60%.
>}  I say it depends on whether you pour the 100% bran cereal or the 40%
>}  bran cereal in the bowl first [!? -- ed] -- that is, whether you want to
>}  dilute or add.  Who's right?

>	I thought that was _really scary_ when I read it in Parade also..
>I wish she had made her reply snide though.. She answered it completely 
>honestly, with no oh-so-easy remarks!  (AT LEAST she should have pointed
>people towards "Innumerology").

Cecil would've trounced 'em.  Except he doesn't especially deal with
mathematical or logic problems, more common everyday knowledge like
"Whatever happened to channel 1?"


>}No fucking wonder the Japanese are trouncing us.
>agreed partially.. except their import laws are much more stringent than
>ours are..  I think we should have an "eye for an eye" law, where we have
>import laws EQUAL to those of the country that's trying to import stuff 
>to us..  Obviously it wouldn't be allowed because it's not "fair".. but it'd
>be a cool idea.

Waitasec.  Are you saying that the Japanese are exporting more stupidity to
us than they are importing?

Spooky.

-- 
     / \      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: morris@anasaz (Bob Morris)
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban
Subject: Polio immunizations
Date: 10 Apr 92 20:59:44 GMT
Organization: Anasazi, Inc. Phoenix, AZ, USA

I had a conversation yesterday wherein I repeated a "fact" I had heard,
but when questioned, had to admit I had no reliable source.  I told
the questioner I would get the truth from a.f.u, so here goes:

I heard that the Sabin oral polio vaccine was a live virus and as such
was contagious.  The Sabin vaccine is the one administered on sugar
cubes.  If enough people in an area received the vaccine orally
(75-80%?), they would pass it to the others so everyone would be
vaccinated.

Does anyone have adequate medical background and history (or age) to
verify or deny this?  Is this why we all got the vaccine at the same
time?

I heard this about 15 years ago from an adult(?) who threw a tantrum
as a child when his mom wanted to take him in for his sugar cube.  She
gave in and he was not immunized.  He was hoping that the UL was true
so he wouldn't get polio.

Bob "way to go, Mom" Morris
aka morris@anasazi.com  (new address)
anasaz!morris@asuvax.eas.asu.edu (old address still works)
My opinions only, of course...
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban
From: billn@hpcvaac.cv.hp.com (bill nelson)
Subject: Re: Extraterrestrial metal
Organization: Hewlett-Parkard Company, Corvallis, Oregon USA
Date: Thu, 16 Apr 1992 19:24:06 GMT

: Does anyone else remember hearing the story about the pillar in India
: somewhere which is made out of a metal that is unknown anywhere in
: the world?  Someone told me this one years ago.  
: 
: 			Tim

If it is unknown anywhere in the world, then how can a sample of it be
found in India? :-)

Bill
Xref: sparky alt.folklore.urban:11764 alt.folklore.science:1348
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban,alt.folklore.science
Subject: Re: FCC Call letters
From: geoff@satori.equinox.gen.nz (Geoff McCaughan)
Date: Tue, 07 Apr 92 21:00:45   M
Organization: The Equinox Network CHCH NZ (Node SATORI)

csuah@warwick.ac.uk (~WISP at CU~) writes:

> This is more than plausible. Here in the UK,  we all have to pay a licence fe
> to watch/own a TV. (That's how the BBC gets it's money to buy all those shitt
> Australian soaps...). The Post Office actually administers the licence, and
> own 'TV detector vans' that drive around the streets picking up radio
> emissions from people's sets, then checking whether they've got a licence or
> not. They certainly work, and can tell which channel you're watching...

Whats to stop them picking up someone using a video game or cheapo home
computer connected to a TV with a modulator?

| Geoff - Sysop Equinox (equinox.gen.nz) +64 (3) 3854406 (4 Lines)
| Email:  geoff@satori.equinox.gen.nz
|         "If I post something lucid, is that satorial eloquence?"
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban
From: ccuppern@s.psych.uiuc.edu (Cyndi Cuppernell)
Subject: Re: Digits in the Driver's license number
Keywords: licence
Organization: UIUC Department of Psychology
Date: Tue, 7 Apr 1992 02:11:35 GMT

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?

In Illinois, the number begins with the first letter of your last
name.  The next 3 digits are Soundex for the next three consonants
of your last name.  Mine begins C165.  Before I got married, my
number began B650 (for Brown).  Someone with the last name of Lee
would have L000.  The next 2 digits are soundex for the first name,
the next 1 is for the middle.  Then you have 2 digits for the last
two digits of the birth year.  The last 3 encode month and date of
birth, as well as gender.  Every month is given 31 days.  A man
born on Jan 15, 1954 would have the last 5 digits read 5-4015.  A
woman born on the same date, same year would have 5-4615.  A man
born on March 15, 1954 would have 5-4077, a woman 5-4677.  To get
the last 3 digits, multiply (month of birth - 1) by 31 and add the
date of birth.  To encode female, add 600 to that.

Cyndi Cuppernell
From: unknown@ucscb.UCSC.EDU (resU nwonknU ehT)
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban
Subject: Re: Rocky Mountain Oysters (Was Re: Scallops: Seafood or Spinefood?)
Date: 15 Apr 92 19:18:55 GMT
Article-I.D.: darkstar.32989
Organization: University of California, Santa Cruz; Open Access Computing


In article <1992Apr14.150952.25957@anasaz> morris@anasaz (Bob Morris) writes:
}In article <2678@monarch.array.com> kenm@array.com (Ken Murphy) writes:
}>bulls = steers with testicles.
}steers = bulls without testicles.

	And that concludes the arithmetic lesson for today.  Remember the
moral of the story: You can subtract the same value from both sides of an
equation and you will still have a valid equation.
-- 
/unknown@ucscb.ucsc.edu GS SIMM mem card & trackball WANTED  Apple II Forever!\
\Mail me:Get INFOCOM GAMES RERELEASED,ULT VI GS done,for UNIX GS&CHEAP CD info/
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban
From: moroney@ramblr.enet.dec.com
Subject: Re: Ask Marilyn Again
Organization: Digital Equipment Corporation
Date:  9 APR 92 22:55:23    

In article <1992Apr10.003958.24667@athena.mit.edu>, wjeuerle@athena.mit.edu (William J Euerle) writes...
>In article <1992Apr9.183122.8170@e2big.mko.dec.com>, moroney@ramblr.enet.dec.com () writes:
>|> If the odds were initially 1/3 that you were correct and revealing the goat
>|> reveals no new information, how could the odds jump to 1/2 that you were
>|> correct?  Either revealing the goat reveals some information about the
>|> other 2 doors, or the odds you guessed correctly initially remain at 1/3,
>|> in which case the chance the prize is behind the other unopened door is 2/3
>|> and therefore, you should switch.
>|> 
>|> -Mike
> 
>Well, look at the situation.  You now have 2 doors.  One of which has the car
>behind it.  (you explicitly stated that you have no information to distinguish
>the 2 doors)  What is the probility that door A has a car behind it?  It is 1/2. 
>This is an example of conditional probability.  Giving you information where it
>is not does give you information about where it is.  Why, by choosing a door,
>should the probability of the unchosen (by you or monty) door double in
>probability?

No, it seems intuitive that it would be 1/2, but it is not.  When I pick a
door, I have no idea which door has the car.  The odds are 1/3 that the door
I chose has the car.  I know Monty will open another door and reveal a goat,
but *that reveals nothing about what was behind my door*.  Monty can always
reveal a goat, and always does.  He never opens my door.  So, the odds I chose
correctly initially remain 1/3.  I do know the door that was opened to reveal
the goat has zero chance of having the car, so I know the remaining third door
has 2/3 chance of having the car so I should switch.

If I chose incorrectly on my first guess (2/3s chance) when Monty reveals the
goat, *he also reveals the car*, it is behind the unopened, unpicked door, with
100% certainty. So I should switch for this door, since if I initially chose
wrong (2/3 chance) I have 100% chance of getting the prize.  So my overall odds
by switching are 2/3s.

I felt as you do when I first heard this problem.  But I worked the problem
out and was suprised that I was wrong.  Switching increases your odds.

-Mike
From: hwt@bwdlh490.BNR.CA (Henry Troup)
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban
Subject: Re: Three-Card Monte
Date: 7 Apr 92 18:19:21 GMT
Reply-To: Henry.Troup@BNR.CA
Distribution: world
Organization: Bell-Northern Research Ltd., Ottawa, Canada

How does the game work?  I first became aware of it several years ago
when I ran into four or five references in the same day - but I still
wouldn't recognize the game if offered a chance to play.

  Henry Troup - HWT@BNR.CA (Canada) - BNR owns but does not share my opinions
!erutangis ruoy otni suriv erutangis siht ypoc ot nevird ylsuoicsnocbus era uoY
From: robin@aus.intel.com (robin rosenbaum)
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban
Subject: Re: Run out of town on a rail
Keywords: eat more cruciferous vegetables for Jesus.
Date: 8 Apr 92 00:25:17 GMT
Organization: Development Tools Operation, Intel Corp.

In article <ktuhtvINNgdk@exodus.Eng.Sun.COM> linden@ella.Eng.Sun.COM (Peter van der Linden) writes:
>This week's phrase is "run out of town on a rail".
>It means to eject someone in disgrace.
>But why add "on a rail"?
>What does it come from?

You tar and feather someone and tie them hand and foot to a wooden fence board
(that's the "rail").  Then you get strong people to carry the ends of the rail
and parade down main street (this is a small town) and leave the person just
outside the city limits.  Of course, you cut the person off the rail; the whole
purpose of this exercise is to intimidate/humiliate someone into wanting to
leave town and never come back.  I suppose this was invented for when the
alternative of hanging, stoning, etc. was not acceptable.

Robin "hangin's too good fer 'em" Hilp
From: klg@mc.duke.edu (Kim Greer -- rjj)
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban
Subject: Re: Lemurs
Date: 8 Apr 92 14:20:48 GMT
Organization: Duke Medical Center - Radiology

In article <9204060510.AA14985@mail.cis.ohio-state.edu> FURRJK@vtvm1.cc.vt.edu (Joel Furr) writes:
>I am looking for any and all urban legends having to do with lemurs.
>At present the only UL I have found is one claiming that a robbery at
>the Chicago commodities exchange was masterminded by a shadowy figure
>
>Any variants on this out there?  Any other Lemur-related urban legends
>that anyone knows of?

Maybe its a rainforrest legend, and not an urban one, but I have seen some
TV shows that mention that the people of Madagascar (now Malagasy Rep.)
think that the lemurs are gods or god-like.  Short of calling Madagascar,
you could try calling the Duke Univ. Primate Center, 919-489-3364, and ask
them.  They have the largest collection of lemurs outside of their native
Madagascar.

ObFact:  Some escape every so often, and will travel for quite a few miles.

Another ObFact:  I got the opportunity to perform a HIDA ("gallbladder")
scan on a ringtail lemur once.  His name was Nigel.

Kim "Isn't Lemur the capital of Peru? or maybe Ohio?" Greer


-- 
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: 881277m@ace.acadiau.ca (WALLACE MCLEAN)
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban
Subject: Re: Taboo loot (was Re: VDB pennies (was Re: Initials on the Subway Token))
Date: 5 Apr 92 14:41:13 GMT
Organization: Acadia University

In article <ktp226INNeer@exodus.Eng.Sun.COM> bls@sector7g.Eng.Sun.COM (Brian Scearce) writes:

>That brings up an interesting point.  Why are half-dollars, dollar coins,
>and (especially) two-dollar bills, though minted and legal, so rarely
>seen in circulation in the US?  I suppose that the silver dollars are
>too big, but half-dollars and two-dollar bills are not.

>In Canada, two-dollar bills are common, dollar coins (having replaced the
>dollar bill) are common, but half-dollar coins are rare there too.

The way I heard it, it was that there is some nasty connotation between two-
dollar bills and racetrack gambling that made Americans (and Albertans) 
reluctant to use them. True? I dunno.

Incidentally, on the new two dollar bill, the Peace Tower on the 
Centre Block of the Parliament Buildings are flying the *new* Canadian flag. 
Yet, on the new five dollar bill, it appears to be the old Ensign (which 
many people mistake for the Stars and Stripes.) Any explanation?
From: warren@nysernet.org (Warren Burstein)
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban
Subject: Re: highways and fascism
Date: 14 Apr 92 08:59:45 GMT
Reply-To: warren@nysernet.org
Organization: Mail to News Gateway

In <1992Apr12.222818.20694@midway.uchicago.edu> thf2@ellis.uchicago.edu (Ted Frank) writes:

>No word on whether any of the killings were filmed...

Or whether they were only doing the killing in order to make the
movie. 

Warren "what was that Kraftwerk song about the Autobahn?" Burstein
-- 
/|/-\/-\          The entire kitchen is		Jerusalem
 |__/__/_/        still full of strange hamantaschen
 |warren@         And the custodian
/ nysernet.org    is starting to get worried.
From: tjw@vm2.cis.pitt.edu
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban
Subject: Re: The Philadelphia Experiment (?)
Date: 12 Apr 92 04:26:23 GMT
Organization: University of Pittsburgh

In article <1992Apr11.044401.296@mala.bc.ca>, epp@mala.bc.ca (Lorne Epp) writes:

> In article <1992Apr11.011443.5236@nmt.edu>, houle@nmt.edu (Paul Houle) writes:
>> ALPHA CENTAURI) and then went into SLOW FREEZE.  CAUGHT IN THE PUSH,
>> they tryed to start a fight but they SUDDENLY TURNED INVISIBLE,  and
>> then one of them WALKED RIGHT THROUGH A SOLID WALL IN ThE SIGHT OF
>> HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE,  HE WAS NEVER SEEN AGAIN.


> I suppose this is a minor point given the sheer weight of lunacy in the 
> original post, but:  If he was invisible how could he do anything in the
> sight of anybody?

SHEESH!  Haven't you ever seen any of the INVISIBLE MAN movies on the
Late Late Show (lately)?  They could see HIS CLOTHES walk right though
the wall.  Don't forget, the were caught in THE PUSH and were trying to
start a fight at the time.

Terry "HE NEVER POSTED ANOTHER ARTICLE AGAIN" Wood
From: bls@sector7g.Eng.Sun.COM (Brian Scearce)
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban
Subject: Re: The Philadelphia Experiment (?)
Date: 13 Apr 92 17:26:25 GMT
Reply-To: bls@sector7g.Eng.Sun.COM
Organization: Sun Microsystems
NNTP-Posting-Host: sector7g

In article 5236@nmt.edu, houle@nmt.edu (Paul Houle) writes: 
> On Jully[sic] 22, 1943,  the ELDRIDGE DEVICE was first ACTIVATED.  It
> [...] ALTERED the crystal structure of the metal,  SHIFTING ALL IRON
> atoms to the ALPHA-S configuration, making the ship HEAVIER THAN
> WATER:  it sank to the bottom.
 
In fact, the AFTER-EFFECTS of this EXPERIMENT are STILL FELT today:
IRON REMAINS HEAVIER THAN WATER.
 
Brian "ONE OF the BEST articles in a.f.u. in QUITE SOME TIME" Scearce

---
Brian Scearce                               bls@sector7g.eng.sun.com
        The above does not necessarily represent Sun policy.
  "Don't be surprised when a crack in the ice appears under your feet."
From: rescorla@rtnmr.chem.yale.edu (Eric Rescorla)
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban
Subject: Re: Genuine cow tipper
Date: 9 Apr 92 00:44:34 GMT
Article-I.D.: cs.1992Apr9.004434.2788
Organization: Rescorla for himself.

In article <1992Apr9.003423.6461@usenet.ins.cwru.edu> jrd5@po.CWRU.Edu (Jacob DeGlopper) writes:
>
>In a previous article, rescorla@rtnmr.chem.yale.edu (Eric Rescorla) says:
>
>>Target: A Cow (Never a BULL!!!!), asleep in the vertical position.
>>Action: Good running start if your small like me. Lower shoulder into
>>shoulder of cow (or rump if you prefer). Some people can simply approach
>>cow slowly and tip. Never hit cow in the midsection as ribs may be 
>>delicate (for the safety concerned tipper).
>>Result: Cow on ground in vertical position...many times STILL sleeping!
>>
>>Anne notes that it should read "horizontal" not "vertical."
> ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>Why?  The given result sounds perfectly correct to me; you'll stand there
>looking like a fool while the cow stands there and sleeps on...
In a chunk of mail I deleted, she noted that it only read "vertical"
when you had had substantially too much "Fuel".

-Ekr




-- 
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Eric Rescorla, DoD#431, Honda CM400 rider          rescorla@rtnmr.chem.yale.edu
Yale University Department of Chemistry            We hack anything.
My mind is now for rent: C/Unix,Vacuum Tech,Machining,P-Chemist. Hire me, eh? 
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban
From: pzs@ficus.webo.dg.com (Peter Z. Simpson)
Subject: Re: It's that man again!
Date: 14 Apr 92 08:20:39
Organization: Data General Corp., Westboro, MA


#include <smiley.h>

>>>>> On 9 Apr 92 09:04:58 GMT, gsmcd06@castle.ed.ac.uk (P Holmes) said:


> BBC Radio 4, 9am April 9th (election day)

> The 12 deliveries a day, the dedicated Post Office computer, the local
> church help groups which open most of the mail, that day's mail (already
> a 4foot pile), it was all there - with a very fed up sounding Craig
> pleading the world to stop sending the stuff.

    I guess that'll teach *him* to think very carefully before he
wishes for anything else. Talk about wishes coming true with a
vengeance! CS will probably live to a ripe old age and be cursed all
the while with postcards, business cards, can tabs, etc wherever he
goes. Not to mention the odd person on the street in any city in the
world, "sayyyy, aren't you Craig....???"

    Ahhh, but he was only seven and at death's door when he
wished...can we really blame him? Then again, he could decide to go
into the paper recycling business...


--
 ==============================================================================
  Peter Simpson                 (508) 870-9837 voice
  Data General Corp.            (508) 898-4212 fax
  4400 Computer Dr. E132
  Westboro, MA  01580           INTERNET: pzs@ficus.webo.dg.com
 ==============================================================================
From: jtchew@csa3.lbl.gov (JOSEPH T CHEW)
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban
Subject: Re: A grim death (was burger bar accidents)
Date: 17 Apr 92 20:31:11 GMT
Article-I.D.: dog.22788
Reply-To: jtchew@csa3.lbl.gov
Organization: Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory - Berkeley, CA, USA
NNTP-Posting-Host: 128.3.254.198
News-Software: VAX/VMS VNEWS 1.3-4

A couple similar rustbelt-industry ULs, related by my father as
True Facts, albeit secondhand:

*  Worker falls into tank of sulfuric acid; what's left would
   be better described as "contaminants" than "remains."

*  Worker allegedly shoots someone and disposes of weapon in
   open-hearth furnace; co-workers figure the victim richly
   deserved it and consequently don't know nothin'.

Both tales stemmed from his experience of 30s through 60s heavy-
industry technology and safety practices, which lends them some
extra credibility.  They may also have stemmed from beer-propelled
storytelling at the Moose lodge, which doesn't.

Joe "ULs are never smelted in a reducing atmosphere" Chew
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban