# What are these "hamsters" you speak of?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-hamsters-you-speak-of/220816>\
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\
**Created:** [December 24, 2003, 8:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-hamsters-you-speak-of/220816 "2003-12-24T08:17:01Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 8\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Harlow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Harlow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harlow)\
**Post date:** [December 24, 2003, 8:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-hamsters-you-speak-of/220816/1 "2003-12-24T08:17:01Z")

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People say “hamsters” ate their post. Are these hamsters mods?

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**Author:** ![Macrophage](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/87869e/32.png) [@Macrophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Macrophage)\
**Post date:** [December 24, 2003, 8:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-hamsters-you-speak-of/220816/2 "2003-12-24T08:37:38Z")

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Not really. The hamsters are out to get you…

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**Author:** ![ParentalAdvisory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/53a042/32.png) [@ParentalAdvisory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParentalAdvisory)\
**Post date:** [December 24, 2003, 8:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-hamsters-you-speak-of/220816/3 "2003-12-24T08:40:23Z")

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Just make sure your anus is sealed shut. 🙂

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**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\
**Post date:** [December 24, 2003, 8:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-hamsters-you-speak-of/220816/4 "2003-12-24T08:46:45Z")

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Picture a server that is powered/controlled by hamsters, It is our way of dealing with the delays/bottlenecks/bugs/glitches on the SDMB. More fun to say the “Hamsters did it” than blaming hardware/software/poster error, just like WWII pilots blamed “gremlins” for problems they had while flying.

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**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\
**Post date:** [December 24, 2003, 8:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-hamsters-you-speak-of/220816/5 "2003-12-24T08:47:36Z")

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**Harlow** sometimes the board runs so slow you would swear that the server is powered by arthritic, asmatic, crippled hamsters. These hamsters eat posts for food.

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**Author:** ![ccwaterback](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@ccwaterback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ccwaterback)\
**Post date:** [December 24, 2003, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-hamsters-you-speak-of/220816/6 "2003-12-24T12:51:38Z")

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Most computer systems consist of high-speed, high-technology electronics. It’s purported the SDMB computer is powered by hamsters running on their cage wheels. 🙂

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**Author:** ![NutWrench](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nutwrench/32/20193_2.png) [@NutWrench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NutWrench)\
**Post date:** [December 24, 2003, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-hamsters-you-speak-of/220816/7 "2003-12-24T13:06:33Z")

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Individually-wrapped ham sandwiches?

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**Author:** ![Scuba\_Ben](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/278dde/32.png) [@Scuba\_Ben](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scuba_Ben)\
**Post date:** [December 24, 2003, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-hamsters-you-speak-of/220816/8 "2003-12-24T13:50:01Z")

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**ccwaterback** is pretty close. Most high-speed, high-technology computing systems of the past several years are, at their core, powered by hamster wheels (and magic smoke).