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One of the odder tidbits was the story about an offi
Of course, the cable went viral inside the Agency.
"Someone adapted the language of cables to describe this hot dog vending machine," writes Noland, "and other analysts found it so funny that it still was making the email rounds years after it was
written."
Here is the cable:
OBSERVATIONS OF OHB HOT DOG MACHINE
1. LOCATION: OHB APPROX. GF45 NEAR THE ELEVATORS AND GREEN
JACKET HIVE
2. APPEARANCE: STANDARD VENDING MACHINE APPEARANCE WITH
THE WORDS OSCAR MAYER AND A LARGE WIENER FEATURED ON
FRONT.
A. ALSO INCLUDES OBSERVATION WINDOW
3. FEATURES: CHOICE OF 3 WIENERS, STANDARD BUN
A. OSCAR MAYER WIENER
B. SOME GERMAN THING
C. PREMIUM WIENER WITH CHEESE CORE
4. COST:
A. OSCAR MAYER $2.00
B. THE GERMAN $2.50
C. PREMIUM CHEESE CORE $3.00
5. EXTRAS: KETCHUP, MUSTARD PACKETS FOR MANUAL ASSEMBLY. NO RELISH
6. OPERATION: THE HOTDOG VENDING MACHINE APPEARED TO
OPERATE CORRECTLY SERVING A WARM WIENER ASSEMBLED WITH A
MOIST, SLIGHTLY HEATED BUN. MULTIPLE ROBOTIC MECHANISMS
WERE OBSERVED THROUGH THE OBSERVATION WINDOW. ROBOT 1
CAPTURED SELECTED WIENER (OSCAR MAYER) FROM THE WIENER BAY
AND POSITIONED WIENER IN FRONT OF ROBOT 2. ROBOT 2 WAS
LABELED WITH MANY HAZARD INDICATORS SUGGESTING IT TO HAVE A
HEATING FUNCTION (FIELD COMMENT: HEATING COULD BE POWERED
BY LASERS). ROBOT 2 THEN OPENED ITS PORT TO RECEIVE THE
WIENER. ROBOT 1 THEN INSERTED THE WIENER INTO ROBOT 2 FOR
HEATING. ROBOT 1 THEN PROCEEDED TO AGITATE THE WIENER IN AND
OUT OF ROBOT 2 UNTIL DONE-PRESUMABLY WHEN WIENER HAD
PLUMPED. ROBOT 1 THEN ASSEMBLED WIENER WITH A WARM BUN
(NFI) APPEARING TO REST IN A ROBOT 3. ROBOT 3 THEN DELIVERED
ASSEMBLED HOTDOG THROUGH THE SERVING PORT.
7. TASTE: WIENER HAD INDEED PLUMPED-CHARACTERISTIC SPLITTING
OF WIENER WAS OBSERVED. WIENER WAS THOROUGHLY COOKED AND
WARM TO THE CENTER. BUN REMAINED COOLER AND HAD NOT
BECOME SOGGY. QUALITY EQUALED THAT OF AVERAGE BALL PARK.
Nolan gets into many subjects (not just