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From: linden@positive.eng.sun.com (Peter van der Linden)
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban
Subject: Re: Wine and Swords in Ireland
Date: 11 Dec 1993 03:53:32 GMT

Mr Noname of nodomain.edu (check your news software) writes: > A student in his final exams at University in Dublin, raised his hand
> during the exam and when the invigilator arrived, requested a glass of
> red wine. He insisted that in the examination rules, written in 1873
> any student was entitled to a glas of wine during his exam on request.
> The invigilator disappeared coming back some time later with the glass
>
> Later that term, the aforementioned student was called to an examiners'
> meeting and fined #25 for failing to wear his ceremonial sword during
> his exam!!! -another of the rules from 1873!

Ah yes, a favorite academic legend, often told about various universities that have been around a few hundred years. I have been told this one by people who are *sure* that it's true, about both Oxford and Harvard, as well.

The last time this thread came up on AFU (mid November 1991), the late lamented Jim Kasprzak had this comment:

From: kasprj@operators.its.rpi.edu (Jim Kasprzak)
Subject: Re: Ivory Tower Urban Legend
Date: 23 Nov 91 09:02:24 GMT Posting on A.F.U.
>
>[Standard urban legend about student enforcing ancient rules and
>losing when other such rules are enforced against him deleted]

This one seems to keep spreading and mutating. Just last weekend I heard an American West version from the University of Montana. A student discovered an old university rule that allowed him to get a shot of whiskey if he had to walk to class through temperatures below zero (Fahrenheit). He invoked the rule on a history professor whom he knew would be conversant with the university's history and thus know that the rule was for real. The prof congratulated him on his familiarity with the old laws, got him the whiskey - and then fined him two dollars for walking to class without a firearm of sufficient caliber (have to beware of bears, you know).

I'll bet there'll be versions of this from universities on the Moon in a couple of centuries ("and then the professor nailed him for not having his laser with him").

__ Live from Capitaland, heart of the Empire State... ___/ | Jim Kasprzak, computer operator @ RPI, Troy, NY, USA /____ *| Disclaimer: RPI pays me to work, not to think.

     \_| "A spirit with a vision is a dream with a mission" -Rush
      ====  e-mail: kasprj@rpi.edu or kasprzak@mts.rpi.edu 

Just remember:
A professor is someone who talks in someone else's sleep. I love the way these stories always feature "a professor". "A professor" is a standard UL character, along with an unfaithful spouse, a muscular bad guy, an invalid child, a faithful dog, a dishonest government and an entire Club 33 of Disney characters.

OBUL: Baskerville typeface was named after the first book set in that print: Conan Doyle's "The Hound of the Baskervilles"

Peter
Charter member, Silicon Valley Old Hat Cabal

--
linden@eng.sun.com P. van der Linden Your Kibo Number is now 2 Developer of the monomial distribution: I get all of it. Inventor of the Lambada-Calculus: teaching logic thru spanish dance steps.