Neato! There was a Boston Blackie movie on cable TV recently where this system was used to send info to a ship by spies. It was much smaller but same idea.

Great idea, imagine they could have hung torches on it so it could also be used at night.

I don't think it's a telegraph per se. More akin
to a semaphore system.

Doesn't look nearly as much fun as brass pounding.

I copied that from a Wikipedia article and didn't catch it.

Miss C: You missed his point entirely! All your points are common sense ones but don't answer his question. What Houndogg asked was why does a classic comedy routine like Who's on First need updating? It is a timeless example of comedy. That's why it is a classic. It most certainly does not need updating. It stands on it's own merits. It is one of the all time funniest routines ever. I suppose next you will want to update the Mona Lisa painting.

(P Hu)

(BTW it can't legally be updated any way since it
was copywrited in 1944 but that's beside the point.)

Berhard - What does verkcttl mean? I assume it's supposed to be very cool but even so y is -.--
not -.- , your spacing between characters and
words is way off.

The more things change the more they stay the same.

Nice to see an article about brass pounding.

The thing is you never actually see the bird
fly away. The reason being the lineman took
it home and had it for dinner! GGGGGG

As Alice said things are getting curiouser and curiouser. Back in the day, many years ago, when I was known to do such things the upside down stamp meant I love you. The way it is shown makes no sense since it means you love everyone you send a normal letter to. Plus a lot of folks don't know the code and that in itself could lead to problems. The entire thing seems a bit suspect since Hungary has never been known as a
bastion of lovers. Unless one lives there I suppose.

Does anyone remember the system to send someone a letter w/o putting a stamp on it? Doubt if it would work these days.

@jimmyd Nice to see there's at least one sailor
here. Maybe it's to mimic the way GW is in the
original. I've seen the original many years ago
at the visitors center in Washington Crossing PA. Or was it Washington's Crossing PA? The two are on opposite sides of the Delaware River and I still mix them up. The torch seems rather superfluous since the raft is connected to a line, with two pulleys, that obviously ends on the NJ shore. If my memory is correct Leutze painted the type of barges used in his native Germany. Boats unlike ones used around Trenton during that time. All in all I grew up with the famous painting so it was a really nice experience to see the original.

@John Farrier I agree, it's a really good movie. Interesting article, thanks.

I agree, it's not anything new. Back in the early 60's
I checked out a few library books on typewriter art. Then some years later when in the navy we would get really long TTY pictures at the torn tape relay center in Naples IT. Then some clever folks figured out they
could over type certain characters for emphasis. That made some extra nice pictures but later TTY printer modifications made overlining impossible. We'd get the tapes in from sites all around the Med and forward them along. Every year like clockwork we'd get a message from some higher ups telling us to stop sending them but we more or less still did when it was slow. We'd never interfere with official messages. Best one I got was The Last Supper. It was a good 6 feet long and took two passes. One upper, one lower half of the picture. Nowadays the same type pictures
are called ASCII art. All sorts of websites around with pictures.

I was a plank holder at the Chattanooga REC. We had one city, Atlanta GA. The letter mail goes through high speed sorters. The mail that cannot be deciphered has images taken that are sent to a REC. The images come up on a computer monitor where the operator types in codified address info. This info then goes back to the originating city where it gets paired up with the particular envelope. A bar code is sprayed on the front and then it goes through another high speed sorting machine where it gets sent on it's merry way. Is truly amazing how the REC data gets put on the correct envelope. We're talking 100's of 1,000's of pieces of mail. When images are taken to send to the REC each envelope has a unique bar code put on the upper back so the data from the REC can find the right envelope. If you get an envelope that has a bar code sprayed on the front flip it over. Look along the top edge for the identifying bar code. It's kind of an orange color, can be very hard to see. If you do see one that tells you it went through a REC. The code is not the same as the POSTNET bar codes used to sort the mail on the front.

A few tips to really speed your mail.

1. Use ZIP +4, 5 digit ZIP codes are almost worthless.
They will slow it down since it has to go through a REC. You can get any ZIP +4 codes off the USPS.gov site.

2. Please use block letters instead of script if you
hand write the address.

3. I know it might be nearly impossible but try not to
use red envelopes for your Christmas cards. They are truly murder for the high speed sorters to read the addresses from. Even the REC operators have a terrible time with them. The article even mentions them. Yes I know they look real Christmassy and all but do you want the card delivered in a few days or a week or more? If you absolutely must use a red envelope maybe you could stick a white address label on it that you've hand written or printed with a printer. A lot of label programs can also print out POSTNET bar codes which is a terrific added benefit. Windoze Word is one.

Hope your eyes haven't glazed over! I can really get into bar codes. GGGGG

Ooops, a plank holder is a person that's part of a ships commissioning crew. I was at the Chattanooga REC when it opened back in 1994. She was shut down a few years ago. I think they were handling around 20 cities then.

BTW the reason the price for stamps keeps going up so often is simple. The unions are destroying the PO just like every other industry they get into. That and the outrageous bonuses the supervisors get annually simply for doing their job. 99% of the working stiffs at the PO really do try their best to deliver the mail quickly & accurately.

As most everyone else said it's an old mid 1950's TV remote. Guess I'm showing my age but I remember using one. Back in the day of B&W TV! The good old days way before we realized it.

Winter: What's wrong with the dog watching TV all day? GGG RCA even had a logo with a dog, Nipper, listening to a Victrola phonograph.

Sizzlin' Chicken XL please.

Yo alex, need a pair of specs? It's not Justin Bieber Street. Is obviously Justin Bieber Way.

(sheeeeeeeesh)

This is amazing. Imagine the possibilities! He could stand there perfectly still until a shopper comes close. Then jump out and shout "BOO". It would be hilarious!

(have a counter nearby selling underwear)

Next they should have made this fool get on his hands and knees and clean off all the skid marks. Then wax and buff the deck.

NG: Good point!

Seems a bit fishy to me. There's something on the lot that can be seen spinning off the rear tires. Maybe a type of grit?

I wouldn't recommend these if you want to have children. They will heat up the testicles worse than briefs do. Hot nuts might be a great idea for the studs but heat is Hell on sperm production. Boxers allow them to be in a cooler environment.

(whats this idiot doing standing around in nothing but briefs with snow all around)

(maybe he's trying to cool off his testicles)