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Background: There is a year round Burning Man "radio station" called BMIR -Burning Man Information Radio. (BMIR.org) 11 months out of the year, it is just streamed with no commercials. Starting 2 weeks before the Burn, it is an actual radio station at Black Rock City and "commercials" are added, talking about random things like parties, camp locations, safety messages, etc.

Well I have noticed that some of these commercials are different. A man says a rather cryptic sentence (or two, or three) in a monotone voice. At the end of the message, he repeats two words. I have been listening to it over the last week since the commercials have started, and have found 14 distinct messages. Here they are: (things in parentheses are notes or other possible words)

  • The syrup is running all over the chair. You sit down in the chair and they syrup sticks you to the seat of the chair so you can't get up. Chair. Syrup.

  • Chickens are in all the compartments of the revolving door. As you go thru the revolving door the chickens fly up in your face. See the feathers flying in the door. Maybe you mash a chicken in the revolving door and it bleeds all over the revolving door. Revolving door. Chicken.

  • The sugar bowl is upset and the sugar is spilled all over the table and the flies are buzzing around it. Your family sits down to the table and has nothing to eat but sugar. Table. Sugar.

  • The doctor is munching on a big head of lettuce. The doctor holds the lettuce out to you and says let us eat more lettuce. Doctor. Lettuce.

  • You are pouring vinegar all over your automobile. In fact, you are washing your automobile in vinegar. You run out of gas, so you fill up the tank of the automobile with vinegar. A bottle of vinegar breaks and runs all over the seat of the automobile. Automobile. Vinegar.

  • There is a large urn of coffee in the center of the elevator with steam rising from it. Everyone riding up in the elevator is drinking coffee. Elevator. Coffee.

  • You walk down the street with potato salad. But men with guns rob you of your potato salad. You want to get your potato salad back but men with guns prevent you. Guns. Potato salad.

  • A bunch of bananas are hanging from the bars on the general delivery window. Possibly(Generally?) you sit in(on?) the general delivery window eating a banana. General delivery window. Bananas.

  • A bottle of milk is broken in the mail box and is running out all down the sides of the mailbox. Mailbox. Milk.

  • The butter has melted and is running all over the alarm clock. You attempt to pick up the alarm clock but it is so greasy with the melted butter that is slips out of your hand into the tub of butter. You are oiling the works of the alarm clock with butter. Alarm clock. butter.

  • Red juice tomatoes are splattered and mashed all over the policeman. You realize a lifelong ambition and throw a tomato at the policeman and hitting him square on the nose. Policeman. Tomato (order may be wrong)

  • You want to get into bed but the bed is overflowing with salad dressing. you are mixing a salad on the bed and pouring salad dressing on it. You are dressing when you see the bed covered with salad dressing. Bed. Salad Dressing.

  • Strawberries ripe red juicy strawberries are mashed all over the newspaper. You probably mash the strawberries when you pick up the newspaper. Your newspaper is buried in straw. Newspaper. Strawberry.

  • The floor is covered in onions and people are sitting on the floor peeling onions and crying their eyes out. Your eyes begin to water from the onions as you step onto the floor. Floor. Onions.

Messages do not repeat at the same time every day. There doesn't seem to be an order, and honestly, it is hard to tell since I may have missed some messages as I get up from my desk for whatever reason. Originally I thought they were once per hour, but then 3 happened within 15 minutes of each other.

I will update this if I find any more messages or if I can lock down an order. I can also help out with providing context to any possible solutions, if this is even anything.

Thanks!

"Pajamas"

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    $\begingroup$ I really want to believe that this is true. $\endgroup$
    – Luke
    Aug 25, 2015 at 21:04
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    $\begingroup$ I know. But at the same time, we are known for snark and general f#*kery, so it could just be a prank. I'm REALLY hoping that it is a location for like an awesome party where daft punk is playing, or a lobster dinner. $\endgroup$ Aug 25, 2015 at 21:05
  • $\begingroup$ A lobster dinner would be nice.. @agenovese $\endgroup$
    – Zach Gates
    Aug 25, 2015 at 21:06

1 Answer 1

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Unfortunately it's not really a puzzle...

The list is by Robert H. Nutt, and appears on McSweeney's Internet Tendency. It's proposed as a technique for remembering a shopping list. The full book How to Develop a Good Memory For Names, Faces and Facts by the same author is available as a PDF here.

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    $\begingroup$ AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW. WHY WOULD SOMEONE PUT THIS ON THE RADIO. G D BURNERS. $\endgroup$ Aug 25, 2015 at 21:13
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    $\begingroup$ This is so very Burning Man that it made me laugh. $\endgroup$
    – user20
    Aug 25, 2015 at 21:14
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    $\begingroup$ Nevertheless it could be a code. Each of the items in the list is numbered ;-) $\endgroup$ Aug 25, 2015 at 21:15
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    $\begingroup$ I am not going down that rabbit hole. $\endgroup$ Aug 25, 2015 at 21:22

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