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Getting whacked

Posted by R. Berg on October 24, 2002

In Reply to: Bible Bump posted by TheFallen on October 23, 2002

: : Last Friday I went to a workshop and acquired several phrases that were new to me.

: : VORTEX PUBLIC FIGURE -- A speaker talking about libel laws in the U.S. said it is more difficult to sue for libel if one is a "public" person. He listed three categories: public official (upper level government employee), public figure (movie star, etc.), and vortex public figure (someone who is caught up in an event/controversy).

: : UBI FILE - Useless bits of information file.

: : BIBLE BUMP - A bump on a hand (a cyst?) that will disappear if whacked by a large book - like the Bible. This wasn't part of the workshop. Someone mentioned this at lunch. Gruesome.

: Now I've heard of the custom of whacking a family Bible onto a lump to "cure it", but not the term "Bible bump". I'm no medico, but I believe that the condition so "cured" is a ganglion that can appear on the wrist (not the hand). Don't ask me what a ganglion strictly is, though.

I believe the lump is a fluid-filled cyst. Some doctors use a heavy medical book. The blow disperses the fluid.

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