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Posted By peter gotch
Simon
Instinctively I thought this was an urban myth and it seems that the Brits were actually Canadians, and the Lincoln was the Enterprise.
See
eg http://www.urbanlegends....ighthouse_tins_more.html
From: cmraman@ucscb.UCSC.EDU (The Phantom Photographer)
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban
Subject: Aircraft carrier/lighthouse legend debunked
Date: 20 Jun 1996 16:37:09 GMT
For the last several months (though I believe it started after September), we have been regaled with the story of an alleged encounter between the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise, and a lighthouse on the Canadian coast. This encounter seemed, in the abstract, to be patently false, but in the absence of any physical evidence, has been considered unproved.
A few days ago, I was lent a copy of "Asimov Laughs Again", a 1992 compilation of jokes, anecdotes, limericks and other humorous things by the late Isaac Asimov. While flipping through and chuckling quietly to myself, I came upon entry #170 (each piece is indexed by number) on page 119. To wit:
The huge ship was barreling through the waters one inky night (in
the days before radar) and you can imagine the captain's indig-
nation when he saw, up ahead, other lights coming closer.
Cholerically, he ordered the message sent ahead, "Veer off!"
The message came back, "You veer off."
The captain, beside himself, had the message sent off, "Veer off,
you blasted idiot. This is a battleship coming toward you."
And almost at once a message came back, "Well, think it over. This
is a lighthouse coming toward you."
Clearly, this is merely a joke that has been arount longer than aircraft carriers, and explains a key omission of the story as we have heard it: Why isn't the Enterprise's radar picking up the land mass behind the lighthouse?
So, Asimov provides the answer, and I propose an entry in the FAQ reading
F*: Aircraft carrier, insisting on right-of-way, challenges lighthouse.
with the asterisked F leading to an explanation along these lines:
This is merely an updating of a funny story, perhaps playing upon the arrogance of naval captains, which dates back to the days of battleships and no radar. For an older example, see joke #170 in "Asimov Laughs Again", by Isaac Asimov. The book, published in 1992 by HarperCollins Publishers, Inc., has the ISBN of 0-06-016826-9 and the Library of Congress Catalog number of 91-58353. The joke is on page 119 of the hardcover edition.
Marc "still bucking for a hat, as it'll help prevent sunburn" Reeve
Simple Google search throws up other sceptics.
Regards, Peter
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