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From: pj@hrc63.co.uk (Mr P Johnson "Baddow")
Newsgroups: comp.misc
Subject: Re: Looking for Computer Folklore
Summary: Backing up floppys: the dumb way.
Keywords: Humor
Message-ID: <545@hrc63.co.uk>
Date: 21 Feb 89 15:53:24 GMT
References: <7143@pyr.gatech.EDU> <4744@sfsup.UUCP> <2887@sybase.sybase.com> <50278@yale-celray.yale.UUCP>
Organization: GEC Hirst Research Centre, Wembley, England.
Lines: 32


According to fokelore, a word processor was installed in an office.  The boss
told the secretary (quoting a magazine article) that she must always make
a copy of any disks with important information on.

About two weeks later the secretary phoned the maintainance dept and complained
that the machine would not read a disk.
   "OK." said the maintainance man, "put the copy into the disk drive."
The secretary tried.
   "It wont go in." she said.
   "Well how did you make the copy in the first place?" asked the maintainance 
man.
   "With a photocopier.  How else do you copy anything?"


Another incident occured in a large data-prep office.  One of the operators
was getting married.  The rest of the office clubbed together to buy her
a cake.  The problem arose of where to put it.  Someone suggested the machine
room: air conditioned and secure.  The cake was duly placed in an empty
disk drive away from prying eyes.

A couple of hours later a technician walked through the room and saw an
apparently inactive but occupied drive.  He pressed the start button.

The cake started to spin and 16 read/write heads sliced into the 
disintegrating mass.


I got the first story from a friend.  The second is related in "DONT (or how
to care for your computer)" by R. Zaks.

Paul Johnson.