Making Light :: Drunken sailors and trashed databases :: comments http://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/archives/000386.html#comments Language, fraud, folly, truth, history, and knitting. Et cetera. en Sat, 03 Aug 2002 10:45:31 -0500 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/?v=4.261 Drunken sailors and trashed databases I posted a short book review to Amazon almost three weeks ago, but it still hasn't shown up on their... I posted a short book review to Amazon almost three weeks ago, but it still hasn't shown up on their... http://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/archives/000386.html Drunken sailors and trashed databases -- comment #1 from Kip T. Williams comment from Kip T. Williams on 29.Jul.02 Yeah, I remember Santa Anna introducing chicle gum to the USA. For one thing, his name is almost the name of the city where I was born, in California. For another, it's in this classic Ace book, _Why Did They Name It...?_ by Hannah Campbell.

Lessee... War of 1836... Santa Anna spared... goes to New York with supply of chicle... Thomas Adams of Jersey City experiments with the substance... observes Santa Anna chewing it... sees druggist selling kids paraffin to chew... Adams and his son Horatio work on the confection... Horatio later dies in 1956 at the age of 102. Yup, it's in there.

Even better, in some ways, is the account from the next article ("Dubble Bubble") about Frank H. Fleer starting to make bubble gum in 1885, around which time Fleer was faced with a persistent salesman who alleged that people would drop coins into a slot in order to buy sweets. When Fleer remained skeptical, the salesman went so far as to assert that people would pay money for nothing at all... and Fleer agreed that if they did, he'd buy some machines.

"The experiment was to be conducted at the old Flatiron Building in New York which was noted for the strong gusts of wind that blew around it unceasingly. It was a popular gethering place for sight-seers and the salesman set up a vending machine at this point, with printed instructions to 'drop a penny in the slot and listen to the wind blow.'

"The salesman got Fleer's order because literally hundreds of people dropped pennies in the slot and continued to do so until the police finally caught on and had the machine hauled away."

Can I tell my salmon story now?

Kip

]]> <p>Posted July 29, 2002 7:45 PM by Kip T. Williams</p> http://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/archives/000386.html#1587 http://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/archives/000386.html#1587 Mon, 29 Jul 2002 19:45:02 -0500 Drunken sailors and trashed databases -- comment #2 from Teresa Nielsen Hayden comment from Teresa Nielsen Hayden on 30.Jul.02 (slightly dazed) Yes, Kip. Of course you can.

]]> <p>Posted July 30, 2002 6:34 PM by Teresa Nielsen Hayden</p> http://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/archives/000386.html#1603 http://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/archives/000386.html#1603 Tue, 30 Jul 2002 18:34:52 -0500 Drunken sailors and trashed databases -- comment #3 from Kip T. Williams comment from Kip T. Williams on 30.Jul.02 Sorry, this story came to mind when typing the other one. It was maybe about a hundred years ago, and a cannery owner was in despair because nobody would buy his white salmon. It was just as good as pink salmon, but nobody wanted to touch it. Facing bankruptcy, he called in a PR man who sized up the situation and gave him a line of type to add to the label of each can.

This line of type reversed his declining fortunes, and the cans of white salmon practically flew from the shelves, until the other manufacturers stepped in and took legal action. It said, "Guaranteed not to turn pink in the can."

(I feel like I should say "Good DAY!")

Kip

]]> <p>Posted July 30, 2002 6:41 PM by Kip T. Williams</p> http://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/archives/000386.html#1604 http://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/archives/000386.html#1604 Tue, 30 Jul 2002 18:41:50 -0500 Drunken sailors and trashed databases -- comment #4 from James Macdonald comment from James Macdonald on 31.Jul.02 There's a fairly nasty occupational disease among those who collect chicle (called chicleros disease) which causes the cartiledge in the nose and ears to disintegrate and those parts to slough off. You never know what might be in that Juicy Fruit, eh?

Oh, yeah, and the Drunken Sailor book: Syphilis is prominently mentioned in several of the songs and tertiary syphilis can also cause your nose and ears to slough off.

]]> <p>Posted July 31, 2002 1:13 AM by James Macdonald</p> http://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/archives/000386.html#1614 http://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/archives/000386.html#1614 Wed, 31 Jul 2002 01:13:40 -0500 Drunken sailors and trashed databases -- comment #5 from Kip T. Williams comment from Kip T. Williams on 3.Aug.02 Just wanted to put in a word for the enthusiastic performance of "Friggin' in the Riggin'" that wraps up the Sex Pistols movie, _The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle_. As a bonus, it's one of the several animated portions of the picture, featuring the Pistols being thrown (or jumping) off of a symbolic ship, which then sinks, if my memory serves, and it's not 'improving' things for me again.

Ahrrr.

--Cap'n Kip

]]> <p>Posted August 3, 2002 10:45 AM by Kip T. Williams</p> http://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/archives/000386.html#1735 http://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/archives/000386.html#1735 Sat, 03 Aug 2002 10:45:31 -0500