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From: hollombe@ttidcc.UUCP (The Polymath)
Newsgroups: net.analog,net.misc
Subject: Re: "Nuclear Event Detector"
Message-ID: <67@ttidcc.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 19-Dec-85 13:15:57 EST
Article-I.D.: ttidcc.67
Posted: Thu Dec 19 13:15:57 1985
Date-Received: Sat, 21-Dec-85 06:27:52 EST
References: <799@brl-tgr.ARPA>
Reply-To: hollombe@ttidcc.UUCP (The Polymath)
Distribution: net
Organization: The Cat Factory
Lines: 36
Xref: watmath net.analog:574 net.misc:9021
Summary: 

In article <799@brl-tgr.ARPA> wmartin@brl-tgr.ARPA (Will Martin ) writes:
>making this is IRT Corporation, Electronic Systems Division, 3030 Callan
>Road, San Diego, CA 92121 (619) 450-4343, x 527. Their slogan is "The
>Experts in Nuclear Survivability"....
>
>In short, this thing is supposed to "protect" your computer or other
>electronic doohickey in the event of a nuclear weapon detonation....
>
>                ... Anybody know anything about these sorts of things
>and have comments or explanations to offer?

What you have there is yet another variation on one of the oldest scams  in
the  world.  The basic idea is to offer a product with a guarantee that the
customer can't possibly collect on when the product  fails,  often  because
they're dead or the company has long since gone out of business. (e.g.: "If
this parachute fails to open return to manufacturer for a full refund.").

Other variations abound.  Ever bought  a  pair  of  socks  with  a  5  year
warranty?  When's  the  last time you kept a receipt for socks, or anything
else, for 5 years?  Then there was the "lucky marriage rock" scam.  A woman
buying  one  of  these stones ($10) was guaranteed to be married within the
year or get a full refund.  Statistically, at the time, 50%  of  the  women
buying the rocks were likely to get married within the year anyway.  Of the
remaining 50% those few who bothered  to  claim  the  warranty  were  given
refunds. (This pre-dated the pet rock by at least 10 years).

I have little doubt there were similar scams selling cheap swords and  luck
tokens to gladiators in ancient Rome.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
The Polymath (aka: Jerry Hollombe)
Citicorp(+)TTI
3100 Ocean Park Blvd.             Geniuses are people so lazy they
Santa Monica, CA  90405           do everything right the first time.
(213) 450-9111, ext. 2483
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