April Fools Joke a bit Early.

[Texas Zepher]

I am not one that gets into practical jokes because they often go amiss, but.....

I had a friend at the club who was complaining about how expensive the BLI stock cars with sound were.  I was puzzled because I had just seen them on sale for $49.  When I mentioned it, he asked if I would order him one.  So I did.  It arrived a short time later.  So there it was sitting around the house waiting to be delivered. Well for some reason I got to thinking about a bottle I had in the basment called "Olfactory Airs #716 Live Cattle, Manure".   My first thought was just to stink up the car a bit.  I mentioned it to my wife, who thought it would be hilarious.  I had her call his wife who also thought it would be funny.   As I was preparing the scent (it goes on a dense cork time-dispursal material), I got to thinking about making it it a bit more of a gag.   Since the car came with a single sheet instruction guide.  I completely retyped the guide replacing every place it said "sound" with "sound and scent".  I put the "new" instructions in the box and resealed it.  

I presented the car to him at that nights operating session and as expected he immediately opened it up to run.   While he was opening it, I leaned over to a couple other club members and briefed them on what was up, so they could be in on the joke too.  Well, fortunately he  found the instruction sheet first, was fascinated, and immediately started telling everyone that it not only has sound but scent!  He and another member, not yet in on the joke, began to speculate on how the scent worked.   As expected he put the car on the track and we ran it around a while.  Then as expected he began messing around with the controls to increase the volume and turn on the scent.   It didn't work too well but he did manage to turn the sound totally off.    Then the fun began.  When he put the car away, I snagged it and quickly dropped my scent saturated cork into the side door.   This was Great Train Expo weekend so, as expected, he brought the car to run at the show.  When he opened up the box the smell almost knocked him on the floor.  He said, "Wow, I must have really turned the scent up to full blast last night".  He spent much of the day following the directions of how to turn the scent up-and-down.    He had fallen for it hook-line-and-sinker.  I was thinking this was great we (by now the whole club was in on the joke) are going to get to watch him work on it for a long time.  Maybe even to the point of having him call BLI for help turning off the scent.

Alas it wasn't to be, later that night I got a phone call.  Apparently when he got home he had gone on and on describing the car and how it worked and didn't work.  The longer he carried on the more his wife couldn't contain herself.  Apparently she was laughing so hard, he knew something was up and she spilled the beans.   Drat, so much of a months worth of laughes for the rest of us.

P.S.  This is with appologies to BLI.  Not only for stinking up one of their cars but also my prejudice toward the original product.  I first saw the stock cars with "sound" I thought how silly and toy like.  But having seen and heard this one, I was impressed.  It did not sound silly at all.  The physical quality of the car is outstanding.  I had fun running it around.   I think I am going to buy a few of these for myself.   I can highly recommend the BLI stock cars (with or without sound),  and with or without scent. 

[Anonymous]

wow

hahaha

thats a good one 

[jondrd]

 No cow chips? Good one.

 Anyone who's been trackside when a string of livestock cars went by can relate to the scent.

 

 Jon

[tstage]

That's a keeper, TZ!   And it definitely fits the "3 4-point rule" of GOOD practical jokes.  It's

• original
• funny
• doesn't cause physical harm or injury and only "mild" embarrassment to the "jokee"
• clean
  

I LIKE it!   I'm printing this one out.

TZ, you can bet that this will be brought up in your clubs meetings for a long time to come.   Thanks for sharing!

Tom

[Tom Bryant_MR]

Yep.  I can just see your poor friend desperately trying to get the thing back in the box !

Regards,

[jeffrey-wimberly]

While reading this I was laughing so hard I went into a coughing fit. Great joke.

[loathar]

That's one of the best ones I've "herd." I've got to ask the question though. Why on earth do you have a bottle of cow stink around your house?

[Bapou]

Thats ARESOME your frend must have beening his head. And what Loathar said: why you got cow smell???

[Texas Zepher]

loathar

I've got to ask the question though. Why on earth do you have a bottle of cow stink around your house?

The "Olfactory Airs" were marketed to the Model Railroad community as enhancements to the layout. That must have been in the 1979-1985 time period. There were 50 different fragrances made.  I wish I had a whole set.  I have "saw dust", "buring coal", "diesel oil",  ummm "lemon", "manure" (obviously), and "dirt".   There was a fragrance made for any industry or scene one could imagine.   I used to add the "burning coal" to smoke fluid, but now they have started making smoke fluid with it built in.

[Texas Zepher]

jondrd

No cow chips?

Actually, now that you mention it, the next day my wife made a batch of "no bake" cookies for me to take to the show.  She had carefully shaped them into the appearance of small cow chips. 

[MOJAX]

I must say that that was a great gag! So will you have to watch over your shoulder for the “get you back” joke?

[Texas Zepher]

I must say that that was a great gag! So will you have to watch over your shoulder for the “get you back” joke?

Probably not.  The victim got a good laugh out of it as well.  He also knows this is not my normal modus operandi.

[loathar]

I've got to ask the question though. Why on earth do you have a bottle of cow stink around your house?

The "Olfactory Airs" were marketed to the Model Railroad community as enhancements to the layout. That must have been in the 1979-1985 time period. There were 50 different fragrances made.  I wish I had a whole set.  I have "saw dust", "buring coal", "diesel oil",  ummm "lemon", "manure" (obviously), and "dirt".   There was a fragrance made for any industry or scene one could imagine.   I used to add the "burning coal" to smoke fluid, but now they have started making smoke fluid with it built in.

Your kidding me!! I think that's even funnier than your prank!

[TrainFreak409]

TZ: That's hilarious! That has got to be one of the greatest model railroading pranks ever! ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT!

[twhite]

Love it!!  Best joke I've heard in years.

I've got one of those BLI stock cars myself, and when I happen to run it in a train for people, it gets a HUGE response.  Best one was from my sister's son:  "I'm not standing too close to THAT one!"   

Dang, and I threw all my Olfactory Smells away, about ten years ago.  Should have had my head examined, LOL!

Tom 

[Dave Vollmer]

So, he didn't smell a joke?

You sure cowed him.

Udder madness.

Some folks don't have common scents.

I hope he doesn't have a beef with you now.

You never know what's at steak here.

You might be on the horns of a dilema.

Time to mooove along...

[tstage]

Dave,

Your such an animal...

Tom

[tomikawaTT]

MOOOOOO!!!

(FWIW, my Japanese zodiac sign is USHI - so the long, lowing "moo" is appropriate)

Don't know which was funnier, the original story or Dave Vollmer's comments!

Chuck (modeling Central Japan in September, 1964 - including ushi that are destined to be Kobe beef)

[Anonymous]

Hahahaha

[MisterBeasley]

I think this product deserves a review in MR.  How about writing one up?  Include a graph like "Odor Detection Distance vs. CV42 Odor Intensity Setting" or something like that.  Photograph the car with the "included" clothespin for your nose.

You might get published next April.

 

[SteamFreak]

TZ, I wasn't aware of those stock cars. Thanks for the cow tip.

You get an extra star for having the class to avoid using real manure.

[Texas Zepher]

twhite

Dang, and I threw all my Olfactory Smells away, about ten years ago.  Should have had my head examined,

Yeah, I would have purchased them from you.  I'm trying to collect all 50 scents.

[G Paine]

If anyone wants to model a pasture, Scenic Experess has Silflour cattle pasture mats with and without "molehills" which are also cowpies. All that they need is some of that manure scent...

http://www.sceneryexpress.com/products.asp?dept=1202