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- From: davel@booboo.SanDiego.NCR.COM (David Lord)
- Newsgroups: talk.bizarre,rec.humor,rec.arts.startrek.current
- Subject: Re: STAR TREK PRANKS
- Message-ID: <1992Aug31.210753.9458@donner.SanDiego.NCR.COM>
- Date: 31 Aug 92 21:07:53 GMT
- References: <1992Aug24.132945.20787@hobbes.kzoo.edu> <RANNOU.92Aug27090550@zuse.info.polymtl.ca> <1992Aug28.140739.21867@dickens.com> <1992Aug28.221441.12452@adx.adelphi.edu>
- Sender: news@donner.SanDiego.NCR.COM (News Owner)
- Reply-To: davel@booboo.SanDiego.NCR.COM (David Lord)
- Organization: NCR Corporation, Rancho Bernardo
- Lines: 36
-
- In article <1992Aug28.140739.21867@dickens.com> jd@dickens.com (Joe Dudar) writes:
- >In article <RANNOU.92Aug27090550@zuse.info.polymtl.ca> Rannou@info.polymtl.ca (Patrick Rannou) writes:
- >>In article <1992Aug24.132945.20787@hobbes.kzoo.edu> tweaver@hobbes.kzoo.edu (Tim Weaver) writes:
- >>
- >> >Don't forget ordering 36,767 Frengi pizzas in Rikers name.
- >>
- >>Huh, why 36,767 exactly? I've seen this number pop up in other newsgroup,
- >>so if any kind soul can tell me I'll be gald...
- >>
- >I'm already galled. I think it was s'posed ta be 2^15-1, or 32k-1, but the
- >second digit is wrong... should be 32767.
-
- Actually 36767 is the highest number you can order of anything Ferengi.
- Seems that the Ferengi allow patent protection for numbers in order
- to protect Ferengi inovation and intellectual property rights. To date patents
- have expired on all the numbers up to and including 36767. Why, you ask
- didn't some smart Ferengi simply patent all numbers at the same time?
- Silly you. The Ferengi allow any corporation or individual to hold patent
- on up to 12 numbers at a time. Further, in order to patent any particular
- number you must have the right to use all the preceeding numbers. Because
- the typical Ferengi patent holder charges an arm and a leg (and arm and an ear?)
- for licensing, patented numbers are seldom used. In addition you can't
- avoid patented numbers simply by using higher numbers, in order to use
- the number 50000 for instance you must have rights to all previous numbers.
- The only way around some of the patent mess is to use large units, for
- instance rather than ordering a 1000000 tons of rock you might order
- 1 megaton. Just don't try to convert units (that would require use of
- the number 1000000).
-
- Surely all this is in the FAQ somewhere.
-
-
- If you think that the Ferengi must be very foolish because of all
- this, keep in mind the the US allows patenting of human genes. Just
- think, someday you could be in big trouble for using and passing along
- a patented gene.
-