Ambulance bumper paint?
Chuk Goodin
bumpers have a special paint on them, and if your car is found with this
paint on it, you'll be fined/arrested/charged with some kind of offence.
Her friend (who drives ambulances up here) says that's so that people will
be more inclined to get out of the way of ambulances.
It really sounded like a UL to me, and quick Googling didn't find
anything. Has anyone heard this one before?
--
chuk
Lon Stowell
No, but you may want to wait for the resident Ozzie to respond.
The difficult to swallow detail here is that somehow everyone
would need to know about this magic paint for it to be effective
in getting people out of the way of ambulances. The other
difficult to swallow item is that ambulances, at least on
this side of the equator, tend to put their big flashing
lights on *top* of the vehicle to improve the odds of
other vehicles being able to see those lights. Cannot imagine
how you could ever see the paint on an ambulance bumper unless
Ozzie ambulances drive around upside down...which would not
be a big surprise.
--
My governor can kick your governor's ass
M. J. Freeman
alt.folklore.urban:
> The other
> difficult to swallow item is that ambulances, at least on
> this side of the equator, tend to put their big flashing
> lights on *top* of the vehicle to improve the odds of
> other vehicles being able to see those lights. Cannot imagine
> how you could ever see the paint on an ambulance bumper unless
> Ozzie ambulances drive around upside down...which would not
> be a big surprise.
Eh? I took the point to be, should your car slam into an ambulance,
said special paint would be transferred to your car, and Encyclopedia
Sheila would Know What You Did.
--
Michael J. Freeman Cincinnati, OH
'85 VF700S (The Leper) mike_f...@SPMBLOKmac.com
"Insanity runs in the family; it practically gallops"
Ellison, H. Thompson, D. Parker, Prince, SRV, Led Zep
TeaLady (Mari C.)
news:TEBlb.1441$e01.1979@attbi_s02:
Just a small voice injecting something that might be signal - I
have never seen such a paint promoted, and as I work for a fire
dept, which receives all kinds of advertising for "new" and
"improved" safety items, I tend to think we'd have gotten at least
one fax, letter, email or phone call promoting such a cutting-edge
(or "bumping" edge, more likely) product. Of course, TWISAVBP, and
there may be products out in the hinterlands that haven't made it
to the corner where my FD lives, but judging by the volume of
products we are told we must have, right now, at such an incredible
price (at savings that will never be offered again), or forever be
at the rear of the safety-train, I'm fairly certain that no such
product is used in such a fashion.
On top of that, in the USA, or at least, in my part of it, even
emergency vehicles are required to maintain a "safe and assured"
distance, and our drivers get into a heap of trouble if they smash
into the rear-end - or any other part - of a vehicle. Even
stationary objects leaping into their path is considered very bad
form.
And just to add one more stick on the pile - the bumpers of all my
FD's vehicles (and those of surrounding communities), from the
lowly yet servicible pick-up to the huge and beautiful ladder
truck, including even the rescue squads with their less flashy and
more utilitarian appearance, front and rear, are chromed. Rich,
shiny, yes, even sparkly, metal finish, polished often and gleaming
brightly at all hours of the day and night.
--
TeaLady
"Stated to me for a fact. I only tell it as I got it. I am
willing to believe it. I can believe anything." Sam Clemens
Spressobean has recovered from her viral attack and is once again
accepting mail.
Mari Conroy
Lon Stowell
> Lon Stowell <LonDot....@ComcastPeriod.Net> posted in
> alt.folklore.urban:
>
>> The other
>> difficult to swallow item is that ambulances, at least on
>> this side of the equator, tend to put their big flashing
>> lights on *top* of the vehicle to improve the odds of
>> other vehicles being able to see those lights. Cannot imagine
>> how you could ever see the paint on an ambulance bumper unless
>> Ozzie ambulances drive around upside down...which would not
>> be a big surprise.
>
> Eh? I took the point to be, should your car slam into an ambulance,
> said special paint would be transferred to your car, and Encyclopedia
> Sheila would Know What You Did.
Aerrrhhh, good point. So if you don't move over, the Amby
hits you in the rear and leaves a paint marker on your bumper?
Otherwise, you'd need to be trying to speed and catch up to
that ambulance and hit it only on the bumper. This would
make the safe tactic a corner glancing blow that misses
the bumper. Or just t-bone the damn thing.
Stelios Zacharias
<mjf_new...@hotmail.com> wrote:
>Lon Stowell <LonDot....@ComcastPeriod.Net> posted in
>alt.folklore.urban:
>
>> The other
>> difficult to swallow item is that ambulances, at least on
>> this side of the equator, tend to put their big flashing
>> lights on *top* of the vehicle to improve the odds of
>> other vehicles being able to see those lights. Cannot imagine
>> how you could ever see the paint on an ambulance bumper unless
>> Ozzie ambulances drive around upside down...which would not
>> be a big surprise.
>
>Eh? I took the point to be, should your car slam into an ambulance,
>said special paint would be transferred to your car, and Encyclopedia
>Sheila would Know What You Did.
Just like the scythian archers before town meetings!
Stelios "vermillion rope" Zacharias
--
The address in the headers is real and does not need de-mungeing
James Lane
wrote:
Nice one. I live in Sydney (and before that Melbourne) and I've never
heard the story. Given that its efficacy as a deterrent would depend
on it being well known, I suggest it's highly unlikely, inherent
implausibility apart.
In the interests of completeness, I should point out that Australia is
a very big place, and the ambulance services are a state-by-state
responsibility.
James Lane
John Hibbert
wrote:
Might be made of the same stuff they put in swimming pools. If you pee
on it, it turns a bright red.
John "keeping to lakes and rivers" Hibbert
--
Please don't take this the wrong way, but you really really are a
stupid, inane, vapid and petty little piece of excrement.
- TeaLady sets it straight on AFU
Lara
Never.
Our shiny new ambulances do have a lovely red ECG [1] paint design
around the side though - three normal beats, then a flatline.
http://www.paull-warner.com.au/pop1-2.htm
Lara
[1] EKG
Ralph Jones
Jeez...is the height of the gurney presumed to be below cluebird
cruising altitude?
rj
M. J. Freeman
alt.folklore.urban:
> Otherwise, you'd need to be trying to speed and catch up to
> that ambulance and hit it only on the bumper. This would
> make the safe tactic a corner glancing blow that misses
> the bumper. Or just t-bone the damn thing.
It's good to know you plan this stuff in advance.
But seriously, going through curves and such it's very easy to catch up
to emergency vehicles... and somewhat embarrassing.
Joseph Michael Bay
>Never.
>Our shiny new ambulances do have a lovely red ECG [1] paint design
>around the side though - three normal beats, then a flatline.
>http://www.paull-warner.com.au/pop1-2.htm
>Lara
>[1] EKG
Wow. Do the police cars have a little cartoon of a bathrobe-clad
homeowner bleeding to death while a striped-shirted home invader
climbs out his window with a big bag marked "SWAG"? Plumber's
vans with exploding toilet logos? Delivery trucks displaying
drawings of icicle-clad pizzas?
Come to think of it there's a really disturbing tapestry displayed
at the Stanford Hospital. It looks sort of like the artist was
inspired by a flatlining monitor, it's done in blues and black, and
it's called "Night Passage". Most of the other art has nothing to
do with medicine or DYING DURING THE NIGHT, so I'm not sure what the
deal is with this one.
--
Chimes peal joy. Bah. Joseph Michael Bay
Icy colon barge Cancer Biology
Frosty divine Saturn Stanford University
www.stanford.edu/~jmbay/ fhqwhgadshgnsdhjsdbkhsdabkfabkveybvf
Chuk Goodin
Lon Stowell <LonDot....@ComcastPeriod.Net> wrote:
>>> The other
>>> difficult to swallow item is that ambulances, at least on
>>> this side of the equator, tend to put their big flashing
>>> lights on *top* of the vehicle to improve the odds of
>>> other vehicles being able to see those lights. Cannot imagine
>>> how you could ever see the paint on an ambulance bumper unless
>>> Ozzie ambulances drive around upside down...which would not
>>> be a big surprise.
>>
>> Eh? I took the point to be, should your car slam into an ambulance,
>> said special paint would be transferred to your car, and Encyclopedia
>> Sheila would Know What You Did.
>
> Aerrrhhh, good point. So if you don't move over, the Amby
> hits you in the rear and leaves a paint marker on your bumper?
That was what I was told, yes.
I guess it's probably not technically a UL if I'm the only one who has
heard it, but it sure feels like one.
--
chuk
Ralph Jones
Michael Bay) wrote:
>{nospam}@waawa.cx (Lara) writes:
>
>
>>Never.
>
>>Our shiny new ambulances do have a lovely red ECG [1] paint design
>>around the side though - three normal beats, then a flatline.
>>http://www.paull-warner.com.au/pop1-2.htm
>
>>Lara
>
>>[1] EKG
>
>Wow. Do the police cars have a little cartoon of a bathrobe-clad
>homeowner bleeding to death while a striped-shirted home invader
>climbs out his window with a big bag marked "SWAG"? Plumber's
>vans with exploding toilet logos? Delivery trucks displaying
>drawings of icicle-clad pizzas?
>
>Come to think of it there's a really disturbing tapestry displayed
>at the Stanford Hospital. It looks sort of like the artist was
>inspired by a flatlining monitor, it's done in blues and black, and
>it's called "Night Passage". Most of the other art has nothing to
>do with medicine or DYING DURING THE NIGHT, so I'm not sure what the
>deal is with this one.
When I was at Georgia Tech, 1958-62, there was a rather serious dearth
of art on display on the campus, and the administration's sole effort
to remedy that was a single classical piece that stood in the entryway
of the dining hall, where all the students filed past it on their way
to the food line.
Unfortunately it was "The Dying Gaul," a 3rd-century BCE statue of a
stark naked dude slowly expiring from a gushing wound in his ribcage.
rj
Lon Stowell
> Lon Stowell <LonDot....@ComcastPeriod.Net> posted in
> alt.folklore.urban:
>
>> Otherwise, you'd need to be trying to speed and catch up to
>> that ambulance and hit it only on the bumper. This would
>> make the safe tactic a corner glancing blow that misses
>> the bumper. Or just t-bone the damn thing.
>
> It's good to know you plan this stuff in advance.
>
> But seriously, going through curves and such it's very easy to catch up
> to emergency vehicles... and somewhat embarrassing.
I am reasonably sure it is also not particularly legal under
many driving conditions to follow one with in
[insert_local_distance_here] close range.
However, yes, even with a pedal power grade performance
vehicle, have had to consciously slow down to avoid passing
those big tall truck style ambulancii in corners.
Lon Stowell
> I guess it's probably not technically a UL if I'm the only one who has
> heard it, but it sure feels like one.
You appear to have two options:
1. Head for the pubs, playgrounds, and watercoolers and spread
that thing like Heidi Fleiss on spanish fly.
2. Submit the nominal fee to AFU Ink GmBh and apply for a new
classification along the lines of "singULar"
Bob
>
>Approximately 10/22/03 13:56, M. J. Freeman uttered for posterity:
>
>> Lon Stowell <LonDot....@ComcastPeriod.Net> posted in
>> alt.folklore.urban:
>>
>>> The other
>>> difficult to swallow item is that ambulances, at least on
>>> this side of the equator, tend to put their big flashing
>>> lights on *top* of the vehicle to improve the odds of
>>> other vehicles being able to see those lights. Cannot imagine
>>> how you could ever see the paint on an ambulance bumper unless
>>> Ozzie ambulances drive around upside down...which would not
>>> be a big surprise.
>>
>> Eh? I took the point to be, should your car slam into an ambulance,
>> said special paint would be transferred to your car, and Encyclopedia
>> Sheila would Know What You Did.
>
> Aerrrhhh, good point. So if you don't move over, the Amby
> hits you in the rear and leaves a paint marker on your bumper?
Back when I used to drive ambulances in the US, if a car failed
to move over and I hit it, I would have been cited and probably
wouldn't have been allowed to drive ambulances anymore.
The other driver might have also been cited for failing to yield,
but ambulance drivers don't have a license to hit other vehicles.
TeaLady (Mari C.)
news:1g3avtq.1pojrso1wza8rgN%{nospam}@waawa.cx:
Cool paint job.
Anyhow, back to bumper paints - I checked with the guys, and they
made a few phone calls, and no one contacted had heard of such a
paint, including several fire department equipment/gear/stuff
suppliers (Fox Fire, Finley Fire, I'm not sure who else along those
lines).
And they all agreed that driving into a car in front of them is not
good. We've had drivers hit other vehicles, in both the squads and
the rigs, and while no one has lost their license (on our
department, at least) a few have been through a lengthy discipline
process - and I am sure a couple of them have even had notations
(points ?) made on their licenses at the bureau of motor vehicles.
Latest "oops" involved a lady who decided to whip out of the curb
lane and then stop directly in front of the ladder truck, a vehicle
that is close in size and weight to a large loaded semi. The
driver of the rig managed to only graze a corner of her bumper,
but he scared the crap out of her. Almost literally.
Marc Reeve
> {nospam}@waawa.cx (Lara) writes:
>
> >Our shiny new ambulances do have a lovely red ECG [1] paint design
> >around the side though - three normal beats, then a flatline.
> >http://www.paull-warner.com.au/pop1-2.htm
>
> >Lara
>
> >[1] EKG
>
> Wow. Do the police cars have a little cartoon of a bathrobe-clad
> homeowner bleeding to death while a striped-shirted home invader
> climbs out his window with a big bag marked "SWAG"? Plumber's
> vans with exploding toilet logos? Delivery trucks displaying
> drawings of icicle-clad pizzas?
We've got a plumber around here (Santa Cruz) with an exploding-toilet
logo, surmounting the motto "A Straight Flush Beats A Full House".
This may be the same fellow whose telephone number is XXX-CRAP.
Marc "G. Gordon Liddy was a plumber, wasn't he?" Reeve
--
Marc Reeve
actual email address after removal of 4s & spaces is
c4m4r4a4m4a4n a4t c4r4u4z4i4o d4o4t c4o4m
vicdam
"Chuk Goodin" <cgo...@sfu.ca> wrote in message
news:bn6fee$h8c$1...@morgoth.sfu.ca...
I live in Melbourne, and although I have no connection with the emergency
vehicle industry, I'm prepared to stick my neck out and say that it's utter
crap.
On the bright side, it's a UL about Australia that does not mention beer,
crocodiles or kangaroos, so we must be making some progress.
Lara
> On the bright side, it's a UL about Australia that does not mention beer,
> crocodiles or kangaroos,
^^^^^^^^^^^^
toilets, goannas, dingos, drop-bears, or
vegemite.
> so we must be making some progress.
Indeed.
Lara
Rob Poole
> Lon Stowell <LonDot....@ComcastPeriod.Net> wrote in
> news:TEBlb.1441$e01.1979@attbi_s02:
>
> > Approximately 10/22/03 10:40, Chuk Goodin uttered for
> > posterity:
> >> A FOAF (well, a Friend Of My Sister) told her that in
> >> Australia, ambulance bumpers have a special paint on them, and
> >> if your car is found with this paint on it, you'll be
> >> fined/arrested/charged with some kind of offence. Her friend
> >> (who drives ambulances up here) says that's so that people
> >> will be more inclined to get out of the way of ambulances.
> >>
> >> It really sounded like a UL to me, and quick Googling didn't
> >> find anything. Has anyone heard this one before?
> And just to add one more stick on the pile - the bumpers of all my
> FD's vehicles (and those of surrounding communities), from the
> lowly yet servicible pick-up to the huge and beautiful ladder
> truck, including even the rescue squads with their less flashy and
> more utilitarian appearance, front and rear, are chromed. Rich,
> shiny, yes, even sparkly, metal finish, polished often and gleaming
> brightly at all hours of the day and night.
In the UKoGBaNI most large ambulances seem to have the
unpainted grey plastic bumpers of the commercial vans
they are based on, see
<URL:http://www.emergencyvehicles.org.uk/AmbulanceVehicles.htm>
Could it have mutated from some incident where the identitiy of
another vehicle involved was subsequently confirmed by the paint
transfer from an ambulance?
Rob.
--
Rob Poole, Computer Technician, Civil Engineering, Aston Uni
R.H....@aston.ac.uk <http://www.aston.ac.uk/~poolerh>
Par Leijonhufvud
> > On the bright side, it's a UL about Australia that does not mention beer,
> > crocodiles or kangaroos,
> ^^^^^^^^^^^^
> toilets, goannas, dingos, drop-bears, or
> vegemite.
Still open season on hoop snakes then?
/Par
--
Par Leijonhufvud use...@hunter-gatherer.org
No to mention that they're generally supported by an actively hostile
bureaucracy that makes the ones in the Retief stories seem positively
beneficent. -- Rev. Peter da Silva
Lon Stowell
Well, there is that guy from Illawarra that isn't doing all that much
for your national image.
R H Draney
>
>vicdam <vic...@optusnet.com.au> wrote:
>
>> On the bright side, it's a UL about Australia that does not mention beer,
>> crocodiles or kangaroos,
> ^^^^^^^^^^^^
> toilets, goannas, dingos, drop-bears, or
>vegemite.
Or the world's most venomous arachnid....
>> so we must be making some progress.
>
>Indeed.
R H "or Dame Edna" Draney
Chris Kuan
> Well, there is that guy from Illawarra that isn't doing all that much
> for your national image.
Oi!
--
Chris
Narelle
> A FOAF (well, a Friend Of My Sister) told her that in Australia, ambulance
> bumpers have a special paint on them, and if your car is found with this
> paint on it, you'll be fined/arrested/charged with some kind of offence.
> Her friend (who drives ambulances up here) says that's so that people will
> be more inclined to get out of the way of ambulances.
>
> It really sounded like a UL to me, and quick Googling didn't find
> anything. Has anyone heard this one before?
I live NSW, and voluteer in emergency service here, and have never heard
of this practice amongst the Ambo's, nor of any such paint. Are you
meant to be fined for just /having/ the paint on your car, or is it
meant to be used as some sort of identifyer to indicate that you hit the
ambulance (and thus implying, I assume, that you didn't get out of its
way in an emergency)?
However, the ambulance services in aus are state run, so who knows what
could happen elsewhere.
Just to confirm, you could always amble over to aus.services.emergency
and crosspost your UL.
Narelle
vicdam
"Lon Stowell" <LonDot....@ComcastPeriod.Net> wrote in message
news:IBfmb.8829$9E1.40144@attbi_s52...
>
> for your national image.
I've waited for three days before replying to this, as I've tried to work
out who or what you are referring to, but I can't stand it any longer.
What guy from Illawarra?
Chris Kuan
> What guy from Illawarra?
Let's see...
I'm gonna presume it *is* a bloke who could pass as Australian. Then
I'm also assuming the activities are current, and well-known.
That doesn't leave many candidates, among whom are numbered:
- Mel Gibson (when he was in Oz, he was in Sydney?)
- John Howard (Kirribilli or Canberra)
- Steve Irwin (Beerwah, Caloundra?)
- Russell Crowe (Coffs Harbour or Woolloomooloo)
I live in the Illawarra, but we usually only get "local boy makes
good" stories, not "local boy pisses off world"...
--
Chris
Lon Stowell
The one who was reportedly rendered both impotent and incontinent
by running around with a lit firecracker in his bumcrack.
Lon Stowell
This allegedly comes from a snoozepaper calling itself the
Illawarra Mercury:
<http://www.illawarramercury.com.au/articles/2003/09/03/1062515432209.html>
or http://tinyurl.com/m8ov
As a M*A*S*H ian related nitpickery, should this be "an horrific" or
"a horrific"?
Snippet:
_Man's horror firecracker injuries_
By MEGAN LEVY
September 3, 2003
AN horrific firecracker accident which left an Illawarra man incontinent
and unable to have sex has prompted warnings from police and health
authorities.
The 26-year-old man suffered a fractured pelvis and severe burns to his
genital area after a firecracker exploded between the cheeks of his
buttocks.
. . .
************
Chuk Goodin
Narelle <n3...@excite.com> wrote:
>> A FOAF (well, a Friend Of My Sister) told her that in Australia, ambulance
>> bumpers have a special paint on them, and if your car is found with this
>> paint on it, you'll be fined/arrested/charged with some kind of offence.
>> Her friend (who drives ambulances up here) says that's so that people will
>> be more inclined to get out of the way of ambulances.
>>
>> It really sounded like a UL to me, and quick Googling didn't find
>> anything. Has anyone heard this one before?
>
>I live NSW, and voluteer in emergency service here, and have never heard
>of this practice amongst the Ambo's, nor of any such paint. Are you
>meant to be fined for just /having/ the paint on your car, or is it
>meant to be used as some sort of identifyer to indicate that you hit the
>ambulance (and thus implying, I assume, that you didn't get out of its
>way in an emergency)?
The latter.
>However, the ambulance services in aus are state run, so who knows what
>could happen elsewhere.
>Just to confirm, you could always amble over to aus.services.emergency
>and crosspost your UL.
Thanks. I think it's been pretty well debunked, though -- I'm sure one of
the respondents would have at least heard of it before if it had any
voracity.
--
chuk
Chuk Goodin
TeaLady (Mari C.) <spres...@yahoo.com> wrote:
>>> It really sounded like a UL to me, and quick Googling didn't
>>> find anything. Has anyone heard this one before?
>
>made a few phone calls, and no one contacted had heard of such a
>paint, including several fire department equipment/gear/stuff
>suppliers (Fox Fire, Finley Fire, I'm not sure who else along those
>lines).
Thanks a lot for checking!
>And they all agreed that driving into a car in front of them is not
>good. We've had drivers hit other vehicles, in both the squads and
>the rigs, and while no one has lost their license (on our
>department, at least) a few have been through a lengthy discipline
>process - and I am sure a couple of them have even had notations
>(points ?) made on their licenses at the bureau of motor vehicles.
That'd be more what I'd expect, rather than "Well, it's his fault for not
getting out of the way."
--
chuk
Chuk Goodin
Rob Poole <R.H....@aston.ac.uk> wrote:
>> >> A FOAF (well, a Friend Of My Sister) told her that in
>> >> Australia, ambulance bumpers have a special paint on them, and
>> >> if your car is found with this paint on it, you'll be
>> >> fined/arrested/charged with some kind of offence. Her friend
>> >> (who drives ambulances up here) says that's so that people
>> >> will be more inclined to get out of the way of ambulances.
>
>another vehicle involved was subsequently confirmed by the paint
>transfer from an ambulance?
Possibly. I think it's just a case of wishful thinking on the part of
ambulance drivers confronted with ignorant others on the road.
--
chuk
Evan Kirshenbaum
I've heard what might be considered a variant on this, from a
different angle, namely that in Boston, home of notoriously aggressive
drivers, some would paint a yellow stripe down the side of their cars,
causing other drivers to think "This guy cuts off cabs [the most
aggressive of the aggressive drivers]. He's crazy!" and give them
room. I think I heard that in around 1995, from a coworker who went
to school there.
--
Evan Kirshenbaum +------------------------------------
HP Laboratories |The reason that we don't have
1501 Page Mill Road, 1U, MS 1141 |"bear-proof" garbage cans in the
Palo Alto, CA 94304 |park is that there is a significant
|overlap in intelligence between the
kirsh...@hpl.hp.com |smartest bears and the dumbest
(650)857-7572 |humans.
| Yosemite Park Ranger
http://www.kirshenbaum.net/
Chris Kuan
> This allegedly comes from a snoozepaper calling itself the
> Illawarra Mercury:
> <http://www.illawarramercury.com.au/articles/2003/09/03/1062515432209.html>
> or http://tinyurl.com/m8ov
OK, that would explain it - I don't read the Mercury.
I did vaguely hear something about such an incident, but I didn't pay
it much attention at all. I seem to recall many re-runs of jokes
relating to "rocket" firecrackers on sticks.
--
Chris
vicdam
Ah, yes. Well, I have to say that this particular story managed to slip by
me unnoticed. The Illawarra is a long way from here.
It should be noted that the Illawarra Mercury is, by far, the most
frequently ridiculed newspaper on the national TV show "Media Watch" which
specialises in exposing the ignorant excesses and stupidities of the press.
Charles Wm. Dimmick
> I've heard what might be considered a variant on this, from a
> different angle, namely that in Boston, home of notoriously aggressive
> drivers, some would paint a yellow stripe down the side of their cars,
> causing other drivers to think "This guy cuts off cabs [the most
> aggressive of the aggressive drivers]. He's crazy!" and give them
> room. I think I heard that in around 1995, from a coworker who went
> to school there.
Hadn't heard that one, but had been warned to look
out for "Boston creases", shallow elongated indentations
running down both sides of many cars in Boston, as they
were supposed to be the mark of particularly agressive
drivers.
Charles
--
"And some rin up hill and down dale, knapping the
chucky stanes to pieces wi' hammers, like sae mony
road-makers run daft -- they say it is to see how
the warld was made!"
Ralph Jones
<cdim...@snet.net> wrote:
>Evan Kirshenbaum wrote:
>
>> I've heard what might be considered a variant on this, from a
>> different angle, namely that in Boston, home of notoriously aggressive
>> drivers, some would paint a yellow stripe down the side of their cars,
>> causing other drivers to think "This guy cuts off cabs [the most
>> aggressive of the aggressive drivers]. He's crazy!" and give them
>> room. I think I heard that in around 1995, from a coworker who went
>> to school there.
>
>Hadn't heard that one, but had been warned to look
>out for "Boston creases", shallow elongated indentations
>running down both sides of many cars in Boston, as they
>were supposed to be the mark of particularly agressive
>drivers.
>
I believe those are known in the stock-car racing biz as "Darlington
stripes."
rj
Chris Kuan
> It should be noted that the Illawarra Mercury is, by far, the most
> frequently ridiculed newspaper on the national TV show "Media Watch" which
> specialises in exposing the ignorant excesses and stupidities of the press.
I think the Adelaide Advertiser would give it a run for its money
(after all, the Tiser's got Murdoch's money :-) )
--
Chris