SwingOrama Forum

SwingOrama Forum: Anything Goes!: Interesting Tibits

By oopapadoo (Oopapadoo) on Wednesday, March 21, 2001 - 01:48 pm: Edit

This is an interesting story.

The US standard railroad gauge (width between the two rails) is 4 feet, 8.5 inches. Which is an exceedingly odd number.
Why was that gauge used?
- Because that's the way they built them in England, and English expatriates built the US railroads.
Why did the English build them like that?
- Because the first rail lines were built by the same people who built the pre-railroad tramways, and that's the gauge they used.
Why did "they" use that gauge then?
- Because the people who built the tramways used the same jigs and tools that they used for building wagons which used that wheel spacing.
Okay! Why did the wagons have that particular odd wheel spacing?
- Well, if they tried to use any other spacing, the wagon wheels would break on some of the old, long distance roads in England, because that's the spacing of the wheel ruts.
So who built those old rutted roads?
- Imperial Rome for their legions built the first long distance roads in Europe (and England). Those roads have been used ever since. And why the ruts in the roads?
Roman war chariots first formed the initial ruts, which everyone else had to match for fear of destroying their wagon wheels. Since the chariots were made for (or by) Imperial Rome, they were all alike in the matter of wheel spacing. Thus the United States standard railroad gauge of 4 feet, 8.5 inches derives from the original specification for an Imperial Roman war chariot. Specifications and bureaucracies live forever. So the next time you are handed a specification and wonder what horse's ass came up with it, you may be exactly right, because the Imperial Roman war chariots were made just wide enough to accommodate the back ends of two war horses.

Thus, we have the answer to the original question. Now the twist to the story.... there is an interesting extension to the story about railroad gauges and horses' behinds. When we see a Space Shuttle sitting on its launch pad, there are two big booster rockets attached to the sides of the main fuel tank. These are solid rocket boosters, or SRBs. Thiokol makes the SRBs at their factory in Utah. The engineers who designed the SRBs might have preferred to make them a bit fatter, but the SRBs had to be shipped by train from the factory to the launch site. The railroad line from the factory had to run through a tunnel in the mountains and the SRBs had to fit through that tunnel. The tunnel is slightly wider than the railroad track, and the railroad track is about as wide as two horses' behinds. So, the major design feature of what is arguably the world's most advanced transportation system was determined over two thousand years ago by the width of a Horse's Ass.

And you wonder why we are the way we are.

By Reuben Brown (Gurureuben) on Wednesday, March 21, 2001 - 02:24 pm: Edit

Okay, now explain where the measurement for Narrow-Gauge railroads came from. ;)

By Ron (Ron) on Wednesday, March 21, 2001 - 04:39 pm: Edit

Aletha, spreading urban-legend stories again? Remember, people, never believe what you read on the internet.

There's been lots of different gauges of railroads in the past, and lots of problems with incompatibilities. Whether one size can be traced back to the romans is unlikely, even if the story is cute. See the following discussion of this railroad gauge "urban legend"
http://www.urbanlegends.com/misc/railroad_gauge.html

I found it by doing a search on "railroad gauge comparison"

Also, see a good discussion in "Straight Dope" of this railroad gauge internet story, including debunking the shuttle SRBs myth:
http://www.straightdope.com/columns/000218.html

By Reuben Brown (Gurureuben) on Wednesday, March 21, 2001 - 05:30 pm: Edit

"never believe what you read on the internet."

...then he proceeded to quote two internet references. Classic!

By Tertia (Lindyslayer) on Wednesday, March 21, 2001 - 06:53 pm: Edit

I know that this has nothing to do with the conversation going on here, but I couldn't figure out where to put this:

Dancers,
Hello. Those of you that don't know, Ed McMahon (producer of Star Search
in the 80's and 90's) has a new venture called Next Big Star with the same
premise as Star Seach but everything is done online and anyone can vote.
This first run, Lindy Hop was actually represented by some great dancers, Mo
Jones and Kelly Savin from L.A. They have made it all the way through
prelims, quaterfinals and now they are in the semi-finals but they will only
take the top 3 vote getters. Please visit the link
http://www.nextbigstar.com/contest.php?category=Dance and vote for them (it
will only take a minute) because it may give them a big break and if you
need another motivator, it could be very good for swing to have really good
dancers portrayed in the media. Thanks for your help.

Below is the message from Mo
Hey everyone,
I received an e-mail that the voting has begun March 19th! The top 3
vote getters moves on to the finals! So please go to the "Dance" category
at
and cast your vote, but most importantly, e-mail everyone
you know and ask them to do the same.

Some people told me that they couldn't see the video, but they still voted
for us!

Some of the States that voted for us are: California, Utah, Michigan,
Florida, Washington, Montana, Colorado, Texas and Amsterdam!

So remember, it's all about the votes!

Thanks,

MO

and Kelly

By Jeff Eldridge (Jeff) on Thursday, March 22, 2001 - 09:52 am: Edit

Computer Gender

An English teacher was explaining to his students the concept of gender
association in the English language. He noted how hurricanes at one time
were given only female names, and how ships and planes were usually
referred to as "she." One of the students raised her hand and asked, "What
gender is a computer?" The teacher wasn't certain. So he divided the class
into two groups males in one, females in the other, and asked them to decide
if a computer should be masculine or feminine. Both groups were asked to
give four reasons for their recommendations.

The group of women concluded that computers should be referred to as
masculine because:

1. In order to get their attention, you have to turn them on.
2. They have a lot of data but are still clueless.
3. They are supposed to help you solve your problems, but half the
time, they ARE the problem.
4. As soon as you commit to one, you realize that, if you had waited a
little longer, you could have had a better model.

The Men, on the other hand, decided that computers should definitely be
referred to as feminine because:

1. No one but their creator understands their internal logic.
2. The native language they use to communicate with other computers is
incomprehensible to everyone else.
3. Even your smallest mistakes are stored in long-term memory for later
retrieval.
4. As soon as you make a commitment to one, you find yourself spending
half your paycheck on accessories for it.

By Jeff Eldridge (Jeff) on Tuesday, March 27, 2001 - 03:14 pm: Edit

Sent to me by a friend...I found it thought provoking.

Jeff

If we could shrink the earth's population to a village of precisely
100 people, with all the existing human ratios remaining the same,
it would look something like the following:

There would be:
57 Asians
21 Europeans
14 from the Western Hemisphere, both north and south
8 Africans
52 would be female
48 would be male
70 would be non-white
30 would be white
70 would be non-Christian
30 would be Christian
89 would be heterosexual
11 would be homosexual
6 people would possess 59% of the entire world's wealth and all 6 would be
from the United States.
80 would live in substandard housing
70 would be unable to read
50 would suffer from malnutrition
1 would be near death; 1 would be near birth
1 (yes, only 1) would have a college education
1 would own a computer

When one considers our world from such a compressed perspective,
the need for acceptance, understanding and education becomes glaringly
apparent.

The following is also something to ponder...
If you woke up this morning with more health than illness...you
are more blessed than the million who will not survive this week.
If you have never experienced the danger of battle, the loneliness
of imprisonment, the agony of torture, or the pangs of starvation...
you are ahead of 500 million people in the world. If you can attend
a church meeting without fear of harassment, arrest, torture, or death...
you are more blessed than three billion people in the world. If you have
food in the refrigerator, clothes on your back, a roof overhead and a place
to sleep...you are richer than 75% of this world. If you have money in the
bank, in your wallet, and spare change in a dish someplace ...... You are
among the top 8% of the world's wealthy. If your parents are still alive and
still married ... you are very rare, even in the United States and Canada.
If you can read this message, you just received a double blessing in that
someone was thinking of you, and furthermore, you are more blessed than
over two billion people in the world that cannot read at ll.

Someone once said:
What goes around comes around.
Work like you don't need the money.
Love like you've never been hurt.
Dance like nobody's watching.
Sing like nobody's listening.
Live like it's Heaven on Earth.

It's National Friendship Week. (Who knew?) Pass this on, and brighten
someone's day.

Happy friendship week!

By Maya (Emeraldcat) on Tuesday, March 27, 2001 - 05:11 pm: Edit

Yeah, I was e-mailed that too. I have it hanging in my kitchen now for others to read. I honestly don't think people in the US realize how good they have it. My recent trip to Belize showed me this in a ten fold, and also how we don't appreciate much of the nature that surrounds us. We tear it down to create more convenience for ourselves, when we really don't realize how convenient our lives already are when compared to almost all others.

By Jeff Eldridge (Jeff) on Tuesday, March 27, 2001 - 06:33 pm: Edit

So true.

By HopMichael (Mhwang) on Tuesday, March 27, 2001 - 07:41 pm: Edit

Hey, Maya! When were you in Belize? We must talk and share experiences...

Hop "What do you mean we can't leave this island because of a hurricane?" Michael

By Maya (Emeraldcat) on Wednesday, March 28, 2001 - 09:06 am: Edit

I was on the mainland for a week and Ambergris Cay for a week. In December, after the hurricanne, but believe me, the island was still recovering when we got there. There was a boat stuck on land in the middle of town! Whoa! I can't believe you've been there, most people don't even know where it is.

By Melissa Varriano (Mel) on Wednesday, March 28, 2001 - 05:51 pm: Edit

THINGS I DID NOT KNOW... DID YOU?
*The citrus soda 7-UP was created in 1929; �7� was selected because the original containers were 7 ounces. �UP� indicated the direction of the bubbles
*Mosquito repellents don�t repel. They hide you. The spray blocks the mosquito�s sensors so they don�t know you�re there.
*Dentists have recommended that a toothbrush be kept at least 6 feet away from a toilet to avoid airborne particles resulting from the flush.
*The liquid inside young coconuts can be used as substitute for blood plasma.
*American car horns beep in the tone of F.
*No piece of paper can be folded more than 7 times.
*Donkeys kill more people annually than plane crashes.
*1 in every 4 Americans has appeared on television.
*You burn more calories sleeping than you do watching television.
*Oak trees do not produce acorns until they are fifty years of age or older.
*The first product to have a bar code was Wrigley�s gum.
*The king of hearts is the only king without a mustache.
*A Boeing 747s wingspan is longer than the Wright brother�s firstflight.
*American Airlines saved $40,000 in 1987 by eliminating 1 olive from each salad served in first-class.
*Venus is the only planet that rotates clockwise.
*The first CD pressed in the US was Bruce Springsteen�s �Born in the USA.�
*Apples, not caffeine, are more efficient at waking you up in the morning.
*The 57 on the Heinz ketchup bottle represents the number of varieties of pickles the company once had.
*The plastic things on the end of shoelaces are called aglets.
*Most dust particles in your house are made from dead skin.
*The first owner of the Marlboro company died of lung cancer.
*Barbie�s full name is Barbara Millicent Roberts.
*Betsy Ross is the only real person to ever have been the head on a Pez dispenser.
*Michael Jordan makes more money from Nike annually than all on the Nike factory workers in Malaysia combined.
*Adolph Hitler�s mother seriously considered having an abortion but was talked out of it by her doctor.
*All US Presidents have worn glasses. Some just didn�t like being seen wearing them in public.
*Walt Disney was afraid of mice.
*The sound of E.T. walking was made by someone squishing her hands in jelly.
*Pearls melt in vinegar.
*Thirty-five percent of the people who use personal ads for dating are already married.
*The three most valuable brand names on earth: Marlboro, Coca Cola, and Budweiser, in that order.
*A duck�s quack doesn�t echo and no one knows why.
*Richard Milhouse Nixon was the first US president whose name contains all the letters from the word �criminal.�
*The second? William Jefferson Clinton

By Jeff Eldridge (Jeff) on Wednesday, March 28, 2001 - 08:46 pm: Edit

"Oak trees do not produce acorns until they are fifty years of age or older".

No wonder I'm just starting to feel perky!

By Ron (Ron) on Thursday, March 29, 2001 - 02:51 pm: Edit

I bet 2/3 of those things are made-up...
-Mr. Skeptic

By HopMichael (Mhwang) on Thursday, March 29, 2001 - 05:24 pm: Edit

*All US Presidents have worn glasses. Some just didn�t like being seen wearing them in public.

Well, actually, since most of the presidents have been over 40 years old, just about every one of them needed at least a pair of reading glasses. But then so does just about anyone over 40 years old. Small wonder...

About the coconuts and plasma stuff...This sounds too Gilligan island to me. It is true that in a pinch, normal saline (0.9% Sodium Chloride) can substitute for the volume of blood lost. But for that matter many other solutions isotonic to plasma could substitute (hence, lacated Ringer's solution, certain dextrose solutions, etc.). I would raise the concern of having an allergic response to coconut proteins running through a person's circulation.

I think I saw the folding the paper > 7 times impossibility once in Scientific American.

I have no idea about apples vs caffeine wake-up debate (I'd like to know the basis for that...). Nor do I know anything about the caloric consumption rate of sleep vs watching Survivor on TV....

Pearls (and for that matter any other calcium carbonate based items, eg. bone) will dissolve in anything acidic enough. Vingegar being just one such acid. I believe it was Cleopatra who indulged in the ultimate conspicuous consumption by drinking dissolved pearls...

Many other list items are verifiable. I just don't have current citations.

suspect ones (anyone know differently?) for me:
1. American car horns (I swear I hear different tones)
2. Donkey deaths
3. Barbie's full name
4. Pez dispenser (didn't the Marx brothers or Stan and Laurel appear on them once?)
5. Duck quacks and echos.

Hop "Trivial Pursuit" Michael

By oopapadoo (Oopapadoo) on Wednesday, April 04, 2001 - 11:02 am: Edit

Enjoy!

By HopMichael (Mhwang) on Wednesday, April 04, 2001 - 05:44 pm: Edit

???

[befuddled look]

Eye candy is always sweet...

By oopapadoo (Oopapadoo) on Wednesday, April 18, 2001 - 01:51 pm: Edit

Brush up on your skills for the next jam circle!

http://www.hgd.com/games_online/break.htm

By oopapadoo (Oopapadoo) on Monday, April 23, 2001 - 04:09 pm: Edit

This is cool, especially the end....

http://home.apu.edu/~sniper/fight.swf

By Jessica (Jessica) on Tuesday, July 24, 2001 - 03:51 pm: Edit

a friend just emailed me this adress, thought it was hilarious, who would have thought Britney Spears could teach us anything . . .

http://britneyspears.ac/laser.htm

By CatThyme (Valorie) on Tuesday, July 24, 2001 - 04:19 pm: Edit

try this: http://britneyspears.ac/lasers.htm

By Shawn (Adminorama) on Tuesday, July 24, 2001 - 06:59 pm: Edit

It's great! I's feel so knowledgible.

By Jane Hance (Janeh) on Friday, August 03, 2001 - 02:41 pm: Edit

This is good.

A magazine recently ran a "Dilbert Quotes" contest. They were looking for people to submit quotes from their real life Dilbert-type managers. Here are the Top Ten finalists:

1. "As of tomorrow, employees will only be able to access the building using individual security cards. Pictures will be taken next Wednesday and employees will receive their cards in two weeks."
(This was the winning quote from Fred Dales at Microsoft Corp. in Redmond, WA.)

2. "What I need is an exact list of specific unknown problems we might encounter." (Lykes Lines Shipping)

3. "E-mail is not to be used to pass on information or data. It should be used only for company business." (Accounting manager, Electric Boat Company)

4. "This project is so important, we can't let things that are more important interfere with it."(Advertising/Marketing manager, United Parcel Service)

5. "Doing it right is no excuse for not meeting the schedule." (Plant manager, Delco Corporation)

6. No one will believe you solved this problem in one day! We've been working on it for months. Now, go act busy for a few weeks and I'll let you know when it's time to tell them." (R&D supervisor, Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing/3M Corp.)

7. Quote from the Boss: "Teamwork is a lot of people doing what I say." (Marketing executive, Citrix Corporation)

8. My sister passed away and her funeral was scheduled for Monday. When I told my Boss, he said she died on purpose so that I would have to miss work on the busiest day of the year. He then asked if we could change her burial to Friday. He said, "That would be better for me." (Shipping executive, FTD Florists)

9. We know that communication is a problem, but the company is not going to discuss it with the employees." (Switching supervisor, AT&T Long Lines Division)

10. One day my Boss asked me to submit a status report to him concerning a project I was working on. I asked him if tomorrow would be soon enough. He said, "If I wanted it tomorrow, I would have waited until tomorrow to ask for it!" (New business manager, Hallmark Greeting Cards)

By oopapadoo (Oopapadoo) on Wednesday, August 08, 2001 - 09:21 pm: Edit

Oreo Personality Test
Psychologists have discovered that the manner in which people eat Oreo cookies provides great insight into their personalities. Choose which method best describes your favorite method of eating Oreos:

1. The whole thing all at once.

2. One bite at a time

3. Slow and methodical nibbles examining the results of each bite afterwards.

4. In little feverous nibbles.

5. Dunked in some liquid (milk, coffee...).

6. Twisted apart, the inside, then the cookie.

7. Twisted apart, the inside, and toss the cookie.

8. Just the cookie, not the inside.

9. I just like to lick them, not eat them.

10. I don�t have a favorite way because I don�t like Oreo.

DO NOT SCROLL DOWN UNTIL YOU HAVE MADE YOUR CHOICE!!!!

Your Personality:

1. The whole thing
This means you consume life with abandon, you are fun to be with, exciting, carefree with some hint of recklessness. You are totally irresponsible. No one should trust you with their children.

2. One bite at a time.
You are lucky to be one of the 5.4 billion other people who eat their Oreos this very same way. Just like them, you lack imagination, but that�s okay, not to worry, you�re normal.

3. Slow and Methodical.
You follow the rules. You�re very tidy and orderly. You�re very meticulous in every detail with every thing you do to the point of being anal retentive and irritating to others. Stay out of the fast lane if you�re only going to go the speed limit.

4. Feverous Nibbles.
Your boss likes you because you get your work done quickly. You always have a million things to do and never enough time to do them. Mental breakdowns and suicides run in your family. Valium and Ritalin would do you good.

5. Dunked.
Every one likes you because you are always up beat. You like to sugar coat unpleasant experiences and rationalize bad situations into good ones. You are in total denial about the shambles you call a life. You have a propensity towards narcotic addiction.

6. Twisted apart, the inside, and then the cookie.
You have a highly curious nature. You take pleasure in breaking things apart to find out how they work, though not always able to put them back together, so you destroy all the evidence of your activities. You deny your involvement when things go wrong. You are a compulsive liar and exhibit deviant, if not criminal, behavior.

7. Twisted apart, the inside, and then toss the cookie.
You are good at business and take risk that pay off. You take what you want and throw the rest away. You are greedy, selfish, mean, and lack feelings for others. You should be ashamed of yourself.

But that�s ok, you don�t care, you got yours.

8. Just the cookie, not the inside.
You enjoy pain.

9. I just like to lick them, not eat them
Stay away from small furry animals and seek professional medical help - immediately.

10. I don�t have a favorite way, I don�t like Oreo cookies.
You probably come from a rich family, and like to wear nice things and go to up-scale restaurants. You are particular and fussy about the things you buy, own, and wear. Things have to be just right.

You like to be pampered. You are a prima donna. There�s just no pleasing you.

By Spawn of Satan (Melbamoose) on Thursday, August 09, 2001 - 02:32 am: Edit

"You are a compulsive liar and exhibit deviant, if not criminal, behavior. "
hehehe

By Ye Dancer (Yedancer) on Saturday, August 11, 2001 - 10:03 am: Edit

"You are totally irresponsible."

Hmmm...

By CatThyme (Valorie) on Saturday, August 11, 2001 - 12:52 pm: Edit

Someone should bring oreos to the next event and take notes on who's eating oreos whole all at once...

By Jane Hance (Janeh) on Thursday, September 06, 2001 - 12:30 pm: Edit

If you can live without caffeine,

If you can be cheerful, ignoring aches and pains,

If you can resist complaining,

If you can eat the same food every day and be grateful for it,

If you can understand when your loved ones are too busy to give you any
time,

If you can overlook it when those you love take it out on you when,
through no fault of yours, something goes wrong,

If you can take criticism and blame without resentment,

If you can ignore a friend's limited education and never correct
him/her,

If you can resist treating a rich friend better than a poor friend,

If you can face the world without lies and deceit,

If you can conquer tension without medical help,

If you can relax without liquor,

If you can sleep without the aid of drugs,

If you can honestly say that deep in your heart you have no prejudice
against creed, colour, religion, gender preference, or politics,

THEN, you have ALMOST reached the same level of development as your dog

By Laura Beth Kaplan (Vintagelbk) on Thursday, September 06, 2001 - 12:47 pm: Edit

that is too funny. I didn't see the ending coming

By Regular Joe (Regularjoe) on Sunday, September 16, 2001 - 06:43 pm: Edit

Mickey Rommel - of the Vasa Hall - Rocket Swing Club, was just on TV - Channel 10. His house almost burned down. He had to fight it with his garden hose. The Fire dept came to his rescue.

By braid my hair plz (Rich) on Monday, September 17, 2001 - 02:46 am: Edit

I saw the end of that Joe, I didn't see WHO they were talking about. It did mention he had enough sense to have the grass cut WAY back from his house...

By Gabe (Gabe) on Thursday, September 20, 2001 - 10:58 am: Edit

Talk about unexplanable, try this out
on your computer if you have Word, and
see if you come up with the same result
as I did. Trippy!!

(FWD)

Here is something really strange,
Do you know that a flight number from one of the
planes that hit one of the twin towers was Q33NY.

In MS Word, type in that flight number, Q33NY.
Enlarge the font size to 30...and then change the font to Wingdings.....

By HopMichael (Mhwang) on Thursday, September 20, 2001 - 11:21 am: Edit

The flight numbers that were involved as taken from Newsweek

8:48 a.m.
American Airlines Flight 11, a Boeing 767 en route
from Boston's Logan Airport to Los Angeles
International with 92 people onboard, slams into the
north tower, 1 World Trade Center.
9:05 a.m.
Approximately 18 minutes later, United Airlines Flight
175, also a Boeing 767 enroute from Boston to Los
Angeles with 65 people onboard, hits the south tower, 2
World Trade Center.

http://www.msnbc.com/news/627967.asp?0sp=w12b1

-Hop "Doubting Thomas" Michael

By Franglaise (Hepnat) on Thursday, September 20, 2001 - 11:37 am: Edit

No flight number that I know of has ever had a format anything like Q33NY. Someone, with very poor tast I might add, obviously started in wingdings, and worked backwards.
Yack!

By HopMichael (Mhwang) on Thursday, September 20, 2001 - 12:34 pm: Edit

On the face of chaos, the human brain tries to discern a pattern, any pattern at all.

-Hop "Mr. Cognitive Science meet MrExistentialism" Michael

By Gabe (Gabe) on Thursday, September 20, 2001 - 02:02 pm: Edit

I used to fly a plane that's first
identification was a 'Q', but that
was after the first required
civilian identification letter
'N'.

Just another stupid internet hoax,
like the 9-11 symbolism.

N644AA-FLT 77 crashed into Pentagon
N334AA-FLT 11 WTC
N612UA-FLT 175 WTC
N591UA-FLT 93 Pittsburg, PA

By Gabe (Gabe) on Monday, September 24, 2001 - 10:49 am: Edit

THE DOOR NEWS SERVICE KABUL, AFGHANISTAN�Taliban forces in Afghanistan are celebrating victory after repelling a sneak attack by two massive and ancient stone replicas of the Buddha.

�Whew! That was a close one!� admitted Taliban Gen. Amir Madhini, as he mingled with the exhausted but happy soldiers on the battlefield just outside of the capital Kabul.

�This is truly a day that will live in infamy. The enemy had remained in �deep cover,� apparently for years, cleverly posing as simple reliefs carved into the mountainside. When the threat was discovered, our mullah�s wasted no time in rallying a jihad against the stiff-necked infidel pieces of stone.�

Jubilant Afghan soldiers danced, shouted, sang, engaged in games of skill and broke out long-hidden caches of delicacies once the hated world art treasures were reduced to a smoldering pile of blasted shards.

[more]

http://www.thedoormagazine.com/webintro/176_taliban.html

By HopMichael (Mhwang) on Monday, September 24, 2001 - 08:19 pm: Edit

Sarcastic tone notwithstanding, the article does point out the real occurrence of destruction of Buddhist statues in Afghanistan by the Taliban. Despite pleading by world religious figures and even the United Nations, the Taliban went ahead and destroyed many of these historical statues.

It always amazes me what destructive forces are unleashed in the name of religion and God.

http://www10.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/asiapcf/central/03/01/afghan.statue/

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2001/03/0309_buddhastatues.html

http://www.unesco.org/whc/news/2804.htm

-Hop "Buddy of the Buddha Boogie" Michael

By Franglaise (Hepnat) on Friday, September 28, 2001 - 12:28 pm: Edit

Yes. But on the flip side, look at the incredible art, architecture and music, that were created in the name of religion.
I may be a die hard atheist, but I'm a sucker for a good cathedral or requiem.
I think, basically human nature is such a dichotomy of good and bad, religion is just used as a validation for doing good or evil.

By Franglaise (Hepnat) on Thursday, March 21, 2002 - 03:11 pm: Edit

Dr. Laura Schlessinger is a US radio personality who dispenses advice to people who call in to her radio show. Recently, she said that, as an observant Orthodox Jew: "Homosexuality is an abomination according to Leviticus 18:22, and cannot be condoned in any circumstance". The following is an open letter to Dr. Laura penned by a US resident, which was posted on the Internet.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dear Dr. Laura:

Thank you for doing so much to educate people regarding God's Law. I have learned a great deal from your show, and try to share that knowledge with as many people as I can.

When someone tries to defend the homosexual lifestyle, for example, I simply remind them that Leviticus 18:22 clearly states it to be an abomination. End of debate. I do need some advice from you, however, regarding some of the other specific laws and how to follow them.

When I burn a bull on the altar as a sacrifice, I know it creates a pleasing odor for the Lord - Lev. 1:9. The problem is my neighbors. They claim the odor is not pleasing to them. Should I smite them?

I would like to sell my daughter into slavery, as sanctioned in Exodus 21:7. In this day and age, what do you think would be a fair price for her?

Lev. 25:44 states that I may indeed possess slaves, both male and female, provided they are purchased from neighboring nations. A friend of mine claims that this applies to Mexicans, but not Canadians. Can you clarify? Why can't I own Canadians?

I have a neighbor who insists on working on the Sabbath. Exodus 35:2 clearly states he should be put to death. Am I morally obligated to kill him myself?

A friend of mine feels that even though eating shellfish is an abomination Lev. 11:10, it is a lesser abomination than homosexuality. I don't agree.
Can you settle this?

Lev. 21:20 states that I may not approach the altar of God if I have a defect in my sight. I have to admit that I wear reading glasses. Does my vision have to be 20/20, or is there some wiggle room here?

Most of my male friends get their hair trimmed, including the hair around their temples, even though this is expressly forbidden by Lev. 19:27.
How should they die?

I know from Lev.11:6-8 that touching the skin of a dead pig makes me unclean, but may I still play football if I wear gloves?

My uncle has a farm. He violates Lev. 19:19 by planting two different crops in the same field, as does his wife by wearing garments made of two different kinds of thread (cotton/polyester blend). He also tends to curse and blaspheme a lot. Is it really necessary that we go to all the trouble of getting the whole town together to stone them? - Lev.24:10-16. Couldn't we just burn them to death at a private family affair like we do with people who sleep with their in-laws? (Lev. 20:14)

I know you have studied these things extensively, so I am confident you can help. Thank you again for reminding us that God's word is eternal and unchanging.

Your devoted disciple and adoring fan,
Jim

By Lisa Conway (Lisaconway) on Thursday, March 21, 2002 - 03:28 pm: Edit

That was rad.

By Virginia Peterson (Ginny) on Friday, March 22, 2002 - 07:00 pm: Edit

The biggest mistake religion ever made was getting mixed up with people.

By Eponine (Eponine) on Monday, March 25, 2002 - 12:10 am: Edit

Actually, that whole Dr. Laura thing isn't original, it came from the show West Wing. An episode of West Wing aired last year where a prominent radio personality called gays an abomination, citing the bible (though I have no doubt that Dr. Laura has done this too). President Bartlett then used that whole spiel, citing all those different verses to put her in her place. That was one of my favorite episodes. So whoever posted that on the internet got it all from West Wing, just changed a few parts. Who knows, maybe West Wing created that episode based on Dr. Laura . . . either way, it's a great comeback . . .

By Franglaise (Hepnat) on Monday, March 25, 2002 - 05:18 pm: Edit

Duh, I remember that episode, now you mention it.

By Jane Hance (Janeh) on Wednesday, April 17, 2002 - 03:35 pm: Edit

Ever wonder about those people who say they are giving more than 100%?
We have all been to those meetings where someone wants over 100%. How
about achieving 103%? Here's a little math that might prove helpful. What
makes life 100%?

If...A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z is represented as:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26.

Then, H A R D W O R K Totals 8 1 18 4 23 15 18 11 (=98%)
K N O W L E D G E Totals: 11 14 15 23 12 5 4 7 5 (= 96%)

But, A T T I T U D E Totals: 1 20 20 9 20 21 4 5 (=100%)
And, B U L L S H I T Totals: 2 21 12 12 19 8 9 20 (=103%}

So, it stands to reason that hardwork and knowledge will get you close,
attitude will get you there, but bullshit will put you over the top. And
look how far A S S K I S S I N G will take you:
1 19 19 11 9 19 19 9 14 7 (=118%)

PLEASE VISIT THE NEW SWINGORAMA FORUM
GO TO SWINGORAMA.COM FOR MORE INFORMATION

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