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Nice try, but Snopes killed off that one a long time ago...

Actually, the story about a state legislature trying to redefine pi for religious reasons is an urban legend.

http://www.snopes.com/religion/pi.htm

> I always thought this was a rather curious statement. What is it about train system efficiency that inculcates a preference for or against fascism in the general populace?

It's an Italian thing, Mussolini 'made the trains run on time.' Or did he? Not according to this article: http://www.snopes.com/history/govern/trains.htm

Boa

I believe the parent poster was referring to the myth that Mussolini (a fascist) made the trains run on time http://www.snopes.com/history/govern/trains.htm.

The first thing Google returns to a search mussolini trains is the snopes.com page.

Snopes can answer your question about fasicsm and trains. It involves Mussolini.

Originally it was a claim by Mussolini - the Fascists made the Italian trains run on time. Snopes debunks it here.

One Where's that damn train!? of the best ways to gain the support of the people you want to lead is to do something of benefit to them. Failing that, the next best thing is to convince them that you have done something of benefit to them, even though you really haven't. So it was with Benito Mussolini and the Italian railway system.

After the "march on Rome" (which was itself a myth of fascist propaganda) on 28 October 1922 that resulted in King Vittorio Emanuele's appointment of Benito Mussolini as prime minister and the accession to power of the fascists in Italy, Mussolini needed to convince the people of Italy that fascism was indeed a system that worked to their benefit. Thus was born the myth of fascist efficiency, with the train as its symbol. The word was spread that Mussolini had turned the dilapidated Italian railway system into one that was the envy of all Europe, featuring trains that were both dependable and punctual. In Mussolini's Italy, all the trains ran on time.

That's a common myth. Mussolini did not get the trains to run on time; he just took credit for other's work. Just because a government is totalitarian doesn't make it competent at serving its people, but the beauty of such a government is that you can take credit for whatever you want and then kill off the people who disagree with you.

More can be found at Snopes and at Wikipedia.

You know that's an urban legend, right? I remember hearing exactly that story 20 years ago, long before salary.com existed. As one commenter put it, "Find me a CEO with two employees, no revenue, and $200,000 in assets who makes $146,000 a year." If I do delivery for a pizza place, I do not get the combined salaries of a chauffer, a uniform tailor, a public relations consultant, a salesperson, and a french chef. Moms are basically like the best nannies, and those make $40K. My wife deserves millions, but not in a free market.

you don't need a telescope...

Al Gore never said it. It's a sound bite that, though magnified his role somewhat, was wildly twisted for election purposes. Politicians know people never check primary sources.

I was under the impression that the idea of subliminal advertising was debunked some thirty years ago when Subliminal Seduction burst upon the scene.

What's really interesting in casinos is the soundscape. Most sound just settles into a constant wash of beeps and talking and mechanical noise.

Except for the sound of coin hitting the payout tray under the slot machine. That has a pitch and timbre so striking and unique that it jumps out at you every time.

Joking aside, subliminal priming is making a comeback in experimental psychology. It was somewhat discredited in the 60s and 70s (i.e., the urban legend about theaters flashing "Drink Coke" on movie screens), but more recent work has uncovered the parameters and boundaries to make it a viable experimental technique. It is typically used in controlled lab situations to study automatic processing of information in isolation from conscious, intentional thought. It's not entirely clear from the research literature whether it would work in this kind of real-life applied context. But it wouldn't be hard for a casino to do the testing to find out.

http://www.snopes.com/science/coriolis.asp

Urban Legends Reference Pages FTW!

http://www.snopes.com/history/american/gauge.htm

And for those who haven't seen that this is an urban legend:

Claim: The United States standard railroad gauge derives from the original specification for an Imperial Roman war chariot. Status: False.

A funny letter snarking a bank for bouncing a check against a pensioner now insisting banks deal with her own new defensive bureaucracy circulates the Net in an email claiming to be from an old pensioner. It reportedly was written by an Australian columnist as humor. But practically everyone can relate. And now, with our PCs, I hope to see everyone actually apply the policies and procedures the letter mentions.

I thought the main complaint about immigrants was that they don't give anything back.

Well, when it comes to big businesses, it's damned if you do, damned if you don't:

-Bank of America gives CC's to illegals.:

"OMG j00 are teh violatign teh immigration rulzorz!"

-Bank of America refuses to give CC's illegals.:

"OMG y wont j00 extend tehm credit just bcuz tehy are from teh DIFFREN COUNTRY!!!!!!111"

Oh, and just a nitpick: from what I read here, they're not *specifically* giving cards to illegals, just to people without a SSN. (I know, I know, "Yeah, and let me guess: you're not a mail-order bride pimp, you're a foreign romance counselor, right?")

Bravo, sir. You quoted a popular urban legend verbatim without going to the trouble to attribute it.

And, you're wrong

The apocryphal story of NASA spending millions of dollars to invent a pressurized ball point pen that would work in zero gravity and USSR deciding to use a pencil comes to my mind.

apocryphal - Definition: Of questionable authenticity; spurious.

I'm curious why you would use a story you know is fake for support? Gutsy move admiting it, though.

While it's true these can not produce more energy than the astronaut's muscles can produce, that isn't relevant for a lot of applications. For example, there are wristwatches that autowind themselves from the wearer's motions during the day--it's not taking a lot of energy from the movement, but it doesn't require much. In the ame way, you could power devices with low but constant requirements, such as monitors for vital statistics, without having to worry about charging batteries. (Not that I'm saying that would be an ideal application, as a watch battery would sound more suitable to me; but then, I'm not an engineer for NASA.)

The apocryphal story of NASA spending millions of dollars to invent a pressurized ball point pen that would work in zero gravity and USSR deciding to use a pencil comes to my mind.

The one that's a blatantly not true? I'm against space exploration for many reasons, but even I know this story is utter bullshit.

1)Fisher developed the space pen without a dime from NASA, and sold them to NASA at a reasonable price.

2)Both the US and USSR used pencils.

3)Both stopped using them because the dust/filings/broken tips floating around were bad for people and equipment.

Incidentally, I have a Fisher pen; it's the smallest one they make (I think), a two-piece unit where the cap flips around to make it a full-length pen. It's a great pocket pen; the ink seems to be quick-drying (left-handed people will appreciate this and know what I mean), not too pricey ($10 I think? Maybe $15?) small, always works, and with the cap off, it's a full-size writing implement and very sturdy when "assembled." Not like one of those cheesy telescoping jobbies that bend and are too thin to hold. An o-ring-like seal keeps the cap on firmly when stored and keeps the laundry detergent out (yes, proven more than once.)

It's quick to whip out (cough) and always works, unlike half the pens at cashiers which a)can't be found and b)barely work. It also garners the occasional impressed comment. My only beef is that the clip came off after a month or so in my pocket- would have been nice if they had spot-welded it on instead of just press-fitting it.

This country is not yet ready for a black prez, particularly the one whose father is from a predominantly Muslim country ... Sadly, in order to win presidency in this country one needs to be a white, Christian-god-fearing male.

Sigh... Mark Twain was right, a lie really does get around the world before the truth can get its boots on.

Barack Obama is a Christian. He belongs to Chicago's Trinity United Church of Christ. When asked about his faith, he has said that he has "a personal relationship with Jesus Christ", which, while he doesn't describe himself as born-again or evangelical, is a standard way that evangelical Christians describe their faith. In other words, he is definitely a "Christian god-fearing male".

As to his father being a Muslim. His birth father was an atheist goatherder who left the family when Obama was two years old. His stepfather, who raised him through adulthood, was a non-practicing Muslim, and his father and mother educated him in secular schools, not whacko Muslim Madrassas as some of his political opponents have been claiming.

So let's stop worrying about Obama being some kind of Muslim Manchurian Candidate, k? Because it's really far from the truth.

As everyone who doesn't get their news from Fox "News" knows, he never spent time in a Muslim seminary. As for the logic part, he graduated at the top of his class from Harvard Law. I think they might require some logical reasoning in that program. Just a hunch. I don't think we need lessons in "logic and science" from people who cannot read, but thanks anyway.

Online petitions are a joke and a waste of time. To date an online petition has never changed anything. http://www.snopes.com/inboxer/petition/internet.ht m I'm sure it will work great. :\

If toy sales are anemic, why don't they try making something traditionally American, like firearms or cap guns, or toy guns, or something 'gun' related? That's big business - Nerf and Supersoaker are hugely popular (or, at least, they were when I was a kid just 10 years ago).

I mean, c'mon: boys are more likely to play video games, particularly the ones with videos and weapons. Sure, they might like a remote-controlled helicopter, and they'll likely play with it for hours. But it gets stale: there's little replay value, batteries are expensive (for kids), and it's not really an 'open platform' in terms of creativity and play. Now, if you were to give the same boy a (say) military-styled toy gun, maybe a low-velocity airsoft, nerf, or heck even a 'lasertag' gun costing roughly the same amount as either a

As for those who are going to bitch about giving kids 'toy weapons' and training them for war: bullshit. It is natural for boys (in particular) to play war games all on their own, even if you restrict them from seeing things like guns on TV or in movies. If you prohibit them from having guns, they'll use a pencil or a coat hanger for a gun (I've seen it). I've seen 4-year-olds who were prohibited by their parents from playing with such thigns by their 'progressive' moms come over and be nearly euphoric at the possibility of hunting dinosaurs and monsters, playing cowboys and indians, and various other such things. It was not something that was encouraged - it was their preference.

When I was a kid, I had an NES. My brother and I would play hours and hours of video games; our mom didn't want us to have violent ones, with Rampage being disallowed because it was 'graphical and violent'. However, that didn't prevent us from saving up for games on our own and hding them from her (GI Joe, Contra, Jackal) or borrowing from friends. For whatever reason she let us have toy guns, though - and even though we had those prohibited games which we could play only while not being scrutinized, we still generally preferred to be outdoors throwing 'bombs' or 'hand grenades' at each other (snowballs), shooting each other and our neighbors with supersoakers, or just playing pretend with cap guns. We had RC cars and stuff too, but they didn't get nearly as much use due to their limited creative applications.

From what I gather, such activities are fairly unique for my generation, even though I'm by no means 'old'... I guess most parents from my parents generation were much more restrictive.

Besides, it's not like Mattel hasn't made rifles in the past (ok, not really, but it's still funny). :P

The notion that all publicity is good publicity is adolescent nonsense.

Tell that to Take Two and Rockstar. Tell it to the Fox executives who bought into the O.J. Simpson deal. Tell that to the Nintendo exec the next time someone dies in a video game stunt.

And even more bad that the two poor schmucks working for the ad agency are still charged with crimes. They should be set free, and whatever moron phoned in a litebrite as a "bomb" (and the corresponding police moron who agreed with him) should be looking at potential liability

The caller sees something in passing, something that is not quite right: a parcel where there should be no parcels, movement where there should be no movement, lights where there should be no lights.

The classic booby trap isn't hidden, it's baited. Cartoons for Victory

Does anybody remember the post-9/11 homeland security debacle with Tom Ridge reccomending people use duct tape and plastic sheeting to protect themselves from terrorists.. and then several people dying by asphyxiating themselves in their own homes?

This has the feel of an urban legend, but something of the sort did happen in Israel:

In mid-March 2003 the Associated Press reported on the demise by suffocation of three Israeli Arabs (a woman and her two teenage sons) in the town of Kfar Kassem, all of whom had spent the night in a room of the family home which had been sealed with plastic sheeting and duct tape against a possible Iraqi chemical missile attack.

Police said the three lost their lives because a coal-fueled heater in an adjacent room sucked oxygen from the room they were sleeping in, which was designed to stop air from entering but allowed air to escape. Around 5 a.m., the husband awoke and realized his wife and their two teens (ages 13 and 14) were not breathing, police said. Their two younger children (ages 3 and 4) survived. Smother of Invention

I'll take the odds that the real or contributing cause of death was carbon monoxide poisoning.

Snopes has an article sourced from AP about 3 Israelis who died as a result from suffocation in a duct tape and plastic sheeted room. Technically they died because their coal burning heat source consumed all of the oxygen, but that probably only changed the length of time before they ran out of air...

http://www.snopes.com/rumors/ducttape.asp

Also, the article summary states that Boston and the feds are treating the sign board debacle as an "Act of terrorism". TFA, uses the term "fears or terrorism". For fuck's sake, can we have a little honesty in the headlines? Pretty please.

And lastly, it's a little bit ironic that the agency responsible for the campaign is called Interference, Inc...

Yeah, not so much.

http://www.snopes.com/politics/ballot/stateiq.asp

I somehow doubt it. From the article:

By demonstrating the undeniable similiarities between "Good Morning to All" and "Happy Birthday to You" in court, Jessica was able to secure the copyright of "Happy Birthday to You" for her sisters in 1934.

Which means that the copyright was actually established based on the tune and not the lyrics.

The "Happy Birthday to You" song, however, is still under copyright...

http://www.snopes.com/music/songs/birthday.asp

http://www.snopes.com/quotes/quayle.htm - Quayle's history of this sort of thing

http://www.thespacereview.com/article/106/2 - Details of Quayle's involvment with NASA

He understood, he just couldn't explain it.

I agree. Ads generate mindshare based on emotional responses. People have "heard of" certain drugs and feel that they must be better because it's a "big name" drug; they walk into my office asking for it, and I have to tell them why it's not that great a choice. That precious time could be better spent explaining how to prevent the need for the drug in the first place. Tell a patient that he needs "atorvastatin" or "rosuvastatin", and he'll recoil and exercise his butt off at the gym so he doesn't have to take these horrible meds; but he'll say, "My cousin takes Lipitor and my uncle takes Crestor; why can't I have that?" and I end up running overtime explaining why it's more important to exercise and eat properly instead of getting those big name meds. [1]

A more subtle effect is the idea that patients feel empowered to make decisions because they now have "more information". It's not so much any particular Direct-To-Consumer (DTC) ad as much as the existence of DTC ads themselves. In the US, there is an attitude of "doctors are out to profit at the patients' expense, so we need to mistrust the doctors and take charge", so patients will try to do their own research. Unfortunately, some of them can't tell a HON Certified web site from some circulating email proclaiming that the CA-125 test will save your life or other medical bullsh*t.

The TV ads are designed to give patients an emotional comfort that they have figured out what is the matter, that they are empowered because now there is something they can do about their problem. "Do you sometimes feel tired?" asks the ad. "It could be because of Horrible Disease X!!! But one dose of Placebocillin will cure you!" And the patient feels, "Yes, yes, that's *exactly* what I have! I better demand that drug from my doctor tomorrow!"

I do take the time to explain to my patients, but as a result I'd say that it takes up about 10% of patient time that could be spent on other things. And, yes, I've practiced in a country where there are not DTC ads for prescription medications, and I don't get that sort of questions.

-----
[1]: Lipitor = "atorvastatin"; Crestor = "rosuvastatin"

I agree. Ads generate mindshare based on emotional responses. People have "heard of" certain drugs and feel that they must be better because it's a "big name" drug; they walk into my office asking for it, and I have to tell them why it's not that great a choice. That precious time could be better spent explaining how to prevent the need for the drug in the first place. Tell a patient that he needs "atorvastatin" or "rosuvastatin", and he'll recoil and exercise his butt off at the gym so he doesn't have to take these horrible meds; but he'll say, "My cousin takes Lipitor and my uncle takes Crestor; why can't I have that?" and I end up running overtime explaining why it's more important to exercise and eat properly instead of getting those big name meds. [1]

A more subtle effect is the idea that patients feel empowered to make decisions because they now have "more information". It's not so much any particular Direct-To-Consumer (DTC) ad as much as the existence of DTC ads themselves. In the US, there is an attitude of "doctors are out to profit at the patients' expense, so we need to mistrust the doctors and take charge", so patients will try to do their own research. Unfortunately, some of them can't tell a HON Certified web site from some circulating email proclaiming that the CA-125 test will save your life or other medical bullsh*t.

The TV ads are designed to give patients an emotional comfort that they have figured out what is the matter, that they are empowered because now there is something they can do about their problem. "Do you sometimes feel tired?" asks the ad. "It could be because of Horrible Disease X!!! But one dose of Placebocillin will cure you!" And the patient feels, "Yes, yes, that's *exactly* what I have! I better demand that drug from my doctor tomorrow!"

I do take the time to explain to my patients, but as a result I'd say that it takes up about 10% of patient time that could be spent on other things. And, yes, I've practiced in a country where there are not DTC ads for prescription medications, and I don't get that sort of questions.

-----
[1]: Lipitor = "atorvastatin"; Crestor = "rosuvastatin"

Reminds me of the snopes' article about "Sing a Song of Sixpence" being code for pirates, which was completely false, but used as reference by the television show Mostly True Stories: Urban Legends Revealed on TLC. http://www.snopes.com/humor/mediagoofs/sixpence.as p
Similarly I remember hearing a story of old map makers who would include fake landmasses or watermasses so that they could tell if another map maker was copying their maps.
So it's not really your idea, now is it?

Just don't heat an *empty* cup of the water in the microwave.. stick something in it. Even salt. Otherwise, you might wind up with a face full of exploding water.

This is particularly dangerous if you've already microwave-boiled the water once.

http://www.snopes.com/science/microwave.asp

"couldn't someone claim that they have every right to pressure MS to fix ActiveX in this case?"

Oh god no.

No no no no, no.

Let the nasty, binary, proprietary, security-abortion die a fucking death already.

1. MS didn't push squat on anyone. They offered it as a solution, and Korea, stupidly, went for it like a bunch of lemmings off a cliff[1].

2. MS didn't "break" ActiveX in Vista. They fixed some massive security holes in the new OS, and it just so happens that those security holes were ActiveX. Frankly I think you've got a better shot at suing MS for leaving ActiveX enabled all this time.

3. ActiveX didn't take well because it was a steaming pile of horseshit from the day it was released. If I offer to sell you horseshit for $500 a bag and you're stupid enough to buy it, I don't think you can sue me when the bag turns out to contain... horseshit. People all over the world were screaming how insecure it was from the very second ActiveX was released - if the Koreans were stupid enough to base their infrastructure on it, tough luck - they should have ignored the marketing spin and shill-authored white papers and listened to the techies.

[1] Except without even Disney rounding up thousands of them and forcing them to do it.

little bit OT, but just so you know lemmings aren't suicidal

Imagine 30 years from now a band putting the World Trade Center in flames on a cover.

You mean like this?

Admittedly, though, they had the idea before 9/11.