OOPS!!

March 3, 2003 4:11 PM

"Uh, that does happen sometimes, that can't be good" I don't know how old this is, but it's off of TechTV. The guest is showing off an old phonograph cylinder when ....

I guess he was a bit nervous.
posted by daHIFI (24 comments total)

Please to be giving warning of evil WMV link.
posted by Space Coyote at 4:14 PM on March 3, 2003

I don't know what's worse. The fact that he busted up his "One of a Kind" recording or the way he responded to that on TV was with, "Oh fff...er...S#!T!"
posted by aaronscool at 4:37 PM on March 3, 2003

Yay! Random person's passionate hobby destroyed for all to see on video! Hy-fucking-sterical. Can we get the clip where the doctor drops the baby next?

and people say metafilterians are a bunch of humorless over-reactors.

it's a clip. it's interesting. it happened. lighten up.
posted by donkeyschlong at 4:39 PM on March 3, 2003

Yay! Random person's passionate hobby destroyed for all to see on video!


XQUZYPHYR, I have to agree with your assessment. When I first saw this, I really, really felt bad for the guy. Here he is on national cable television in front of a large pseudo-large audience and breaks at least what he considers a one-of-a-kind treasure.

I was rather disappointed with the way Chris handled the situation. At least extend some sympathy to the guy. It's only funny when it's not your treasure and sometimes not even then.
posted by aaronchristy at 4:45 PM on March 3, 2003

(and just to clarify -- i feel for the dude too. but it's still interesting to see a demonstration go awry like that.)
posted by donkeyschlong at 4:47 PM on March 3, 2003

I'm no expert, like the guy on the program, but those cylinders for the victrolas and the like aren't extremely rare -- they are one-of-a-kind, in that they aren't mass produced, but it's not as if he dropped and shattered the Hope diamond or anything. You can get one of those cylinders at almost any flea market for $5 or $10 each.
posted by crunchland at 4:59 PM on March 3, 2003

spacecoyote -- there is a warning, it's called the url in the status bar. wmv files may be evil, but the internet is clicker beware.
posted by birdherder at 5:09 PM on March 3, 2003

birdherder: just pointing out that some of us would (and do) appreciate a little indication in parentheses if the link is to a quicktime, or flash, or PDF, so we know what to expect. Not difficult.
posted by Space Coyote at 5:16 PM on March 3, 2003

This kind of sadistic humor always irks me. I once saw an America's Funniest Home Videos where a wedding couple was surprised when their guests covering them in Silly String. Except, Silly String is *extremely inflammable* -- a second later the string touched a lit candle and the couple literally went up in flames. Luckily the combustible material burned itself out very quickly, and no one was injured. But to see the reaction of the syncophantic announcer afterwords was particularly loathsome when he made some asinine quip like, "Ha, ha, that's one HOT couple!" Ha, they almost died, that's so funny! Ha, this guy's funny little "prized item" is destroyed on TV, how drole! Jeez! Lighten up guys! You have no sense of humor!

As is so typical in this Great Country of Ours, being an asshole or an inconsiderate prick is equated with being humerous. No wonder everybody hates us.
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 5:17 PM on March 3, 2003

You're aware that Jimmy Kimmel has three different TV shows right now, right?

Classic! Thanks for the laugh.
posted by aaronchristy at 5:34 PM on March 3, 2003

It was a gag.
posted by zztzed at 5:51 PM on March 3, 2003

I must say that I found the situation funny, not because the poor bastard broke his little cylinder o' music, but because of the heroically stupid reaction of the host.

I mean seriously... could that host have found a way to be more of a jackass?
posted by mosch at 5:54 PM on March 3, 2003

Luckily the combustible material burned itself out very quickly, and no one was injured.

Ha, they almost died, that's so funny!

So which is it?

Oh and... The difference between flammable and combustible liquid is the flash point, or the lowest temperature at which vapours ignite. Flammable liquids have a flashpoint of under 100 degrees F (37.8 C). Combustible liquids have a flashpoint over 100 degrees F (37.8 C)

Again, which is it?
posted by Witty at 6:54 PM on March 3, 2003

Can't it both be very funny and very sad at the same time?

It was very funny. And very sad.
posted by frenetic at 7:01 PM on March 3, 2003

Witty: definately combustible, as it required a flame to ignite. If it could ignite at below 100 F, I imagine the class action lawsuit against the makers of Silly String in states like Texas and Arizona during summer months would put them out of business.
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 7:33 PM on March 3, 2003

XQUZYPHYR loves aquarium videos, which he only occasionally interrupts with rants about the injustice of ichthyological exploitainment.
posted by quonsar at 8:03 PM on March 3, 2003

I like to watch.
posted by uncanny hengeman at 9:01 PM on March 3, 2003

From watching the guys hands while he was handling the cylinder, it didn't look like he was handling it like it was fragile at all.
He was gripping it so hard his hands were shaking.
You could see the exertion behind it.

Insurance scam?
posted by Trik at 10:37 PM on March 3, 2003

it was a gag.
posted by Satapher at 11:00 PM on March 3, 2003

Hmmm....does knowing it was a gag make it less funny or not?
posted by LexRockhard at 1:37 AM on March 4, 2003

Less funny.
posted by mmoncur at 2:16 AM on March 4, 2003

Inflammable means flammable? What a country!

Oh no! Macabre humour! Take it away! I must keep my eyes unspoiled! I mustn't listen to it! I will turn into a bad man!

If you knew what my solution was to this real-life problem, you'd probably condemn me to burn in hell (fortunately I'm atheist so I really don't care, :-P ):

A VERY obese man dies on the toilet. Emergency rushes out to the scene, but can do nothing (he's dead). So the coroner is called in to take the body away. But there's a problem. The dead guy is too fat to fit through the door since he is now unable to suck his gut in.

What does one do?

BTW: When I mentioned my solution I got the usual "What the hell are you talking about? You can't do that!" reaction. Which is better than how some people react to my humour/ideas.

What this is, though, is a classic case of personality type conflicts. Some personality types will try to find the simplest solution to any situation, and, failing that, laugh the stress away, ignoring (or revelling in) the reactions of others (ISTP - me, mostly). Other personality types prefer to take the problem a little more personally to understand it from their emotional perspective and feel that those laughing at the situation are unfeeling (ESFJ).

Neither is wrong, or right. Both are valid reactions. But mix the wrong personalities together and apply the right stressors and you can see the fireworks fly!
posted by shepd at 4:05 AM on March 4, 2003

Let's all please have a moment of silence for poor, rich white guy and his broken cylinder that has ruined his life forever.

There... we're all better people now.
posted by BobFrapples at 12:51 PM on March 4, 2003

"You hit her pretty hard there, Rick." -Fred
posted by LexRockhard at 2:34 PM on March 4, 2003