Succinct !

Question Does anyone know what a AF305 G shred mean?

I think he's a rap artist.

This is quite true. In fact when the National Endowment of the Arts was preparing materials in conjunction with The Big Read in the Ft. Lauderldale/Miami area they produced a very nice 18 page booklet in regard to F451. Near the back is a photo of the desk calendar page that Ray wrote down the number when he called the fire department.

When I am at home I will scan that page and post it on this board as perhaps some have not seen it.

mycroftholmes,

The oven test you did sounds like it should have worked but I think I know why it didn’t. If you put a candle flame against a piece of book paper it will burn. If you put a candle flame against a piece of thread, it will burn. But if you wind that same thread around a coin, it will not burn. The heat is being disbursed into the metal of the coin and not concentrating on the thread. Likewise, the oven temperature may be 451 F but the paper may not be--due to disbursement and lack of concentration. Also, a plus or minus error may exist in the oven. After all, it’s not a calibrated scientific device.

I’ll trust Ray and the firemen. But even more than them, I’d trust that guy who used to play “Mr. Wizard”. He’d know.

Don Herbert!
Still around - maybe we should ask him?
http://mrwizardstudios.com/

Still alive, and 89!

Lives here in the valley, I think.

Finally! Here is the page from the Reader's Guide that I said I would scan in. It is the calendar page that Ray wrote notes on in regard to the information he received after calling the fire department.

To see the page better click on the lower right hand side to enlarge it.

Ray's_Calendar_Page-451.jpg (197 Kb, 18 downloads)

Keep in mind that Ray asked the fire department at what temperature book paper burns ... not 20 pound inkjet paper.

So, find a book from the 1950's, tear out a page (horrors!), and try your experiment again. Make sure you do this inside your asbestos apartment, however ...

That is very enlightening biplane. Even on that little paper there are several variations that the title could have become. Especially the very bottom line is telling. Should he ever decide on a sequel(Please Ray...) Centigrade 233 would be apt.

In the anthology THE BRADBURY CHRONICLES (I believe that there is now three different books with that title) Gregory Benford's contribution is a story called "Centigrade 233" and he had another story called "The Voice" in which he makes a reference to F-451 when some kids find an ancient relic, which one kid recognizes as being a book (because his grandfather always talks about them), with the words "CENTIGRADE 233" printed on the outside.

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quote:

Originally posted by sceneshifter:
...Should he ever decide on a sequel(Please Ray...) Centigrade 233 would be apt.

I believe there is some sort of sequel rattling around in Ray's box of works-in-progress, not sure what the title is/was, however. I think it's been mentioned somewhere else on this board.

Rather than Centigrade 233, might I suggest that CELSIUS 233 would be more appropriate; Celsius is a better analogy to Fahrenheit, both being derived from a man's name.

philnic,
I love it that you knew that.

quote:

Originally posted by biplane1:
...It is the calendar page that Ray wrote notes on in regard to the information he received after calling the fire department...

Notice that Ray's calendar for that day also says 'Mugnaini here'. Maybe Joe Mugnaini brought his cover designs for the novel with him (see attached image), and that's what prompted Ray to phone around for the correct temperature. Fahrenheit 204 just doesn't have a ring to it...

f451_preliminary_artwork.jpg (90 Kb, 7 downloads) Mugnaini's original cover designs