OddHat Posted July 17, 2006 Report Share Posted July 17, 2006 Re: Real World Stuff That Only Sounds Like A Comic Book Early twentieth century Strongman Joeseph Greenstein, the Mighty Atom. 5'4". 145 pounds. Once took a bullet between the eyes and walked out of the hospital that afternoon with only skin damage and minor bruising. Twice held back planes as they attempted to take off. Regularly snapped chains and police issue handcuffs as part of his act, bent horse shoes, pulled fully loaded busses, trucks and trains. Wrestler and hand to hand combat instructor to the police and military. In his forties he was attacked by a mob of German American Bundists in NYC (pre-WWII American Nazis). With his bare hands he broke up the mob, hopitalizing 18 of his attackers before police arived on the scene. Upon hearing that the Bundists wanted to press charges, the judge threw the case out of court. In his 70s, Greenstein's one man crime watch patrols made life safer for senior citizens in his community. He continued to perform almost up to his death. He was never a superhero, but sometimes he came close. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kenn Posted July 17, 2006 Report Share Posted July 17, 2006 Re: Real World Stuff That Only Sounds Like A Comic Book This Greenstein chap sounds like the inspiration for a certain fictional character named Al Pratt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FenrisUlf Posted July 17, 2006 Report Share Posted July 17, 2006 Re: Real World Stuff That Only Sounds Like A Comic Book This Greenstein chap sounds like the inspiration for a certain fictional character named Al Pratt. I thought much the same when I first read about him. In a Pulp or Golden Age Champions universe, it'd be neat to work Joseph Greenstein 'The Mighty Atom' into a character's background. I vaguely recall a thread on the 'original Jewish Superman' somwhere here on the boards. Oh, and BTW... he also studied yeshiva in Poland before emigrating to America. He supposedly credited his superhuman feats of strength to "energy control" that he learned from Kabbalism. So the guy was a mystic as well as a brick. PS -- Rep to you for mentioning him, Oddhat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OddHat Posted July 17, 2006 Report Share Posted July 17, 2006 Re: Real World Stuff That Only Sounds Like A Comic Book This Greenstein chap sounds like the inspiration for a certain fictional character named Al Pratt. He may have been, though there was also a boxer whose career started (iirc) in the 30s who called himself the Mighty Atom. Greenstein started using the name in the early 20s and continued performing under that name until the mid 70s. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OddHat Posted July 17, 2006 Report Share Posted July 17, 2006 Re: Real World Stuff That Only Sounds Like A Comic Book I thought much the same when I first read about him. In a Pulp or Golden Age Champions universe, it'd be neat to work Joseph Greenstein 'The Mighty Atom' into a character's background. I vaguely recall a thread on the 'original Jewish Superman' somwhere here on the boards. Oh, and BTW... he also studied yeshiva in Poland before emigrating to America. He supposedly credited his superhuman feats of strength to "energy control" that he learned from Kabbalism. So the guy was a mystic as well as a brick. Yup. He was also one of the earliest Westerners to study Judo in Japan, and he was an advocate of Yoga style breathing exercises. Sometimes the world produces some very interesting people. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OzMike Posted July 18, 2006 Report Share Posted July 18, 2006 Re: Real World Stuff That Only Sounds Like A Comic Book Yup. He was also one of the earliest Westerners to study Judo in Japan' date=' and he was an advocate of Yoga style breathing exercises. Sometimes the world produces some very interesting people.[/quote'] Or very boring people if they do yoga, talk yoga, and continually try to make you join yoga. Sort of like the Amway of alternative exercises. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AmadanNaBriona Posted July 18, 2006 Report Share Posted July 18, 2006 Re: Real World Stuff That Only Sounds Like A Comic Book Runamo. Located in Blekinge, Sweden, there is a vein of quartz crystal with linear fractures. While recognized for centuries as some form of runic script, the key to decrypting the exact meaning of these runes was a mystery, as far back as the 12th century. Local tradition maintained that they recorded the Battle of Bravoll, fought near the year 700. In the 19th century, an expedition for the Royal Society of Denmark was dispatched to study Runamo. After transcribing 22 meters of the rockface, the head researcher, Finnur Magnusson, spent 10 fruitless months attempting to decipher the runes, until he finally seemed to recognize one symbol as a wend-rune (essentially a runic cryptography key) and then, in a state he decribed as a trance, he translated the runes to produce an account of the battle in Old Norse in a classical poetical form known as fornyrdislag. Later geological examination proved, to the best ability of modern science, that the fractures in the quartz forming these complex encoded bind runes were in fact naturally formed and not the works of man. So how does it translate so perfectly? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OddHat Posted July 18, 2006 Report Share Posted July 18, 2006 Re: Real World Stuff That Only Sounds Like A Comic Book So how does it translate so perfectly? Real World: An imaginative or loony translator Game World Answer: Magic Good find, and one I might use. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AmadanNaBriona Posted July 18, 2006 Report Share Posted July 18, 2006 Re: Real World Stuff That Only Sounds Like A Comic Book Real World: An imaginative or loony translator Game World Answer: Magic Good find, and one I might use. I tend to prefer the Bards answer.... "There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, Than are dreamt of in your philosophy." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FenrisUlf Posted July 18, 2006 Report Share Posted July 18, 2006 Re: Real World Stuff That Only Sounds Like A Comic Book I tend to prefer the Bards answer.... "There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, Than are dreamt of in your philosophy." As do I. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wagnern Posted July 18, 2006 Report Share Posted July 18, 2006 Re: Real World Stuff That Only Sounds Like A Comic Book Reality so weard it is like a comic book? How about a Madman building a dooms day device unless the United States payes up? Look at North Koreia. We bought him off last time he started acting up with nukes, now he has rockets for his nukes, it does not take a genous to figure out what he wants. He just needs a guy with metal teeth or a white cat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susano Posted July 18, 2006 Report Share Posted July 18, 2006 Re: Real World Stuff That Only Sounds Like A Comic Book Reality so weard it is like a comic book? How about a Madman building a dooms day device unless the United States payes up? Look at North Koreia. We bought him off last time he started acting up with nukes, now he has rockets for his nukes, it does not take a genous to figure out what he wants. He just needs a guy with metal teeth or a white cat. And a monocle. Wait... he has glasses... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OddHat Posted July 18, 2006 Report Share Posted July 18, 2006 Re: Real World Stuff That Only Sounds Like A Comic Book Reality so weard it is like a comic book? How about a Madman building a dooms day device unless the United States payes up? Look at North Koreia. We bought him off last time he started acting up with nukes, now he has rockets for his nukes, it does not take a genous to figure out what he wants. He just needs a guy with metal teeth or a white cat. And a monocle. Wait... he has glasses... So, I'm not the only one who owns a copy of "Team America: World Police"? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susano Posted July 18, 2006 Report Share Posted July 18, 2006 Re: Real World Stuff That Only Sounds Like A Comic Book So' date=' I'm not the only one who owns a copy of "Team America: World Police"?[/quote'] Sorry, I refuse to have anything to do with that waste of time, space, and energy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OddHat Posted July 18, 2006 Report Share Posted July 18, 2006 Re: Real World Stuff That Only Sounds Like A Comic Book Sorry' date=' I refuse to have anything to do with that waste of time, space, and energy.[/quote'] It's kind of like having a drunk, babbling Japanese college girl latch on to you in a club. Too much makeup, heels so high she can barely walk, and a dress she's not entirely wearing. You know you'll regret it, but there's still that urge to take her home. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susano Posted July 18, 2006 Report Share Posted July 18, 2006 Re: Real World Stuff That Only Sounds Like A Comic Book Uhmm........ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OddHat Posted July 18, 2006 Report Share Posted July 18, 2006 Re: Real World Stuff That Only Sounds Like A Comic Book Uhmm........ Hm. I may have shared too much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AmadanNaBriona Posted July 18, 2006 Report Share Posted July 18, 2006 Re: Real World Stuff That Only Sounds Like A Comic Book It's kind of like having a drunk' date=' babbling Japanese college girl latch on to you in a club. Too much makeup, heels so high she can barely walk, and a dress she's not entirely wearing. You know you'll regret it, but there's still that urge to take her home. [/quote'] Wait!!!!!!! You've met her too? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OddHat Posted July 18, 2006 Report Share Posted July 18, 2006 Re: Real World Stuff That Only Sounds Like A Comic Book Wait!!!!!!! You've met her too? I've met a few dozen of her. It's a weird country. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cancer Posted July 18, 2006 Report Share Posted July 18, 2006 Re: Real World Stuff That Only Sounds Like A Comic Book Sounds like the something that could be called "The Left Hand of Karaoke". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AmadanNaBriona Posted July 18, 2006 Report Share Posted July 18, 2006 Re: Real World Stuff That Only Sounds Like A Comic Book I've met a few dozen of her. It's a weird country. I've never been. My experiences have been clubbing in the Goth/Fetish/BDSM/Underground scene in San Fransisco. The main thing in this area is to be certain that the bits under the almost-on clothes match your prefered gender Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susano Posted July 18, 2006 Report Share Posted July 18, 2006 Re: Real World Stuff That Only Sounds Like A Comic Book I've never been. My experiences have been clubbing in the Goth/Fetish/BDSM/Underground scene in San Fransisco. The main thing in this area is to be certain that the bits under the almost-on clothes match your prefered gender Otherwise known as "It's a trap!" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prodigyduck Posted July 19, 2006 Report Share Posted July 19, 2006 Re: Real World Stuff That Only Sounds Like A Comic Book Some interesting and odd things I've seen and discovered in my short time here... Iron is an anti-gravity metal! Iron falls at a slower rate than all other metals. It is not noticable to the naked eye, but has been measured on a microscopic level. I have seen GPS-guided artillary. An artillary shell was fired four miles off-course and still managed to hit the target (thank you, Future Weapons). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whitewings Posted July 21, 2006 Report Share Posted July 21, 2006 Re: Real World Stuff That Only Sounds Like A Comic Book The Coral Castle. Its construction methods are unknown, and the entire structure was assembled by one man, working alone, with no power tools or heavy equipment, and with no known assistants. Some of the blocks are so large that in a test performed in the 1970s, a replica could not not even be extracted from its quarry bed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
palaskar Posted July 21, 2006 Report Share Posted July 21, 2006 Re: Real World Stuff That Only Sounds Like A Comic Book The skycar. A genuine flying car. http://www.moller.com/ Magnetic rings enhancing health. These particular ones claim to produce immortality: http://realimmortality.com/JackSavage/ Hikuta, an "unbeatable" martial art handed down from the days of the Pharoahs: http://www.hikuta.net/hikuta/hikuta_history.cfm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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