Right, and they were originally called United Death Ray Inc. They then chose a more ambiguous name (Floggemshortz-- by using a random character program (set to German sounding phonics)) but were eventually bought out by the Veeblefetzer Corp - hence the current name. In case anyone was wondering.
Strange Item,-- I read on the internet last night that Hobbes was actually still alive and that the current “Death Ray” market is still influenced by his presence in the inner circles of the “Death Ray” market. If this is true that would put him at over 100 years old.
Any truth to this? Where was his body buried? I want to see the death certificate!!
Tuvian-built units: Known Issues
Guns and Ammo, Sept 1960, pp 65-79, 82-85
"…The Aldron Suppressor was to allow a user to regulate the discharge on this style “Death Ray”. Developed by Dr. Henry Aldron, the “double trigger” was designed to allow the user to pull the first trigger to adjust the power before pulling the second trigger to fire.
This combination seemed practical to our testers when one said, “…rather save some juice for the next target than wait for a recharge…” This option was quickly shot down when the functionality was affected by the tester releazing that a simultaneous pull rendered the gun useless. The power source would cause an internal dispersion and overload the Concordian directional beam array."
Prof. Hobbes, according to his autobiography, the biography by Watterson, and Cuyahoga County records, was born in Cleveland, in September (don’t have exact date on my right now), 1885. He died on February 8, 1967, in Palo Alto, California, of heart failure. The Santa Clara County Clerk has his death certificate. His body was shipped back to Cleveland, and he was buried on February 17th, with his (third) wife and (legitimate) children present. The confusion might come from the fact that one of his grandchildren is a promenent death-ray dealer in Ohio.
True, but the fact that 1) he hadn’t finished the device, 2) was suffering from termnial cancer, and 3) had (as hinted above) personal reasons for wanting to be dead, as well as the animosity of B,C, & B’s prinicpals.
The research of H West demonstrated that Hobbes’ revivification device would not have worked even if it had been completed.
Many cranks have made much of the odd coffin in which Hobbes was buried. There are even claims that it was actually a working model of his reanimation chamber. These absurd stories persist depsite the facts being readily available.
Originally, he had intended his entire coffin to function as a sled. Rather than pallbearers, his coffin was to be launched down a hill. It would gather speed, jump a precisely built ramp, and land in his grave. Unfortunately, the cemetery did not trust that this could be accomplished. They insisted that things would get out of control, the coffin would skip the track, or land in the wrong place etc. The engineering students who were in charge of Hobbes’ final ride offered demonstrations, mathematical proofs, and even filed a law suit. None of it did any good.
The Gravedio Flyer was altered. The rails and radio activated controls were removed. The coffin was enlarged slightly, allowing Hobbes’ boyhood sled to fit beneath him in the coffin.
His epitaph reads "A rope in my hands, a friend at my back, the wind in my ears, this is my heaven."
The problem with Hobbes’ burial plans, in addition to what DocCathode said, was that it was originally ment for a graveyard in Cleveland that had to be closed in the mid-1950’s due to urban renewal.
I’d like to warn you about your shipment of Bendix coils GQ. If my sources are correct, they’re coming from Mexico, there has been an issue wit the polarity being reversed do to a quality check not documented. Approximately 350 coils are affected. Now, the way to test this is to insert the positive marked end into a standard 110V outlet, next press your tongue to the negative end, if the sensation is the same as a nine-volt battery test (I’m sure you’ve done this since you were eight), then you can use it.
However, if there is no sensation or you are knocked unconcious, the Coil is bad and should be returned. I understand a press release is being issued to cover this.
** Michael Ellis, ** Glad to hear you were joking… So was I…
Rubensteins are no good. Mahoney Corporation death rays were designed for Bendix Coils only. I hear some people have modified them to use Fitzgerald Coils (Lake, “Custom Death Rays”, June 1957), but they have a high incidence of backfiring (McGoohan & Drake, “Death Rays & Ammo”, April 1992.) In any case, Fitzgerald Coils are now extremely hard to find.
I can wait, however. I still have a working (but rather unwieldy) Enfield T-43 I can use until the Mahoney is fixed.
