Stolen biscuits (cookies)

[Guy Barry]

Is anyone familiar with the story described here?

http://www.snopes.com/crime/safety/cookies.asp

I'm pretty sure I first came across it in a 1976 BBC television series
called "It's Child's Play", which featured short plays written by children.
In this version the protagonists were an elderly (white) lady and a younger
(black) man, and at the climax the young man took the last biscuit and broke
it in two.

I was a bit surprised then when a poster on another group claimed it came
from Douglas Adams' 1984 novel "So Long and Thanks for All the Fish", and
furthermore that Adams claims it was based on a true incident that happened
to him in Cambridge in 1976.

Until now I hadn't realized it was an urban legend, which Snopes says has
been circulating in Great Britain since 1972. Snopes refers to the claim by
Adams, but doesn't mention the BBC series (which is pretty obscure by all
accounts).

Can anyone shed any light on this? In particular, what are the chances
that it actually happened to Adams?

--
Guy Barry

[Duggy]

This series?

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1062192/

If so it's interesting that it was the same year Adams claimed it
happened to himself.

With Adams I guess there are 4 options:
a. Actual ostension, as Adams claims.
b. He used a UL he heard not realizing it was widespread and has
since lied to cover up.
c. He used a UL and was playing a game with the media.
d. He was influenced by the UL and thinks it happened to him.

One would like to believe (a) and not (b)... too many people claim (c)
about too much these days and (d) seems unlikely but not impossible.

Adams himself said of the inspiration for H2G2 that he told a fake
origin story to the media so often that it seemed real to him.

===
= DUG.
===

[Doug Anderson]

I don't see how one can make an evaluation of the chance that this
actually happened to Adams.

There is certainly nothing unusual about someone claiming to have had
an experience when that story is an urban legend - Adams would hardly
be the first to do that.

Most good [true] stories receive some degree of elaboration in the
telling. Maybe Adams had an experience identical to the one he
related, maybe he was simply repeating an urban legend, maybe he had
an experience similar to the one he related but where the confusion
was cleared up much earlier and embroidered it. I don't see how this
could ever be determined.

[Alan J Rosenthal]

"Guy Barry" <guy....@blueyonder.co.uk> writes:
>In particular, what are the chances that it actually happened to Adams?

Zero, I'd think.

The place, or at least one of the places, in which he insisted it happened
to him was alt.fan.douglas-adams, in which he used to post, although I
can't remember when. And I've been trying to dredge up the article from
dejagoogle and I can't (it may or may not be archived I guess). There was
a moderately-long flame-fest in which DNA was insisting that it happened
to him and a number of people were calling bullshit, if I recall correctly.

[Duggy]

On Feb 1, 9:59 am, fl...@dgp.toronto.edu (Alan J Rosenthal) wrote:

> "Guy Barry" <guy.ba...@blueyonder.co.uk> writes:
> >In particular, what are the chances that it actually happened to Adams?
>
> Zero, I'd think.

I'd say improbable, not impossible.

===
= DUG.
===

[nemo]

On Feb 1, 9:59 am, fl...@dgp.toronto.edu (Alan J Rosenthal) wrote:

> "Guy Barry" <guy.ba...@blueyonder.co.uk> writes:
> >In particular, what are the chances that it actually happened to Adams?
>
> Zero, I'd think.

Non-zero, I'd think.

> The place, or at least one of the places, in which he insisted it happened
> to him was alt.fan.douglas-adams, in which he used to post, although I
> can't remember when.  And I've been trying to dredge up the article from
> dejagoogle and I can't (it may or may not be archived I guess).  There was
> a moderately-long flame-fest in which DNA was insisting that it happened
> to him and a number of people were calling bullshit, if I recall correctly.

That may have been before my time, or when I was having one of my
irregularly long interludes from usenet... I've seen the claim from
DNA that it
happened to him, but not in a.f.d-a [11]. For that matter though,
neither had I
previously heard any claim that the story predated him.

So as to the veracity of his claim, if anybody would know, it would
likely to be
MJ Simpson (why? cos this: http://www.mjsimpson.co.uk/bibliography.html
)
...however, he left Douglas Adams fandom scene in a huff shortly
before the
movie came out, and I've not heard of him in DNA fan circles since.

To turn the tables for a moment too, snopes says that it's been around
since
1972 ...but none of their references predate 1994 anyway, giving
Adams'
novel a good 10 year lead there. Without chasing up those references,
can't comment on their own reliability...

Anyway, that's my thoughts on it all...

.../Nemo


[11] as an aside (alt.folklore.urban people, this probably wont
interest you),
I've recently started to attempt to collect a local cache of all of
alt.fan.douglas-adams posts from posterity... so has anybody got some
archives that I might be able to merge with my own? (which currently
are ~2001-2005, and ~2008-current). Scraping google seems rather like
a
last resort...

[Guy Barry]

"Duggy" <Paul....@jcu.edu.au> wrote in message
news:7dbb8843-867a-46e4...@n7g2000pbd.googlegroups.com...

> This series?

> http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1062192/

That's the one. Totally forgotten now, and I see it only lasted for one
series. It stuck in my mind mainly because it was the only non-comedy
programme I've ever seen hosted by Morecambe and Wise. (I don't know how
well known they are outside Great Britain, but they were absolutely huge
over here back in the 70s.)

> If so it's interesting that it was the same year Adams claimed it
> happened to himself.

That's what I thought.

> Adams himself said of the inspiration for H2G2 that he told a fake
> origin story to the media so often that it seemed real to him.

What was that, as a matter of interest?

Going off-topic here, but I've always wondered whether the inspiration for
the name "Google" wasn't in fact the word "googol" (as claimed by Page and
Brin), but the "Googleplex Star Thinker" super-computer from H2G2. It seems
much more fitting somehow.

--
Guy Barry

[Duggy]

On Feb 1, 6:54 pm, "Guy Barry" <guy.ba...@blueyonder.co.uk> wrote:

> "Duggy" <Paul.Dug...@jcu.edu.au> wrote:
> > This series?
> >http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1062192/

> That's the one.  Totally forgotten now, and I see it only lasted for one
> series.  It stuck in my mind mainly because it was the only non-comedy
> programme I've ever seen hosted by Morecambe and Wise.  (I don't know how
> well known they are outside Great Britain, but they were absolutely huge
> over here back in the 70s.)

I watched a lot of UK TV and read the revived Eagle comic in the
80s... so I know of them... but I don't know them.

> > If so it's interesting that it was the same year Adams claimed it
> > happened to himself.
> That's what I thought.

Another coincidence?

> > Adams himself said of the inspiration for H2G2 that he told a fake
> > origin story to the media so often that it seemed real to him.
> What was that, as a matter of interest?

Something about travelling Europe with a Hitchhiker's Guide, getting
drunk and looking at the stars... but it never happened.

> Going off-topic here, but I've always wondered whether the inspiration for
> the name "Google" wasn't in fact the word "googol" (as claimed by Page and
> Brin), but the "Googleplex Star Thinker" super-computer from H2G2.  It seems
> much more fitting somehow.

True.

I heard an audio book which included things he wrote about Apple...
and he description of what he wanted is exactly what Apple does now...

Sad he wasn't here to see it.

===
= DUG.
===

[Duggy]

On Feb 1, 1:27 pm, nemo <earthnat...@gmail.com> wrote:
> On Feb 1, 9:59 am, fl...@dgp.toronto.edu (Alan J Rosenthal) wrote:
> > "Guy Barry" <guy.ba...@blueyonder.co.uk> writes:
> > >In particular, what are the chances that it actually happened to Adams?
> > Zero, I'd think.
> Non-zero, I'd think.

True.

> To turn the tables for a moment too, snopes says that it's been around
> since
> 1972 ...but none of their references predate 1994 anyway,

Example 1: [Brunvand, 1986]

It's not 1972, and it's still 2 years after Adams but it's earlier
than 1994.

http://urbanlegends.about.com/od/fooddrink/a/package_cookies.htm

Dates Brunvand as 1984 - the same year as "So Long and Thanks for All
The Fish" it also explicitly states that he is the source of the
England 1972 or earlier claim.

The Brunvand version on snopes is clearly Americanised, though.

> giving Adams'
> novel a good 10 year lead there.

Or... zero.

> Without chasing up those references,
> can't comment on their own reliability...

Probably need to check more carefully.

> Anyway, that's my thoughts on it all...

Fair enough.

Another interesting fact: Snopes has a 2010 Ian McEwan book in which
it happens to him and he is confronted about it by folklorists.
Urbanlegends.about.com has only his claims that it happened to him in
a 2008 unfinished manuscript and the fact that people pulled him up on
it.

The whole thing is getting very post-modern.

===
= DUG.
===

===
= DUG.
===

[Nemo]

On Feb 1, 8:03 pm, Duggy <Paul.Dug...@jcu.edu.au> wrote:
> > To turn the tables for a moment too, snopes says that it's been around
> > since
> > 1972 ...but none of their references predate 1994 anyway,
>
> Example 1:  [Brunvand, 1986]
>
> It's not 1972, and it's still 2 years after Adams but it's earlier
> than 1994.

Well, I was thinking of the references in the "Sources" section
myself,
rather than something it quoted. (from where? Which of the listed
sources
is "Brunvald"? Looks like none to me, but I've known to be blind
before :)

> http://urbanlegends.about.com/od/fooddrink/a/package_cookies.htm
>
> Dates Brunvand as 1984 - the same year as "So Long and Thanks for All
> The Fish" it also explicitly states that he is the source of the
> England 1972 or earlier claim.

Good find :)

I also found reference to Adams' apparently relating the story in 1981
on a radio
show "It Makes Me Laugh" - but that's an uncited wikipedia reference
only. Add
salt to taste.

> The Brunvand version on snopes is clearly Americanised, though.
>
> > giving Adams'
> > novel a good 10 year lead there.
>
> Or... zero.

Well, as noted, I was counting purely from Snopes' sources, but yes,
the timeframe
has reduced - though if that claim on wikipedia is believed, there is
still 3 years in it!

> Another interesting fact:  Snopes has a 2010 Ian McEwan book in which
> it happens to him and he is confronted about it by folklorists.
> Urbanlegends.about.com has only his claims that it happened to him in
> a 2008 unfinished manuscript and the fact that people pulled him up on
> it.
>
> The whole thing is getting very post-modern.

Indeed it is.

Overall, it strikes me as the sort of thing which could happen pretty
easily,
and that it might happen to multiple people independently (and that
some
of them be authors) doesn't surprise me at all.

In other words, I'm perfectly happy to have it both ways, but really,
I doubt
we'll ever know.

(unless anyone has a time machine handy? =)

.../Nemo

[Pete]

On Feb 1, 3:47 pm, Nemo <earthnat...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Well, I was thinking of the references in the "Sources" section
> myself,
> rather than something it quoted. (from where? Which of the listed
> sources
> is "Brunvald"? Looks like none to me, but I've known to be blind
> before  :)
>

Jan Harold Brunvand is sort-of the Ubermensch reference to all things
UL-ish around here.

You might want to google, before posting again.

Cheers,
Pete.

[Nemo]

Please read what I wrote again. I wasn't talking about Brunvald,
but of the snopes article which throws his name around a
couple of times in the article text, but makes no reference to
him in the 'Sources' section.

I don't care how well he's known, I consider that to be poor
citation work.

.../Nemo

(I'm increasingly confirming my long-held position that
cross-posting on usenet is just asking for trouble - or at least,
misunderstandings. I'm only doing it here because I consider
thread continuity to be more valuable :)

[Duggy]

On Feb 2, 1:47 am, Nemo <earthnat...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Well, I was thinking of the references in the "Sources" section
> myself,
> rather than something it quoted. (from where? Which of the listed
> sources
> is "Brunvald"? Looks like none to me, but I've known to be blind
> before  :)

If it's 1984 it's "The Choking Doberman" (stated by the urban legends
page).

> >http://urbanlegends.about.com/od/fooddrink/a/package_cookies.htm

> I also found reference to Adams' apparently relating the story in 1981
> on a radio
> show "It Makes Me Laugh" - but that's an uncited wikipedia reference
> only. Add
> salt to taste.

If we're counting unref'ed wikipedia then Brunvand's 1972 is equally
valid.

> > Or... zero.
> Well, as noted, I was counting purely from Snopes' sources, but yes,
> the timeframe
> has reduced - though if that claim on wikipedia is believed, there is
> still 3 years in it!

And if Brunvand is to be believed minus 9 years.

And a poster here claims to have heard in on a children's show from
1976... the same year Adams claims it happened to him.

> > The whole thing is getting very post-modern.

> Indeed it is.

> Overall, it strikes me as the sort of thing which could happen pretty
> easily,
> and that it might happen to multiple people independently (and that
> some
> of them be authors) doesn't surprise me at all.

True. Such is the way of ostension.

> In other words, I'm perfectly happy to have it both ways, but really,
> I doubt
> we'll ever know.

Agreed.

> (unless anyone has a time machine handy? =)

There are possibly better uses for one... but I don't know what they
are.

===
= DUG.
===

[Tian]

Guy Barry wrote:
> "Duggy" <Paul....@jcu.edu.au> wrote in message
> news:7dbb8843-867a-46e4...@n7g2000pbd.googlegroups.com...
>
>> This series?
>
>> http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1062192/
>
> That's the one. Totally forgotten now, and I see it only lasted for one
> series. It stuck in my mind mainly because it was the only non-comedy
> programme I've ever seen hosted by Morecambe and Wise. (I don't know how
> well known they are outside Great Britain, but they were absolutely huge
> over here back in the 70s.)
>
>> If so it's interesting that it was the same year Adams claimed it
>> happened to himself.
>
> That's what I thought.
>
>> Adams himself said of the inspiration for H2G2 that he told a fake
>> origin story to the media so often that it seemed real to him.

He's not the only author of a story to comment to that effect.
Repetition does have the effect of making the repeater believe it.

I'm tempted to put a coin in a piggy bank. Would it really happen,
or am I just another guy typing strings of fantasy into cyberspace?
Is this another lie, or did another coin really make a "clunk" sound
in the belly of the beast?

How much does it matter anyhow? Now DNA is headed for sainthood, or
maybe he will be forgotten in a few generations. Either way, the guy
himself has stopped using light switches.

As Vonnegut said "So it goes." He's stopped using light switches to.

>
> What was that, as a matter of interest?
>
> Going off-topic here, but I've always wondered whether the inspiration for
> the name "Google" wasn't in fact the word "googol" (as claimed by Page and
> Brin), but the "Googleplex Star Thinker" super-computer from H2G2. It seems
> much more fitting somehow.
>

For sure Google's campus is referred to as the "Googleplex". I've heard it.

--
Tian
http://tian.greens.org
Latest change: SJBP bird ride. Get Carol Brouillet on the ballot!
The 5 actions 1 world pin is on a Arizona quarter.

[Duggy]

Duggy wrote:

> Guy Barry wrote:
> >> Adams himself said of the inspiration for H2G2 that he told a fake
> >> origin story to the media so often that it seemed real to him.
> He's not the only author of a story to comment to that effect.

Agreed, just the perfect example in this case.

> Repetition does have the effect of making the repeater believe it.

True.

I know that my own memories have been changed by later events.

I once participated in an experiment someone was doing for their
thesis about whether police question can influence witness memory and
halfway through I realised that I wasn't remembering the event but
rather information in a question afterwards.

> How much does it matter anyhow?

It's usenet. How much does any of it matter?

> > Going off-topic here, but I've always wondered whether the inspiration for
> > the name "Google" wasn't in fact the word "googol" (as claimed by Page and
> > Brin), but the "Googleplex Star Thinker" super-computer from H2G2.  It seems
> > much more fitting somehow.

> For sure Google's campus is referred to as the "Googleplex". I've heard it.

From a friend of a friend?

Here's a wikipedia link. So we know it's true:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Googleplex

===
= DUG.
===

[R H Draney]

Tian filted:

>
>How much does it matter anyhow? Now DNA is headed for sainthood, or
>maybe he will be forgotten in a few generations. Either way, the guy
>himself has stopped using light switches.
>
>As Vonnegut said "So it goes." He's stopped using light switches to.

You mean he kissed the inflatable octopus?...no longer shopping the pig?...r


--
Me? Sarcastic?
Yeah, right.

[Guy Barry]

"Duggy" <Paul....@jcu.edu.au> wrote in message

news:d6d950fc-cacf-4d19...@ov1g2000pbb.googlegroups.com...

> And a poster here claims to have heard in on a children's show from
> 1976... the same year Adams claims it happened to him.

That was me. The clincher would be, of course, if someone had retained a
recording of that broadcast. The BBC has wiped a lot of material from that
era, so it's unlikely (though not impossible) that they'd still have a copy.
I used to be on a forum for British archive TV enthusiasts so I may be able
to make some enquiries.

--
Guy Barry

[Guy Barry]

"Duggy" <Paul....@jcu.edu.au> wrote in message

news:05e03319-45ec-4310...@b10g2000pbd.googlegroups.com...

> Tian wrote:
>> For sure Google's campus is referred to as the "Googleplex". I've heard
it.

> From a friend of a friend?

> Here's a wikipedia link. So we know it's true:

> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Googleplex

The standard explanation for that name (as stated in the Wikipedia article)
is that it's a pun on the word "googolplex", meaning 10^(10^100), or ten
raised to the power of a googol, as well as being a portmanteau of "Google"
and "complex". But the coincidence with the name of a very powerful
computer invented by Adams in 1979 does seem a little too good to be true.

--
Guy Barry

[Tim McDaniel]

In article <jgdjl...@drn.newsguy.com>,

R H Draney <dado...@spamcop.net> wrote:
>Tian filted:
>>
>>How much does it matter anyhow? Now DNA is headed for sainthood, or
>>maybe he will be forgotten in a few generations. Either way, the guy
>>himself has stopped using light switches.
>>

>>As Vonnegut said "So it goes." He's stopped using light switches too.

>
>You mean he kissed the inflatable octopus?...no longer shopping the pig?...r

I don't think we discuss euphemisms for masturbation in AFU.

(Heuristic for reading English: Any unidentifiable slang noun refers
to the penis. Any unidentifiable phrase refers to masturbation.)

--
Tim McDaniel, tm...@panix.com

[R H Draney]

Tim McDaniel filted:

As long as Google Groups is still letting people peek at the archives, the above
are not unidentifiable phrases...they're both perfectly acceptable euphemisms
for being in the same condition as the Monty Python parrot, as used over in
alt.obituaries (where I thought I was when I posted last night)....r

[Evan Kirshenbaum]

The word had currency in a different sense before that:

The Alliance's administrative confusion has won the name
"googleplex". [_Life_, 3/16/62]

The Great Googleplex ... The result is a great googleplex:
hundreds of federal, state and local authorities that, oblivious
of one another, spend $17 billion a year of taxpayers' money to
work at purposes that often cross. [_Time_, 11/4/66]

They go on intoning the same stale phrases which Washington calls
the "googleplex". [_American Opinion_, 1/1/67]

According to the _NY Times_ [9/26/77] there was also an animated short
film by Lillian Schwartz called "Googleplex". Googling, I see that it
was made in 1972 and can be seen here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RnnXnDUVJbY

but it's actually "Googolplex".

--
Evan Kirshenbaum +------------------------------------
Still with HP Labs |This case--and I must be careful
SF Bay Area (1982-) |not to fall into Spooner's trap
Chicago (1964-1982) |here--concerns a group of warring
|bankers.
evan.kir...@gmail.com

http://www.kirshenbaum.net/

[Tian]

It didn't occur to me that my "euphemism" for being in the same
condition as the Monty Python parrot would be taken for sexual innuendo.
Maybe I was hoping you would confuse it with "going off the grid", but
I forgot that humans only have one track minds. Doh!
--
Tian
http://tian.greens.org
Latest change: SJBP bird ride! Get Carol Brouillet on the ballot!

[Duggy]

On Feb 2, 8:17 pm, "Guy Barry" <guy.ba...@blueyonder.co.uk> wrote:
> "Duggy" <Paul.Dug...@jcu.edu.au> wrote in message

Well, that would prove that it existed in 1976 (not that I don't trust
you, but memory and stuff).

Wouldn't tell us if it happened to Adams, though.

===
= DUG.
===

[Duggy]

On Feb 3, 3:42 am, t...@panix.com (Tim McDaniel) wrote:
> In article <jgdjl901...@drn.newsguy.com>,

> R H Draney  <dadoc...@spamcop.net> wrote:
>
> >Tian filted:
>
> >>How much does it matter anyhow? Now DNA is headed for sainthood, or
> >>maybe he will be forgotten in a few generations. Either way, the guy
> >>himself has stopped using light switches.
>
> >>As Vonnegut said "So it goes." He's stopped using light switches too.
>
> >You mean he kissed the inflatable octopus?...no longer shopping the pig?...r
>
> I don't think we discuss euphemisms for masturbation in AFU.
>
> (Heuristic for reading English: Any unidentifiable slang noun refers
> to the penis.  Any unidentifiable phrase refers to masturbation.)

I'd don't know...
"Kissing the..." refers to oral sex and "octopus" suggests female not
male organs.
"The Pig" is clearly the penis and "Shopping the" could be
masturbation, or it could come together to be "Asking for sex".

===
= DUG.
===

[Tim McDaniel]

In article <jgf51...@enews6.newsguy.com>, Tian

<tnha...@aceweb.com> wrote:
>It didn't occur to me that my "euphemism" for being in the same
>condition as the Monty Python parrot would be taken for sexual
>innuendo.

It was an attempt at a joke. I think Songs About Masturbation was an
old AFU meme, but this is xposted to AFDA.

--
Tim McDaniel, tm...@panix.com

[Tian]

AFDA is where i read it. Never heard of alt.folklore.urban before now.

[R H Draney]

Tian filted:

>
>Tim McDaniel wrote:
>> In article <jgf51...@enews6.newsguy.com>, Tian
>> <tnha...@aceweb.com> wrote:
>>> It didn't occur to me that my "euphemism" for being in the same
>>> condition as the Monty Python parrot would be taken for sexual
>>> innuendo.
>>
>> It was an attempt at a joke. I think Songs About Masturbation was an
>> old AFU meme, but this is xposted to AFDA.
>>
>AFDA is where i read it. Never heard of alt.folklore.urban before now.

Did AFDA get the "farting on cakes" thing when it was making the rounds?...r

[Nemo]

On Feb 3, 4:47 pm, R H Draney <dadoc...@spamcop.net> wrote:
> Tian filted:
>
>
>
> >Tim McDaniel wrote:

> >> In article <jgf51m02...@enews6.newsguy.com>, Tian

> >> <tnhar...@aceweb.com> wrote:
> >>> It didn't occur to me that my "euphemism" for being in the same
> >>> condition as the Monty Python parrot would be taken for sexual
> >>> innuendo.
>
> >> It was an attempt at a joke.  I think Songs About Masturbation was an
> >> old AFU meme, but this is xposted to AFDA.
>
> >AFDA is where i read it. Never heard of alt.folklore.urban before now.
>
> Did AFDA get the "farting on cakes" thing when it was making the rounds?...r
>

Almost positive that it didn't... When did it occur?

AFDA (or %afda, according to old froup terminology[14]) is largely a
non-crossposting enclave within usenet these days. For eg, my archives
for 2011 show 481 messages with no crosspost, and only 10 that were.
(and 9 of those were to alt.fan.pratchett - I would assume in a single
thread)

2010 was a bit more active... 845 to %afda alone, 22 crossposted to
rec.arts.drwho, another 11 to alt.non-sequitur... a further 18 posts
total with crossposts that I wont bother detailing.

ok, so I like meaningless stats far too much clearly. As far as my
archives to 2007 go, this is the first encounter between AFU and
AFDA! :)

.../Nemo


[14] from my records, the terminology was thus:
* %afda is the usenet froup
* #afda is the IRC channel on SlashNet
* +afda is the Google+ huddle. (It's not unlike the #afda but quieter)
* ~afda or ^afda is the (bitrotting) website at http://www.zootle.net/afda/
* ?afda is the FAQ (long unmaintained)
* &afda or *afda is the whole afda experience!

[Guy Barry]

"Tim McDaniel" <tm...@panix.com> wrote in message
news:jgehu0$17u$1...@reader1.panix.com...

> (Heuristic for reading English: Any unidentifiable slang noun refers
> to the penis. Any unidentifiable phrase refers to masturbation.)

Can't resist the following anecdote about the long-running British TV quiz
show University Challenge, presented by Jeremy Paxman. Source:
http://www.ukgameshows.com/ukgs/University_Challenge

In a match between Kings School of Medicine and Dentistry, London and Keble
College, Oxford in 1996, one of the questions was "Thuma, Towcher, Long-man,
Lech-man and Little-man are Old and Middle English names for which parts of
the human body?" One of the Kings contestants answered "Penis" (the correct
answer was "Fingers"), to which Mr Paxman responded, "You're a medical
student - how many penises did they teach you we have nowadays?!"

--
Guy Barry

[Tian]

Don't remember that one.

[R H Draney]

Guy Barry filted:

>
>In a match between Kings School of Medicine and Dentistry, London and Keble
>College, Oxford in 1996, one of the questions was "Thuma, Towcher, Long-man,
>Lech-man and Little-man are Old and Middle English names for which parts of
>the human body?" One of the Kings contestants answered "Penis" (the correct
>answer was "Fingers"), to which Mr Paxman responded, "You're a medical
>student - how many penises did they teach you we have nowadays?!"

In all fairness, one part of the body (and it's certainly true of *that* part)
can have more than one name....

Now, do you know the names of the individual toes?...I once asked a podiatrist
if he ever asked a patient which toe was bothering him and received the reply
"the one that had roast beef"...(in retrospect, it's not generally a good idea
to make someone laugh when he's holding a razor blade to one of your corns)....r

[Tian]

R H Draney wrote:
> Guy Barry filted:
>> In a match between Kings School of Medicine and Dentistry, London and Keble
>> College, Oxford in 1996, one of the questions was "Thuma, Towcher, Long-man,
>> Lech-man and Little-man are Old and Middle English names for which parts of
>> the human body?" One of the Kings contestants answered "Penis" (the correct
>> answer was "Fingers"), to which Mr Paxman responded, "You're a medical
>> student - how many penises did they teach you we have nowadays?!"
>
> In all fairness, one part of the body (and it's certainly true of *that* part)
> can have more than one name....

I'm remembering "Big Johnson" T Shirts...

>
> Now, do you know the names of the individual toes?...I once asked a podiatrist
> if he ever asked a patient which toe was bothering him and received the reply
> "the one that had roast beef"...(in retrospect, it's not generally a good idea
> to make someone laugh when he's holding a razor blade to one of your corns)....r
>

Ouch!

--
Tian
http://tian.greens.org
Latest change: SJBP bird ride! Get Carol Brouillet on the ballot!

[JoAnne Schmitz]

On Wed, 01 Feb 2012 20:57:21 -0800, Tian <tnha...@aceweb.com> wrote:

>Guy Barry wrote:
>> "Duggy" <Paul....@jcu.edu.au> wrote in message
>> news:7dbb8843-867a-46e4...@n7g2000pbd.googlegroups.com...
>>
>>> This series?
>>
>>> http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1062192/
>>
>> That's the one. Totally forgotten now, and I see it only lasted for one
>> series. It stuck in my mind mainly because it was the only non-comedy
>> programme I've ever seen hosted by Morecambe and Wise. (I don't know how
>> well known they are outside Great Britain, but they were absolutely huge
>> over here back in the 70s.)
>>
>>> If so it's interesting that it was the same year Adams claimed it
>>> happened to himself.
>>
>> That's what I thought.
>>
>>> Adams himself said of the inspiration for H2G2 that he told a fake
>>> origin story to the media so often that it seemed real to him.
>
>He's not the only author of a story to comment to that effect.
>Repetition does have the effect of making the repeater believe it.

So are you saying he really did tell a fake origin story to the media so
often that it seemed real to him, or that he's copied that claim, as well?

JoAnne "elephants all the way" Schmitz

--

The new Urban Legends website is <http://www.tafkac.org>
That's TAFKAC.ORG
Do not accept lame imitations at previously okay URLs

[Tian]

JoAnne Schmitz wrote:
> On Wed, 01 Feb 2012 20:57:21 -0800, Tian <tnha...@aceweb.com> wrote:
>
>> Guy Barry wrote:
>>> "Duggy" <Paul....@jcu.edu.au> wrote in message
>>> news:7dbb8843-867a-46e4...@n7g2000pbd.googlegroups.com...
>>>
>>>> This series?
>>>> http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1062192/
>>> That's the one. Totally forgotten now, and I see it only lasted for one
>>> series. It stuck in my mind mainly because it was the only non-comedy
>>> programme I've ever seen hosted by Morecambe and Wise. (I don't know how
>>> well known they are outside Great Britain, but they were absolutely huge
>>> over here back in the 70s.)
>>>
>>>> If so it's interesting that it was the same year Adams claimed it
>>>> happened to himself.
>>> That's what I thought.
>>>
>>>> Adams himself said of the inspiration for H2G2 that he told a fake
>>>> origin story to the media so often that it seemed real to him.
>> He's not the only author of a story to comment to that effect.
>> Repetition does have the effect of making the repeater believe it.
>
> So are you saying he really did tell a fake origin story to the media so
> often that it seemed real to him, or that he's copied that claim, as well?
>

Those seem like questions that can only be answered by someone above my
pay grade!

> JoAnne "elephants all the way" Schmitz
>

I'm more of a phan of flowers...
--
Tian
http://tian.greens.org
Latest change: Proof the Babel Fish exists! Get Carol Brouillet on the
ballot!
The 5 actions 1 world pin is on a Hawaii quarter.

[Duggy]

On Feb 5, 4:33 am, JoAnne Schmitz <jschm...@qis.net> wrote:

> On Wed, 01 Feb 2012 20:57:21 -0800, Tian <tnhar...@aceweb.com> wrote:
> >Guy Barry wrote:

> >> "Duggy" <Paul.Dug...@jcu.edu.au> wrote in message

> >>news:7dbb8843-867a-46e4...@n7g2000pbd.googlegroups.com...
>
> >>> This series?
>
> >>>http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1062192/
>
> >> That's the one.  Totally forgotten now, and I see it only lasted for one
> >> series.  It stuck in my mind mainly because it was the only non-comedy
> >> programme I've ever seen hosted by Morecambe and Wise.  (I don't know how
> >> well known they are outside Great Britain, but they were absolutely huge
> >> over here back in the 70s.)
>
> >>> If so it's interesting that it was the same year Adams claimed it
> >>> happened to himself.
>
> >> That's what I thought.
>
> >>> Adams himself said of the inspiration for H2G2 that he told a fake
> >>> origin story to the media so often that it seemed real to him.
>
> >He's not the only author of a story to comment to that effect.
> >Repetition does have the effect of making the repeater believe it.
>
> So are you saying he really did tell a fake origin story to the media so
> often that it seemed real to him, or that he's copied that claim, as well?

I'm saying he has knowingly and admitedly told a fake story to the
media

[Nemo Maelstrom Thorx]

On 02 Feb (a Thursday in 2012) around 2247 hours, R H Draney did utter:

> >>
> >AFDA is where i read it. Never heard of alt.folklore.urban before now.
>
> Did AFDA get the "farting on cakes" thing when it was making the rounds?...r
>

<aside>

Apologies if anybody sees this twice. I posted it via google groups the
first time around, and it seems to have not propagated! :/

So, the rest of this post is copied from my original, seen at
http://groups.google.com/group/alt.fan.douglas-adams/msg/7a9b788b7a79e571?dmode=source
:)

</aside>

Almost positive that it didn't... When did it occur?

AFDA (or %afda, according to old froup terminology[14]) is largely
a non-crossposting enclave within usenet these days. For eg, my archives
for 2011 show 481 messages with no crosspost, and only 10 that were.
(and 9 of those were to alt.fan.pratchett - I would assume in a single
thread)

2010 was a bit more active... 845 to %afda alone, 22 crossposted to
rec.arts.drwho, another 11 to alt.non-sequitur... a further 18 posts
total with crossposts that I wont bother detailing.

ok, so I like meaningless stats far too much clearly. As far as my
archives to 2007 go, this is the first encounter between AFU and
AFDA! :)

.../Nemo


[14] from my records, the terminology was thus:
* %afda is the usenet froup
* #afda is the IRC channel on SlashNet
* +afda is the Google+ huddle. (It's not unlike the #afda but quieter)
* ~afda or ^afda is the (bitrotting) website at

* http://www.zootle.net/afda/

* ?afda is the FAQ (long unmaintained)
* &afda or *afda is the whole afda experience!


>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>

[John Coxon]

On 06/02/2012 04:09, Nemo Maelstrom Thorx wrote:

<snip>

> AFDA (or %afda, according to old froup terminology[14]) is largely
> a non-crossposting enclave within usenet these days. For eg, my archives
> for 2011 show 481 messages with no crosspost, and only 10 that were.
> (and 9 of those were to alt.fan.pratchett - I would assume in a single
> thread)

Clearly, CAMRAFDA has done well!

--
John Coxon

Join Dropbox and we both get bonus space!
http://db.tt/MWwN5TT

[Nemo Maelstrom Thorx]

On 06 Feb (a Monday in 2012) around 0919 hours, John Coxon did utter:

> On 06/02/2012 04:09, Nemo Maelstrom Thorx wrote:
>
> <snip>
>
> >AFDA (or %afda, according to old froup terminology[14]) is largely
> >a non-crossposting enclave within usenet these days. For eg, my archives
> >for 2011 show 481 messages with no crosspost, and only 10 that were.
> >(and 9 of those were to alt.fan.pratchett - I would assume in a single
> >thread)
>
> Clearly, CAMRAFDA has done well!

erm... no, I don't know what that is offhand :/


.../Nemo

[Tian]

It ends with AFDA, so we must have something to do with it...

--
Tian
http://tian.greens.org
Latest change: Proof the Babel Fish exists! Get Carol Brouillet on the
ballot!
The 5 actions 1 world pin is on a District of Columbia quarter.

[R H Draney]

Duggy filted:

>
>On Feb 3, 3:42=A0am, t...@panix.com (Tim McDaniel) wrote:
>> In article <jgdjl901...@drn.newsguy.com>,

>> R H Draney =A0<dadoc...@spamcop.net> wrote:
>>
>> >You mean he kissed the inflatable octopus?...no longer shopping the pig?=

>...r
>>
>> I don't think we discuss euphemisms for masturbation in AFU.
>>
>> (Heuristic for reading English: Any unidentifiable slang noun refers

>> to the penis. =A0Any unidentifiable phrase refers to masturbation.)

>
>I'd don't know...
>"Kissing the..." refers to oral sex and "octopus" suggests female not
>male organs.
>"The Pig" is clearly the penis and "Shopping the" could be
>masturbation, or it could come together to be "Asking for sex".

Since afu still retains some reputation as a haven for education:

"no longer shopping the pig" = the obituary of some person in the Deep South
mentioned that one of his or her favorite pastimes was shopping at the regional
supermarket chain Piggly Wiggly (the original was actually "no longer shopping
at Winn-Dixie")...someone was said to remark that they would miss the deceased
now that he or she was "no longer shopping 'the Pig'"...the expression was
eventually shortened to NLSTP....

"kissed the inflatable octopus" = in a news story about someone who had drowned,
an observer noted that before diving in and trying to swim out to the raft where
everyone was gathering, the victim had "kissed the inflatable octopus"...no
explanation was given, but it was assumed that there was some kind of floating
water toy in use and it was traditional among this group of swimmers to kiss it
just before trying to make the crossing....r

[John Coxon]

On 07/02/2012 08:37, Tian wrote:
> Nemo Maelstrom Thorx wrote:
>> On 06 Feb (a Monday in 2012) around 0919 hours, John Coxon did utter:
>>> On 06/02/2012 04:09, Nemo Maelstrom Thorx wrote:
>>>
>>> <snip>
>>>
>>>> AFDA (or %afda, according to old froup terminology[14]) is largely
>>>> a non-crossposting enclave within usenet these days. For eg, my
>>>> archives
>>>> for 2011 show 481 messages with no crosspost, and only 10 that were.
>>>> (and 9 of those were to alt.fan.pratchett - I would assume in a single
>>>> thread)
>>> Clearly, CAMRAFDA has done well!
>>
>> erm... no, I don't know what that is offhand :/
>>
>>
> It ends with AFDA, so we must have something to do with it...

If you look at the acronyms FAQ on &afda, you'll see that it's the
Campaign for Real afda, or the campaign against excessive crossposting ;)

[Nemo Maelstrom Thorx]

On 07 Feb (a Tuesday in 2012) around 1034 hours, John Coxon did utter:

> >>>Clearly, CAMRAFDA has done well!
> >>
> >>erm... no, I don't know what that is offhand :/
> >>
> >It ends with AFDA, so we must have something to do with it...
>
> If you look at the acronyms FAQ on &afda, you'll see that it's the
> Campaign for Real afda, or the campaign against excessive
> crossposting ;)

oh, hah, cute! Shows how long since I've read the FAQ too. Indeed,
looks like that may have all been created during one of my leaves

Maybe next year someone (maybe even me) will run up a 10 year
anniversary FAQ ;)

also, alt.fan.afda !
cooool =)

.../Nemo

[David J. Martin]

But on AFU that violates the BOA.

David "it's in the FAQ, too" Martin

[Tian]

David J. Martin wrote:
> On 2/7/2012 4:34 AM, John Coxon wrote:
>> On 07/02/2012 08:37, Tian wrote:
>>> Nemo Maelstrom Thorx wrote:
>>>> On 06 Feb (a Monday in 2012) around 0919 hours, John Coxon did utter:
>>>>

>>>>> Clearly, CAMRAFDA has done well!
>>>>
>>>> erm... no, I don't know what that is offhand :/
>>>>
>>> It ends with AFDA, so we must have something to do with it...
>>
>> If you look at the acronyms FAQ on &afda, you'll see that it's the
>> Campaign for Real afda, or the campaign against excessive crossposting ;)
>>
>
> But on AFU that violates the BOA.
>

What is a BOA?

[David J. Martin]

On 2/7/2012 1:22 PM, Tian wrote:
> David J. Martin wrote:
>> On 2/7/2012 4:34 AM, John Coxon wrote:
>>> On 07/02/2012 08:37, Tian wrote:
>>>> Nemo Maelstrom Thorx wrote:
>>>>> On 06 Feb (a Monday in 2012) around 0919 hours, John Coxon did utter:
> >>>>
>>>>>> Clearly, CAMRAFDA has done well!
>>>>>
>>>>> erm... no, I don't know what that is offhand :/
>>>>>
>>>> It ends with AFDA, so we must have something to do with it...
>>>
>>> If you look at the acronyms FAQ on &afda, you'll see that it's the
>>> Campaign for Real afda, or the campaign against excessive
>>> crossposting ;)
>>>
>>
>> But on AFU that violates the BOA.
>>
> What is a BOA?
>

Ban on Acronyms.

David "yes, we know" Martin

[Alan J Rosenthal]

What does BAN stand for?

-- aj "I'm just assuming that 'on' stands for 'octal newsreader'" r

[Duggy]

On Feb 9, 11:16 am, fl...@dgp.toronto.edu (Alan J Rosenthal) wrote:

> "David J. Martin" <djmartin_nos...@tamu.edu> writes:
>
> >On 2/7/2012 1:22 PM, Tian wrote:
> >> What is a BOA?
>
> >Ban on Acronyms.
>
> What does BAN stand for?
>
> -- aj "I'm just assuming that 'on' stands for 'octal newsreader'" r

Ban Acronyms Now.

Ban Acronyms Now Octal Newsreader ACRONYMS.

===
= DUG.
===

[Nemo Maelstrom Thorx]

On 08 Feb (a Wednesday in 2012) around 1822 hours, Duggy did utter:

Sounds like part of a longer statement to me.

Ban Acronyms Now Octal[19]! Newsreaders Are Crazy Robots Ordinarily. No
Yetis May Sing.

It's a good thing to remember, and easily mnemoniced as the semi rhyming
phrase: "Bano Nacro Nyms". Does anyone just remember it as 'BNN' for
short?


.../Nemo




[*] All otherwise undefined footnotes should be assumed to be defined as
an ISFN - Internet Standard Footnote Notation.
See: http://wiki.thorx.net/wiki/ISFN

[19] a friend goes by the handle of "Octal"[2], so this makes more sense to me
than it might otherwise

[Duggy]

On Feb 9, 2:12 pm, Nemo Maelstrom Thorx

<afda.REMOVEC...@NOPYTHONSKETCHES.nemo.house.cx.COM> wrote:
> On 08 Feb (a Wednesday in 2012) around 1822 hours, Duggy did utter:
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> > On Feb 9, 11:16 am, fl...@dgp.toronto.edu (Alan J Rosenthal) wrote:
> > > "David J. Martin" <djmartin_nos...@tamu.edu> writes:
>
> > > >On 2/7/2012 1:22 PM, Tian wrote:
> > > >> What is a BOA?
>
> > > >Ban on Acronyms.
>
> > > What does BAN stand for?
>
> > > -- aj "I'm just assuming that 'on' stands for 'octal newsreader'" r
>
> > Ban Acronyms Now.
>
> > Ban Acronyms Now Octal Newsreader ACRONYMS.
>
> Sounds like part of a longer statement to me.
>
> Ban Acronyms Now Octal[19]! Newsreaders Are Crazy Robots Ordinarily. No
> Yetis May Sing.
>
> It's a good thing to remember, and easily mnemoniced as the semi rhyming
> phrase: "Bano Nacro Nyms". Does anyone just remember it as 'BNN' for
> short?

Of course, "BAN ACRONYMS Now Octal[19]! Newsreaders Are Crazy Robots
Ordinarily. No Yetis May Sing." becomes: "Ban Acronyms Now Are Crazy
Robots Ordinarily. No Yetis May Sing. Now Octal[19]! Newsreaders Are

Crazy Robots Ordinarily. No Yetis May Sing."

===
= DUG.
===

[Nemo Maelstrom Thorx]

On 09 Feb (a Thursday in 2012) around 1727 hours, Duggy did utter:

>
> Of course, "BAN ACRONYMS Now Octal[19]! Newsreaders Are Crazy Robots
> Ordinarily. No Yetis May Sing." becomes: "Ban Acronyms Now Are Crazy
> Robots Ordinarily. No Yetis May Sing. Now Octal[19]! Newsreaders Are
> Crazy Robots Ordinarily. No Yetis May Sing."
>

At least we're clear on the Yeti thing :)

.../Nemo

[Duggy]

On Feb 10, 2:26 pm, Nemo Maelstrom Thorx

Wait was is does YETIS stand for?

===
= DUG.
===

[R H Draney]

Duggy filted:
>
>On Feb 10, 2:26=A0pm, Nemo Maelstrom Thorx

><afda.REMOVEC...@NOPYTHONSKETCHES.nemo.house.cx.COM> wrote:
>> On 09 Feb (a Thursday in 2012) around 1727 hours, Duggy did utter:
>>
>>
>>
>> > Of course, "BAN ACRONYMS Now Octal[19]! Newsreaders Are Crazy Robots

>> > Ordinarily. No Yetis May Sing." becomes: =A0"Ban Acronyms Now Are Crazy

>> > Robots Ordinarily. No Yetis May Sing. Now Octal[19]! Newsreaders Are
>> > Crazy Robots Ordinarily. No Yetis May Sing."
>>
>> At least we're clear on the Yeti thing :)
>
>Wait was is does YETIS stand for?

Yeast Exploration Tool Integrator (bioinformatics)
Youth Employment and Training Initiative
Young Experimentalists and Theorists Institute (UK)

Note: We have 2 other definitions for YETI in our Acronym Attic

Young Experiment Theory Institute
Youth Editorial Team Incorporated

[Duggy]

And YETIS?

===
= DUG.
===

[solar penguin]

They don't stand for anything. They just sit on loos in Tooting Bec.

[Charles Bishop]

In article <jh3v6...@drn.newsguy.com>, R H Draney

You didn't account for the S in YETIS.



--
CHARLES

[Lee Rudolph]

You Expected To Include S???

Lee Rudolph

[R H Draney]

Charles Bishop filted:

>
>In article <jh3v6...@drn.newsguy.com>, R H Draney
><dado...@spamcop.net> wrote:
>
>>Duggy filted:
>>>

>>>Wait was is does YETIS stand for?
>>
>> Yeast Exploration Tool Integrator (bioinformatics)
>> Youth Employment and Training Initiative
>> Young Experimentalists and Theorists Institute (UK)
>>
>> Note: We have 2 other definitions for YETI in our Acronym Attic
>>
>> Young Experiment Theory Institute
>> Youth Editorial Team Incorporated
>
>You didn't account for the S in YETIS.

Fair point, but no direct hits...got a couple of secondary results though:

TMY Tranquil Mechanical Yeti (gaming)
SYFH Sniper Yetis from Heaven (video game)

[David DeLaney]

R H Draney <dado...@spamcop.net> wrote:

>Charles Bishop filted:

>>You didn't account for the S in YETIS.
>
>Fair point, but no direct hits...got a couple of secondary results though:
>
> TMY Tranquil Mechanical Yeti (gaming)
> SYFH Sniper Yetis from Heaven (video game)

Perhaps it's bleed-over from TeTRIS?

Dave, flashback time
--
\/David DeLaney posting from d...@vic.com "It's not the pot that grows the flower
It's not the clock that slows the hour The definition's plain for anyone to see
Love is all it takes to make a family" - R&P. VISUALIZE HAPPYNET VRbeable<BLINK>
http://www.vic.com/~dbd/ - net.legends FAQ & Magic / I WUV you in all CAPS! --K.

[Charles Bishop]

In article <k1gmk4$36f$1...@reader1.panix.com>, Lee Rudolph

Well played sir.

--
charles