1. IrvingSnodgrass - Dec. 18, 1998 - 9:23 AM PT
I can give no better introduction than the following exchange:
19296. Slackjaw - Dec. 18, 1998 - 12:02 AM PT
...
Perhaps an all-purpose esoterica thread would be better.
19297. ScottLoar - Dec. 18, 1998 - 1:01 AM PT
He's got it! By Jove I think he's got it! The Esoterica Thread is the very thing, soliciting the weird, the unique, a place for the quirky in history and nature and not the pat and standard. Like those larvae first infecting the brains of ants prompting them to stagger to the very tips of the grass upon which sheep graze and thereby gain their ultimate host - the sheep's stomach, so may The Esoterica Thread improve upon the Fray body and perhaps turn those in Politics into less malignant human beings.
19298. ScottLoar - Dec. 18, 1998 - 1:06 AM PT
Moreover, The Esoterica Thread allows snippets of things to be exchanged, if for no other purpose than delight in useless knowledge. I'm sure we've all drawerfuls of that.
2. ScottLoar - Dec. 18, 1998 - 9:35 AM PT
To No Specific End or Purpose:
""Canounicus', the old high 'Sachim' of the 'Nariganset Bay' (a wise and peaceable Prince) once in a solemne Oration to my self, in a solemne assembly, using this word, said, I have never suffered any wrong to be offered to the 'English' since they landed; nor never will: he often repeated this word, 'Wunnaumwayean','Englishman'; if the 'Englishman' speake true, if hee meane truly, then shall I goe to my grave in peace, and hope that the 'English' and my posteritie shall live in love and peace together. I replied, that he had no cause (as I hoped) to question 'Englishmans, Wunnaumwauonck', that is, faithfulness, he having had long experience of their friendliness and trustinesse. He tooke a sticke and broke it into ten pieces, and related ten instances (laying downe a sticke to every instance) which gave him cause thus to feare and say; I satisfied him in some presently, and presented the rest to the Governours of the 'English', who, I hope, will be far from giving just cause to have 'Barbarians' to question their 'Wunnaumwauonck', or faithfulnesse." - A Key into the Language of America, Roger Williams, 1643.
3. thomasd - Dec. 18, 1998 - 9:50 AM PT
I should preface the following by saying that I'm employed to design high-speed telecom hardware intended for use by ISPs and COs, and my design efforts include high speed RISC and Power PC microprocessors, the PCI bus, PC card interfaces, etc. and using external interfaces as DS3, OC3, T1, E1 100 Mb Ethernet, et al.
Having said that, I'm interested in high end vacuum tube audio design as a hobby, and have developed several unique circuits, including a DC coupled OTL amplifier using no servo or other solid state circuitry in the signal path. Best sounding amp I've ever heard, too, if I say so myself.
4. resonance - Dec. 18, 1998 - 9:51 AM PT
Did you know that both male and female hyenas have penises? True, I swear.
5. bubbaette - Dec. 18, 1998 - 9:53 AM PT
and that the racoon is the only mammal to have a bone in it's penis.
6. thomasd - Dec. 18, 1998 - 9:54 AM PT
res -
Weren't you discussing urine drinking recently?
7. resonance - Dec. 18, 1998 - 9:56 AM PT
No, no, a walrus has one, too. That knowledge is part of the Fray's unique zeitgeist.
I never mentioned anything about drinking urine, thomasd. I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about.
8. Adrianne - Dec. 18, 1998 - 9:57 AM PT
I think bears have bones, no?
9. bubbaette - Dec. 18, 1998 - 9:59 AM PT
I don't know. If I'm misinformed, blame it on Miz Phys, who gave me a racoon dick on a piece of sinew to wear around my neck at meetings.
10. harper - Dec. 18, 1998 - 10:02 AM PT
So raccoons and walruses would be the only animals to really have "boners?"
Did you know that a whale's penis is called a "dork?" (just keeping on-topic).
11. bubbaette - Dec. 18, 1998 - 10:04 AM PT
harper
I didn't know that. I wonder if Diva knows that she finally has a Penis thread.
12. Judithathome - Dec. 18, 1998 - 10:04 AM PT
Does anyone know the word for a date that can be read the same rightside up and upside down. like 1961?
13. bubbaette - Dec. 18, 1998 - 10:06 AM PT
It's not a pallendrome, is it?
14. MizPhys - Dec. 18, 1998 - 10:06 AM PT
Well, I know many dorks who, resumably, have penises.
15. philistine - Dec. 18, 1998 - 10:08 AM PT
Penis bones are apparently very common in all kinds of mammals, humans being a relatively rare exception (gleaned from discussions with zoologists.)
The natives of Alaska revere the walrus dickbone, or "Oosik" as a symbol of virility.
16. bubbaette - Dec. 18, 1998 - 10:08 AM PT
when you resumably have a penis, does that mean you can leave it off for a while?
17. MizPhys - Dec. 18, 1998 - 10:14 AM PT
Sit on it, Bub.
18. trouserpilot - Dec. 18, 1998 - 10:15 AM PT
INTEGRITY IN AEROSOLS
IS MORE THAN A SLOGAN
I bitterly resent that my suggestion for a Non Sequitur thread of a year or more ago was soundly rejected, but now this thread appears....
19. MizPhys - Dec. 18, 1998 - 10:16 AM PT
Sit on it, Bub.
20. bubbaette - Dec. 18, 1998 - 10:16 AM PT
MizPhys
After you nibble the hair off my legs.
21. CoralReef - Dec. 18, 1998 - 10:19 AM PT
Eugène Dubois was a Dutch anatomist and paleontologist who in Java discovered in 1891 the skull and thigh bone of a hominid, Homo erectus, that came to be called "Java man."
22. philistine - Dec. 18, 1998 - 10:21 AM PT
A palindrome is spelled the same way backwards and forwards; some famous examples
Able I was, ere saw I Elba.
Rats live on no evil star.
Satan, oscillate my metallic sonatas!
I dunno about that upside down stuff.
23. thomasd - Dec. 18, 1998 - 10:22 AM PT
Another single word palindrome is "MSITISM":)
24. trouserpilot - Dec. 18, 1998 - 10:23 AM PT
I think a "pallendrome" has something to do with spelling the name of one of Keith Richards' girlfriends backwards and forwards or something.
INTEGRITY IN AEROSOLS
IS MORE THAN A SLOGAN
25. MizPhys - Dec. 18, 1998 - 10:23 AM PT
Isaac Newton was born on December, 25, 1642.
26. philistine - Dec. 18, 1998 - 10:26 AM PT
Well, for a second I thought INTEGRITY IN AEROSOLS might be and anagram of IS MORE THAN A SLOGAN, but it isn't. So what's the deal, non-sequitur boy?
27. bubbaette - Dec. 18, 1998 - 10:26 AM PT
What is the name of that little gully beneath one's nose to the center of the upper lip?
28. philistine - Dec. 18, 1998 - 10:27 AM PT
MsITism, I like it!
29. philistine - Dec. 18, 1998 - 10:28 AM PT
Bubs -
That's a filtrum.
30. CoralReef - Dec. 18, 1998 - 10:30 AM PT
The Romans defeated the Macedonians at the battle of Pydna in 168 BC.
31. msivorytower - Dec. 18, 1998 - 10:31 AM PT
Bubbaette reMessage #5
I don't know if Philistine has already corrected you, but whales also have bones in their penises. There is an art industry that has grown up around that little bone.
I kid you not.
Oosiks Rule!
32. msivorytower - Dec. 18, 1998 - 10:32 AM PT
Shit, not whale, walrus!
And I see Res caught it. Must read before posting!
33. bubbaette - Dec. 18, 1998 - 10:32 AM PT
The part of a knife that extends from the knife blade and fits into a wooden, plastic or bone handle is called the "tang".
34. CoralReef - Dec. 18, 1998 - 10:34 AM PT
"recortarme el flequillo" is spanish for "trim my bangs".
35. msivorytower - Dec. 18, 1998 - 10:34 AM PT
MsITism?
Very droll.
I can even spell it (occasionally).
36. philistine - Dec. 18, 1998 - 10:35 AM PT
Misty, it's not actually a little bone. The oosiks I've seen have all exceeded two feet in length!
Pity or envy the she-walrus, as you prefer.
37. msivorytower - Dec. 18, 1998 - 10:36 AM PT
Oh my!
38. trouserpilot - Dec. 18, 1998 - 10:39 AM PT
INTEGRITY IN AEROSOLS
IS MORE THAN A SLOGAN
You can have your oosiks. I have a genuine koteka (Chief model) on my mantelpiece.
39. FreeToChoose - Dec. 18, 1998 - 10:39 AM PT
I remember that my father wrote a short article about numbers that read the same way upside-down (in 1961, surprise, surprise) and noted this was the last year that any of us would see with that property. The next one will be 6009, if my thinking is correct, and unless remarkable medical advances are made, we won't see it. I don't remember the name of the property.
One of my favorite palindromes is:
A man, a plan, a canal, Panama!
The first palindrome was, of course:
Madam, I'm Adam.
40. PsychProf - Dec. 18, 1998 - 10:41 AM PT
Indeed, "make no bones about it" has roots in Walrus birth control legend.
41. trouserpilot - Dec. 18, 1998 - 10:42 AM PT
INTEGRITY IN AEROSOLS
IS MORE THAN A SLOGAN
On this date:
in 1865... Thirteenth Amendment abolishes slavery
in 1970... Underground nuclear test in Nevada blows cloud of radioactive dust 8,000 feet in air into Wyoming
42. bubbaette - Dec. 18, 1998 - 10:42 AM PT
PP
Ark Ark Ark Ark
43. CoralReef - Dec. 18, 1998 - 10:44 AM PT
Fleetwood Mac almost named one of their albums Oosik.
44. harper - Dec. 18, 1998 - 10:48 AM PT
trouserpilot: Message #38
Oh, no! Let's not go there again!
45. philistine - Dec. 18, 1998 - 10:52 AM PT
Harper -
Koteka flying fark at a rolling donut! I want to know all about it!
46. harper - Dec. 18, 1998 - 10:53 AM PT
"Mus non uni fidit antro."
47. philistine - Dec. 18, 1998 - 10:56 AM PT
I dunno whutchoo jus said, but them sounds lahk fahtin' wurz t'me!
Actually, harper, I just couldn't resist the "go take a"/"koteka" play on words, nothing personal.
48. trouserpilot - Dec. 18, 1998 - 10:56 AM PT
INTEGRITY IN AEROSOLS
IS MORE THAN A SLOGAN
The Spanish version of the jingle that Linda Ronstadt proposes to Barney translates as "Mr. Plow isn't macho; he's just a drunk."
49. FreeToChoose - Dec. 18, 1998 - 11:00 AM PT
Ginger has been clinically demonstrated to work twice as well as dramamine for fighting motion sickness, with no side effects.
50. harper - Dec. 18, 1998 - 11:02 AM PT
philistine:
What I said (in Latin) was, literally, "A mouse does not put its trust in one hole" -- in other words, a wise person has a backup plan.
51. philistine - Dec. 18, 1998 - 11:04 AM PT
So it was fightin' words!
Jules Feiffer started his career by erasing pencils for Will Eisner. he is also cousin to Roy Cohn.
52. ChristiPeters - Dec. 18, 1998 - 11:06 AM PT
You can find a numerical palindrome from any number of two or more digits this way - reverse the numerals and add.
Examples:
number = 64; add 46; result = 110; add 011; result = 121 = palindrome. (this took 2 steps)
number = 69; already is a palindrome BUT
69 add 96; result = 726; add 627; result = 1353; add 3531; result = 4884 = palindrome. (this took 4 steps)
My daughter had to do 10 through 99 for her math class. One number took 23 steps!
53. trouserpilot - Dec. 18, 1998 - 11:09 AM PT
INTEGRITY IN AEROSOLS
IS MORE THAN A SLOGAN
Two weeks ago it snowed in Phoenix; yesterday it was pushing 80 degrees. What comes after El Niño?
54. bubbaette - Dec. 18, 1998 - 11:09 AM PT
Frank Perdue's slogan -- "It takes a tough man to make a tender chicken." translates in Spanish as "it takes a sexually exited man to make a chicken affectionate."
55. CoralReef - Dec. 18, 1998 - 11:10 AM PT
"What comes after El Niño?"
La Nina (seriously).
56. ChristiPeters - Dec. 18, 1998 - 11:12 AM PT
You can neutralize the toxin in bee stings, ant bites, etc (any that are protein-based which is most of them) with Adolph's meat tenderizer. The other brands don't work because Adolph's is the only one (that I know of) which contains Papain (sp?). This is the active ingrediant which tenderizes your meat by breaking down protein - the same thing it does to neutralize the insect bite toxin. (toxin's probably the wrong term, but you know what I mean.)
This tidbit of information was told to me by my doctor and tested "in the field" by yours truly. You drip a little water over the sting/bite, then pour on the Adolph's, and leave it there as long as you can. Repeat if necessary.
57. philistine - Dec. 18, 1998 - 11:13 AM PT
Heh, Message #54 reminds me of "Pepsi wakes the spirits of the ancestors!"
Does anyone know if that is real or an urban legend?
58. PsychProf - Dec. 18, 1998 - 11:14 AM PT
A thought for the day: In ``A Clarification of Questions,'' Iran's Ayatollah
Ruhollah Khomeini wrote that ``if a fly gets into the throat of one who is
fasting, it is not necessary to pull it out.''
59. PsychProf - Dec. 18, 1998 - 11:15 AM PT
In the beginning there was nothing. God said, "Let there be light."
And there was still nothing, but everybody could see it.
60. bubbaette - Dec. 18, 1998 - 11:16 AM PT
If a fly is in a jar with the lid on and the fly continues flying and never alights on the jar, and the jar is weighed, will the resulting weight include the weight of the fly?
Philistine
Bite the wax tadpole.
61. PsychProf - Dec. 18, 1998 - 11:20 AM PT
And Jesus said unto them, "And whom do you say that I am?"
They replied, "You are the eschatological manifestation of the ground of
our being, the ontological foundation of the context of our very selfhood
revealed."
And Jesus replied, "What?"
62. philistine - Dec. 18, 1998 - 11:21 AM PT
Bubba -
There's no call for that kind of language!
Both George Bush and Ronald Reagan have been observed, while gladhanding for the votes of hispanics, to eat tamales with the cornhucks left on.
63. PsychProf - Dec. 18, 1998 - 11:21 AM PT
"The prince wants your daughter for his wife."
"Well, tell him his wife can't have her." -- Blackadder III
64. trouserpilot - Dec. 18, 1998 - 11:25 AM PT
INTEGRITY IN AEROSOLS
IS MORE THAN A SLOGAN
I am suspicious of anyone who doesn't each the skin of his or her baked potato.
65. thomasd - Dec. 18, 1998 - 11:25 AM PT
Re. 60 -
The short answer is 'yes'.
66. bubbaette - Dec. 18, 1998 - 11:25 AM PT
philistine
Sorry, I got carried away.
67. trouserpilot - Dec. 18, 1998 - 11:25 AM PT
INTEGRITY IN AEROSOLS
IS MORE THAN A SLOGAN
strike "each"; replace with "eat"
68. bubbaette - Dec. 18, 1998 - 11:26 AM PT
tP
The skin of the potato is the best part. I throw away most of the white.
69. trouserpilot - Dec. 18, 1998 - 11:27 AM PT
INTEGRITY IN AEROSOLS
IS MORE THAN A SLOGAN
I am no longer suspicious of bubbaette.
70. seadate - Dec. 18, 1998 - 11:28 AM PT
PT -
Gerald Ford was the one who made it famous. Also, if you're in Texas and you try to eat a tamale with the shuck on, it's just as offensive to Anglos.
71. trouserpilot - Dec. 18, 1998 - 11:29 AM PT
INTEGRITY IN AEROSOLS
IS MORE THAN A SLOGAN
The Clintons will spend Xmas in Hilton Head, S.C.
72. bubbaette - Dec. 18, 1998 - 11:32 AM PT
The first commune in the united states was in New Harmony Indiana.
73. philistine - Dec. 18, 1998 - 11:34 AM PT
I ate a tamale mere minutes ago, Seadate, right here in the main Texas Dept of Health office complex.
Not removing the cornhusk before eating the tamale is actually more amusing than offensive. It really can't be chewwed or swallowed.
74. philistine - Dec. 18, 1998 - 11:36 AM PT
Trou -
to alleviate any nagging suspicions you may have, I like my potatoes like I like my women - round, hot and with the skin on.
75. Judithathome - Dec. 18, 1998 - 11:38 AM PT
re 73:
I agree...it can't be done. I'd love to see the pictures of those guys following the initial bite, tho...
76. ScottLoar - Dec. 18, 1998 - 11:38 AM PT
Can I ask ya'll to aim higher? The thread name is "Esoterica" not "Miscellanea".
77. bubbaette - Dec. 18, 1998 - 11:40 AM PT
Now Scott Loar
Since you didn't deign to host this thread, you really have no room for complaint.
78. seadate - Dec. 18, 1998 - 11:42 AM PT
PT -
LOL!
I stand corrected.
79. ChristinO - Dec. 18, 1998 - 11:42 AM PT
Buchanan was the only batchelor President of the United States.
80. seadate - Dec. 18, 1998 - 11:44 AM PT
PT-
After giving it some thought, a tamale is mexican boudin.
81. PsychProf - Dec. 18, 1998 - 11:45 AM PT
In 1947 Jonny Mize had 51 Home Runs but struck out fewer than 50 times. Loar rules!
82. PsychProf - Dec. 18, 1998 - 11:47 AM PT
Here are some pics of Mize
83. ChristiPeters - Dec. 18, 1998 - 11:48 AM PT
I not only eat my baked potatoes skin and all, I leave the skins on when I cut and mash them. I think the brown flecks of skin are interesting looking as well as deliscious.
so there!
84. Judithathome - Dec. 18, 1998 - 11:50 AM PT
ScottLoar:
Is esoterica roughly translated to mean "unknown and understood by only a few" ? If so, then my question about the upsidedown-rightside up number must qualify because I know there is a word for it but no one has been able to tell me what it is. If my memory weren't failing faster than the motion to censure, I could recall it myself.(g)
85. trouserpilot - Dec. 18, 1998 - 11:51 AM PT
INTEGRITY IN AEROSOLS
IS MORE THAN A SLOGAN
Phil, I like my men with the skin on, too (ifyouknowwhatImean).
Christi, me too (although I prefer the deliciousness of my potatoes to be spelled correctly)! You are officially non-suspicious.
86. thomasd - Dec. 18, 1998 - 11:52 AM PT
If there's a word for it, presumably it's in the Oxford English Dictionary. I just read a rather interesting book relating to its creation called "The Professor and the Madman".
87. ChristinO - Dec. 18, 1998 - 11:54 AM PT
Black-tailed Prairie Dogs have an incest taboo.
88. thomasd - Dec. 18, 1998 - 11:56 AM PT
Re 87 -
Most mammalian species, at least to some extent, do.
89. bubbaette - Dec. 18, 1998 - 11:56 AM PT
Altavista Virginia considers itself a "rising city of the new south" and has a billboard outside of town with a man driving a tractor into the sunrise.
The three towns closest to Altavista are Hurt, Grit, and Motley.
90. ChristiPeters - Dec. 18, 1998 - 11:57 AM PT
Ya know tp, I retyped that word about four times and couldn't find the spelling that looked right. So I *knew* it was wrong when I posted. I just gave up on finding the right spelling. One of these days I gotta get a dictionary. (Or is that "dictionery"? Oh, I give up!)
91. bubbaette - Dec. 18, 1998 - 11:58 AM PT
that's dickshunairy
92. trouserpilot - Dec. 18, 1998 - 11:59 AM PT
INTEGRITY IN AEROSOLS
IS MORE THAN A SLOGAN
tp's famous baked potato skin poll:
EAT THE SKIN - bubbaette, ChristiPeters, philistine, trouserpilot
TOSS THE SKIN - (no-one, yet)
93. IrvingSnodgrass - Dec. 18, 1998 - 12:01 PM PT
I like to make the skins into little potato-puppet-men and frighten children with them.
94. IrvingSnodgrass - Dec. 18, 1998 - 12:02 PM PT
Then I eat them (the puppets, not the children)
95. bubbaette - Dec. 18, 1998 - 12:03 PM PT
the best way to bake a potato (IMO) is to rub it with butter and put it right on the rack in the oven at 400 degrees for about 45 minutes. That way the skin gets thick and crunchy.
Irv
You're suspicious.
96. jordanv1224 - Dec. 18, 1998 - 12:04 PM PT
Toss the skins.
97. Judithathome - Dec. 18, 1998 - 12:05 PM PT
I not only toss the skin, I toss the entire potato.
98. ChristiPeters - Dec. 18, 1998 - 12:06 PM PT
Judithathome -
WHAT! You don't like potatoes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!????????????
*shudder*
Are you sure you are not an alien invader?
99. jordanv1224 - Dec. 18, 1998 - 12:07 PM PT
That makes it potato salad.
100. trouserpilot - Dec. 18, 1998 - 12:08 PM PT
INTEGRITY IN AEROSOLS
IS MORE THAN A SLOGAN
tp's famous baked potato skin poll:
EAT THE SKIN - bubbaette, ChristiPeters, philistine, trouserpilot
EAT THE SKINS ONLY AFTER FRIGHTENING THE CHILDREN WITH LITTLE POTATO PUPPET MEN - IrvingSnodgrass
TOSS THE SKIN - jordanv1224
ESCHEW POTATOES ENTIRELY - Judithathome