The Geocaching Short Snorter Project

[+Snoogans]

In light of my recent seriousness, I was asked to post a fun thread. This one is for you Granny.

 

My mother came to live with me and my little family 2 years ago. Coincidentally, she turns 88 today. Happy Birthday Ma! Last Friday I was off of work and she came to me and asked if I had seen my father's short snorter. Say what Ma? (My dad died in 1990.) She got a little tongue tied saying it the second time and I started to gauge here pupils to see if she was having a stroke. Finally she got it out and explained what it looked like and I had to tell her that I had never seen it, nor had I ever heard of such a thang.

 

I had her sit next to me at the breakfast table and fired up google. What I found was something that I'm surprised does not already exist in geocaching. (Probably does somewhere.) It was so cool and so historic that I'm almost positive it would catch on here. I think it would be especially popular amongst our military cachers and those that travel a great deal, but like to meet up with local cachers and attend local events in the places that they visit. (Thinking of Me, Webscouter, JoGPS, and some of the Lackeys in particular here.)

 

Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you The Short Snorter.

 

 

I couldn't help but think of micro cache log books the first time I saw a picture.

 

A short snorter is a banknote inscribed by people traveling together on an aircraft. The tradition was started by Alaskan Bush flyers in the 1920s and spread through the military and commercial aviation. During World War II short snorters were signed by flight crews and conveyed good luck to soldiers crossing the Atlantic. Friends would take the local currency and sign each others bills creating a "keepsake of your buddy's signatures".

 

The word "snort" is slang for "mixed drink". "Short" is less than a full measure.

 

There are tons of websites and pictures of short snorters on the web! Who knew? My Mom was tickled to death. She told me that my Dad carried it his whole career starting in the Army Air Corps before they met, through the bombing campaign in Europe (He was a B-17 pilot.), through the entire Berlin Airlift, SAR Ops in Alaska, Korea, the atmospheric atomic bomb testing on Johnston Island, Catch a Falling Star, and 3 tours in Vietnam including the Linebacker missions. There is some real American history there. I hope we can find it. She said it had grown to a fat roll of odd bills from all over the world that measured several feet long. She said the signature of Curtis LeMay it contained had gotten my father free drinks all over the world, because servicemen would compare sigs and the guy with the highest ranking sig on their short snorter got a free drink from everyone his sig outranked.

 

I think it would be cool to adopt this as a tradition amongst geocachers. (Maybe not the drinking game part.) It's a great meet and greet activity for events or to have a personal log of our cachin' buddies that we share our geocaching adventures with.

 

It would certainly be an interesting way to record our personal geocaching history. It would make a great sig item to give to someone that doesn't already have/maintain a geocaching short snorter. You just sign a piece of foldin' money and hand it over explaining what to do with it. Cool huh?

 

What do you all think? Anyone heard of these or have one already?

 

Would you consider starting one or use it as a sig item?

Edited January 23, 2012 by Snoogans

[+GeoStar Husband]

Very cool!

[+Planet]

If we're cheap, and don't want to release something we can't bear to part with, can we use Monopoly money?

:D

[+Snoogans]

If we're cheap, and don't want to release something we can't bear to part with, can we use Monopoly money?

:D

 

It would just disintigrate quicker over time, since it doesn't have the same fiber content as real foldin' money.

[+RobDJr]

This is one of the things that I've grown to love about geocaching. It has, quite unintentionally, become an extension and continuation of my education. I've learned a lot of things since I've started, whether it was strange or unusual or something else. Today I add 'short snorter' to that growing list.

 

Thank you for that, Snoogans.

 

Incidentally, my wife's Grandfather flew on B-17's in WWII. I don't know if he had a short snorter, but that is definitely something I'm going to ask Gramma about.

 

As for doing my own, I might do just that. I'm right now having visions of a small moleskin type notebook rather than dollar bills, though. It won't have the 'round the world' flavor of a wad of strange bills, but would maybe be more convenient to carry for me.

[+Gitchee-Gummee]

It's a grand idea!

 

As a sig item yes, not one simply left in a cache, but rather, one that must be hand-to-hand traded.

 

And... the drinks would not have to be booze...

 

ETA:

It won't have the 'round the world' flavor of a wad of strange bills, but would maybe be more convenient to carry for me.

It certainly could, over time. Then too, geocachers can set up "currency trades" with other cachers for a supply of foreign bills. Much more meaning though, if they had been obtained in-country.

Edited January 23, 2012 by Gitchee-Gummee

[+NYPaddleCacher]

If we're cheap, and don't want to release something we can't bear to part with, can we use Monopoly money?

:D

 

There *are* other paper currencies that can be acquired that have little monetary value. I've got a few 500 Tanzanian Shilling notes that are worth about 30 cents U.S each. There's actually a cache nearby that has a "worthless currency" swag theme. I had a couple of Italian Lira coins (which could not be used as legal currency in 2002, after it was replaced by the Euro) that I dropped into the cache.

[+RobDJr]

And... the drinks would not have to be booze...

 

I'm seeing a FTF log:

 

Whooooooo! FTF! I was part of a large group effort to find this cache. I won the right to claim FTF after comparing geocaching short snorters. Who knew my trip to the Groundspeak headquarters on the day Jeremy happened to be around would have turned out to be so fortunate???

 

It won't have the 'round the world' flavor of a wad of strange bills, but would maybe be more convenient to carry for me.

It certainly could, over time. Then too, geocachers can set up "currency trades" with other cachers for a supply of foreign bills. Much more meaning though, if they had been obtained in-country.

 

You're very right. I wasn't thinking of the quality an aged short snorter notebook might pick up.

[+A & J Tooling]

Go to any international airport and they usually have quite a few currencies ready to dole out. Seek out the countries with the worst financial status and acquire their bills. Plus this way, you can't accidently spend them.

[+Totem Clan]

on a side note..........

 

Short Snorter gave way to Challenge Coins. I have placed Challenge Coins in caches so the idea of Short Snorters has already been passed down to geocache in it's modern form.

 

You may now return to your regular forum thread.

[+Semper Questio]

This might be a good use for those old, nearly worthless, South Korean Wan I have stashed in a shoe box somewhere.

[+Snoogans]

on a side note..........

 

Short Snorter gave way to Challenge Coins. I have placed Challenge Coins in caches so the idea of Short Snorters has already been passed down to geocache in it's modern form.

 

You may now return to your regular forum thread.

 

Yeah but you can't sign a geocoin.

 

BTW- A former coworker who was serving in the Marines (I call them my OORAHS) scored a challenge coin from The Secretary of Defense at a NASCAR race of all places. He said he never paid for a drink whenever the challenge coins hit the table.

 

I'm seeing a FTF log:

 

Whooooooo! FTF! I was part of a large group effort to find this cache. I won the right to claim FTF after comparing geocaching short snorters. Who knew my trip to the Groundspeak headquarters on the day Jeremy happened to be around would have turned out to be so fortunate???

 

Dave Ulmer is a friend of a friend of mine. I'm thinkin' that sig on a geocaching short snorter would trump even Jeremy, Brian, & Elias. Note to self: Call Jeff when I get home.

[+Totem Clan]

on a side note..........

 

Short Snorter gave way to Challenge Coins. I have placed Challenge Coins in caches so the idea of Short Snorters has already been passed down to geocache in it's modern form.

 

You may now return to your regular forum thread.

 

Yeah but you can't sign a geocoin.

 

BTW- A former coworker who was serving in the Marines (I call them my OORAHS) scored a challenge coin from The Secretary of Defense at a NASCAR race of all places. He said he never paid for a drink whenever the challenge coins hit the table.

 

Not a Geocoin. A military Challenge Coin. There is a huge difference.

 

Edit: Off Topic again.. My highest challenge coin is George Bush Sr's coin. Given to me (and some others guys in my unit) by him at Andrews AFB right after Desert Storm.

Edited January 23, 2012 by Totem Clan

[+Totem Clan]

BTW I'm not saying don't do it because we have coins. I just posted about the Challenge Coins because in the military the coin replaced Short Snorters that's all. Just a "rest of the story" kinda thing.

 

Personally I could care less one way or the other about the idae. It's interesting but I won't be doing it, but I won't stop anyone else from doing it.

[+Snoogans]

on a side note..........

 

Short Snorter gave way to Challenge Coins. I have placed Challenge Coins in caches so the idea of Short Snorters has already been passed down to geocache in it's modern form.

 

You may now return to your regular forum thread.

 

Yeah but you can't sign a geocoin.

 

BTW- A former coworker who was serving in the Marines (I call them my OORAHS) scored a challenge coin from The Secretary of Defense at a NASCAR race of all places. He said he never paid for a drink whenever the challenge coins hit the table.

 

Not a Geocoin. A military Challenge Coin. There is a huge difference.

 

Edit: Off Topic again.. My highest challenge coin is George Bush Sr's coin. Given to me (and some others guys in my unit) by him at Andrews AFB right after Desert Storm.

 

Ohhh, Have you heard my patriotic story about how I used to get a yearly physical by Bush Sr's personal doctor?

[2oldfarts (the rockhounders)]

In light of my recent seriousness, I was asked to post a fun thread. This one is for you Granny.

 

My mother came to live with me and my little family 2 years ago. Coincidentally, she turns 88 today. Happy Birthday Ma! Last Friday I was off of work and she came to me and asked if I had seen my father's short snorter. Say what Ma? (My dad died in 1990.) She got a little tongue tied saying it the second time and I started to gauge here pupils to see if she was having a stroke. Finally she got it out and explained what it looked like and I had to tell her that I had never seen it, nor had I ever heard of such a thang.

 

I had her sit next to me at the breakfast table and fired up google. What I found was something that I'm surprised does not already exist in geocaching. (Probably does somewhere.) It was so cool and so historic that I'm almost positive it would catch on here. I think it would be especially popular amongst our military cachers and those that travel a great deal, but like to meet up with local cachers and attend local events in the places that they visit. (Thinking of Me, Webscouter, JoGPS, and some of the Lackeys in particular here.)

 

Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you The Short Snorter.

 

 

I couldn't help but think of micro cache log books the first time I saw a picture.

 

A short snorter is a banknote inscribed by people traveling together on an aircraft. The tradition was started by Alaskan Bush flyers in the 1920s and spread through the military and commercial aviation. During World War II short snorters were signed by flight crews and conveyed good luck to soldiers crossing the Atlantic. Friends would take the local currency and sign each others bills creating a "keepsake of your buddy's signatures".

 

The word "snort" is slang for "mixed drink". "Short" is less than a full measure.

 

There are tons of websites and pictures of short snorters on the web! Who knew? My Mom was tickled to death. She told me that my Dad carried it his whole career starting in the Army Air Corps before they met, through the bombing campaign in Europe (He was a B-17 pilot.), through the entire Berlin Airlift, SAR Ops in Alaska, Korea, the atmospheric atomic bomb testing on Johnston Island, Catch a Falling Star, and 3 tours in Vietnam including the Linebacker missions. There is some real American history there. I hope we can find it. She said it had grown to a fat roll of odd bills from all over the world that measured several feet long. She said the signature of Curtis LeMay it contained had gotten my father free drinks all over the world, because servicemen would compare sigs and the guy with the highest ranking sig on their short snorter got a free drink from everyone his sig outranked.

 

I think it would be cool to adopt this as a tradition amongst geocachers. (Maybe not the drinking game part.) It's a great meet and greet activity for events or to have a personal log of our cachin' buddies that we share our geocaching adventures with.

 

It would certainly be an interesting way to record our personal geocaching history. It would make a great sig item to give to someone that doesn't already have/maintain a geocaching short snorter. You just sign a piece of foldin' money and hand it over explaining what to do with it. Cool huh?

 

What do you all think? Anyone heard of these or have one already?

 

Would you consider starting one or use it as a sig item?

Now this is what I'm talking about!

 

This is the Fun side of Snoogans that I wanted to see again....Thank you Snoogans.

 

Granny~

[+NYPaddleCacher]

Go to any international airport and they usually have quite a few currencies ready to dole out. Seek out the countries with the worst financial status and acquire their bills. Plus this way, you can't accidently spend them.

 

Unfortunately the exchange rate on those places can be really bad for small exchanges. Since I occasionally attend international conferences and meetings with attendees from a lot of different countries I'll occasionally ask someone if they have a few coins from their native country I can buy. At a meeting in Ethiopia a couple of years ago with about 8 other people I came home with coins from Egypt, Kenya, the Philippines, Japan, Peru, South Africa, and Ethiopia.

 

There are also a bunch of web sites where one can purchase foreign currency "bundles" that include bills or coins from a bunch of different countries. Do a search on "Foreign Currency for sale" and you'll find a bunch of them. I found a couple of sites that have bank notes from 200 different countries.

[+popokiiti]

on a side note..........

 

Short Snorter gave way to Challenge Coins. I have placed Challenge Coins in caches so the idea of Short Snorters has already been passed down to geocache in it's modern form.

 

You may now return to your regular forum thread.

 

Yeah but you can't sign a geocoin.

 

BTW- A former coworker who was serving in the Marines (I call them my OORAHS) scored a challenge coin from The Secretary of Defense at a NASCAR race of all places. He said he never paid for a drink whenever the challenge coins hit the table.

 

Not a Geocoin. A military Challenge Coin. There is a huge difference.

 

Edit: Off Topic again.. My highest challenge coin is George Bush Sr's coin. Given to me (and some others guys in my unit) by him at Andrews AFB right after Desert Storm.

 

Ohhh, Have you heard my patriotic story about how I used to get a yearly physical by Bush Sr's personal doctor?

That's hilarious!

[+Snoogans]

on a side note..........

 

Short Snorter gave way to Challenge Coins. I have placed Challenge Coins in caches so the idea of Short Snorters has already been passed down to geocache in it's modern form.

 

You may now return to your regular forum thread.

 

Yeah but you can't sign a geocoin.

 

BTW- A former coworker who was serving in the Marines (I call them my OORAHS) scored a challenge coin from The Secretary of Defense at a NASCAR race of all places. He said he never paid for a drink whenever the challenge coins hit the table.

 

Not a Geocoin. A military Challenge Coin. There is a huge difference.

 

Edit: Off Topic again.. My highest challenge coin is George Bush Sr's coin. Given to me (and some others guys in my unit) by him at Andrews AFB right after Desert Storm.

 

Ohhh, Have you heard my patriotic story about how I used to get a yearly physical by Bush Sr's personal doctor?

That's hilarious!

I was in a bit of a military history mode yesterday looking up short snorters and I decided to look up that doctor. Doctor Edward Lillo Crain. I knew the man for close to 10 years and never knew he had been a Marine medic in the Pacific campaign in WWII. Had in fact won the Navy Cross and the Silver Star for courage under fire. He was such a mild and unassuming man. I had time to talk with him on several drill assignments where his presence was required. He would talk about the Bush family if asked. He wore a jacket with the Presidential Seal often. He never mentioned his military career or the fact that he had won a medal that is just one level lower than the Medal of Honor.

 

Okay, back on topic. I plan to start my geocaching short snorter at the next event I attend. I may even sign a few bills with a sharpie and hand them out for other folks to start on if they want to.

[+Totem Clan]

If you want to make as close to the real thing as you can, make sure one of the 'guidelines' is that you must have the person sign it in person. No mailing for autographs. That way it's who you have met not who you can get the address for.

 

Just a thought.

[+Manville Possum]

BTW I'm not saying don't do it because we have coins. I just posted about the Challenge Coins because in the military the coin replaced Short Snorters that's all. Just a "rest of the story" kinda thing.

 

Personally I could care less one way or the other about the idae. It's interesting but I won't be doing it, but I won't stop anyone else from doing it.

I've seen people snort stuff with a $ bill, but I keep a Challange Coin in my pocket. I think the Freemasons started those challange coins. I find the OP's idea interesting.

[+Snoogans]

If you want to make as close to the real thing as you can, make sure one of the 'guidelines' is that you must have the person sign it in person. No mailing for autographs. That way it's who you have met not who you can get the address for.

 

Just a thought.

 

You are absolutely right.

 

People will do what they want to do anyway though. I don't think there needs to be a guideline of any kind. Personal ethics are the only guideline that would work.

 

I never understood the need to discover a coin you never touched just to get the icon and I am an Icon Ho of the first order.

 

There are a dozen or so names that would impress me to see on a short snorter even though I've already met maybe half of them. Ulmer being the top dawg. I'd love to meet him and get his sig on my short snorter.

 

My event logs are valuable treasures to me. I have hosted quite a few. I have been to nearly 200 events now. Imagine if I had been collecting sigs on a short snorter all that time...

Edited January 24, 2012 by Snoogans

[+Totem Clan]

If you want to make as close to the real thing as you can, make sure one of the 'guidelines' is that you must have the person sign it in person. No mailing for autographs. That way it's who you have met not who you can get the address for.

 

Just a thought.

 

You are absolutely right.

 

People will do what they want to do anyway though. I don't think there needs to be a guideline of any kind. Personal ethics are the only guideline that would work.

I never understood the need to discover a coin you never touched just to get the icon and I am an Icon Ho of the first order. There are a dozen or so names that would impress me to see on a short snorter even though I've already met maybe half of them. Ulmer being the top dawg. I'd love to meet him and get his sig on my short snorter.

 

My event logs are valuable treasures to me. I have hosted quite a few. I have been to nearly 200 events now. Imagine if I had been collecting sigs on a short snorter all that time...

That's why I put giudelines in qoutes. If it's understood how it should be done then those that decide to ignore the social ethics will be cleary seen as outside the norm.

 

Edit: Wow! That works with so many of the other regular topics we see here.

Edited January 24, 2012 by Totem Clan

[Luckless]

What about making a short snorter from the signatures of your old log books- I never know what to do with them.

 

If you want to make as close to the real thing as you can, make sure one of the 'guidelines' is that you must have the person sign it in person. No mailing for autographs. That way it's who you have met not who you can get the address for.

 

Just a thought.

 

You are absolutely right.

 

People will do what they want to do anyway though. I don't think there needs to be a guideline of any kind. Personal ethics are the only guideline that would work.

I never understood the need to discover a coin you never touched just to get the icon and I am an Icon Ho of the first order. There are a dozen or so names that would impress me to see on a short snorter even though I've already met maybe half of them. Ulmer being the top dawg. I'd love to meet him and get his sig on my short snorter.

 

My event logs are valuable treasures to me. I have hosted quite a few. I have been to nearly 200 events now. Imagine if I had been collecting sigs on a short snorter all that time...

That's why I put giudelines in qoutes. If it's understood how it should be done then those that decide to ignore the social ethics will be cleary seen as outside the norm.

 

Edit: Wow! That works with so many of the other regular topics we see here.

[+Snoogans]

What about making a short snorter from the signatures of your old log books- I never know what to do with them.

 

Sorry for the really late reply.... Sure why the heck not.

 

I can't believe I forgot about this thread until Monday evening when my mom brought the subject up again.

 

I missed some real good signatures at GWX.

[+SwineFlew]

What about making a short snorter from the signatures of your old log books- I never know what to do with them.

 

Sorry for the really late reply.... Sure why the heck not.

 

I can't believe I forgot about this thread until Monday evening when my mom brought the subject up again.

 

I missed some real good signatures at GWX.

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