A mysterious blonde paid a visit to a petrol station shop in the small eastern German town of Doemitz on July22nd - wearing nothing but a pair of golden stilettos and a thin gold bracelet.
The tall, slender woman strolled into the shop in the town of Doemitz on the warm afternoon and bought cigarettes, petrol station employee Ines Swoboda told reporters the next day. "I wasn't surprised because she's come in naked before - she's a very nice woman," Swoboda said, adding none of the other customers were bothered.
The woman could have faced charges of creating a public disturbance if anyone had complained. A quick-witted customer did, however, snap pictures of the woman believed to be about 30 years old as she walked back to a waiting Ferrari and climbed into the passenger seat. Several of those photos appeared in the German media on July 23rd.
Saturday, July 28, 2007
Shoplifter leaves address for police
German police called to investigate a supermarket theft were surprised to discover the culprit had left his contact details with a shop assistant.
The 30-year-old thief, who was born in Liverpool, England, passed a note to the assistant which read in German: "Call the police, I've just stolen," a spokesman for the police in the town of Nienburg in Lower Saxony said on July 25th.
The shoplifter left the premises carrying a full bag of shopping in one hand and a pack of toilet paper under his arm. When officers called at his address, the man admitted his crime. He justified the act by saying he and his pregnant girlfriend were having cash flow problems because of a mistake by the social security office.
"You don't come across criminals like this every day," the spokesman said. "The man wouldn't say why he tipped us off."
The 30-year-old thief, who was born in Liverpool, England, passed a note to the assistant which read in German: "Call the police, I've just stolen," a spokesman for the police in the town of Nienburg in Lower Saxony said on July 25th.
The shoplifter left the premises carrying a full bag of shopping in one hand and a pack of toilet paper under his arm. When officers called at his address, the man admitted his crime. He justified the act by saying he and his pregnant girlfriend were having cash flow problems because of a mistake by the social security office.
"You don't come across criminals like this every day," the spokesman said. "The man wouldn't say why he tipped us off."
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Crazy Patents!
For the US Patents Office to issue a patent, the invention must be novel, non-obvious, and "useful." The standard for usefulness is certainly the weakest of the three - any possible utility, no matter how small, will suffice. And, useful does not necessarily mean commercially viable. In other words, you can get a patent on some crazy things that will never make it to the shelves of your local store. For instance:
Patent Number 5392735
"Marine Mammal Communication Device"
This Walt Disney patent contains detailed source code (about 17 pages worth) of what basically amounts to a dolphin size keyboard that translates keystrokes into sounds for both humans and other dolphins and perhaps "whales and porpoises" as well. They hope that once trained that a human will be able to simply speak to the Dolphins as well.
Patent Number 7108178
"Method of stopping a stolen car without a high-speed chase, utilizing a bar code"
The title alone earns the patent a place in this article. Part of the invention also requires that the rear wheel covers have bullets or knives installed in them, however the inventor also offers a method to disable the engine by remote control.
Patent Number 6142880
"Method of playing a bowling game"
This is basically bowling like it is today, but changing the scoring system to "eliminate the unfair advantage of scoring consecutive strikes with a multiplier effect".
Patent Number 5107620
"Electrified table cloth"
Designed to discourage bugs from crawling on a table cloth, the electrified table cloth shocks them, much like an invisible dog fence. I'm not sure this idea is so crazy - if anyone knows where to get one of these, please let me know.
Patent Number 7062320
"Device for the treatment of hiccups"
Appears to be a glass that shocks you when you drink from it, ostensibly stimulating specific nerves in an attempt to cure hiccups.
Patent Number 6994809
"Plug for and method of patching a hole in a wall"
Maybe not really crazy, but crazily obvious. This patent shows you how to patch a hole in a wall by cutting out a piece the same size as a pre-formed plug, and then inserting the plug and plastering over it.
Patent Number 5443036
"Method of exercising a cat"
In 1993 the US Patents Office issued this patent for using a laser pointer to exercise a cat (yes, by moving the laser pointer beam around and having the cat chase it). Come on now... Not only is this crazy to patent, but this idea had surely been thought of long before this patent came about. In fact, a bit of research turned up the book: "One Hundred and Eighty-Seven Ways to Amuse a Bored Cat" (Ballantine Books; May, 1982) that describes the exact same idea, but using a flashlight. Sorry guys - the use of a laser pointer for the same thing is obvious.
Update: There is something else that is truly amazing about this patent. Not only should this patent probably never have been issued, but it appears that the USPTO has issued what is essentially the same patent many times! See: Patent Number: 6505576 "Pet Toy"; Patent Number: 6557495 "Laser Pet Toy"; Patent Number: 6651591 "Automatic Laser Pet Toy And Exerciser"; Patent Number: 6701872 "Method And Apparatus For Automatically Exercising A Curious Animal"
Patent Number: 6826983
"Light Bulb Changer"
How many machines does it take to change a light bulb? Come on now, who is going to buy a machine, that looks like it weighs 100 pounds and costs plenty, to change light bulbs?
Patent Number: 6752088
"Eating counter apparatus for mobile vending vehicle"
This guy must have been sitting around with a hotdog cart, a park bench, and a welding torch, and decided he needed to patent something using only these three things.
Patent Number:6739074
"Tamper Resistant Institutional Shoe And Method"
A shoe with a transparent sole to prevent concealing contraband. Don't laugh just yet - these might be required on planes soon!
Patent Number: 6718554
"Hands free towel carrying system"
A towel with a neck loop. Seriously -- that's all it is. And it took until 2004 to patent such a thing. I wonder what other amazing inventions remain to be discovered???
Patent Number: 6650315
"Mouse device with a built-in printer"
The title is pretty self-explanatory. Yes, it takes very small paper. Maybe it could serve as a label maker -- that's about all I can think of.
Patent Number: 6368227
"Method of swinging on a swing"
So these fools think that in all the years of swinging no one has ever before thought to pull on the opposite chains and swing form side to side? Well, I guess they got the PTO to issue the patent, so I'm not sure who the fool really is... But, even so, what do these guys expect to do with this anyway? Are they going to go around and collect royalties from kids on the playground?
Patent Number: 4858627
"Smokers Hat"
A hat with an air intake, which filters and then expels the air. Looks pretty much like wearing the exhaust hood for a stove on your head.
Patent Number: 4455816
"Tricycle Lawnmower"
No, you aren't misreading anything. This really is a child's tricycle with a lawnmower attached. Real safe, eh?
Patent Number: 4300473
"Device For Moistening The Adhesive Coating On Postage Stamps and Envelopes"
Describes a device containing an applicator to moisten stamps. Check out this quote: "The applicator may be in the form of a human tongue". Boy, that's novel.
Patent Number: 4233942
"Animal Ear Protection"
A device for protecting the ears of animals, especially long-haired dogs, from becoming soiled by the animal's food while the animal is eating. OK, your pet might look better without dirty hair, but it's going to look pretty dumb wearing this thing.
Patent Number 5392735
"Marine Mammal Communication Device"
This Walt Disney patent contains detailed source code (about 17 pages worth) of what basically amounts to a dolphin size keyboard that translates keystrokes into sounds for both humans and other dolphins and perhaps "whales and porpoises" as well. They hope that once trained that a human will be able to simply speak to the Dolphins as well.
Patent Number 7108178
"Method of stopping a stolen car without a high-speed chase, utilizing a bar code"
The title alone earns the patent a place in this article. Part of the invention also requires that the rear wheel covers have bullets or knives installed in them, however the inventor also offers a method to disable the engine by remote control.
Patent Number 6142880
"Method of playing a bowling game"
This is basically bowling like it is today, but changing the scoring system to "eliminate the unfair advantage of scoring consecutive strikes with a multiplier effect".
Patent Number 5107620
"Electrified table cloth"
Designed to discourage bugs from crawling on a table cloth, the electrified table cloth shocks them, much like an invisible dog fence. I'm not sure this idea is so crazy - if anyone knows where to get one of these, please let me know.
Patent Number 7062320
"Device for the treatment of hiccups"
Appears to be a glass that shocks you when you drink from it, ostensibly stimulating specific nerves in an attempt to cure hiccups.
Patent Number 6994809
"Plug for and method of patching a hole in a wall"
Maybe not really crazy, but crazily obvious. This patent shows you how to patch a hole in a wall by cutting out a piece the same size as a pre-formed plug, and then inserting the plug and plastering over it.
Patent Number 5443036
"Method of exercising a cat"
In 1993 the US Patents Office issued this patent for using a laser pointer to exercise a cat (yes, by moving the laser pointer beam around and having the cat chase it). Come on now... Not only is this crazy to patent, but this idea had surely been thought of long before this patent came about. In fact, a bit of research turned up the book: "One Hundred and Eighty-Seven Ways to Amuse a Bored Cat" (Ballantine Books; May, 1982) that describes the exact same idea, but using a flashlight. Sorry guys - the use of a laser pointer for the same thing is obvious.
Update: There is something else that is truly amazing about this patent. Not only should this patent probably never have been issued, but it appears that the USPTO has issued what is essentially the same patent many times! See: Patent Number: 6505576 "Pet Toy"; Patent Number: 6557495 "Laser Pet Toy"; Patent Number: 6651591 "Automatic Laser Pet Toy And Exerciser"; Patent Number: 6701872 "Method And Apparatus For Automatically Exercising A Curious Animal"
Patent Number: 6826983
"Light Bulb Changer"
How many machines does it take to change a light bulb? Come on now, who is going to buy a machine, that looks like it weighs 100 pounds and costs plenty, to change light bulbs?
Patent Number: 6752088
"Eating counter apparatus for mobile vending vehicle"
This guy must have been sitting around with a hotdog cart, a park bench, and a welding torch, and decided he needed to patent something using only these three things.
Patent Number:6739074
"Tamper Resistant Institutional Shoe And Method"
A shoe with a transparent sole to prevent concealing contraband. Don't laugh just yet - these might be required on planes soon!
Patent Number: 6718554
"Hands free towel carrying system"
A towel with a neck loop. Seriously -- that's all it is. And it took until 2004 to patent such a thing. I wonder what other amazing inventions remain to be discovered???
Patent Number: 6650315
"Mouse device with a built-in printer"
The title is pretty self-explanatory. Yes, it takes very small paper. Maybe it could serve as a label maker -- that's about all I can think of.
Patent Number: 6368227
"Method of swinging on a swing"
So these fools think that in all the years of swinging no one has ever before thought to pull on the opposite chains and swing form side to side? Well, I guess they got the PTO to issue the patent, so I'm not sure who the fool really is... But, even so, what do these guys expect to do with this anyway? Are they going to go around and collect royalties from kids on the playground?
Patent Number: 4858627
"Smokers Hat"
A hat with an air intake, which filters and then expels the air. Looks pretty much like wearing the exhaust hood for a stove on your head.
Patent Number: 4455816
"Tricycle Lawnmower"
No, you aren't misreading anything. This really is a child's tricycle with a lawnmower attached. Real safe, eh?
Patent Number: 4300473
"Device For Moistening The Adhesive Coating On Postage Stamps and Envelopes"
Describes a device containing an applicator to moisten stamps. Check out this quote: "The applicator may be in the form of a human tongue". Boy, that's novel.
Patent Number: 4233942
"Animal Ear Protection"
A device for protecting the ears of animals, especially long-haired dogs, from becoming soiled by the animal's food while the animal is eating. OK, your pet might look better without dirty hair, but it's going to look pretty dumb wearing this thing.
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Man finds out wife, not daughter, unfaithful
An Israeli man who hired a detective to find out whether his daughter was cheating on her husband was told by the investigator his wife was in fact the one being unfaithful, an Israeli newspaper reported on July 22nd.
The man had his daughter followed at the request of his son-in-law, who had been suspicious of his wife's behaviour. The daughter was found innocent but the private investigator managed to snap photographs of the mother and another man caught in the act, the Maariv daily said.
"I saved my daughter's marriage and at the same time, saved myself from a woman who had it all in life but chose another man," the man, who has since sought to end the marriage, was quoted as telling his lawyer.
The man had his daughter followed at the request of his son-in-law, who had been suspicious of his wife's behaviour. The daughter was found innocent but the private investigator managed to snap photographs of the mother and another man caught in the act, the Maariv daily said.
"I saved my daughter's marriage and at the same time, saved myself from a woman who had it all in life but chose another man," the man, who has since sought to end the marriage, was quoted as telling his lawyer.
Sunday, July 22, 2007
THEY REMARRIED 92 YEARS AFTER THEIR DIVORCE!
Age Carlson of Aalborg, Denmark, took to himself a wife at the age of twenty in 1811. Matrimony had a strange effect on Aage. He was seized with an irresistible wanderlust. After a long a conversation in which he tried in vain to induce his bride to share his nomadic life with him, Aage decided not to stand in the way of her happiness and divorced her. “I shall always love you,” he said in a tone of deep conviction. “But since you decline to roam the seven seas with me, it is only fair to give you a chance to find happiness with my successor.”
Aage left Denmark in 1811 and nothing further was heard from him during the remainder of the nineteenth century.
With the dawn of the twentieth century rumors reached the ex-Mrs. Carlson that her former husband, now a ship’s captain, was still alive and that he was thinking of settling down in his native country.
In 1903 Aage Carlson returned to Aalborg and called upon his ex-wife whom he had not seen in ninety-two years. Mrs. Carlson received him with dignity and reserve. When Aage learned that she had never remarried, he sank to his knees and delivered a proposal of remarriage couched in such ardent terms that her resistance melted away.
They remarried in 1903 and lived long enough to celebrate the rarest of all matrimonial events - the hundredth anniversary of their original wedlock. Both died a year later.
Aage left Denmark in 1811 and nothing further was heard from him during the remainder of the nineteenth century.
With the dawn of the twentieth century rumors reached the ex-Mrs. Carlson that her former husband, now a ship’s captain, was still alive and that he was thinking of settling down in his native country.
In 1903 Aage Carlson returned to Aalborg and called upon his ex-wife whom he had not seen in ninety-two years. Mrs. Carlson received him with dignity and reserve. When Aage learned that she had never remarried, he sank to his knees and delivered a proposal of remarriage couched in such ardent terms that her resistance melted away.
They remarried in 1903 and lived long enough to celebrate the rarest of all matrimonial events - the hundredth anniversary of their original wedlock. Both died a year later.
Saturday, July 21, 2007
The Mummy's Curse
The year was 1910. Egyptologist Douglas Murray was sought out by a diseased and ragged looking American. He told Murray he had an offer that would most likely be the most priceless and important find of his whole career, a mummy case, complete with mummy, of an ancient Egyptian high priestess of the temple of Ammon-Ra who supposedly lived in Thebes around 1600 BC.Murray was quick to write the American a check, drawn from the Bank of London, but the check was never cashed. The American died that night.
A colleague of Murray's told him the legend behind his new purchase. The ancient high priestess had held high office in the then feared Cult of the Dead, helping to turn the once rich and fertile land in the Valley of the Nile into a bare wasteland, a truly desolate place. Inscribed on the walls of her tomb were warnings of death and terror for anyone disturbing her resting place. Believing it was a load of poppycock, Murray laughed at the warning. Three days later, while on a hunting trip, his gun exploded in his hand, causing him months of almost constant pain spent in hospital. The wound eventually became infected, and fearing the gangrene would spread, his arm was amputated at the elbow.
When his health returned he set sail for England, mummy case and all. During the trip, two Egyptian servants who had handled the mummy case were found dead. They were considered to be young, strong, healthy men, so their deaths came very unexpectedly. Upon arriving in London, Murray took a good long look at his acquisition, and while examining the carved gold and painted image of the priestess, he later told friends that "the face seemed to come alive with a stare that chilled to the bone."
Murray decided t was time to get rid of the mummy case. A lady friend of his persuaded him to sell it to her, and within weeks her mother died, her lover left her, and she herself was diagnosed with what could only be called a 'wasting' disease. Was it perhaps the same disease to plague the American? Whatever it was, she insisted that Murray take it back.
He then gave it to a British museum, and it seemed that the 'curse' was no less effective there, either. A photographer dropped stone cold dead while photographing the mummy case, and the man in charge of the cases exhibit was soon found dead in his own bed. In light of these events, the museums head honcho's met privately and unanimously decided to give it to a prestigious New York museum. The case was sent with no fanfare, but the case never reached it's destination, for it sunk to the bottom of the sea along with the Titanic and almost 1500 souls in April of 1912.
Friday, July 20, 2007
Estonians win international wife-carrying tournament
Recently, a couple of Estonians were adjudged the best in an international wife-carrying championship in central Finland in which more than 50 couples from various states participated.
The championship organisers borrowed the idea from a 19th century outlaw, who recruited new members of his gang only after conducting special tests for power and smartness. Some of them kidnapped women from local villages.
The modern tournament covers a distance of 253.5 metres. Contestants have to carry their women across sand, pebble, grass and asphalt strips and one-metre-deep ditches filled with water.
Bachelors can also participate in the tournament and can borrow a wife from their friends or neighbours.
According to the rules, the wife cannot weigh less than 49 kgs. Otherwise, an extra load will be added.
The tournament includes a 100-metre individual race and a relay, in which women substitute relay batons. When the woman is passed from one contestant to another, the man has to stop and have a drink.
An Estonian couple made a record of 55.5 seconds in 2000. Their record has not been outdone.
Another Estonian couple won this year's tournament with 1 minute and 1.7 seconds. The winners received a beer keg, which weighs as much as the carried wife.
The championship organisers borrowed the idea from a 19th century outlaw, who recruited new members of his gang only after conducting special tests for power and smartness. Some of them kidnapped women from local villages.
The modern tournament covers a distance of 253.5 metres. Contestants have to carry their women across sand, pebble, grass and asphalt strips and one-metre-deep ditches filled with water.
Bachelors can also participate in the tournament and can borrow a wife from their friends or neighbours.
According to the rules, the wife cannot weigh less than 49 kgs. Otherwise, an extra load will be added.
The tournament includes a 100-metre individual race and a relay, in which women substitute relay batons. When the woman is passed from one contestant to another, the man has to stop and have a drink.
An Estonian couple made a record of 55.5 seconds in 2000. Their record has not been outdone.
Another Estonian couple won this year's tournament with 1 minute and 1.7 seconds. The winners received a beer keg, which weighs as much as the carried wife.
Thursday, July 19, 2007
In Big Apple, Botox over lunch...
Busy New Yorkers a bit worse for wear need only a lunch-time to look better, thanks to a drop-in Botox salon.
In the latest quick-fix indulgence for people on the run, a Botox-only boutique has opened off ritzy Park Avenue where shoppers and harried professionals can walk in for a jab of Botox to smooth away facial lines and be out within 30 minutes.
Plastic surgeons Andrew Elkwood and Michael Rose opened New York's first Botox boutique, Smoothmed, after realising their cosmetic surgery practice contained a group of people who wanted Botox but didn't want to wait for the five to ten-minute injections.
"In a lot of respects, the taboo of cosmetic surgery is leaving society, especially the injectables," Elkwood said. "What we wanted to do was make it very accessible, take it very seriously but give, administer it, in a comfortable atmosphere. A salon-like atmosphere. We do all the worrying on the back end."
Elkwood says patients' medical histories are reviewed before any treatment and all women are given a pregnancy test to ensure it is safe before receiving any shots of Botox, which is regarded by some as the fountain of youth
In the latest quick-fix indulgence for people on the run, a Botox-only boutique has opened off ritzy Park Avenue where shoppers and harried professionals can walk in for a jab of Botox to smooth away facial lines and be out within 30 minutes.
Plastic surgeons Andrew Elkwood and Michael Rose opened New York's first Botox boutique, Smoothmed, after realising their cosmetic surgery practice contained a group of people who wanted Botox but didn't want to wait for the five to ten-minute injections.
"In a lot of respects, the taboo of cosmetic surgery is leaving society, especially the injectables," Elkwood said. "What we wanted to do was make it very accessible, take it very seriously but give, administer it, in a comfortable atmosphere. A salon-like atmosphere. We do all the worrying on the back end."
Elkwood says patients' medical histories are reviewed before any treatment and all women are given a pregnancy test to ensure it is safe before receiving any shots of Botox, which is regarded by some as the fountain of youth
Fire-fighters cut holes in wrong house
Fire-fighters in Massachusetts drove to a vacant house on July 17th, cut holes in the roof and walls, and broke windows to test their tools and their proficiency only to discover it was the wrong house.
They were supposed to be two blocks away at a house slated for demolition.
The owners of the damaged home now want the town to pay for the mistake, but they are trying to keep a sense of humour about it.
“Accidents happen,'' said Jeffrey Luu, who owns the house in Braintree with his brother, Clayton. “Luckily, nobody got hurt,'' added Clayton Luu.
The home had been vacant since an electrical fire last year left a scorch mark up one side. The knee-high grass had not been cut in several weeks.
The owners were planning a renovation of the house just not this much of one.
The fire department is conducting an internal investigation, Deputy Chief John Donahue said in a statement, but officials otherwise remained tight-lipped and red-faced about the incident.
Meanwhile, the house where the fire-fighters were supposed to train was demolished later on the same day as scheduled.
They were supposed to be two blocks away at a house slated for demolition.
The owners of the damaged home now want the town to pay for the mistake, but they are trying to keep a sense of humour about it.
“Accidents happen,'' said Jeffrey Luu, who owns the house in Braintree with his brother, Clayton. “Luckily, nobody got hurt,'' added Clayton Luu.
The home had been vacant since an electrical fire last year left a scorch mark up one side. The knee-high grass had not been cut in several weeks.
The owners were planning a renovation of the house just not this much of one.
The fire department is conducting an internal investigation, Deputy Chief John Donahue said in a statement, but officials otherwise remained tight-lipped and red-faced about the incident.
Meanwhile, the house where the fire-fighters were supposed to train was demolished later on the same day as scheduled.
Monday, July 16, 2007
3,009 Chinese break skipping world record
A group of 3,009 people set a world record on July 12th in central China, becoming the largest group to skip rope at one time.
The participants ranged in age from 5 to 68, and skipped rope for three minutes. Officials of Guinness World Records were on hand in Changsha, the capital of Hunan province, and acknowledged the feat.
The previous record was set by 2,474 people on January 23, 2005, in Hong Kong.
The skipping ropes used July 12th will be sent to 30 elementary schools in rural Hunan.
The participants ranged in age from 5 to 68, and skipped rope for three minutes. Officials of Guinness World Records were on hand in Changsha, the capital of Hunan province, and acknowledged the feat.
The previous record was set by 2,474 people on January 23, 2005, in Hong Kong.
The skipping ropes used July 12th will be sent to 30 elementary schools in rural Hunan.
Sunday, July 15, 2007
Elephant beats keeper for late meals
A Pakistani zoo is appealing for donations to help feed its sole elephant, Suzi, which gets angry and beats its keeper with a stick when its meals are late.
When Suzi is not fed on time it holds its master's cane in its trunk and starts beating him.
The zoo is hoping philanthropists and schools will "adopt" Suzi and pay for the elephant’s food - since the zoo does not have enough funds to feed Suzi.
When Suzi is not fed on time it holds its master's cane in its trunk and starts beating him.
The zoo is hoping philanthropists and schools will "adopt" Suzi and pay for the elephant’s food - since the zoo does not have enough funds to feed Suzi.
Stressed executives asked to smash hotel rooms
A Spanish hotel chain ran a competition for stressed executives to let off steam in a fashion usually reserved for rock stars - by smashing hotel rooms.
NH Hotels allowed 30 people chosen by a team of psychologists to help demolish the interior of the 11-year old NH Alcala hotel in central Madrid as part of its refurbishment. The chosen 30, armed with mallet and hard hat, were allowed to destroy any part of the 146-room building, from bringing down walls to smashing windows.
The demolition took place on July 3. The executives, reportedly, enjoyed themselves immensely. We hope their stress levels improved!
NH Hotels allowed 30 people chosen by a team of psychologists to help demolish the interior of the 11-year old NH Alcala hotel in central Madrid as part of its refurbishment. The chosen 30, armed with mallet and hard hat, were allowed to destroy any part of the 146-room building, from bringing down walls to smashing windows.
The demolition took place on July 3. The executives, reportedly, enjoyed themselves immensely. We hope their stress levels improved!
Saturday, July 14, 2007
Multiple loyalties
Jean Cavalier (1681-1740), a French baker, as a soldier fought for France, Italy, Holland and Britain - and in 1738 became a Major General in the British Army.
Twenty-three times lucky
Rudolf Slavitz (1810-99) of Vienna, Austria, had 23 children, 23 grandchildren and 23 great-grandchildren.
Couldn't practice what he preached...
Horatio Alger, who made a fortune writing 119 books inspiring poor boys to labor diligently and save their pennies, died of poverty because he became a spendthrift.
Double standards
Sir Walter Raleigh was executed by King James-I of England for annoying Spain - yet for doing the same thing, Sir Francis Drake was knighted by Queen Elizabeth-I of England.
Overworked!
George Edmund Street, famed English architect, won a contest to design the Royal Courts of Justice in London in 1868, but died of exhaustion after drawing 3,000 successive plans for the structures.
Free bed for the world's tallest man
The world's tallest man will now be able to sleep with his new wife after a furniture company agreed to design and gift him a tailor-made bed.Bao Xishun, 56 years old and 7' 9" tall, of Inner Mongolia, China, is to marry 5' 6" Xia Shujuan, who is 29 years old, later this week.
However, the couple feared they would not be able to live together as they couldn't find furniture big enough for their new apartment.
After an exhaustive search and with the help of friends, they finally located a furniture company which agreed to make the couple a whole set of furniture. The same furniture company is also designing and gifting them a special size bed.
Friday, July 13, 2007
British wedding guest from Canada turns up a year early
Teacher Dave Barclay flew thousands of miles across the Atlantic to Wales to attend his friend's wedding, only to discover he was a year early.
Barclay, 34, was told about the wedding earlier in the year and assumed it was to take place in 2007. It was only when he had flown into Cardiff from Toronto, Canada, and rang the bridegroom seeking details of the venue that he discovered the wedding was in 2008.
The groom, Dave Best, had emailed his friend at the start of the year. He simply mentioned the date – July 6th – and Dave Barclay assumed it was in this year.
Barclay, who has been teaching in Toronto for three years spent 500 pounds ($1,015) on his premature flight.
At least it's assured him a mention in the wedding speeches next year.
Barclay, 34, was told about the wedding earlier in the year and assumed it was to take place in 2007. It was only when he had flown into Cardiff from Toronto, Canada, and rang the bridegroom seeking details of the venue that he discovered the wedding was in 2008.
The groom, Dave Best, had emailed his friend at the start of the year. He simply mentioned the date – July 6th – and Dave Barclay assumed it was in this year.
Barclay, who has been teaching in Toronto for three years spent 500 pounds ($1,015) on his premature flight.
At least it's assured him a mention in the wedding speeches next year.
Thursday, July 12, 2007
Indian jackpot winner plans to open a college in Bahrain
An Indian teacher in Bahrain who won a jackpot wants to open a college in the country rather than spend the money on exotic holidays and shopping.
Elamurugu Soupramanien won the Ahli United Bank's 500,000 Bahraini Dinar ($1,329,783) grand prize last week. He will receive BHD 2,000 ($5319) every month for the next 20 years, courtesy the bank's My Hassad savings scheme.
The father of two believes the prize came as an answer to his prayers after his dream to open a college seemed to be collapsing, the Gulf Daily News has reported.
Soupramanien had applied to Bahrain's Education Ministry last month for a licence to start a university college in Bahrain. His application was accepted but he gave up hope when the Ministry, according to its rules, asked him to deposit BHD 100,000 as a guarantee.
Soupramanien had no idea how to raise such a big amount. He says he “prayed to God to show me a way."
When Ahli United Bank broke the news to him last week of his jackpot win – his prayers were answered.
Soupramanien set up the Indian Academy in 2005 jointly with his wife Gunavathy, who is an engineer. The institute offers private coaching to secondary school students and also runs distance education courses affiliated to three Indian Universities.
Soupramanien first arrived in Bahrain in 1995 to work as a French teacher with the Asian School.
Elamurugu Soupramanien won the Ahli United Bank's 500,000 Bahraini Dinar ($1,329,783) grand prize last week. He will receive BHD 2,000 ($5319) every month for the next 20 years, courtesy the bank's My Hassad savings scheme.
The father of two believes the prize came as an answer to his prayers after his dream to open a college seemed to be collapsing, the Gulf Daily News has reported.
Soupramanien had applied to Bahrain's Education Ministry last month for a licence to start a university college in Bahrain. His application was accepted but he gave up hope when the Ministry, according to its rules, asked him to deposit BHD 100,000 as a guarantee.
Soupramanien had no idea how to raise such a big amount. He says he “prayed to God to show me a way."
When Ahli United Bank broke the news to him last week of his jackpot win – his prayers were answered.
Soupramanien set up the Indian Academy in 2005 jointly with his wife Gunavathy, who is an engineer. The institute offers private coaching to secondary school students and also runs distance education courses affiliated to three Indian Universities.
Soupramanien first arrived in Bahrain in 1995 to work as a French teacher with the Asian School.
TECH TALK - Desperate but fearful? Dial R for Restroom
Can’t hold it but dread visiting a public restroom? At the push of a few buttons on your cell-phone (in the United States), you can now get a list of the nearest, cleanest public facilities at your disposal.
Mizpee is a new web service that lets users open a web browser on their phone to Mizpee.com or send a text message to get a list of nearby bathrooms, along with cleanliness ratings ranging from one to five (toilet-paper) rolls and user-generated comments.
Peter Olfe, who set up the advertisement-funded service for fledgling location-based mobile service Yojo Mobile, has said he was inspired to create the site after visiting a public bathroom “that was so dirty I had a splitting headache within two minutes.”
“I realized the demand for such information. Many don’t plan ahead, so it seemed like a natural service to provide,” he has explained.
The service is currently available in a list of US cities including San Francisco, New York, Seattle, Washington DC, Boston, and Chicago, but plans are afoot to ensure that Mizpee is available in every major city in USA within the next year.
Expansion is also planned to London, Paris and Beijing.
Mizpee is a new web service that lets users open a web browser on their phone to Mizpee.com or send a text message to get a list of nearby bathrooms, along with cleanliness ratings ranging from one to five (toilet-paper) rolls and user-generated comments.
Peter Olfe, who set up the advertisement-funded service for fledgling location-based mobile service Yojo Mobile, has said he was inspired to create the site after visiting a public bathroom “that was so dirty I had a splitting headache within two minutes.”
“I realized the demand for such information. Many don’t plan ahead, so it seemed like a natural service to provide,” he has explained.
The service is currently available in a list of US cities including San Francisco, New York, Seattle, Washington DC, Boston, and Chicago, but plans are afoot to ensure that Mizpee is available in every major city in USA within the next year.
Expansion is also planned to London, Paris and Beijing.
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
A monk's life...
Monks in the hermit monastery of Ketho in Tibet alternate between 3 years, 3 months and 13 days of outside freedom - and 3 years, 3 months and 13 days of solitary confinement in a meditation cell.
Well built...
The Bridge of Stennaset in Sweden, with 2 arches 20 feet high, was built of stones without the use of mortar - yet it has endured for 179 years.
Dole or death!
Dulu Murad Khan, ruler of Rawalpindi in Pakistan, gave every beggar who accosted him either one hundred thousand rupees (about 2,500 dollars) – or death!
The death sentence was administered when Dulu Khan was short of funds – because he could not bear to say “no”!
The death sentence was administered when Dulu Khan was short of funds – because he could not bear to say “no”!
Monday, July 9, 2007
Baby snatched from mother finds family after 29 years
A baby girl who had been snatched by authorities from the arms of her mother, a political prisoner held by Argentina’s then-military regime, has been identified 29 years later, rights group “The Grandmothers of the Plaza de Mayo” announced last week.
The woman, Belen, is the daughter of Rosa Lujan Taranto and Horacio Antonio Altamiranda, who were kidnapped in May 1977 from their home on the outskirts of Buenos Aires. Rosa Lujan, who was seven months pregnant, was taken to the El Vesubio detention centre with her husband. Survivors say Lujan was taken to the Campo de Mayo Military Hospital in the capital, where she delivered her baby by Cesarean at eight months pregnant. After delivering her baby, Rosa was returned to the detention centre and killed; before she died she told other detainees she had not seen her baby and did not even know the sex of her child.
Rosa’s mother-in-law Irma Rojas brought her case to “The Grandmothers of the Plaza de Mayo” in April 1982.
The case is the 88th the group has helped solve. Investigators were able to establish that Belen was given up for adoption at three months of age by the Christian Family Movement. She had always known she was adopted and in 2005 contacted the Grandmothers, suspecting her identity might have something to do with families torn apart by political violence.
In the beginning of this month, genetic testing proved with a 99.99 percent level of accuracy that Belen was part of the Altamiranda Taranto family.
About 30,000 people – including leftists, leftist sympathizers and those merely suspected of sympathizing – were abducted, or abducted and killed, during Argentina’s last military dictatorship from 1976 to 1983.
A baby girl who had been snatched by authorities from the arms of her mother, a political prisoner held by Argentina’s then-military regime, has been identified 29 years later, rights group “The Grandmothers of the Plaza de Mayo” announced last week.
The woman, Belen, is the daughter of Rosa Lujan Taranto and Horacio Antonio Altamiranda, who were kidnapped in May 1977 from their home on the outskirts of Buenos Aires. Rosa Lujan, who was seven months pregnant, was taken to the El Vesubio detention centre with her husband. Survivors say Lujan was taken to the Campo de Mayo Military Hospital in the capital, where she delivered her baby by Cesarean at eight months pregnant. After delivering her baby, Rosa was returned to the detention centre and killed; before she died she told other detainees she had not seen her baby and did not even know the sex of her child.
Rosa’s mother-in-law Irma Rojas brought her case to “The Grandmothers of the Plaza de Mayo” in April 1982.
The case is the 88th the group has helped solve. Investigators were able to establish that Belen was given up for adoption at three months of age by the Christian Family Movement. She had always known she was adopted and in 2005 contacted the Grandmothers, suspecting her identity might have something to do with families torn apart by political violence.
In the beginning of this month, genetic testing proved with a 99.99 percent level of accuracy that Belen was part of the Altamiranda Taranto family.
About 30,000 people – including leftists, leftist sympathizers and those merely suspected of sympathizing – were abducted, or abducted and killed, during Argentina’s last military dictatorship from 1976 to 1983.
Friday, July 6, 2007
Out for a cap
Indian Test Cricketer Ashok Mankad was declared out when his cap fell onto the wicket - removing the bails - while facing Chris Old against England at Edgbaston in 1974. Another Indian cricketer Dalip Vengsarkar was out in a similar way when he was facing Jeff Thompson against Australia at Brisbane in 1978.
Thursday, July 5, 2007
Missing kings
Swedish history lists six kings who never existed. They were Charles l, ll, lll, lV, V and Vl. The first real Charles was King Charles Vll, who ruled from 1155 A.D. to 1167 A.D.
Nice to know this!
1. Until babies are six months old, they can breathe and swallow at the same time. Indeed convenient!
2. Offered a new pen to write with, 97% of all people will write their own name.
3. Male mosquitoes are vegetarians. Only females bite.
4. The average person's field of vision encompasses a 200-degree wide angle.
5. To find out if a watermelon is ripe, knock it, and if it sounds hollow then it is ripe.
6. Canadians can send letters with personalised postage stamps showing their own photos on each stamp.
7. Babies' eyes do not produce tears until the baby is approximately six to eight weeks old.
8. It snowed in the Sahara Desert in February of 1979.
9. Plants watered with warm water grow larger and more quickly than plants watered with cold water.
10. Wearing headphones for just an hour will increase the bacteria in your ear by 700 times.
11. Grapes explode when you put them in the microwave.
12. Those stars and colours you see when you rub your eyes are called phosphenes.
13. Our eyes are always the same size from birth, but our nose and ears never stop growing.
14. Everyone's tongue print is different, like fingerprints.
15. Contrary to popular belief, a swallowed chewing gum doesn't stay in the gut. It will pass through the system and be excreted.
16. At 40 degrees centigrade a person loses about 14.4 calories per hour by just breathing.
17. There is a hotel in Sweden built entirely out of ice; it is rebuilt every year.
18. Cats, camels and giraffes are the only animals in the world that walk right foot, right foot, left foot, left foot, rather than right foot, left foot...
19. Onions help reduce cholesterol if eaten after a fatty meal.
20. The sound you hear when you crack your knuckles is actually the sound of nitrogen gas bubbles bursting.
21. In most watch advertisements the time displayed on the watch is 10:10 because then the arms frame the brand of the watch and make it look like its smiling.
22. The color blue can have a calming affect on people.
23. Depending upon the need, the brain may send up to 11 tranquilizing chemicals to calm the body.
24. Leonardo DA Vinci could write with the one hand and draw with the other simultaneously. Now we know why his pictures were so exquisite!
25. Names of the three wise monkeys are: Mizaru (See no evil), Mikazaru(Hear no evil), and Mazaru (Speak no evil).
26. The only 2 animals that can see behind themselves without turning their heads are the rabbit and parrot.
27. The only 15 letter word that can be spelt without repeating a letter is uncopyrightable.
28. Babies are born without knee caps. They don't appear until the child reaches 2-6 years of age.
29. The names of the continents all end with the same letter with which they start.
30. Electricity doesn't move through a wire but through a field around the wire.
31. All U.S. Presidents have worn glasses; some of them just didn't like to be seen wearing them in public.
32. No word in the English language rhymes with month, orange, silver and purple.
33. Raw cashews are poisonous and must be roasted before eating.
2. Offered a new pen to write with, 97% of all people will write their own name.
3. Male mosquitoes are vegetarians. Only females bite.
4. The average person's field of vision encompasses a 200-degree wide angle.
5. To find out if a watermelon is ripe, knock it, and if it sounds hollow then it is ripe.
6. Canadians can send letters with personalised postage stamps showing their own photos on each stamp.
7. Babies' eyes do not produce tears until the baby is approximately six to eight weeks old.
8. It snowed in the Sahara Desert in February of 1979.
9. Plants watered with warm water grow larger and more quickly than plants watered with cold water.
10. Wearing headphones for just an hour will increase the bacteria in your ear by 700 times.
11. Grapes explode when you put them in the microwave.
12. Those stars and colours you see when you rub your eyes are called phosphenes.
13. Our eyes are always the same size from birth, but our nose and ears never stop growing.
14. Everyone's tongue print is different, like fingerprints.
15. Contrary to popular belief, a swallowed chewing gum doesn't stay in the gut. It will pass through the system and be excreted.
16. At 40 degrees centigrade a person loses about 14.4 calories per hour by just breathing.
17. There is a hotel in Sweden built entirely out of ice; it is rebuilt every year.
18. Cats, camels and giraffes are the only animals in the world that walk right foot, right foot, left foot, left foot, rather than right foot, left foot...
19. Onions help reduce cholesterol if eaten after a fatty meal.
20. The sound you hear when you crack your knuckles is actually the sound of nitrogen gas bubbles bursting.
21. In most watch advertisements the time displayed on the watch is 10:10 because then the arms frame the brand of the watch and make it look like its smiling.
22. The color blue can have a calming affect on people.
23. Depending upon the need, the brain may send up to 11 tranquilizing chemicals to calm the body.
24. Leonardo DA Vinci could write with the one hand and draw with the other simultaneously. Now we know why his pictures were so exquisite!
25. Names of the three wise monkeys are: Mizaru (See no evil), Mikazaru(Hear no evil), and Mazaru (Speak no evil).
26. The only 2 animals that can see behind themselves without turning their heads are the rabbit and parrot.
27. The only 15 letter word that can be spelt without repeating a letter is uncopyrightable.
28. Babies are born without knee caps. They don't appear until the child reaches 2-6 years of age.
29. The names of the continents all end with the same letter with which they start.
30. Electricity doesn't move through a wire but through a field around the wire.
31. All U.S. Presidents have worn glasses; some of them just didn't like to be seen wearing them in public.
32. No word in the English language rhymes with month, orange, silver and purple.
33. Raw cashews are poisonous and must be roasted before eating.
Wednesday, July 4, 2007
Reverse effect
Count Istvan Szechenyi, the famous Hungarian scientist who lived from 1791 to 1860, went insane and chess was prescribed as a cure. A young student was hired to play chess with the old Count. At the end of six years, the Count recovered his reason - and the student became incurably insane!
Unlucky in love...
# A young Taiwanese man wrote some 700 love letters to his girlfriend in the years 1974-76, trying to persuade her to marry him. His persistence finally brought results. The girl finally married - the postman who faithfully delivered all the letters!
# Learning that her husband had betrayed her, Vera Czermak jumped out of her third-storey window in Prague. The newspaper "Vicerni Praha" has reported that Mrs. Czermak is recovering in hospital, after landing on her husband - who was killed.
# Learning that her husband had betrayed her, Vera Czermak jumped out of her third-storey window in Prague. The newspaper "Vicerni Praha" has reported that Mrs. Czermak is recovering in hospital, after landing on her husband - who was killed.
Tuesday, July 3, 2007
A book written in blood
The Japanese Emperor Sutoku (1124 A.D. - 1164 A.D.) wrote a book in his own blood. While he was in exile in Sanuki for three years, he spent the entire time copying the Lankavara Sutra (a famous religious essay) using his own blood as ink. This unique work consists of 135 pages, 1215 lines and 10,500 words - and was written in the pious hope that the Lord Buddha would reward him by a restoration to the throne of Japan. Sutoku was reinstated as ruler of Japan in 1144 A.D. and ruled for another twenty years.
The pot of love
The town of Bunzlau in the province of Silesia in Germany, which specialises in pottery, is still proud of a gigantic piece of crockery fashioned by a lovelorn potter's assistant named Joppe to gain the hand of his master's daughter. The pot, a true labour of love, was created in 1753. When he exhibited his masterpiece and the city fathers realised its capacity for 30 bushels of peas, they interceded with the obdurate father till he gave his consent. The city of Bunzlau was so enchanted with this success that they have been treasuring the Pot of Love (Liebestopf in German) ever since and even adopted it as the city emblem.
Sunday, July 1, 2007
Horse sense
'Clever Hans' was a horse who lived in Germany, early in the twentieth century. He could read, solve mathematical problems, and answer questions on world political affairs - or so it seemed.
Hans would answer all mathematical questions by tapping his leg. If you asked him '3 plus 4', he would tap seven times. Non-mathematical questions (such as 'is London the capital of Britain?') would be answered by shaking or nodding the head. Hans could even answer questions written on blackboards.
Finally Hans' secret was discovered. He was highly sensitive to the reactions of people around him, especially his master Osten. When a mathematical question was asked, people would look at Hans' foot. So he would start tapping. When he reached the right number of taps, people would react in some way, without being aware of it. They would nod slightly, or relax, or smile. Hans would then stop tapping. Hans was able to pick up similar cues for non-mathematical questions. No one knows how he learnt this trick.
The most amazing thing is that even after people became aware of the horse's method, they could still not stop sending out these little clues, no matter how hard they tried!
Hans would answer all mathematical questions by tapping his leg. If you asked him '3 plus 4', he would tap seven times. Non-mathematical questions (such as 'is London the capital of Britain?') would be answered by shaking or nodding the head. Hans could even answer questions written on blackboards.
Finally Hans' secret was discovered. He was highly sensitive to the reactions of people around him, especially his master Osten. When a mathematical question was asked, people would look at Hans' foot. So he would start tapping. When he reached the right number of taps, people would react in some way, without being aware of it. They would nod slightly, or relax, or smile. Hans would then stop tapping. Hans was able to pick up similar cues for non-mathematical questions. No one knows how he learnt this trick.
The most amazing thing is that even after people became aware of the horse's method, they could still not stop sending out these little clues, no matter how hard they tried!
Saturday, June 30, 2007
A fan letter made her an empress!
Iulia Domna, the daughter of an obscure priest of Baal in faraway Syria, became a Roman empress as the result of one mushy fan note.
The eighteen-year-old girl was both plain and poor. She was a provincial in a backward part of the Roman empire. But again the power of a woman must never be underestimated.
In the year 186 A.D., Iulia sat down and wrote a curiously girlish epistle to the Roman Governor of Lugdunum (Lyons) in France. The little schemer told the forty-one-year-old Roman – who had recently become a widower – that she had heard of his bereavement. “I consulted an astrologer,” she remarked brightly, “and had a horoscope prepared which shows that I am destined to become a queen. Marry me,” she added, “and you will share my fate and be king some day.” This naïve logic appealed to the superstitious Roman whose name was Septimius Severus. He made Iulia his wife the following year.
Six years later Septimius became Emperor of Rome and Iuliabecame in fact his empress. Her son Caracalla succeeded his father on the Roman throne and two of her nephews – Alexander Severus and Elagabalus – succeeded to the imperial throne. Superstition and naivete were the two rungs on which Iulia climbed to the dizzying of a throne.
The eighteen-year-old girl was both plain and poor. She was a provincial in a backward part of the Roman empire. But again the power of a woman must never be underestimated.
In the year 186 A.D., Iulia sat down and wrote a curiously girlish epistle to the Roman Governor of Lugdunum (Lyons) in France. The little schemer told the forty-one-year-old Roman – who had recently become a widower – that she had heard of his bereavement. “I consulted an astrologer,” she remarked brightly, “and had a horoscope prepared which shows that I am destined to become a queen. Marry me,” she added, “and you will share my fate and be king some day.” This naïve logic appealed to the superstitious Roman whose name was Septimius Severus. He made Iulia his wife the following year.
Six years later Septimius became Emperor of Rome and Iuliabecame in fact his empress. Her son Caracalla succeeded his father on the Roman throne and two of her nephews – Alexander Severus and Elagabalus – succeeded to the imperial throne. Superstition and naivete were the two rungs on which Iulia climbed to the dizzying of a throne.
Friday, June 29, 2007
Birthday blues
An intriguing study suggests that nearly half of us die within three months of our last birthday.
Phillip Kunz, a sociologist at Brigham Young University, Utah, USA, took a random sample of 747 obituaries published in Salt Lake City, Utah, during one year, and checked the dates of death against the birthdays of all the deceased. 46 per cent of the deaths came within three months after a birthday, 31 per cent more during the next three months, but only 8 per cent during the three months preceding a birthday.
What do birthdays have to do with dying? People look forward to birthdays. But the period following a birthday can produce a let-down that leads to depression and loss of the will to live.
Phillip Kunz, a sociologist at Brigham Young University, Utah, USA, took a random sample of 747 obituaries published in Salt Lake City, Utah, during one year, and checked the dates of death against the birthdays of all the deceased. 46 per cent of the deaths came within three months after a birthday, 31 per cent more during the next three months, but only 8 per cent during the three months preceding a birthday.
What do birthdays have to do with dying? People look forward to birthdays. But the period following a birthday can produce a let-down that leads to depression and loss of the will to live.
Knock-down restaurant
A Hong Kong based international architectural and interior-design firm is now offering to ship a fully equipped, prefabricated Chinese restaurant anywhere in the world. The company designs and provides everything from chopsticks to uniforms, ceiling decorations, floor coverings, furniture, exterior facades and, if needed, will send along a six-month supply of food ingredients and an experienced chef, as well.
A 450 square metre restaurant at a cost of about $100,000 can be set up within three months of receiving the order. The first order is reported to have come from a customer in Australia.
A 450 square metre restaurant at a cost of about $100,000 can be set up within three months of receiving the order. The first order is reported to have come from a customer in Australia.
Thursday, June 28, 2007
He bought a sea!
Can you buy the sea?!
Well, that’s just what a Russian prince did – or almost that!
Prince Urussoff, a Russian nobleman, came from a family which believed in many superstitions – like most of us! One of his family beliefs was that the loss of a wedding ring would soon cause the loss of the bride herself. Now this would not have bothered the Prince at all, if his beautiful young bride hadn’t lost her ring soon after their marriage. And what was worse, she dropped it by mistake into the Black Sea while they were crossing it!
Prince Urussoff definitely didn’t want to lose his wife, but how could he find a ring in a huge expanse of water like the Black Sea?
So he did the only thing he could. He bought all the land that lay on all sides of the Black Sea from hundreds of owners for about the equivalent ten million dollars! He reasoned that if he owned the entire shore around the expanse of water, then he owned the sea too – and all that lay at the bottom, including the ring! And if he still owned it, he couldn’t have lost it – though he couldn’t put his finger in it!
When the Prince died, his heirs did not need to own the ring anymore. So they sold all the land around the Black Sea that Prince Urussoff had bought – for twice as much!
Well, that’s just what a Russian prince did – or almost that!
Prince Urussoff, a Russian nobleman, came from a family which believed in many superstitions – like most of us! One of his family beliefs was that the loss of a wedding ring would soon cause the loss of the bride herself. Now this would not have bothered the Prince at all, if his beautiful young bride hadn’t lost her ring soon after their marriage. And what was worse, she dropped it by mistake into the Black Sea while they were crossing it!
Prince Urussoff definitely didn’t want to lose his wife, but how could he find a ring in a huge expanse of water like the Black Sea?
So he did the only thing he could. He bought all the land that lay on all sides of the Black Sea from hundreds of owners for about the equivalent ten million dollars! He reasoned that if he owned the entire shore around the expanse of water, then he owned the sea too – and all that lay at the bottom, including the ring! And if he still owned it, he couldn’t have lost it – though he couldn’t put his finger in it!
When the Prince died, his heirs did not need to own the ring anymore. So they sold all the land around the Black Sea that Prince Urussoff had bought – for twice as much!
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
The oddest sporting olympiad
The oddest sporting olympiad is the Eskimo Olympics, held every year in Alaska. The eskimos aren't satisfied with anything as dull as sprinting or jumping. They have contests like ear-pulling, fish-cutting, seal-skinning, blubber-eating, knuckle-hopping, blanket-tossing and ear-weightlifting. The winners of some of these contests have lifted 8 kg of lead weights by the ears, eaten a large steak of raw blubber (whale meat) in 15 seconds, skinned a 1.8 m long, 112 kg seal in one minute flat - and one winner was even tossed 12 m high from a blanket!
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
They actually said it! (A sampling of some of the dumbest statements ever made)
Question: "If you could live forever, would you and why?"
Answer: "I would not live forever, because we should not live forever, because if we were supposed to live forever, then we would live forever, but we cannot live forever, which is why I would not live forever."
--Miss Alabama in the 1994 Miss USA contest.
"Smoking kills. If you're killed, you've lost a very important part of your life…”
--Brooke Shields, during an interview to become spokesperson for a federal anti-smoking campaign.
"It isn't pollution that's harming the environment. It's the impurities in our air and water that are doing it.“
-- Al Gore, (then) Vice President of the USA
"It's no exaggeration to say that the undecided could go one way or another”
--George Bush, US President
"If we don't succeed, we run the risk of failure.“
--Bill Clinton, Former US President
"Your food stamps will be stopped effective March 1992 because we received notice that you passed away. May God bless you. You may reapply if there is a change in your circumstances."
--Department of Social Services, Greenville, South Carolina, USA
"If somebody has a bad heart, they can plug this jack in at night as they go to bed and it will monitor their heart throughout the night. And the next morning, when they wake up dead, there'll be a record."
--Mark S. Fowler, FCC Chairman
Answer: "I would not live forever, because we should not live forever, because if we were supposed to live forever, then we would live forever, but we cannot live forever, which is why I would not live forever."
--Miss Alabama in the 1994 Miss USA contest.
"Smoking kills. If you're killed, you've lost a very important part of your life…”
--Brooke Shields, during an interview to become spokesperson for a federal anti-smoking campaign.
"It isn't pollution that's harming the environment. It's the impurities in our air and water that are doing it.“
-- Al Gore, (then) Vice President of the USA
"It's no exaggeration to say that the undecided could go one way or another”
--George Bush, US President
"If we don't succeed, we run the risk of failure.“
--Bill Clinton, Former US President
"Your food stamps will be stopped effective March 1992 because we received notice that you passed away. May God bless you. You may reapply if there is a change in your circumstances."
--Department of Social Services, Greenville, South Carolina, USA
"If somebody has a bad heart, they can plug this jack in at night as they go to bed and it will monitor their heart throughout the night. And the next morning, when they wake up dead, there'll be a record."
--Mark S. Fowler, FCC Chairman
Kinky and bizarre?
A couple of weeks ago a gorilla at the Rotterdam zoo escaped its confines by scaling a high wall and jumping over a wide moat to severely wound a woman visitor. The 180-kg ape called Bokito jumped on the visitor - breaking her arm and wrist, and bit her repeatedly. Bokito then smashed his way into a cafetaria, where many more terrified visitors had sought refuge. The zoo was evacuated and the ape finally subdued with a sedative dart.
At first, public anger focussed on the zoo authorities and the gorilla, but the matter was not all that simple. It soon emerged that the woman attacked had been visiting the gorilla four times a week for the past several months! From her hospital bed, she declared that Bokita and she shared a "deep bond" and, despite what he had done to her, he "remains my darling".
The media proceeded to call the woman mad and sick. Some sections even theorised that he male gorilla's reaction stemmed from its natural instinct to "possess" and "dominate". The question no one asked was how the woman had become so lonely and desperate as to seek social satisfaction from a gorilla!
At first, public anger focussed on the zoo authorities and the gorilla, but the matter was not all that simple. It soon emerged that the woman attacked had been visiting the gorilla four times a week for the past several months! From her hospital bed, she declared that Bokita and she shared a "deep bond" and, despite what he had done to her, he "remains my darling".
The media proceeded to call the woman mad and sick. Some sections even theorised that he male gorilla's reaction stemmed from its natural instinct to "possess" and "dominate". The question no one asked was how the woman had become so lonely and desperate as to seek social satisfaction from a gorilla!
Monday, June 25, 2007
Crazy invention
Heneri Dupre, once a balloonist, was confined to a lunatic asylum in Pennysylvania, U.S.A. Displaying great cleverness, he secretly made a balloon - from a pair of pyjamas and other odds and ends of material he had collected with great care.
Then, when the other inmates were at prayers, Heneri Dupre climbed onto the roof of the lunatic asylum and connected a gas pipe to his pyjama balloon. Before the warders and inmates realized what was happening the pyjama balloon rose into the air, with Dupre hanging to a trapeze made of a broomstick and two ropes.
Unfortunately for Dupre, shots were fired, bringing the pyjama balloon down - and the enterprising madman was recaptured.
Then, when the other inmates were at prayers, Heneri Dupre climbed onto the roof of the lunatic asylum and connected a gas pipe to his pyjama balloon. Before the warders and inmates realized what was happening the pyjama balloon rose into the air, with Dupre hanging to a trapeze made of a broomstick and two ropes.
Unfortunately for Dupre, shots were fired, bringing the pyjama balloon down - and the enterprising madman was recaptured.
Saturday, June 23, 2007
What's in a name?
In one Turkish village any letter addressed to Mustafa Baysal - a name shared by 42 of the 342 villagers - is opened and read aloud in the village square before being turned over to its proper recipient. The local headman, himself a Mustafa Baysal, says the problem of telephone calls has not yet been solved. When a call for one Mustafa Baysal comes in at the local Post Office, which has the only telephone in the village, all Mustafas line up at the phone to see which of them the call is for.
Too many sevens
Anthony Clancy of Dublin, Ireland was born on the seventh day of the week, seventh day of the month, seventh day of the year, seventh year of the last century, was the seventh child of a seventh chilld and had seven brothers: that makes seven sevens. On his 27th birthday, when Clancy looked at a race card to pick a winner in the seventh race, the horse numbered seven was called Seventh Heaven with a handicap of seven stone. The odds were seven to one. Clancy put seven shillings on this horse to win. The horse finished seventh.
High on ketchup
Swedes are the biggest users of ketchup, spending $4 a year on it. Australians are second with $2.50 spent on ketchup each year. Americans and Canadians who spend $2.20 a year of ketchup are third. Others include Britons ($1.60), Poles and Japanese ($1.40), French ($1.20) and Russians ($0.90).
Without a bath
The era of the Middle Ages has been referred to as "1,000 years without a bath." Bathing was rare in Europe at that time, largely because the Christian Church considered it a sin to expose the body, even to oneself.
It was not until 1641 that soap was manufactured in England. Religion had become less oppressive, but government harassment in the form of restrictions and taxes on the soap-making industry caused the soap business to develop slowly.
It was not until 1641 that soap was manufactured in England. Religion had become less oppressive, but government harassment in the form of restrictions and taxes on the soap-making industry caused the soap business to develop slowly.
Which came first, the screw or the screwdriver?
The screw, surely? No - it was the other way round. Screws as we know them didn't catch on until about 150 years ago. That was when a method of making them cheaply by machine was invented. Until then the few wood screws that were in use did not have points. However, carpenters had been knocking nails into wood for hundreds of years. As long ago as the sixteenth century it was discovered that giving a nail a twist helped tighten it. In the same way, cutting a slot in the head of the nail so that it could be twisted in the other direction was the only way of getting a nail out. In both cases a tool with a short, blunt blade was used. It looked a bit crude, but it was a screwdriver all the same.
Tragic coincidence
Antonio Ascari, the greatest Italian racing car driver of his age, was killed in 1925 at the age of 36 when his car skidded and crashed for no apparent reason. He had not been wearing his lucky blue helmet.
His son, Alberto, also a champion, was killed in 1955 when his car skidded and crashed - again for no apparent reason. Like his father, he was 36 years old - and had not been wearing his lucky helmet!
His son, Alberto, also a champion, was killed in 1955 when his car skidded and crashed - again for no apparent reason. Like his father, he was 36 years old - and had not been wearing his lucky helmet!
Unique missiles
In the early days of World War-1, French airmen carried bags of bricks in their planes. Machine-guns were not then in use, since the problem of firing through the propeller had not yet been solved. The French tried to bring down German planes by throwing bricks into their propellers - and two planes are recorded as having been destroyed in this way.
The oldest language still in use
The oldest language still in use in the world is the language employed by the Indian mahout - the professional elephant driver and keeper. In addressing the elephant the mahout uses neither Hindi nor Arabic nor Persian. Instead, he employs the tongue of the caveman - with which the latter first tamed an elephant 50,000 years ago. This survival - one of the most astounding in history - of a language of the caveman era furnishes some basis for the traditional and famous elephant memory, since the animal still refuses to understand any other tongue.
Nostradamus predicted his own death.....and even beyond!
Nostradamus was a 16th century Frenchman who could, apparantly, predict the future. In his writings, he forwarned many disasters such as the Great Fire of London in 1666, the rise of Hitler and the Second World War.
Nostradamus even predicted his own death in 1566. Before he died he went to an engraver and asked him to engrave a date on a small metal plate. He then instructed the engraver that the engraved plate should be placed in his coffin.
In the year 1700 it was decided to move the coffin from the grave where it had lain for more that 134 years to a more prominent site. Before it was lowered into the earth the coffin was opened. Inside the coffin a metal plate was found bearing the date 1700.
Nostradamus even predicted his own death in 1566. Before he died he went to an engraver and asked him to engrave a date on a small metal plate. He then instructed the engraver that the engraved plate should be placed in his coffin.
In the year 1700 it was decided to move the coffin from the grave where it had lain for more that 134 years to a more prominent site. Before it was lowered into the earth the coffin was opened. Inside the coffin a metal plate was found bearing the date 1700.
Laid back film...
Andy Warhol was a famous American artist who came up with some very famous pictures - and some really boring films. One of his movies, "SLEEP", lasts for eight hours and shows nothing more than (you guessed it) one person sleeping!
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