From reid@ucs.indiana.edu Thu Jun 29 16:37:57 1995 To: cavers@CS.YALE.EDU Topic No. 16 Date: Mon, 15 Aug 1994 11:00:02 -0600 (CST) From: "Frank Reid" To: cavers Subject: Binerisms *(:-) Message-ID: <39612.reid@ucs.indiana.edu> The following is a summary of a (non-drunken) campfire conversation at Indiana Cave Capers (August 13, 1994). Contributors include Anmar Mirza, Amanda Clark, Don Paquette, Frank Reid and others. U.S. cavers often refer to carabiners as "biners." The term has caused confusion in regions where "beaners" is a pejorative term for Latinos. More-humorous confusion has resulted when US cavers encountered Brits who call carabiners "crabs," which in US English connotes pubic lice-infestation. In cave rescue, a litter rigged for vertical hauling may have its various attachment points connected to a single carabiner colloquially called the "Jesus biner." Since it is a critical point upon which the entire system depends, the Jesus biner is an extra- large steel type having great safety-factor. The term is allegedly adapted from helicopter terminology: The "Jesus nut" attaches the main rotor to the rest of the aircraft; one trusts in it and Jesus, hoping that if one fails, the other won't. Someone asked if smaller carabiners are Apostle biners. The concensus was yes, including Judas biners made of plastic. Someone opined that other deities should have biners too, and things went downhill from there, so to speak: Allah Biners - Made of Allahmin(i)um, of course. Being lightweight, they are easy to transport to the mountain. Available with locking and non-locking Allah-gate'rs. Buddha Biners - Alliterative virtual hardware for computer simulations. Holey Ghost - multi-aperture rigging plate. Mexican Jumping Biners - Bungee and parachute equipment manufactured in Mesoamerica. Kidney Biners - Oddly-shaped oval/D types. Navy Biners - Non-corrosive, very expensive. Marked "For Marine Use," i.e., they are extremely simple to operate. Pork 'N Biners - Especially strong, for overweight cavers. Also usable as can openers. Haz-Biners - Obsolete types used by old cavers. Concubiners - Rings that don't engage. If you fall, it wasn't legally binding. How-You-Biners (a.k.a. _como frijoles_) - Brightly colored, often made of titanium, these are worn as jewelry at caver social-functions by biner weenies. -- Frank Reid reid@ucs.indiana.edu NSS 9086