HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: gross@befvax.uchicago.edu
Subject: Re: FCC Call letters
Reply-To: gross@befvax.uchicago.edu
Organization: University of Chicago, Dept of Molecular Genetics
Distribution: na
Date: Thu, 9 Apr 1992 22:01:23 GMT

In article <SAMSON.92Apr9132716@ptd475a.erim.org>, samson@ptd475a.erim.org (Joseph Samson) writes:
>
>>Are there any other 3-letter stations out there?
>
>Detroit has WJR (AM, 760) and WWJ (AM 950).

Chicago has WLS.

>							Joe Samson
>							samson@erim.org

Leon Gross
I'm not an actor, but I play one on TV.
From: chuck_adams@qmail.ssc.gov (Chuck Adams)
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban
Subject: Re: My posting about the Marilyn/Monty problem
Date: 10 Apr 92 14:21:31 GMT
Organization: Superconducting Super Collider Laboratory

In article <9204101055.AA25804@cs.utexas.edu> 
PCT601%sirius.ukc.ac.uk@VTVM2.CC.VT.EDU (Robryche) writes:

> "Hey Monty, can I have the goat?"

Let's talk about the goat, and other "gag" prizes offered on Let's Make A 
Deal........
Did the contestants get to keep these things if they wanted, or was it 
understood that they were losers, and didn't get anything at all?

Is this where the expression "Get your goat" came from?

               Chuck Adams,  WB5WRR   (The Chuckster)
                Internet:  chuck_adams@qmail.ssc.gov
   Disclaimer:  Not an official document of DOE, SSCL, URA or EG&G
                   "Curses!  Flamed Again"  - me
From: twcaps@tennyson.lbl.gov (Terry Chan)
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban
Subject: Re: We are even less amused.
Keywords: Say anything here they never check eat all day for free [huh?]
Date: 16 Apr 92 22:11:49 GMT
Article-I.D.: dog.22770
Reply-To: twchan@lbl.gov (Terry Chan)
Organization: Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, Berkeley
NNTP-Posting-Host: 128.3.12.117

In article <kurqakINNj8p@exodus.Eng.Sun.COM> the positive Peter van der Linden 
	writes:
 +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.

There's a constitution in England?

Terry "I thought that was an UL" Chan
--
================================================================================
INTERNET:  twchan@lbl.gov              BITNET:  twchan@lbl.bitnet
  "I think it's stupid. We collect all these business cards, and it turns
                    out nobody wants them."
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban
Subject: Re: Why is calculus so feared?
From: hugh@fivegl.co.nz (Hugh Grierson)
Date: Mon, 6 Apr 92 05:29:14 GMT
Reply-To: hugh@fivegl.co.nz (Hugh Grierson)
Organization: Task Management Ltd, Auckland, New Zealand

In article <-bkj54#@lynx.unm.edu> pjohnso@triton.unm.edu (Paddy Johnson CIRT) writes:
>My daughter who is in the 8th grade in Albuquerque, New Mexico is in an
>honor's math track that will lead her to taking Calculus in 11th grade and
>advanced calculus as a senior (12th grade).
[and goes on that graphs help...]
>We used graphs and other intuitive methods with rare proofs, and I understood.
>I no longer twitch at the mention of Calculus.

Sounds very plausible.  I remember leafing through a calculus text way back
in 3rd form (9th grade for 'merkins [oops]).  It undoubtedly used graphs
extensively, and seemed very intuitive (and, I should add, exciting) at
the time.

Although I can certainly understand anxiety about maths in general, I cannot
imagine a person otherwise competent at maths struggling with calculus in
particular.  It would be like an a.f.u'er being simply unable to grasp any
Dalmation stories...

BTW isn't it interesting that you abreviate the plural "mathematics" to the
singular "math", while we use "maths"?  "No", I hear you cry in unison, "it's
not at all interesting."

Hugh "nothing better to write about" Grierson

-- 
-Hugh Grierson--hugh@fivegl.co.nz----------Go fast or go home----------------
-Task Management Ltd-Auckland-New Zealand-Ph:+64.9.5206109-Fax:+64.9.5206101-
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban
From: billn@hpcvaac.cv.hp.com (bill nelson)
Subject: Re: Cable TV cheater spotters (was Re: FCC Call letters)
Organization: Hewlett-Parkard Company, Corvallis, Oregon USA
Date: Thu, 16 Apr 1992 18:55:44 GMT

: > : They were being sold as "Ham Radio Transmitters", for the police shared
: > : a Ham Band on a secondary allocation.  If you were a Ham (Technician 
: class
: > : at least) then the use of the device was legal from the FCC's 
: viewpoint.
: > 
: > Yes and no. The Ham license does not give the right to cause malicious
: > interferance with another signal. That is what the Ham would be doing
: > and, as such, would be using the device illegally.
: > 
: > Bill "Working on 20 wpm" Nelson
: 
: I always thought they would get you for obstruction of justice.

How do they know you were obstructing justice? The "illegal use" would be
a federal charge, if they wished to get involved. On the local level, they
could charge you with "interfering with a police officer performing his 
duty". 

Bill
From: hsr4@vax.oxford.ac.uk
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban
Subject: Re: other fun mistranslations..
Date: 13 Apr 92 18:46:35 GMT
Organization: Oxford University VAXcluster

In article <1992Apr10.115358.6962@public.sub.org>, peterk@public.sub.org (Peter Kittel) writes:
> Ok, here two examples from Germany:
> 
> When Commodore launched its VIC 20, it had to be renamed to VC 20 here, 
> because the german word for f*ck is spelled indeed with an i, and the 
> V in VIC is pronounced here like an F.

I remember this.  We were told that the VC was for Volks Computer, which seemed
like a bunch of mist at the time...

> 
> Rolls Royce has a car named Silver Mist, but in German, "Mist" means
> "dung".
> 
... as I found out during an exchange visit to Hamburg in the 60s.  The English
class (i.e. learning English) got creased up every time their lecturer put on
a conversational English record purporting to represent two British chaps
talking about the weather (which appears to be a British habit).

The section on Mist and Fog was the cause of uncontrollable laughter, which was
haltingly explained to me by the barely self-controlled lecturer ("so'n mist"
being the use in context for Hamburgers...).

These weren't the usual 13 and 14 year old schoolkids laughing at lavatory
humour, but young adults of 18-20 at finishing school.

And we thought Fahrt was a bit of a laugh...

> -- 
> Best regards, Dr. Peter Kittel  // E-Mail to  \\  Only my personal opinions... 
> Commodore Frankfurt, Germany  \X/ {uunet|pyramid|rutgers}!cbmvax!cbmger!peterk

+--------------------------------------+-------------------------------------+
| Peter G. Q. Brooks HSR4@UK.AC.OX.VAX |                                     |
| Health Services Research Unit        |   Bill Stickers Is Innocent, OK ?   |
| Dept of Public Health & Primary Care |                                     |
| University of Oxford                 |                                     |
+--------------------------------------+-------------------------------------+
From: shirriff@sprite.berkeley.edu (Ken Shirriff)
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban
Subject: Re: Digits in the Driver's license number
Date: 6 Apr 1992 05:46:51 GMT
Organization: University of California, Berkeley
Distribution: usa
NNTP-Posting-Host: hijack.berkeley.edu
Keywords: licence

In article <11826@tamsun.tamu.edu> glp7584@tamuts.tamu.edu (Gordon Lee Powell Jr) writes:
>Well, my operator's license is from Wisconsin (which is in the U.S.A.).
>I'm sure there must be some information coded into the number, 
>because there is a total of fourteen (14) digits.

If you want to know the drivers' license formulas, take a look at
"Assigning Driver's License Numbers", J. Gallian, Mathematics Magazine, V64
#1, Feb 91.

In the case of Wisconsin, they encode first name, middle name, last name,
year, month, day of birth, and a check digit.

For instance, Powell, using the Soundex code becomes
P -> 1 (skip since it's the first letter)
o -> skip
w -> skip
e -> skip
l -> 4
l -> 4 (skip as duplicate)
So we get P-400.
Then Gordon gets encoded by a table lookup yielding ??0.
Lee gets the "L" value 12.

So, Gordon L. Powell, your license should start P 400-??2; is this right?
If you give me your birthdate, I can figure out more.

ObUL: Honeymoon pranksters put a note in gas cap: "Help.  I'm being
kidnapped and forced to act as wife.  Call police."  Gas station attendent
takes down license plate number and calls police.  Police chase down car
and drag confused groom out at gunpoint.  (True; details in April 12, 1967
San Francisco Chronicle, which I happened to be reading today.)

Ken Shirriff			shirriff@sprite.Berkeley.EDU
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban
From: msb@sq.sq.com (Mark Brader)
Subject: Re: Ask Marilyn Again
Summary: Why people get Monty Hall wrong. Or why I did, anyway.
Keywords: Marilyn
Organization: SoftQuad Inc., Toronto, Canada
Date: Sun, 12 Apr 92 12:27:23 GMT

>     Could someone _PLEASE_ explain this one to me. (Perhaps I've just
>     never heard the thing fully specified).

It is often asked without a full specification.

>     Does Monty know which door the prize is behind ?
>     Will he never intentionally reveal the prize ?

Right.

>     If Monty will intentionally avoid revealing the prize
>     then obviously it is better to switch ... - but this seems
>     too simple for anyone to argue with.

Never underestimate the stupidity of "anyone".  In my high school and
university days I got very good marks in math, but I still got this one
wrong -- until someone posted the same little proof that I've deleted
from the quoted text.

For me, the trouble was that I was seduced by the following facts:

   * Monty has not revealed anything about the door I chose, by opening
     a different door.
   * Therefore the probability that I have picked the right door is
     unchanged with the new information.
   * I now face a two-way decision.
   * In my original decision I faced equal probabilities for each door.

Particularly if one is enumerating the above in one's head, it's easy
to make the false step to:

   * I now face a two-way decision with equal probabilities for each door.

instead of:

   * I now face a two-way decision, with the door I originally picked
     retaining its original 1/3 chance of winning.

In addition, there are those people who seem to think think that all
two-way decisions are 50-50 if there isn't complete information...
-- 
Mark Brader, SoftQuad Inc., Toronto | "You can fool too many of the people
utzoo!sq!msb, msb@sq.com	    |  too much of the time."  -- James Thurber

This article is in the public domain.
From: jane@STRATUS.SWDC.STRATUS.COM (Jane Beckman)
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban
Subject: Pizza, with sausage on the side
Date: 8 Apr 92 00:05:58 GMT
Article-I.D.: echidna.9204080005.AA09228

A friend just told me this one, swearing it was the truth.  (Immediate set-off
of UL detector.)  

Apparently, a lot of bored middle-aged housewives like to order a little 
pizza to be delivered, hoping it comes with a hunky college student for 
a delivery man.  They then invite the guy in, with promise of a BIG tip 
and then proceed to molest him.  ("Rape him, if necessary!" says my friend, 
with obvious glee and possible wishful thinking.)  

Hasn't a variant of this one been going around since the days of the Weird 
Old Maid, who likes to catch burglars under the bed?

   --Jilara  [jane@swdc.stratus.com]
  "Of course truth is stranger than fiction; fiction has to make sense."
   --Tom Clancy
From: ccuppern@s.psych.uiuc.edu (Cyndi Cuppernell)
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban
Subject: Re: some old uls
Date: 6 Apr 92 22:31:24 GMT
Article-I.D.: ux1.1992Apr6.223124.9561
Organization: UIUC Department of Psychology

>scm@harvee.UUCP (S. Mudgett aka little gator) writes:
>>first, my recently getting a bread baking machine makes me wonder
about
>>the old story that eating fresh-baked bread still hot from oven
has some
>>hideously unhealthy result to the eater. does anyone know what
it's supposed
>>to be?

While I don't know of any bad effects, I do know that when I was
in Germany, I encountered this belief a lot.  Some of us had made
some applesauce cake one day and invited to neighbor boys in to
have some, too.  The younger one took his plate of hot cake and set
it down.  We asked him what was wrong, and his older brother said,
"stomach cramps."  They were afraid to eat the cake while it was
still warm.  We convinced the older boy (about 8 years old) that
it was ok, but the younger (about 4-5 years old) didn't eat any
until it was thoroughly cooled.  I knew some Americans that tried
to buy bread from the bakery while it was still hot, but were
always refused.  They could not buy it until it was cooled.

My family has always eaten bread while hot, but have never had any
problems with it.  Think of dinner rolls.  They are yeast bread and
often served hot.  

Cyndi Cuppernell
From: unknown@ucscb.ucsc.edu (The Unknown Matt)
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban
Subject: Wheatback pennies
Keywords: sorry if this is a repeat posting.
Date: 7 Apr 92 08:23:48 GMT
Organization: University of California, Santa Cruz; Open Access Computing


In article <1992Apr2.162833.17941@anasaz> morris@anasaz (Bob Morris) writes:
>BTW, the 1909 penny didn't have a picture of the Lincoln Memorial on the
>back.  For the people born after the late 1950's, it sported a pair of
>wheat stalks.  No, I wasn't around in 1909.

        Wheatback pennies are worth like a dime each, right? (as in to
collectors, duhhh)

        I think we've got a couple small jars of them. don't know if my
dad still has coffee cans full of pennies [regular] though.
-- 
/unknown@ucscb.ucsc.edu                                    Apple IIGS Forever!\
|WANT to get INFOCOM GAMES RERELEASED |  Also will pass on -UNIX GS-          |
\& ULTIMA VI GS written? ---mail me   |     & CHEAP CD info - mail me         /
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban
From: moroney@ramblr.enet.dec.com
Subject: Re: The wacky, flakey State
Organization: Digital Equipment Corporation
Date: 11 APR 92 11:28:25    

In article <1992Apr2.224828.19567@cunixf.cc.columbia.edu> lasner@watsun.cc.columbia.edu (Charles Lasner) writes:

>How many other states have an element named after them?

While the Lawrence Radiation Labs at the University of California, Berkeley
holds an impressive record with 3 elements named after a spot (4 if you want
to count americium), it isn't the record.  The record is held by an otherwise
unknown town of Ytterby, Sweden, which has 4 elements (5 if you also count
scandium, 6 if europium also) named after it.

-Mike
From: idf@mr-macgregor.cs.bham.ac.uk (Ian Fitchet)
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban
Subject: Non-Alcoholic Drinks Folklore
Date: 8 Apr 92 13:05:10 GMT
Organization: Birmingham University Computer Science


 Hi,

	I was drinking from a large plastic bottle of Diet
Pepsi/Coke/Drink of your choice when I offered some to a friend.  They
put the top back on the bottle and screwed it closed with the sides of
the bottle compressed inwards so that `there is less air inside so it
stays fresher.'  

	This reminded me of another friend who always insisted on
reboiling the kettle before pouring the literally boiling water on
their tea bag as `the tea tastes better when boiling water is poured
on the tea bag.'  

	Relating to the second, does boiling water `scald' and hence
ruin the taste of instant coffee (granules)?  Or for that mater does
it instantly sour milk?

	If you have any comments on these or any other UF relating to
drinks then please pass them on.

Cheers,

	Ian

--
Ian Fitchet     				    I.D.Fitchet@cs.bham.ac.uk
School of Computer Science
Univ. of Birmingham, UK, B15 2TT
From: thf2@ellis.uchicago.edu (Ted Frank)
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban
Subject: Re: Lemurs
Date: 6 Apr 92 21:15:56 GMT
Reply-To: thf2@midway.uchicago.edu
Organization: University of Chicago Computing Organizations

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
>known only as 'Vkochend' who used crews of trained lemurs to infiltrate
>the exchange at night and make off with literally millions of dollars
>worth of pork bellies. The story ends with the statement "The commodity
>exchange managers hushed this up to prevent further such attempts from
>taking place as a result of copycatting."  Yeah, you know how those
>commodity managers are.

And then they all committed mass suicide by running off a cliff.

-- Ted "Who, the commodity managers?" Frank
-- 
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
From: owen@Software.Mitel.COM (Blake Owen)
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban
Subject: Re: Run out of town on a rail
Keywords: eat more cruciferous vegetables for Jesus.
Date: 10 Apr 92 21:18:31 GMT
Organization: Mitel. Kanata (Ontario). Canada.

In article <1992Apr8.002517.27868@aus.intel.com> robin@aus.intel.com (robin rosenbaum) writes:
>In article <ktuhtvINNgdk@exodus.Eng.Sun.COM> linden@ella.Eng.Sun.COM (Peter van der Linden) writes:

>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

Wouldn't it be a little more than humiliating? I'm thinking of 
extreme pain, massive burns from the tar, and, I would imagine,
infection of the burned areas if the victim lived long enough for 
the infection to develop.  Did anyone who had this happen to him 
or her live to tell the tale?

Still, I guess you're right: If the victim survived, it would 
be better than hanging him and, if he didn't survive, he
probably wouldn't notice much difference.

(Of course, the practise would be  bad news for the fowl that
provided the feathers regardless of the outcome for the human!)

Blake "I'm normally not this gruesome" Owen

-- 
R. B. Owen              |
Mitel Corp.             |
Kanata, Ontario         |
owen@Software.Mitel.COM |
From: prine@maple.lle.rochester.edu (Ron Prine)
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban
Subject: Re: Radium poisoning
Date: 7 Apr 92 03:49:25 GMT
Organization: University of Rochester, Rochester NY


  I saw this documentary twice in the past year on the Discovery
channel.  One of the workers mentioned that they would paint
themselves with the radium paint and go into a dark room to play (most
of the workers were 15-25yrs old).  This body painting involved
painting eyes, hands, mouth, teeth and tongues...

  This documentary is a must see if you get a chance.
--
Ron Prine			prine@lle.rochester.edu
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban
Subject: Re: Locks and Tumblers
From: frey@alfheim.actrix.gen.nz (Bruce Clement)
Date: Sat, 11 Apr 1992 15:00:43 +1300
Organization: International Union of Disasters

tlouie@athena.mit.edu (Tom Louie) writes:

> In article <ktqk97INNr0t@exodus.Eng.Sun.COM> bls@sector7g.Eng.Sun.COM writes:
> >In article 1@vm2.cis.pitt.edu, tjw@vm2.cis.pitt.edu () writes:
> >>I remember a time when my Uncle Bob (BOB'S your UNCLE!) got the idea of
> >>changing the tumblers in his lock so that none of the maintenance people
> >>go get into his apartment.
> 
> Depending on how much of the key was broken off, he could have left his
> lock very vulnerable to picking.

More likely still is that the lock would be jammed and useless.

Twice I've broken a key off in a lock, and twice I've had a jammed
lock that needed breaking to open.

----
Bruce Clement    (frey@alfheim.cavebbs.gen.nz) 

Caution: Do not open this signature, no user servicable parts inside

begin 644 out
B66]U(&IU<W0@:&%D('1O(&QO;VLL(&1I9&XG="!Y;W4_"B4O
`
end
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban
From: billn@hpcvaac.cv.hp.com (bill nelson)
Subject: Re: Falling Bullets and tuning musical instruments
Organization: Hewlett-Parkard Company, Corvallis, Oregon USA
Date: Thu, 16 Apr 1992 01:40:24 GMT

isaacman@stars.gsfc.nasa.gov (Subvert the Dominant Paradigm! (301) 513-7769) writes:
: 
: OK, physics time.  In a three-dimensional medium the speed of sound is 
: equal to (fasten your seat belts) the square root of the reciprocal of 
: the product of the density and the compressibility.  That is:
: 
:            speed = sqrt (1/(density x compressibility))
: 
: The density of air is in turn proportional to the pressure divided by 
: the the temperature.  So...high temperature air leads to increased speed 
: of sound.

Only if the pressure rises. It is possible for the temperature to rise and
the density to actually become less.

Bill
From: joltes@husc4.harvard.edu (Richard Joltes)
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban
Subject: Re: Matching Tie and Handkerchief
Date: 13 Apr 92 15:11:37 GMT
Organization: Harvard University Science Center

harvey@indyvax.iupui.edu writes:

[stuff concerning Python's "Matching Tie and Handkerchief" LP deleted]

>I heard that only the first edition of this record has the double tracks on
>one side.  My copy, which I bought in 1973, has it.  Perhaps you own a later
>edition?
>--
>James Harvey
>harvey@iupui.edu

This is true.  My copy (first pressing) has sides A, B, and C.  My wife's copy,
purchased several years later, has only A and B.  There were several variations
between early and late pressings, including the jacket.  The early copies had
a second sleeve that pulled out from the top, exposing the rest of the kerchief
and tie, which were attached to a very green fellow who'd been hanged (as 
opposed to hung) and who wore a very annoyed expression on his face.  The 
second sleeve disappeared after the first few pressings (it was probably too
expensive).

Start squinting sometime and read the band "titles" that are legible on the
faked cover of "Contractual Obligation."  The Pythons had fun...

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dick "The Pythons had Terries too!" Joltes		joltes@husc.harvard.edu
Hardware & Networking Manager, Computer Services 	joltes@husc.bitnet 
Harvard University Science Center

"Mind you, not as bad as the night Archie Pettigrew ate some
sheep's testicles for a bet...God, that bloody sheep kicked him..."