Xref: utzoo comp.arch:8446 rec.humor:19349
Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!iuvax!rutgers!cmcl2!phri!roy
From: roy@phri.UUCP (Roy Smith)
Newsgroups: comp.arch,rec.humor
Subject: Re: Rhealstone
Message-ID: <3703@phri.UUCP>
Date: 26 Feb 89 15:51:09 GMT
References: <176@redsun.UUCP>
Reply-To: roy@phri.UUCP (Roy Smith)
Distribution: usa
Organization: Public Health Research Inst. (NY, NY)
Lines: 17

don@redsun.UUCP (Donald C. Currie) writes:
> I thought WhatStone? was the benchmark for voice recognition systems... :)!

	No, actually it's a benchmark for telephonic emergency distress
call systems.  The first recorded reference to this was Alexander Bell's
famous "Come here Whatstone, I need you!", yelled in exasperation when he
realized he needed some benchmark figures to give to the marketing yahoos
who were trying to sell his new telephone.  Unfortunately, the quality of
the line was not as good as with modern digital fiber circuits, so his
assistant, Thomas Watson, thought Bell was calling for help.  Watson rushed
into the room, and in his haste, spilled a jar of battery acid on Bell's
hand.
-- 
Roy Smith, System Administrator
Public Health Research Institute
{allegra,philabs,cmcl2,rutgers}!phri!roy -or- phri!roy@uunet.uu.net
"The connector is the network"