# Signal 30!! And other films we were shown in school . . .

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/signal-30-and-other-films-we-were-shown-in-school/184745>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [June 27, 2003, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/signal-30-and-other-films-we-were-shown-in-school/184745 "2003-06-27T13:11:23Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 4

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**Author:** ![saramamalana](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/74df32/32.png) [@saramamalana](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saramamalana)\
**Post date:** [June 30, 2003, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/signal-30-and-other-films-we-were-shown-in-school/184745/61 "2003-06-30T18:25:51Z")

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Man oh man, reading through these has reminded me of the horrible videos they showed us in elementary school.

_On the note of menstruation:_ the movie they showed us in 5th grade was hosted by Aileen Quinn. “Hi, I’m Aileen Quinn, you may remember me as Annie!” Freakin little orphan Annie told me about my period! I can’t watch the musical anymore without wincing.

I also remember a slide show (couldn’t tell you the name) about railroad safety, and how it’s bad to put so much as a penny on the tracks as it might derail the train. But in this show, the example of what-not-to-put-on-tracks was a shopping cart. So you see:

the shopping cart on the tracks _click_

train in distance _click_

train much closer to shopping cart _click_

view of bodies all tossed about and bloodied in train car

I think we saw this one when I was in middle school, like 6th grade. I just remember totally believing this slide show and thinking that people had really gotten hurt, and how awful it was that they were injured for the sake of our education. Something like that.

ALL TIME FAVORITES:

1. The HBO short film about bulimia that had Calista Flockhart puking into jars and saving them in her closet.

2. The HBO or Lifetime short film about bulimia that had Meredith Baxter Birney attacking the sheet cake for her son’s birthday.

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**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\
**Post date:** [June 30, 2003, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/signal-30-and-other-films-we-were-shown-in-school/184745/62 "2003-06-30T19:08:48Z")

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“Arf” says Sandy!

Jeez, can you imagine other Broadway stars moonlighting in educational films? Ethel Merman on stranger abduction? Lunt and Fontanne on the clap?

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