I also thought this to be an actual HUT student prank from the 50's, but a web search gave no references, and neither does Ossi Törrönen mention it in his definitive book on HUT pranks (in Finnish) .
Word-of-mouth can't be trusted. The classic pranks of which I had heard from fellow HUT students differ slightly from their actual documented counterparts. While reading Törrönen's book, I found out that the classic "weld a tram to its rails" done by the Chalmers (Sweden) students was not, in fact, done while the tram was taking passengers at a tram stop, but at night at the depot. And the Paavo Nurmi prank mentioned above, a great media scandal of its time (Paavo Nurmi was a source of animosity between Finland and Sweden) was actually executed by a hired diver, not the HUT Diving Club.
So these things seem to get embellishments over time, just like good jokes that change form over the years.
I'm really sorry to conclude (though hoping for evidence to the contrary) that the park bench prank was not done by HUT students. Too bad, that was my all-time favorite, and fit well with my idea of Finland in the 50's. The police school students and the HUT students had a friendly one-upmanship going on, and the HUT pranksters habitually asked for police permission for their stunts (usually getting it).
Sounds even better than the Hammer and the Cross
on
Ash: A Secret History
·
· Score: 2
The Hammer and the Cross, a trilogy written by Harry Harrison and John Holm, has the following similarities with Ash:
Alternate history (vikings, 10th century).
Warfare and tactics (and trebuchets!)
An inner, supernatural voice guides the protagonist.
Interest in science.
All in all, a great read and a rare treat, although by no means perfect. I'll have to check out Ash to see if it is even better.
One-upmanship aside, the direct debit cards mentioned elsewhere in the thread are a substantial infrastructure investment. It requires the full co-operation of banks.
In Finland, one can do almost totally away with cash. You can buy beer in a bar, food in the store, everything with these cards. A direct money transfer from your bank account is as fast or faster than a physical cash transfer between hands, and means a lot less hassle.
This is the main reason why the amount of cash in circulation in Finland is 2,5% of the GNP, half that of other countries in Europe. (What is the value in the US?)
I haven't heard of anyone in Finland using checks for the last 15 years, and credit cards are rare compared to the US. What do you really need those for: credit? Usually not. Ease of use is the real reason. And that is what debit cards give you.
Yes, the North European countries have advanced banking systems. PayPal won't have as much leverage there as it has in the US.
In North European countries, all you need to know is a person's bank account number and you can make a deposit pretty effortlessly (on-line | with your mobile phone | walking a couple of blocks to the nearest pay-ATM).
What does PayPal really offer?
a) A mapping between a person's e-mail address and his/her preferred money transfer system.
b) Buffering of micro payments.
Both valuable services that could just as well be provided by the banks themselves, possibly assisted with applications like GnuCash.
Two related points:
1) Finland will soon have electronic money. This should be compatible across over-the-counter payments and net commerce.
2) Nokia was/is a backer of PayPal. Nokia is Finnish and uses Finland as a testing ground.
There was this episode in which Micky's height did play an important role: Kramer and Micky had a job as body doubles for a TV series, with Micky doubling a young boy. The boy has grown taller. Micky resorts to using 'special' shoes.
This seems to be a tabu among short people. A big no-no.
So, a female short person is attracted to Micky ("there's something new about you") but Micky's nemesis finds out about the footwear, spills the beans, and Micky loses big time. He's now a pariah.
Slashdot Mirror
Thom Hartmann has written about this (popular Christian leader uses 'temporary' laws to protect the Homeland against middle-eastern terrorism):
http://www.commondreams.org/views03/0316-08.htm
What we learn from history is that we don't.
Design a missile that shall hit an immobile city-size target and evade interception en route.
Design a missile that shall intercept the above-mentioned missile before it hits its city-size target.
Which would you think is the easier job?
Think: cluster bombs, dummies, maneuvers.
Who has the upper hand at the get-go?
I also thought this to be an actual HUT student prank from the 50's, but a web search gave no references, and neither does Ossi Törrönen mention it in his definitive book on HUT pranks (in Finnish) .
In fact, Abbie Hoffman himself takes credit for a suspiciously similar prank (search for "bench" on the page) .
Word-of-mouth can't be trusted. The classic pranks of which I had heard from fellow HUT students differ slightly from their actual documented counterparts. While reading Törrönen's book, I found out that the classic "weld a tram to its rails" done by the Chalmers (Sweden) students was not, in fact, done while the tram was taking passengers at a tram stop, but at night at the depot. And the Paavo Nurmi prank mentioned above, a great media scandal of its time (Paavo Nurmi was a source of animosity between Finland and Sweden) was actually executed by a hired diver, not the HUT Diving Club.
So these things seem to get embellishments over time, just like good jokes that change form over the years.
I'm really sorry to conclude (though hoping for evidence to the contrary) that the park bench prank was not done by HUT students. Too bad, that was my all-time favorite, and fit well with my idea of Finland in the 50's. The police school students and the HUT students had a friendly one-upmanship going on, and the HUT pranksters habitually asked for police permission for their stunts (usually getting it).
The Hammer and the Cross, a trilogy written by Harry Harrison and John Holm, has the following similarities with Ash:
Alternate history (vikings, 10th century).
Warfare and tactics (and trebuchets!)
An inner, supernatural voice guides the protagonist.
Interest in science.
All in all, a great read and a rare treat, although by no means perfect. I'll have to check out Ash to see if it is even better.
One-upmanship aside, the direct debit cards mentioned elsewhere in the thread are a substantial infrastructure investment. It requires the full co-operation of banks.
In Finland, one can do almost totally away with cash. You can buy beer in a bar, food in the store, everything with these cards. A direct money transfer from your bank account is as fast or faster than a physical cash transfer between hands, and means a lot less hassle.
This is the main reason why the amount of cash in circulation in Finland is 2,5% of the GNP, half that of other countries in Europe. (What is the value in the US?)
I haven't heard of anyone in Finland using checks for the last 15 years, and credit cards are rare compared to the US. What do you really need those for: credit? Usually not. Ease of use is the real reason. And that is what debit cards give you.
Yes, the North European countries have advanced banking systems. PayPal won't have as much leverage there as it has in the US.
In North European countries, all you need to know is a person's bank account number and you can make a deposit pretty effortlessly (on-line | with your mobile phone | walking a couple of blocks to the nearest pay-ATM).
What does PayPal really offer?
a) A mapping between a person's e-mail address and his/her preferred money transfer system.
b) Buffering of micro payments.
Both valuable services that could just as well be provided by the banks themselves, possibly assisted with applications like GnuCash.
Two related points:
1) Finland will soon have electronic money. This should be compatible across over-the-counter payments and net commerce.
2) Nokia was/is a backer of PayPal. Nokia is Finnish and uses Finland as a testing ground.
There was this episode in which Micky's height did play an important role: Kramer and Micky had a job as body doubles for a TV series, with Micky doubling a young boy. The boy has grown taller. Micky resorts to using 'special' shoes.
This seems to be a tabu among short people. A big no-no.
So, a female short person is attracted to Micky ("there's something new about you") but Micky's nemesis finds out about the footwear, spills the beans, and Micky loses big time. He's now a pariah.
A good episode.