Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/18/84; site phri.UUCP
Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!bellcore!decvax!ittatc!dcdwest!sdcsvax!ucbvax!hplabs!pesnta!phri!greenber
From: greenber@phri.UUCP (Ross Greenberg)
Newsgroups: net.rumor
Subject: Re: Computer Horror Stories (rumors about computers)
Message-ID: <2274@phri.UUCP>
Date: Sat, 8-Mar-86 12:06:21 EST
Article-I.D.: phri.2274
Posted: Sat Mar  8 12:06:21 1986
Date-Received: Tue, 11-Mar-86 01:33:38 EST
References: <14700001@hplabsb.UUCPM.UUCP> <32900008@gypsy.UUCP>
Reply-To: greenber@phri.UUCP (Ross Greenberg)
Organization: Public Health Research Inst. (NY, NY)
Lines: 23

A friend of mine relates the following:

Seems that CalTech had a very large drum memory in the days before
decent-sized disks.  Seems that this sucker was about eight feet long,
about five feet in diameter and weighed a bloody great deal.

Took about an hour to spin up to speed, and about three hours to
spin down.

Some students calculated what would happen if it threw a bearing, and
bounced onto the floor, through the brick wall, down a few flights,
across some grassy area, and into a parking lot.

Red arrows were supposedly drawn to indicate the destructive path of
this monster.


-- 
------
ross m. greenberg
ihnp4!allegra!phri!sysdes!greenber

[phri rarely makes a guest-account user a spokesperson. Especially not me.]