posted
Comment: In 1965 I and a friend started a machine shop in Hawthorne, soon after our opening a man came in and asked us to make some special parts, he claimed it would revolutionize gas milage and eliminate smog we had to be sure not to copy the blueprints and give him everything we made from them.A few days later he called and asked us to come to his place of business and watch a test that he had prepared.He had what looked like an air gun with a tube coming from it going into a large drum of KEROSENE. He then lit a torch pulled the trigger and lit the flame. It went about 20 to 30 feet in distance and all flame , not an iota of smoke. As God is my judge that's the truth. I saw it with my own eyes I swear. I never heard another word about it and I assume someone bought it out and hid it. The Company Name was Energy Scienses and the place of business was ElSegundo. As for the light bulb my wife worked in a bulb making factory before we were married more than 54 years ago.She asked the foreman if she could have one to take home he gave her one that was called a ginger.extra coating on the fillament, would last for ever.
Posts: 36029 | From: Admin | Registered: Feb 2000
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posted
Comment: Dear SNOPES, first, I really enjoy your website and refer to it often to 'clear up' rumors and 'nonsense' received via e-mail. **I know this doesn't matter to you, but I just read your Balls Up story, June 2006. I am 47 years old, and as a nightowl growing up, I saw every J. Carson/Tonight Show ever aired. I have no way of remembering which golfers wife she was, but this story is indeed TRUE. It was the funniest moment I can remember, and I'm pretty sure it was pre-70's in time frame. It was made funnier because it was an innocent response from the golfers wife. (not like if it happened today) The embarassment was real; just as this story is. The look on her face was 'priceless' when she realized what she had said. I only wish you could prove it, and that the episode still existed. In the past, I have often considered buying the video collection, just to see if that segment was on there. I guess you have at least saved me money. My recollection, however, was Carson's reply having more to do with 'betting that would make his putter stand up'. Either way, the basic story is true, as I witnessed it take place.
Posts: 36029 | From: Admin | Registered: Feb 2000
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posted
Comment: I want to comment on the 'mother giving birth to black child' article. I have a friend with a black brother, but it turned out to be a birth mark all over his body. I don't know if this was a cover up, but he said it has happened before. (also, he had spots of white on him)
Posts: 36029 | From: Admin | Registered: Feb 2000
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During the first gulf war, Disney Land sponsored a military day. Any military personalle or family members of military personalle were permitted into the park for free. The park was closed off to the rest of the public. I was 14 at the time.
I had heard the rumor of Walt's discharge hanging upside-down in the background of an old film at Disney Land - although the rumor I received was that Walt had been in the Marine Corps for a year and was given his discharge due to bad conduct towards an officer. Of course I had to know for myself because my dream was to work for Disney doing animated features.
Right inside the front gates and off to the right was a building that featured the original Mickey Mouse in Steamboat Willey. I went in the room and watched the film. There was also a film of Walt Disney himself explaining how he came up with some of his ideas, etc. On the wall behind Walt was an official-looking document hanging upside down. I saw it clear enough to convince me that I didn't ever want to work for Disney.
What document was this if it wasn't his discharge? It was clearly hanging upside down on the wall behind him.
Posts: 36029 | From: Admin | Registered: Feb 2000
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I had heard the rumor of Walt's discharge hanging upside-down in the background of an old film at Disney Land...
Am I the only one who had a really disturbing NFBSK thought at this?
-------------------- "There is a race between mankind and the universe. Mankind is trying to build bigger, better, faster, and more foolproof machines. The universe is trying to build bigger, better, and faster fools. So far the universe is winning." -Albert Einstein Posts: 1058 | From: Yakima, WA | Registered: Dec 2005
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quote:Originally posted by The 2006 Spamamander SE:
quote:Originally posted by snopes:
I had heard the rumor of Walt's discharge hanging upside-down in the background of an old film at Disney Land...
Am I the only one who had a really disturbing NFBSK thought at this?
No, unfortunately.
-------------------- "No matter what kind of a twisted sexual mutant you happen to be, you've got millions of pals out there. Type in 'Find people that have sex with goats that are on fire' and the computer will say, 'Specify type of goat.'" Posts: 1112 | From: Ohio | Registered: Jul 2000
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quote:Originally posted by The 2006 Spamamander SE:
quote:Originally posted by snopes:
I had heard the rumor of Walt's discharge hanging upside-down in the background of an old film at Disney Land...
Am I the only one who had a really disturbing NFBSK thought at this?
No, and now I'm glad to see I'm not alone in my twistedness.
-------------------- You've got to remember that these are just simple farmers. These are people of the land. The common clay of the new West. You know... morons. -Blazing Saddles Posts: 1074 | From: High Level, Alberta, Canada | Registered: Mar 2006
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quote:Originally posted by snopes: Comment: Dear SNOPES
I love the people who think Snopes is an acronym for somthing.
Somehow No Other People Exhibit Stupidity
Okay - that can't be correct
-------------------- "I'm singing and deranged!" Posts: 239 | From: Georgia | Registered: Dec 2004
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Canuckistan
Ding Dong! Merrily on High Definition TV
posted
quote:Originally posted by Bassist: Somehow No Other People Exhibit Stupidity
Okay - that can't be correct
Close. How about:
Somehow Now, Other People Exhibit Stupidity
??
-------------------- People need to stop appropriating Jesus as their reason for behaving badly. It's so irritating. (Avril) Posts: 8429 | From: New York run by the Swiss (Toronto) | Registered: Mar 2005
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posted
Comment: This is regarding the Paul Harvey/Mel Gibson story re: his face, etc.. I did hear Paul Harvey on WGN radio Chicago in the past 5 years. Yes, he did talk about the facial injuries, but he also talked about how a priest found a surgeon to take care of his face, etc.. I remember it vividly, because I was so shocked about who "the rest of the story" was about...given his good looks! I KNOW WHAT I HEARD!
This was the one and only time I had heard the story until Mr. Gibson's latest problems. Mr. Harvey may deny his telling of the story, but he obviously embellished it beyond what was true. He should admit that he did it for the shock factor. Shame on him!
Posts: 36029 | From: Admin | Registered: Feb 2000
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posted
Comment: my class done an experiment and the toliet flushed anti- clockwise how is that that means your answer is wrong !!!!!!!
Posts: 36029 | From: Admin | Registered: Feb 2000
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posted
Comment: The only thing that I know for fact is that the picture taken of the 3 water spouts was in fact real. I was there and have witnesses and can verify with the camera and disc. One other thing is that we do not allow boat hands on board much less let them be tied up along side when a storm is approaching, such as a hurricane. What would a Seacor hand, which is a boat company be on board taken a picture of a Chouest boat from a Transocean rig? So I don't know where you got your info from but I can verify the 3 waterspouts. To add to this there was actually 5 water spouts but you can't see the other 2 because they are behind the aft end of the rig. They all came out from behind the rig and formed into one big one and left the location away from the rig.
Posts: 36029 | From: Admin | Registered: Feb 2000
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posted
Comment: In the section on luck you say that it is false that Donald Trump paid off the mortgage on a strangers house because the stranger stopped to help Donald in a limo when he had a flat tire. This I am 100% positive is a true story. Donald Trump admitted to this himself on a past episode of the apprentice. I really don't think he would lie on his own show on national television. You should correct this. Your site is cute, but it will have little value if you do not thoroughly research your topics. I would have never known different about the Donald Trump thing either if I would not have seen it on the apprentice.
Posts: 36029 | From: Admin | Registered: Feb 2000
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-------------------- If swimming is so good for your figure, how do you explain whales? Posts: 13275 | From: Kindergarten World, Massachusetts | Registered: Jul 2003
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Comment: I listened to the Paul Harvey story about Mel Gibson on the radio. This article is false. Paul Harvey's version was the first one - not the second. I can only assume that the Paul Harvey camp wrote this article. How many other people have you heard from stating they heard it also? Anything not to get sued I suppose.
Posts: 36029 | From: Admin | Registered: Feb 2000
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quote:Originally posted by snopes: Comment: my class done an experiment and the toliet flushed anti- clockwise how is that that means your answer is wrong !!!!!!!
I'm guessing it wasn't an English class, was it?
-------------------- Every time I see a good looking woman, I think, "0oooh. There's another one I'll never have!"
Corvette. The louder you scream, the faster I'll go. Posts: 1820 | From: Memphis, TN | Registered: Sep 2005
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quote:Originally posted by snopes: Comment: my class done an experiment and the toliet flushed anti- clockwise how is that that means your answer is wrong !!!!!!!
But you can't limit yourself to one flush on one toilet. To be meaningful, you'd need one hundred flushes each on one hundred toilets. And it would be useful to get a government grant so you could pay the water bill.
-------------------- Emperor of the United States and Protector of Mexico Posts: 287 | From: Mystic, CT | Registered: Jul 2006
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posted
Comment: Regarding semen having to be pumped from stomachs: Back in the late seventies I was a young teenager and definitely recall hearing on the major news networks repeatedly that Rod Stewart was admitted to a hospital and had semen pumped from his stomach. My husband, who is the same age as me, and his friends, who at the time lived in different town and went to a different school, also remember this was big news. It was shocking and embarrassing and we discussed it with our friends and parents, so we will never forget it. Trying to cover this up or change the names to Elton John, etc., is not going to hide the fact that Rod Stewart was all over the news in the late 1970s.
Posts: 36029 | From: Admin | Registered: Feb 2000
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posted
Comment: Regarding the "rumor" about Johnny Carson saying, "if you'll move that damn cat" is TRUE. I am 48 years old, and was in college back in the late 70's/early 80's and I clearly remember this happening on one episode. The person being interviewed was NOT Zza Zsa Gabor. It was Raquel Welch - which I clearly recall because I was thinking at the time that she didn't look too bad for an "older" woman. Remember, I remembered her from those old mid-60's movies, so for her to be on a show in the late 70's made me think (at the time) that she was an "older" woman.
In any event, this episode with the exchange about petting her pussy is TRUE. I know I'm not crazy. I didn't get this from hearsay. I saw it with my own eyes (in black and white) and heard it with my own ears. I live on the East Coast, and Johnny Carson was live from New York back then I think, not on a tape delay, so that is how it made it through the censors.
Posts: 36029 | From: Admin | Registered: Feb 2000
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I saw this incident (Iowa circa 1980?). As I recall Mrs. Palmer was supposedly in town because of a charity she was promoting. After she made the “I kiss his balls” reply Carson jumped into the microphone with the line “I bet that made his putter stand on end” so fast I thought at the time the joke must have been set up by an appearance pre-interview or the like.
Almost as soon as the laughter had started Carson started making “I’m sorry” movements and noises while Mrs. Palmer remained stony-faced. I don’t recall exactly what happened next but it was something anticlimactic – they probably headed without much fanfare into a commercial.
ZSA ZSA GABOR STORY
Saw this one also around 1980. Zsa Zsa’s line was “Do you want to see my pussy?” and Carson’s line was “Sure, move the cat”. As I recall, this one was even used as one of the short ads to promote the telecast later that night . They ran it an hour or two before the show actually was broadcast. I remember howling with laughter while watching.
THE TRUTH?
Having read some of the other comments about these incidents makes me wonder if both of these are in fact stock jokes that the Tonight Show would pull out every so often. The Zsa Zsa one would require cooperation of the actress but the Palmer one could have been done entirely with a hired actress…and done every so often with a different golf champ reference. This would make Palmer's/Leno's 1994 comments completely true also. All involved could have truthfully denied it ever took place when asked if Johnny had ever said that to Mrs. Arnold Palmer because IT WAS NEVER THE REAL Mrs. Arnold Palmer.
The Tonight Show certainly pulled similar stunts – like when Carson hit the French Ambassador in the face with a cream pie (big audience applause) and then formally shook hands with him after the Ambassador had strenuously argued the position of the French Government not to allow the USA to overfly France with nuclear material or the like. After the skit was done Carson said something like “That of course was not the real French Ambassador. That was actor John Doe (don’t recall name)”.
I emailed Penn Jillette asking if he knew the answer since this eternal Palmer joke would be similar in some ways to “The Aristocrats!” punch line joke that has been going on forever. I never got a reply from Jillette.
Gail: What is your most memorable event in your career thus far?
Dan: Way back in the 80's I was fortunate to be a part of "The Mighty Carson Art Players". I got a phone call saying I need to come over to NBC for an audition. I went over there a role of a French Ambassador. I got it and they said be back at 3 o'clock. I rehearsed with Johnny Carson. We were at odds with the French at the time, it's when our planes were flying over France and they wouldn't let us stop to refuel. My role was to explain the French position. He asked me a few questions then hit me in the face with a pie.
I was in the green room making calls to my friends saying "I am going to be on Carson tonight! This is so awesome!" After getting hit with the pie I walk off stage with pie dripping off my face and Johnny chuckling explained to the audience that I was not actually a French Ambassador that I was an actor by the name of Dan Woren. I didn't know that until I watched it that night. Oh this is so cool! He said my name to millions of people! How cool is that?!
Posts: 6 | From: San Francisco, CA | Registered: Aug 2006
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quote: ARNOLD PALMER’S WIFE STORY I saw this incident (Iowa circa 1980?).
Considering that this joke had already been reported in newspapers by the time the "Tonight Show" went national in 1954, I seriously doubt you saw it in the 1980s.
quote:ZSA ZSA GABOR STORY Saw this one also around 1980.
Considering that this story has been around since the late 1960s/early 1970s, I seriously doubt you saw it in the 1980s.
quote:Having read some of the other comments about these incidents makes me wonder if both of these are in fact stock jokes that the Tonight Show would pull out every so often.
Since neither of them was ever used on the "Tonight Show" (save for guests or hosts asking about them many years later), they must not have pulled them out very far.
These jokes being reported a long time ago and these jokes being repeated much later are not mutually exclusive events.
Many good jokes get told again and again and again with different protagonists or different settings or something tweaked a bit to fit the context. The "I kiss his balls" joke would be perfect for this - just taylor it to whomever the current golf champ is. You could even taylor it to your local circle of friends and replace the celebrity reference with one of your hapless pals.
It would not surprise me if these jokes and their permutations have been used hundreds of times in different types of media over the last, say, 100 years.
It would not surprise me if these jokes were used on the Tonight Show multiple times.
I only saw them used once. I only saw the "French Ambassador gets hit with a cream pie" joke used once. But it is entirely plausible to me that they were used more than once.
P.S. I also recall hearing the Rod Stewart rumor roundabout the late 70's. I heard it from more than one source but it was always from an acquaintance or the like - never anything official. My thought was always that it was made by somebody jealous of his success or was off a comedy album or from some DJ making a joke or the like.
Posts: 6 | From: San Francisco, CA | Registered: Aug 2006
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posted
I asserted that I saw both the Palmer and the Zsa Zsa jokes on the Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson.
That's when you guys said.......nothing.
Nobody's going to try and suggest I am engaged in non-mendacious confabulation?
Emperor Norton II! Surely a man of your dignity, import, and wisdom can see the necessity of issuing your fellow San Franciscan a royal proclamation of veracity!
P.S. Bummer about Lazarus
Posts: 6 | From: San Francisco, CA | Registered: Aug 2006
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quote:These jokes being reported a long time ago and these jokes being repeated much later are not mutually exclusive events.
That's true. But:
a) The fact that they were documented as existing well before the time they supposedly appeared on the "Tonight Show" demonstrates that they did not originate with that program.
b) The fact that they were never used on the "Tonight Show" at all (even as recycled jokes) demonstrates that neither you nor anyone else ever saw them on that program.
Regarding a)...I never asserted the jokes originated on the Tonight Show. I asserted I SAW the jokes on the Tonight Show.
Regarding b)...isn't Snope's own article on the Palmer joke more consistent with my assertion than the assertion that this joke never occurred on the "Tonight Show"?
The article quotes Ben Alba as saying that the joke occurred on the “Tonight Show” in the mid-50’s when Steve Allen was host.
"As for Arnold Palmer himself, comedian Jay Leno asked him about the legend in 1994, a few years after taking over as permanent host of the Tonight Show following Carson's retirement in 1992, and Palmer indicated to him that the story was based on nothing more than a joke deliberately told by Carson: Leno: ... apparently Johnny said, "Is there anything your wife does to bring you good luck?"
Palmer: No, Johnny said, "Does your wife kiss your balls before you go to play?" and I said, "I don't even go to bed without pajamas."
Leno: I thought that was a tactful way ... but thanks for getting right to the point. So we cleared that up. That's like a famous one, like Jack Benny's, "Your money or your life ... I'm thinking it over." I wanted to find out ... so it is true?
Palmer: There you've got it. And I don't want to hear about it any more."
In the above Snopes-vetted article-
"...Palmer indicated to him that the story was based on nothing more than a joke deliberately told by Carson:"
A joke deliberately told by Carson. Where would Carson have told this joke? Is it not the most plausible inference that Carson would have told it ON THE "TONIGHT SHOW"? Why would Palmer say Carson had told the joke if Carson hadn't? If Carson had told this joke to only a few people in private why would it have become so well-known that Palmer would have to address it with Leno years later?
The most plausible interpretation I can see of the above quote is that the joke WAS told on the “Tonight Show” while Carson was hosting.
Note that the last thing Leno says is “…so it is true?” In reply to Leno does Palmer deny it? NO! He says “There you've got it. And I don't want to hear about it any more."
P.S. No Elizabeth Loftus references?
Posts: 6 | From: San Francisco, CA | Registered: Aug 2006
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quote:Regarding a)...I never asserted the jokes originated on the Tonight Show. I asserted I SAW the jokes on the Tonight Show.
I know. And you're wrong either way.
quote:The article quotes Ben Alba as saying that the joke occurred on the "Tonight Show" in the mid-50’s when Steve Allen was host.
And the article also notes that Alba was simply repeating a story told to him by someone else fifty years after the fact, and that the same story had already shown up in newspapers well before it supposedly happened on the "Tonight Show."
quote:The most plausible interpretation I can see of the above quote is that the joke WAS told on the "Tonight Show" while Carson was hosting.
Actually, the most plausible interpretation is that Carson told him the joke off-camera during a commercial break, since NBC's Standards and Practices department wouldn't have allowed it to air.
posted
So....this off-camera joke somehow became so famous that Leno had to ask Palmer about it years later?
Posts: 6 | From: San Francisco, CA | Registered: Aug 2006
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posted
Comment: Claim: Fast food restaurants and school cafeterias use 'Grade D but edible' meat.
Your assertion that this claim is false is not wholly correct. As a sophomore in summer school at Texas A&M Univerisity in 1989, I was walking behind Sbisa Dining Center on the way back to my dorm, and I saw with my own eyes boxes on the loading dock labeled 'Grade D But Edible'. There may not have been meat in those boxes, but something labeled Grade D was going into the Dining Center. This is not an urban legend I heard, this is something I witnessed.
Posts: 36029 | From: Admin | Registered: Feb 2000
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quote:So....this off-camera joke somehow became so famous that Leno had to ask Palmer about it years later?
Do try to follow along ... the joke was already "famous," having been applied to other sports figures before Arnold Palmer came on the scene. His was just the name that became most attached to the gag in the early-to-mid-1960s.
posted
Comment: Hi; It may seem small in the overall scheme of things, and I don't care if Johnny Carson and Zsa Zsa both publicly denied the "Pussy" comment, it happened. I saw it and heard it with my own two eyes and ears. It was one of the funniest things he ever said and he seemed embarrassed by it after he said it, but nonetheless, HE SAID IT. It ranks right up there with his "Grab Cochrun" remark and his willingness to "..pay a weeks salary to peek.." at (Dolly Parton's)boobs. Zsa Zsa was sitting with the cat in her lap and cooed as she sort of offered Johnny the cat and asked "Would you like to pet my pussy?" They were the first words out of her mouth. Johnny got that non-plussed expression on his face and looked at the audience, flicking his pencil as he looked, and replied, "Sure, but you'll have to move your damn cat." It happened. It is not my imagination. My wife saw it, I saw it and anyone watching the Tonight Show that night saw it. I also saw the night that Jane Fonda asked him if it happened and he did deny it. I thought that strange. But, whether he or anyone else denied it or not, the fact is, IT DID HAPPEN. There has to be another reason for the denials as they simply are NOT true. It IS a fact and ranks as one of the all time quickest, funniest AND dirtiest remarks ever made on television. In the 70's the censors let him say and do a lot because the show was out of primetime and he used to joke openly to McMahan, "Oops, that'll cost me when the censors hear it." or, "Do you think that'll make it past?" (The censors) Sorry, you guys have this one wrong because I know what I saw and heard. It was said and it was funny.
Posts: 36029 | From: Admin | Registered: Feb 2000
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quote:Do try to follow along ... the joke was already "famous," having been applied to other sports figures before Arnold Palmer came on the scene. His was just the name that became most attached to the gag in the early-to-mid-1960s.
- snopes
Is it I who is not following along?
Is your statement not an ad hominem attack?
Are you purposely trying to be a troll?
I was focusing on the context in which Carson would have told this joke. You conflated this with the question of whether the joke was "famous". Your point is moot - we both agree that this joke had probably been around for quite some time.
Did Carson tell the joke? Yes, we agree. In what context?
My argument:
Palmer would have been the LAST person Carson would have privately told the joke to. Palmer would have heard the joke a zillion times already. Carson would suspect that to be the case if he didn't know already. Who would be a good audience for this joke? His fellow comedians? No, they probably refer to it as joke #137. So who would be a good audience for this joke?
The studio and TV audience!
Note that this use of an actress to portray Mrs. Palmer is similar to the use of actors to portray non-actors in Borat.
Posts: 6 | From: San Francisco, CA | Registered: Aug 2006
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