Moonbear said:
Indeed, one of the most important equations forming the theory of jellitivity was named that day and in similar fashion. What was the equation?
Yes, I remember that day clearly. It was a bleak, wintry day late in the year, when I'd gathered around with some of my
clerky buddies for some hot coffee. This was in the town of Strzelno in what was then Prussia and later became Poland. We'd gathered round the fire at a little run-down coffee house called
Kaszub where the temperature inside was below freezing any place more than six inches from the sorry, little fireplace. Everyone had a stuffy nose that day. Everyone had a stuffy nose on any winter day in Strzelno.
I clearly remember the day, 'cause that was the day ol' Abraham (one of my other buddies - a Jewish merchant, and the quiet sort) couldn't join us - his wife had just delivered a baby boy whom they named Albert. Shortly after, Abe and his wife took little Albert Michelson to California, and I never heard from them since...but I digress - this has nothing to do with ol' Abe or little Al.
That was the day this dispatcher stopped by the
Kaszub...claiming to be traveling from India to London, carrying a manuscript written by some scientist. What did he say the name of the person was...Jollies Marvin (or was it Garvin ... or Tarwin ??)... anyway, it was something like that. Don't ask my why this special messenger was traveling through Prussia on his way back from the Orient, if you don't want to hear a story about pirates, bandits, belle dancers and why Arabic should not be written right-to-left. Long story short (well, shortish perhaps), finding himself in a dull patch one day (this was just after the race-the-shark-to-shore incident) he decided to read the mammoth text. This book, he said - it talked of wondrous things: of beings forming out of a primordial jelly, of...of...well actually, that was the only part he could remember.
But anyway, the upshot of all this was that he lost the title page of the script (to a sandstorm) and wanted help making up a title to this new theory of the jellythings. I think it was old Jozef that came up the name "The First Theory of Jellitivity". That sounded good, but a little plain perhaps. So I suggested that the "First" be replaced with something more exciting, more exotic, more appealing. "Special", I said. "Call it the Special Theory of Jellitivity."
Much later, we heard (don't ask me how, if you don't want to hear a story about war, and strife, and secret codes, and a strange little snowstorm one midsummer night) that the manuscript was rejected by the publishers...apparently because the title made no sense to them. But as a result of some shoddy communication, the poor scientist had to rewrite the whole thing from scratch. Took him another seven years, they said. And it was called
The Porridge in your Speeches or something close to that.
And come to think of it...we
did hear from ol' Abraham one bitterly cold spring afternoon in '87. I don't think I'll forget that time either...it was quite the strangest coincidence really. There was this little parcel waiting for us at the
Kaszub. It had been mailed from America. It had a copy of a paper published by little Al in some fancy American journal. I can't really remember what it was talking about, but I'm almost certain it was called "The Jellitive Motion of the Luminiferous Heathens".
Now where did all this start ? Yes, Moonbear was asking about some equation. I'm sorry Moonie - I really can't help you with that. I know nothing of any equations.
Edit : Astro and Moonie posted before I got through with this ...
Moonbear said:
Honestly dear, the only frame I know about is the rosewood beauty that holds a pretty picture of little Al' with someone called Joolicees Plant (or something close to that...my memory is not what it used to be, I'm afraid.)
Darn ! One more pesky intruder ...
Yomamma said:
so can jellitivity (SJ, and GJ) be combined into the unified theory of hyperjellitivity?
Hah, sure ... just as soon as they figure out how to pull horse-carts without horses !
Now, when will I learn to hit the refresh button before I post crazy long ansers in this thread ?