Posts archive for: September, 2006
  • More Inappropriate/Bad Translations Into English

    "Because of the impropriety of entertaining guests of the opposite sex in the bedroom, it is suggested that the lobby be used for this purpose." -- A sign in a Swiss hotel.

    "Ladies, leave your clothes here and spend the afternoon having a good time." -- A sign in a laundry in Rome.

    "Members and non-members only." -- A sign outside Mexico City's Mandinga Disco in the Hotel Emporio.

    "Shower of Happiness. Total Safety Guaranteed." -- A label on an electric shower (to heat cold water) in Thailand.

    "Do not spit here and there." -- A sign in Calcutta, India.

    "Commit No Nuisance." -- A sign in Calcutta, India.

    "Dresses for streetwalkers." -- A junk mail ad in Germany.

    "Don't get into this." -- A sign in Japan with the universal "do not enter" symbol.

    "We are thinking that 'How to management' is more important than 'What for sell'. we want to realize that is 'It's well that!' that is our opinion." -- On the cover of a photo shop's envelopes for newly developed film.

    "ParkinginwrongPlaces Will Makeyou accountalbetoLaw Apartfrom being atresPassingontheRight oftheCitizenandthestate." -- A sign in Luxor, Egypt.

    "Deposit: The owner asks for a deposit of 25.000 ptas as a guarantee for the flat. This amount will be returned at the end of your stay if any damage has been done." -- A sign in a Spanish hotel.

    "Warning: Do not leave it in this place which may have a high temperature such as the car closed." -- Instructions for a CD adapter for a car's tape player.

    "SOTP" -- A sign near a road crossing in Milan.

    "Warning! Difficult to swim out if wearing wader filled with water by falling down! Therefor, please avoid deep water where danger of drowning possibility exists." -- On the label of a pair of chest waders manufactured in Taiwan.

    "Please leave your values at the front desk." -- A sign in a Paris hotel.

    "Let's skiing." -- A sign in a ski chalet in Nagano, Japan.

    "Child be a public servant. The best balance of music and technology within a vaguely." -- Written on a T-shirt for sale in a market in Hong Kong.

    "Dah Wong Path." -- A sign for a park path in Hong Kong.

    "Caution Water On Road During Rain" -- A sign in Malaysia.

    "Refund!" -- "Caution," as translated into Italian on a "wet floor" sign in an Italian McDonald's.

    "Please to bathe inside the tub." -- A sign in a Japanese hotel room.

    "Our staffs are always here waiting for you to patronize them." -- From an advertisement for a hotel in Tokyo.

    "This shop has been moved to the present place for 35 years." -- From an advertisement for an antique shop in Tokyo.

    "Colorful dining space surrounded by stained glasses." -- From an advertisement for a restaurant in Tokyo.

    To everyone of the use, Laundromat.
    Many people use a Laundromat. Let's comply with the next item to use it for the cleanness safety.
    1. Let's read the explanation of the way of using it well, and use the washing machine, the dryness machine properly.
    2. Let's wash a hand well before and after a wash.
    3. Don't wash the person who get's an epidemic, and clothes which contacted with the person.
    4. Don't wash a diaper which urine stuck to, sports shoes, an animal's rug because an unpleasantness is given to the person handled later and it is un-sanitation.
    5. Let's bring it back after you spread the wash from the dryness machine and a state is done.
    6. Please ask a satellite control person in charge for the inquiry about the establishment, the contact of in case of emergency.
    -- Instructions on the wall of the laundry room in a hotel in Tokyo.

    "You are welcome to visit the cemetery where famous Russian and Soviet composers, artists, and writers are buried daily except Thursday." -- A sign in a Moscow hotel across the street from a Russian Orthodox monastery.

    "Please waste." -- Signs on trash cans in an amusement park in Osaka, Japan.

    "You are invited to take advantage of the chambermaid." -- A sign in a Japanese hotel.

    "The flattening of underwear with pleasure is the job of the chambermaid." -- A sign in a Yugoslavian hotel.

    "Specialist in women and other diseases." -- A sign outside of Roman doctor's office.

    "If this is your first visit to the USSR, you are welcome to it." -- A sign on the door of a Moscow hotel room.

    "Is forbidden to steal towels please. If you are not a person to do such thing is please not to read notis." -- A sign in a Tokyo hotel.

    "To more the cabin, push button for wishing floor. If the cabin should enter more persons, each one should press a number of wishing floor. Driving is then going alphabetically by national order." -- A sign in a Belgrade elevator.

    "Please take one step forward and crap twice." -- A sign in a temple in China.

    "Figure Out Fare Office" -- A sign on a small wooden house at a bus station in Laos.

    "Dresses for street walking." -- A sign outside a Paris dress shop.

    "Our nylons cost more than common, but you'll find they are the best in the long run." -- A sign in an Acapulco hotel.

    "Ladies are requested not to have children in the bar." -- A sign in a Norwegian cocktail lounge.

    "Order your summers suit. Because is big rush we will execute customers in strict rotation." -- A sign in a Rhodes tailor shop.

    "The lift is being fixed for the next day. During that time we regret that you will be unbearable." -- A sign in a Bucharest hotel lobby.

    "Teeth extracted by the latest Methodists." -- From an advertisement by a dentist in Hong Kong.

    "It is strictly forbidden on our Black Forest camping site that people of different sex, for instance, men and women, live together in one tent unless they are married with each other for that purpose." -- A sign posted in Germany's Black Forest.

    "Visitors are expected to complain at the office between the hours of 9 and 11am daily." -- A sign in a hotel in Athens.

    "Dirty Water Punishment Place" -- How a sewage treatment plant was marked on a Tokyo map.

    "The manager has personally passed all the water served here." -- A sign in an Acapulco hotel.

    "Do not enter lift backwards, and only when lit up." -- A sign in a Leipzig elevator.

    "Not to perambulate the corridors in the hours of repose in the boots of ascension." -- A sign in an Austrian hotel catering to skiers.

    "Take one of our horse driven city tours -- we guarantee no miscarriages." -- A sign in a Czechoslovakian tourist agency.

    "We take your bags and send them in all directions." -- A sign in a Copenhagen airline ticket office.

    "Ladies may have a fit upstairs." -- A sign outside a Hong Kong tailor shop.

    "Here speeching American." -- A sign in a Majorcan shop entrance.

    "Please do not feed the animals. If you have any suitable food, give it to the guard on duty." -- A sign in a Budapest zoo.

    "For your convenience, we recommend courteous, efficient self-service." -- A sign in a Hong Kong supermarket.

    "In case of fire, do your utmost to alarm the hotel porter." -- A sign in a Vienna hotel.

    "Warning: Please do not leave children unattended. We are not responsible for lost children or injuries." -- A sign by an apparently dangerous koi pond in a Chinese Restaurant.

    "WARNING: Tips for waitress not privilege off customer, and not optonal to do! Is custimarry and IS THE LAW for leave tips, otherwise is possibul to face prostection by law! Please be responsivele, leave tip and no go jail! Have a nice day!" -- A sign on tables in a Chinese Restaurant in the United States.

    "Coffee and Snakes" -- A sign in a coffee shop in Ingolstadt, Germany.

    "Billiards and Snocker" -- A sign in a pool hall in Ingolstadt, Germany.

    "Cramp Heads" -- On a box of clamp heads from Japan.

    "Stop. Drive sideways." -- A detour sign in Japan.

    "Special Today - no ice cream" -- A sign at a Swiss inn.

    "You did not report yourself by the Alien police. You have to do this in a short time, otherwise you get troubles! When you don't come to our office, we demand you to come! And when you don't come again, you maybe have to pay a fine, and it is possible that you will be expanded." -- A letter sent by the Rotterdam (Netherlands) foreign police to someone who did not show up for a registration appointment.

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    Instructions:

    "Adults: 1 tablet 3 times a day until passing away." -- From instructions on a Japanese medicine bottle.

    "Let's decompose and enjoy assembling!" -- Instructions for a puzzle toy made in Taiwan.

    "three types of ball are offered. They are one. two. three." -- Instructions for Chinese Baoding Exercise balls.

    "Can't food or drink." -- On a bottle of cleaning fluid for a 3 1/2" head cleaning disk.

    "Not to be used for the other use." -- On a Japanese food processor.

    "Cease Fire." -- On a fire extinguisher in Calcutta, India.

    "1. Lift up receiver. 2. Insert phone card. 3. Dial 0999 + number. 4. Say Hello." -- On a phone card in Japan.

    "You will know radio on by enchanting green light." -- From the instructions for a Hitachi radio.

    "This is natural deliciousness given from warm solar light and a rich field. Attach it to time of your wonderful tea. Please ear it on the tea time of afternoon." -- On the wrapper of a brand of tea cookies.

    "Warning! Click the model you need! Be sure to downlode the correct software; otherwise, the device will be out of work!!" -- From the drivers section of a model manufacturer's web site.

    "Cooles and Heates: If you want just condition of warm in your room, please control yourself." -- From the instructions on a Japanese hotel air conditioner.

    "Plug the phone jack into the wall. If the phone rings, pick it up and greet the person on the other end by saying 'Hello!' or another such greeting. Once completing your conversation, hang up the phone." -- Instructions for a telephone manufactured in Japan.

    "Please find scales on the adjusting plates, there are 3 concavities for 3 different heights (26", 700C & 28"), fit carrier on your bike after chooseing 1 suitable scales, make sure this is right size and screw it up." -- From the instructions for a bike rack. The instructions also had a "Parta List."

    "Assembly. 1. Attach upper pipe to pillar pipe and pull out pillar pipe until the top of upper pipe is reached to the ceiling. 2. Tighten the short bolt of pipe support connector all the way. 3. Turn pole to counter clockwise with holding rubber foot to have secured strong set up or you can turn rubber foot to clockwise. 4. Measuring appreciate height to hang clothes and fasten bracket tightly to poles. 5. Pull out cross bar to appreciate length." -- Instructions for a closet insert manufactured in Japan.

    "Please be sure to keep the vents on top open. Do not bring spillables near these, like chicken soup and dust." -- Instructions, translated from Mandarin, for a computer monitor.

    "Fingering the nothingness that underlies everything." -- How a Japanese technical manual referred to a "pointer to void."

    "Almighty type." -- On a box for a universal (guitar/bass) guitar holder from Japan.

    "Known to cure itching, colds, stomachs, brains, and other diseases." -- On a bottle of Chinese medicine.

    "I can singing and dancing." -- On a toy gorilla.

    "With Fresh Vegetables dayly... Just a little bit, different Tastes of a regular cook." -- Instructions on the box of a cooking device for making potato curls.

    "Helps you in cooking fast, joyful beautiful sharp edged!" -- More instructions from the potato curl device box.

    "Made of Safety Type, Hi-Quality Nylon Brinforced Glass" -- More instructions from the potato curl device box.

    "Helps your cooking fast, joyfully with wonderfully edged strings!" -- Instructions from the potato curl device manual.

    "Slices, Tine cuts, Strips, etc., made speedily and with no wastes." -- More instructions from the potato curl device manual.

    "Polygon Form: It is a solid image by the line and plane. Anyone is assembled on the screen." -- On the label of a T-shirt purchased in Japan.

    "Strong disk plug." -- "Hard drive," as translated into Italian on the instruction sheet for a Taiwanese hard drive.

    Rules for climbing Mt. Fuji:

    A teffific Gust often overtakes three times consecutively. Keep yourself lying flat on the siope until it's completely blown over. Danger comes soonest when it's despised.
    In case of Bad weather such as, storm, fain, snow and a dense fog, avoid climbing futher than the fifth staition. when the weather breaks Suddely. just give up half-way and Return.
    The nearest-to-the-sky location in Japan is far colder than the feets of the mountain.
    Bring garbage back to your home.

    "If a tour group contains more than the number stiputed above, it is different in application. The particulars will be asked the clerk at the window. A man below 18 years old should be accompanied by the adults." -- Rules for touring the Kyoto Imperial Palace in Kyoto, Japan.

    "For long distance Dial 0 and Aria Cord." -- Instructions on a phone in a hotel in Japan.

    "Qimiao" top is an intellectual toy made auording to physical fundamentals, it has simple stmcture, advanced technological procese, delicate model and various ways to play. It inspires children's thacghts and touches off the latent energy of scientific knowledge. Deep individually the friends welcome.
    Manipulation Instnutions:

    To start with the rack: Make the rack tallywith the wheel, Then pull it out with ease, make the top rotate at a high speed.
    To start with the thread: wind the thread around the axis, hold the outside circle of the top with left hand, peass thelong end of the thread with the left palm, draw out the short amd of the thread with force, make the top rotate at the high speed.
    A life seems to bave been poured into the rotafing toy as soom as it gets started. LED will rmit light and form a colorful circle, NO inatter where it is or what angle it is at, the toy may always atand wpright, lay down, It is veny enyoyable, Many diggicult and exciting plays can be xomplets during the process.

    -- Instructions on a top made in China.

    "Synopsis of the Healthy Ball
    The Introduction Remarks of Gymnastic Batt Bail Modelled on Cloisnne And Gymnaastic Ball Modelled on Jade Design.
    Cloisonne Gymnastic Ball and Jade Gymnastic Ball modelled after the traditional techological process of doisonne and painting of China. It not only carries on the ancient traditional technology, but also creates some more patterns. So it becomes even more sounder. wear-resisting and it is not so cold as iron ones in winter. It is a king of handicrafte treasure senior gift and the best thing for middle or old men to built up their bodies.
    Function: The ball is based on the theory of traditional chinese medical science that every finger links with the heart. when you move the balls on your palm, all the muscles and joints would be put in motion, and thus the body of the ball will stimulate each acupuncture point on the hand. This can makc the circulation of vital energy and blood go through. Wbile you play with the ball, it can provide a sounding of high and low. The sounding will regulate your nervous system and relax your muscles. After a period of time of exercises, it can prevent high blood pressure from appearing, stop nerves from being weak of insomnia, neurasthenia and moreover to prolong your life. The only way you can reach the aim is never stop exercising the ball on your palm

    Usage: When playing with balls, hold two of them with the palm of your hand.enable the two balls to go around each other. It is suitable for beginners to choose the ball in sm ll size to play with. when you got the skill to play, you can choose the ball in bigger size, and then you can play with three or four within one hand at a time.

    Maintenance: The ball is made of metal, which should be kept dry and clean and prevent from violent collision.If it to be put unused for a long time coat it with wax or grease for sealing and preservation"

    -- Instructions on a Cloisonne Hand Exercising Balls, which are two hand-painted metallic balls with chimes inside them. The intention is to roll the balls around in your palm as a means of stress relief and relaxation.

    "Setting Pre Ceiling Way and Means:
    (1) with appertain rotor of screw setting pre ceiling on the under standing that serew no wield.May wield two-faced,pressboard securing. wied pre to begin with wiping ceiling of bilge dasto.
    (2) Thread of length need half as many again as tad.
    (3) Open toy of batteries shuck. Verification batteries,+,-whereafter stow down.to a certainty need locknat lest take place accident.
    (4) Hook through toys apside of hole.
    (5) Needs swithes shoving NO.for pre arrows specifying of orention shoving. Pack it up time, withbold toy pate,need switches shoving OFF.
    * Prythee no sport with stingy or play asperity game. Winding finger have got bloodstream not wallk. Throagh of peril.
    * Tad disport of time grown man tatelage.
    * Till the cowcomes home.Wield toys damage,burn-in prythee wind to a close wield.
    * Give attention to open/close toys,therefore take place peril.for instance slipup batteries wield result in the emission of heat rupture liquid.vent itself prythee pay attention.
    * Play at sith to a certainty bolt up power supply fetch out batteries.
    * Batteries no electification dissolution,plunge ioto aquaor fire.
    * Not trust for tad batteries lest in advertent eat off. In the event of accident without loss of time plythee pillroller tuke order with.
    May pre house the seamy side volitation!!!"
    -- Instructions and warnings on a Dragonball-Z toy. See a scanned image.

    "1. Check the screws, wheels for loosen and abnormality, height of handle and handle before usage.
    2. This product is for sliding only, please don't modify this product.
    3. For you safety, please put on safety helmet, knee, elbows and wrist guards and put on leisure clothing. Never wear high heel shoes or shoes with slipper sole, avoid headphone and sun glass.
    4. Avoid riding together with two persons or on busy street, pedestrian path, gravel road or any place which tend to slippery. We're commend using this product on a parking lot or road without traffic or vacant asphalt game areas.
    5. Please don't use by children or person who doesn't read this instruction.
    6. Please don't use this product in case of drinking or physically unfit.
    7. Please don't use this product in case of raining, snowing, at night.
    8. Brake is unable to provide reliable protection on slopes, thus, aware of the speed and make sure you can stop when necessary. But don't reduce the speed too fast, you may fall.
    9. Please grip the handles properly while using; besides, don't use this product as a transportation vehicle. Pay attention to pedestrian, handicapped, bike rider, roller skater, skateboard player or pet to avoid traffic accident.
    10. You may lose your balance while tuming, you are batter to get off or decrease your speed before tuming.
    11. Pay attention to the furrows on the road, for the wheel may get stuck or blocked at tramlines or manhole covers.
    12. The weight limit of this product on application is 150LBS or less.
    13. This product is suitable for sliding only, do not overestimate your skills. You should adapt the speed to your abiliyt always, it is a good idea to get off if you in doubt of traffic conditions.
    14. When self-locking nuts and other self-locking fixings may loose their effectiveness."
    -- The safety sheet for a scooter manufactured in Asia.

    "The new-designed costume facilitates the figure which in fine proportion with moveable joints acts lively. Transformation comes possible."
    "Beware of being swallowed by child, due to small parts."
    "Avoid disturbing the other while enjoying this item."
    "During cutting, do not put your head too close."
    "There is difference between up and down."
    "Insert G-51 until you hear 'Kar'."
    -- Excerpts from the instructions on a Dragonball-Z action figure.

    "Welcome to Chinese Restaurant. Please try your Nice Chinese Food with Chopsticks the traditional and typical of Chinese glorious history. and cultual." -- Instructions on a chopsticks wrapper.
    "Welcome to Chinese Restaurant. Please try Your Nice Chinese Food With Chopsticks. the traditional and typical If Chinaes glorious history and culture." -- Instructions on the wrapper for the same brand of chopsticks, as rewritten months later.

    "Welcome to Chinese Restaurant. Please try your Nice Chinese Food with chopsticks. the traditional and typical of Chinese glonous history and cultual." -- The same instructions, rewritten still more months later.

    "Welcome to Chinese Restaurant. Please try your Nice Chinese Food With Chopsticke the traditional and trpical of Chinese glorious history and cultual." -- Another rewrite.

    "Learn how to use your chopsticks Tuk under thurnb and hcld firmly Add second chcostick hold it as you hold a pencil Hold tirst chopstick in originai position move the second one up and down Now you can pick up anything:" -- Instructions for using chopsticks, on the back of the same chopsticks wrapper mentioned above.
    "Add second chopstick hold it you hold a pencil. Hold first chopstick in onginial position move the second one up and down Now you can pick up anything:" -- A rewrite.

    "Hold first chopstick on orginal position move its second up and down now you can pick - up anything" -- Another rewrite.

    "Two little sticks
    They're made out of wood
    And they help you
    To pick up your lunch
    Your lunch
    And if you practice
    Then you'd get good
    And you'll tind you can pick up
    A bunch to munch
    Eat noodles with chopsticks
    Eat dumplings with chopsticks
    Eat sushi with chopsticks
    That's fish!
    Don't eat soup with your chopsticks
    That's no good with chopsticks
    And jello with slide off
    Your dish
    I eat with chopsticks
    Can you eat with chopsticks
    Doctor told us
    Be intell eat by using chopsticks
    Lots of people use chopsticks
    So try eat your chopsticks
    Right Now"
    -- The same brand of chopsticks, apparently giving up on prose and going for poetry instead.

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    Spoken:

    "Hey, you there! Open those windows. Let the air force come in!" -- Spoken by a teacher for whom English was a second language.

    "With you I feel myself in kindergarten!" -- Spoken by a Russian teacher of mathematics to a noisy class.

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    Brochures and Newspapers:

    "When a passenger of foot heave in sight, tootle the horn. Trumpet him melodiously at first, but if he still obstacles your passage tootle him with vigor." -- From a brochure at a Tokyo car rental firm.

    "In this real environment replicated entertainment park, you can enjoy the very things of Hongkong by just stepping your foot one step in. Here lies the amazing experience never elsewhere." -- On a brochure for an amusement park in Odaiba, Japan.

    "Some people just think that Odaiba is just like a double sided magic mirror. Yes, exactly. Whatever dream you have, you may find its trace and realize it in Odaiba. Just tour through Odaiba by Free Shuttle Bus. To your surprise, you may make new friends." -- On a brochure for Odaiba, Japan.

    "There are a newspaper publishing company and a special exibition by own company plan. Be planned a wide genre from a picture to a photograph by richness." -- On a brochure for Odayku Museum in Japan.

    "Toyota E-com will be come a main type of car suitable for commutation in metropolis and the suburbs nearly in the future." -- On a brochure in Japan.

    "The story of each riding is different. Many people cannot help riding again and again." -- On a brochure for a theme park in Japan.

    "Have formality of the first kabuki play ground. There is the earphone guide who can hear explanation which enjoying the play." -- On a brochure for Idemitsu Museum in Japan.

    "Mt. Kilimanjaro, the breathtaking backdrop for the Serena Lodge. Swim in the lovely pool while you drink it all in." -- From a brochure.

    "Let's fun." -- From a advertising paper for a local disco in Luxembourg.

    "A Great Stage Where Wings of the World Gather, Flap, and Fly skyward." -- From a guide to the Narita airport.

    "Val d'Isere, a resort village, expects you in Winter as well as in Summer for spending relaxing and well-being moments in its comfortable environment." -- From a brochure for the Val d'Isere ski resort.

    "In case of fire, please read this." -- On a Saudi hotel's fire safety brochure.

    "In the close village you can buy jolly memorials for when you pass away." -- From a tourist brochure.

    "Come to Juan's Jewelry Shop. We won't screw you too much." -- On cards handed out by a man in front of a jewelry shop in Mexico.

    "A new swimming pool is rapidly taking shape since the contractors have thrown in the bulk of their workers." -- From a story in an East African newspaper.

    "Having freshly taken over the propriety of this notorious house, I am wishful that you remove to me your esteemed costume. Standing among savage scenery, the hotel offers stupendous revelations. There is a french widow in every bedroom, affording delightful prospects. I give personal look to the interior wants of each guest. Here, you shall be well fed-up and agreeably drunk. Our charges for weekly visitors are scarcely creditable. Peculiar arrangements for gross parties, our motto is ever serve you right!" -- From a European holiday brochure.

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    The ATT Tokyo Guide, an English magazine distributed free at hotels:

    "Kabukiza Theater. The theatre which excellent lines exist, and is famous. Be brilliant, and the stage equipped with is proud of Kabukiza."

    "Mitsuo AIDA Museam. Three minute by feet exit Ginza Yurakucho. A work of poet Mituo Aida stands in line. Change an exhibition ever 1~3 months and there is a shop too."

    "National Science Museum. Be only total science museums in Japan. Classified roughly to the natural group of secretaries gate, the department of science and engineering gate, and exhibit it."

    "Tokyo International Forum. Various events are done. As a foothold of active international interchange, a multiporpose can utilize it. The open space that imaged one garden between a hall building and glass buildings is space of spacious rest."

    "Karakuri Museum. Deceive you, and exhibit a picture and trick art. Oh own mechanism pictures of a Shah, and photograph photography in building is permission too."

    "Ueno Zoo. The zoo which was made for the first time in Japan. Show an animal equal to or more than 361 kinds including a giant panda of popularity."

    "Q-Front. This skeleton building opened in December 1999. A picture of the Shibuya bee public front is projected by a building and an eye of people pays attention to it. A what's new of Shibuya such as a movie, a music, a book, a gourmet gathers here."

    "Tokyo IMAX Theater. Can enjoy the picture which puts on exclusive glasses, and is full of a sense of reality. 9/2, 2000 - 3/2, 2001, It has 'Michale Joedan to the MAX' for foreign his fan it is perfect English version!"

    "Isetan Museum. Opening time, the closure day follows a department store. Plan an exhibition of wellknown West art mainly on a picture exibition. Befull-scale museums of existence, of a pioneer as a museum of a department store."

    "Toshogu Shrine. Enshrine a virtue river house with Toshogu Shrine style of the early days. A stone garden lantern in the left is called an another name 'Obake Toro (apparition garden lantern)' and be japanese three large garden lantern one."

    "Mecca of sumo, Ryogoku. If Akihabara is Mecca of an electricity product, the two countries is Mecca of sumo. Several times sumo tournaments are done in a year. A beer hall and a sumo wrestler are daily, and an appetite famous sumo wrestler's meal shop to grind scatters at the outskirts of Ryogoku station a lot."

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    Anglo-Centricism:

    "If you understand English, press 1. If you do not understand English, press 2." -- From a recording on an Australian information line, which was set up to answer questions about the new Goods and Services Tax plan.

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    English Product Names In Foreign Countries:

    "Lemon Gas" -- The name of a gas station in Japan.

    "Life Up Station SMILE" -- The name of a gas station in Japan.

    "Calpis Nude" -- The name of a kind of soda in Japan.

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    English Text on Food Packaging:

    "Just like feeling a fruit in just season itself." -- From the packaging of a Japanese brand of orange juice.

    "Black coffee has great features which other coffees have never had: Non-sugar." -- From the packaging of a Japanese brand of coffee.

    "Pocari Sweat is highly recommended as a beverage for such activities as sports, physical labor, after a hot bath, and even as a eye-opener in the morning." -- From the packaging of a Japanese beverage called "Pocari Sweat."

    "What are your priorities? Favor? Refreshment? Price? Sparkle? Sapporo Drafty has them all." -- From the packaging of a Japanese beer.

    "This light and smooth taste drink is the best refreshment to you. Anytime, anywhere, just like your friend." -- From the packaging of a Japanese no-name brand of orange juice.

    "Expiration date: 2 years." -- From the packaging of a Chinese brand of medicine.

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    Fortune Cookies:

    "Your life should be recorded for prosperity."

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    Product Name Translations:

    "Schweppes Toilet Water." -- "Schweppes Tonic Water," as originally translated into Italian.

    "Manure stick." -- "Mist Stick," a brand of curling iron, in German slang.

    "Micro tender rat." -- "Microsoft Mouse," as translated into Italian on the instruction sheet for a Taiwanese Microsoft-compatible mouse.

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    Advertising Slogans:

    "Eat your fingers off." -- "Finger lickin' good," as originally translated into Chinese.

    "Are you lactating?" -- "Got milk?" as originally translated into Spanish for advertising in Mexico.

    "Suffer from diarrhea." -- "Turn it loose," as originally translated into Spanish for advertising of Coors.

    "Fly naked." -- "Fly in leather," as originally translated into Spanish for advertising of American Airlines' leather first class seats.

    "I saw the potato." -- "I saw the Pope," as translated into Spanish. The slogan was used on promotional T-Shirts for the Pope's visit to Miami.

    "Nothing sucks like an Electrolux." -- An English slogan used by Scandinavian vacuum manufacturer Electrolux for an American advertising campaign.

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    From Foreign Menus:

    "Our wines leave you nothing to hope for." -- From a menu in Switzerland.

    "Savour best match of the mysterious sauces." -- From a menu in Japan.

    "Modernly arranged miscellaneous European Flavors." -- From a menu in Japan.

    "Vietnam bird salad, mixed Chimaki and asian corses." -- From a menu in Japan.

    "Seasonal ingredients specially pre-pared and directly imported from their place of origination." -- From a menu in Japan.

    "Cold shredded children and sea blubber in spicy sauce." -- From a menu in China.

    "Jam and Cheese Sandwich." -- From a menu in Costa Rica.

    "Pastry Chef." -- From a menu in Costa Rica.

    "Waffies." -- From a menu in Thailand.

    "Children soup." -- From a menu in India.

    "Deep Fried Fingers of my Lady." -- From a menu in India.

    "Grilled lamp ribs." -- From a menu in Barcelona.

    "Vegitational beef soap." -- From a menu in Brazil.

    "'Boys style' little chickens." -- From a menu in Barcelona.

    "Pork with fresh garbage." -- From a menu in Vietnam.

    "Limpid red beet soup with cheesy dumplings in the form of a finger." -- From a menu in Poland.

    "French fried ships." -- From a menu in Cairo.

    "Fried friendship." -- From a menu in Nepal.

    "Fried fishermen." -- From a menu in Japan.

    "Friend eggs." -- From a menu in Laos.

    "Gordon blue." -- From a menu in a Korean hotel.

    "Cram Chowder." -- From a Chinese buffet in Canada.

    "Rather burnt land slug." -- On a menu in Thailand.

    "Chessburger." -- On a menu in Poland.

    "Hod dok." -- On a menu in Poland.

    "Turkey meat, salad, and sos." -- A creative spelling of "sauce" on a menu in Poland.

    "Roat poik." -- From a menu in a Chinese Restaurant in the United States.

    "Ckicken Velvet and Ckicken Noddle." -- The soups of the day listing, from a menu in a Chinese Restaurant in the United States.

    "Ha Ha Fortune Cookies." -- From a menu in a Chinese Restaurant in the United States.

    "Sweat from the trolley." -- From a menu in Europe.

    "Salad a firm's own make." -- From a menu in Poland.

    "Dreaded veal cutlet with potatoes in cream." -- From a menu in China.

    "Strawberry crap." -- From a menu in Japan.

    "Beef rashers beaten up in the country people's fashion." -- From a menu in Poland.

    "Buttered saucepans and fried hormones." -- From a menu in Japan.

    "Indonesian Nazi Goreng." -- From a menu in Hong Kong.

    "Muscles Of Marines/Lobster Thermos." -- From a menu in Cairo.

    "Toes with butter and jam." -- From a menu in Bali.

    "Teppan Yaki - Before Your Cooked Right Eyes." -- From a menu in Japan.

    "Soon Go Fatt" -- The name of a Chinese Restaurant in Kuala Lumpur.

    "Hamanegs." -- From many menus in Slovakia.

    "Guinea-Pig Breast." -- From a menu in Slovakia.

    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Learning English

    "Are you finished? No, I'm Swedish." -- From a "Learn English" tape in Finland.

    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Quotations:

    "Equal goes it loose." -- German President, translating "It will soon begin" into English.

    "I am looking for an realy educated man who can be joke to himself." -- Excerpt from the personal ad of a Russian woman.

    "When a mountain forming granite, lava is what?" -- Question on an exam written by an eastern Indian instructor.

    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Movie Titles:

    "This Hit Man Is Not As Cold As He Thought" -- "The Professional" in Hong Kong.

    "Six Stripped Warriors" -- "The Full Monty" in Hong Kong (the title is a Cantonese colloquialism; in Mandrin, it translates to "Six Naked Pigs").

    "Mysterious Murder In Snowy Cream" -- "Fargo" in Hong Kong (in Cantonese, "snowy cream" is pronounced "fah go").

    "Bright Sun, Just Like Me" -- "Good Will Hunting" in Hong Kong.

    "Bright Sun In Heavy Rain" -- "Dead Poets Society" in Hong Kong.

    "The Big Liar" -- "Nixon" in Hong Kong.

    "Don't Ask Me Who I Am" -- "The English Patient" in Hong Kong.

    "Mr. Cat Poop" -- "As Good As It Gets" in Hong Kong.

    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Advertisement Quotes For Movies Opening In Taiwan:

    "After Air Force One, Harrison Ford is flying a airplane, again!" -- Six Days, Seven Nights

    "The style of characters is phat, special effects are cool, this film is phat and cool." -- Small Soldiers

    "The perfect style with a great taste to save the world." -- The Avengers

    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    English Subtitles In Hong Kong Films:

    "I threat you! I challenge you meet me on the roof tonight for a duet!" -- The Iceman Cometh

    "I will kill you until you are dead from it!"

    "Just scold Chang as 'Shame-less a*e' for three times. Then you will free from this kind of suffer forever." -- The Kung Fu Cult Master

    "You will not happy ending!" -- The Kung Fu Cult Master

    "Master, where are those people of Ming Sect? They seem to be disappeared." -- The Kung Fu Cult Master

    "He started it first!" -- Fong Sai-Yuk II

    "I've to cut partial of my freedom." -- Once Upon a Time In China and America

    "He is jealousing!" -- Dr. Wai and the Scripture Without Words

    "It is destinated to be you!" -- Dr. Wai and the Scripture Without Words

    "The bullets inside are very hot. Why do I feel so cold?" -- Lethal Panther

    "I got knife-scars more than the number of your leg's hair!" -- As Tears Go By

    "I am damn unsatisfied to be killed in this way." -- Holy Weapon

    "Fatty, you with your thick face have hurt my instep." -- Pedicab Driver

    "I'll fire aimlessly if you don't come out!" -- Pom Pom and Hot Hot

    "You are too useless. And now I must beat you."

    "Gun wounds again?" -- Rich and Famous

    "A normal person wouldn't steal pituitaries." -- Brain Theft

    "You always use violence. I should've ordered glutinous rice chicken." -- Pedicab Driver

    "Take my advice, or I'll spank you without pants." -- The Seventh Curse

    "Beware! Your bones are going to be disconnected." -- Saviour of the Soul

    "Who gave you the nerve to get killed here?" -- Armour of God

    "Quiet or I'll blow your throat up." -- On the Run

    "You daring lousy guy." -- Satyr Monks

    "Beat him out of recognizable shape!" -- Police Story 2

    "How can you use my intestines as a gift?" -- The Beheaded 100

    "Damn, I'll burn you into a BBQ chicken!" -- Pedicab Driver

    "This will be of fine service for you, you bag of the scum. I am sure you will not mind that I remove your manhoods and leave them out on the dessert flour for your aunts to eat."

    "Yah-hah, evil spider woman! I have captured you by the short rabbits and can now deliver you violently to your gynecologist for a thorough extermination."

    "Greetings, large black person. Let us not forget to form a team up together and go into the country to inflict the pain of our karate feets on some @$$ of the giant lizard person."

    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    eBay Auction:
    The trousers preventing water for baby

    You are bidding on Brand new diaper. Layer adopt dry clean net surface, have scattered heat, let in air waiting for effect, protect baby young tender skin very goodly. Middle-level waterproof cloth go through shrink draw material processing handling, pulling force is strong, completely prevent leakage, beautiful again durable. The most outer use fine 100% cotton material and relevant assist material seam system, make baby comfortable. Trousers pipe adept high-grade material, from flexible elasticity material seam system, take action freely, use is convenient.

  • Unintentionally funny things written or broadcast by the media.

    "Slain Doctor Worried About His Death" -- In a local paper in Canada.

    "Public Inquiry To Be Launched Into Avalanche" -- A front page headline in the National Post.

    "Youth Hit By Train Is Rushed To Two Hospitals" -- In a local paper.

    "Ministry Probes Dead Fish" -- In a local paper in Canada.

    "Nixon Beneath the Surface" -- The headline of an expose column about Richard Nixon, several days after his death.

    "Golfing Immortal Dies Aged 69" -- A headline in a New Zealand paper.

    "Flawless Take-Off Marred By Hitch" -- A headline in a New Zealand paper.

    "Holy Mother Crushes Sacred Infant" -- In a Catholic newspaper, referring to a basketball game between two Catholic High Schools.

    "Women Look Good" -- In a Canadian newspaper, referring to the women's curling team during the 1998 Winter Olympics.

    "Joint Committee Investigates Marijuana Use" -- A local newspaper of a suburb of Toronto, describing a committee set up by the board of education and the local municipality to investigate marijuana use among high school students.

    "Church Plan Upsets Brothel" -- Adelaide Advertiser, October 23, 2000

    "Man Died of Natural Causes" -- Wirral News Group, October 25, 2000

    "School Praised After Vandalism" -- West Briton, November 9, 2000

    "Tortoises Held Hostage As Lobster War Turns Nasty" -- Independent, November 19, 2000

    "Rise of 'Mutants' Leaves France a Divided Nation" -- Times, November 21, 2000

    "Pepsi To Increase Recycled Content In Products." -- The headline of an article in Plastics news about Pepsico increasing the amount of recycled plastic in their bottles.

    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    News Articles:

    "The glamorous 17-year-old wants to be a policewoman some day, like her dad." -- From a New Zealand paper.

    "Although as a rider and breeder she has won countless prizes, she says she enjoys an occasional beating." -- From a New Zealand paper.

    "'It's a sad and tragic fact that, if you're a farmer, you are three times more likely to die than the average New Zealander,' he said. The rate was even worse for farm workers." -- From a New Zealand paper.

    "Latest census figures show that more than one New Zealander is a Maori or Polynesian." -- A New Zealand paper's cautious yet accurate report.

    "Visitors to the sandspit are advised that there is a prohibited area near the groin." -- From a New Zealand paper.

    "However, things are not always as simple as they seem. Is all this precipitation being monitored? And if it is, why? And if why, then by whom? To all these questions, the answer is yes." -- From a New Zealand paper.

    "The driver involved in this incident asked that her gender not be revealed." -- From a Sydney, Australia, paper.

    "'There's a tendency among the press to attribute the creation of a game to a single person,' says Warren Spector, creator of Thief and Deus Ex." -- From an IGN game review.

    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Radio News:

    "There's an overturned tractor-trailer heading north on Route 93." -- Report in a radio station's morning traffic update.

    "Seasonal weather for the time of year." -- Radio weather report.

    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Televised Reports:

    "Susan, things are washing up on the shore that have never seen the light of day in a long time." -- From a local news report on the aftereffects of 1989's Hurricane Hugo.

    "The bodies could not be identified because they were found face down." -- A reporter, reporting on a story of the discovery of two bodies under a bridge in rural Missouri.

    "Doctors say the longer the babies live, the better chance they'll have at surviving." -- From a local news cast.

    "Today Lesbian forces invaded...no, sorry, that should be Lesbianese." -- From a news report in UK, on a Lebanese conflict.

    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Online News:

    "Today marks the 25th anniversary of the Vietnam War." -- From abcnews.com, April 30, 2000. Revisionist history strikes again; now the war only lasted one day.

    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    News Ads:

    "Panda lovers were saddened to hear that the world's oldest panda passed away today. We'll give you the reason for his death tonight at nine." -- From a nightly local news ad.

    "Local construction is making it hazardous to drive in some areas of our city. We'll tell you which to avoid on the way home on news tonight at 9:30." -- From a nightly local news ad on the radio.

    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Corrections:

    "Due to a typing error, Gov Dukakis was incorrectly identified in the third paragraph as Mike Tyson." -- Correction in a Massachusetts newspaper.

    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Events:

    "March 18: Outdoor Adventure Series: Indoor Rock Climbing" -- In a school's newsletter.

    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Horoscopes:

    "Cancer, June 22-July 23. Your home life could be chaotic. Some moments of solitude and medication can help you get through the day."

    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Sports Announcing:

    "As Phil De Glanville said, each game is unique, and this one is no different than any other." -- Channel 4 news

    "If England are going to win this match, they're going to have to score a goal." -- Grandstand, BBC1

    "Well, I guess we can see that Ralph isn't a left-handed hooker." -- Sportscaster, after Ralph Sampson missed a left-handed hook shot.

    "It's an island because it's surrounded by land. I mean water. Islands are surrounded by water, and that affects them." -- A TV commentator for America's Cup racing.

    "And the name of that country really tells you exactly where these guys are from." -- A TV commentator for the 2000 Olympics opening ceremonies.

    "And there's Bill Gates, the...most...famous...man in the...ah...Microsoft." -- A TV commentator for the 2000 Olympics.

    "The ball is going back, Smith is chasing it, it's still going back, Smith jumps, he hits his head on the wall and it rolls off! It's rolling all the way back to the infield. This is a terrible day for the Padres!" -- A San Diego Padres announcer.

    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Interviews:

    "Am I cold? Why do you think I'm sitting here under these two Africans?" -- An elderly lady, incredulously, during a televised interview at her home.

    "How awful! Do you still have an artificial leg?" -- Simon Fanshawe, during a Metro Radio Interview, when a listener said, "My most embarrassing moment was when my artificial leg fell off at the altar on my wedding day."

    "So did you see which train crashed into which train first?" -- A talk radio interviewer, questioning a 15-year old eyewitness to a head-on train collision. The answer he gave was, "No, they both ran into each other at the same time."

  • Sheffield

    I've been to Sheffield on the train this morning - I might as well use my travel pass.

    I went specifically to see the new Peace Gardens and Millennium Galleries; they're quite impressive - especially the water features.

    Later I was queueing to use the cash dispenser at the bank and saw this notice:

    CUSTOMER NOTICE

    PLease not as of July 1st. this branch

    Will no longer open

    on a Saturday.

    For details of the nearest branch open on a Saturday

    please ask a member of staff.

    * * * * * * * * * *
    Of course, today is a Saturday.

  • Questions asked to librarians

    The following have all been asked of library reference desk workers in the USA and Canada.

    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    "I'm looking for a book."

    "Do you have books here?"

    "Do you have a list of all the books written in the English language?"

    "Do you have a list of all the books I've ever read?"

    "Where is the reference desk?" -- Asked of a worker sitting at a desk, over which was a sign saying 'REFERENCE DESK'.

    "Can you tell me why so many famous Civil War battles were fought on National Park sites?"

    "Which outlets in the library are appropriate for my hairdryer?"

    "I was here about three weeks ago looking at a cookbook that cost $39.95. Do you know which one it is?"

    "I need a color photograph of George Washington." -- Other individuals asked for, by other patrons, are Christopher Columbus, King Arthur, Moses, Socrates, and more.

    "Do you have any books with photographs of dinosaurs?"

    "Is the basement upstairs?"

    "I am looking for a list of laws that I can break that would send me back to jail for a couple of months."

    "I got a quote from a book I turned in last week but I forgot to write down the author and title. It's big and red, and I found it on the top shelf. Can you find it for me?"

    "Do you have anything good to read?" -- The response was, "No, ma'am. I'm afraid we have 75,000 books, and they're all duds."

    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Library Anecdote:

    Patron: "I am looking for a globe of the earth."
    Librarian: "We have a table-top model over here."
    Patron: "No, that's not good enough. Don't you have a life-size?"
    Librarian: (pause) "Yes, but it's in use right now."

  • These are real courtroom exchanges.

    Lawyer: Did you blow your horn or anything?
    Witness: After the accident?
    Lawyer: Before the accident.
    Witness: Sure, I played for ten years. I even went to school for it.

    Lawyer: How old is your son? The one living with you.
    Witness: Thirty-eight or thirty-five, I can't remember which.
    Lawyer: How long has he lived with you?
    Witness: Forty-five years.

    Lawyer: What was the first thing your husband said to you when he woke that morning?
    Witness: He said, "Where am I, Cathy?"
    Lawyer: And why did that upset you?
    Witness: My name is Susan.

    Lawyer: Do you know if your daughter has ever been involved in the voodoo or occult?
    Witness: We both do.
    Lawyer: Voodoo?
    Witness: We do.
    Lawyer: You do?
    Witness: Yes, voodoo.

    Lawyer: So the date of conception (of the baby) was August 8th?
    Witness: Yes.
    Lawyer: And what were you doing at that time?

    Lawyer: What is your date of birth?
    Witness: July fifteenth.
    Lawyer: What year?
    Witness: Every year.

    Lawyer: Trooper, when you stopped the defendant, were your red and blue lights flashing?
    Witness: Yes.
    Lawyer: Did the defendant say anything when she got out of her car?
    Witness: Yes, sir.
    Lawyer: What did she say?
    Witness: She said 'What disco am I at?'

    Lawyer: Mr. Smith, you went on a rather elaborate honeymoon, didn't you?
    Witness: I went to Europe, Sir.
    Lawyer: And you took your new wife?

    Lawyer: You say the stairs went down to the basement?
    Witness: Yes.
    Lawyer: And these stairs, did they go up also?

    Lawyer: She had three children, right?
    Witness: Yes.
    Lawyer: How many were boys?
    Witness: None.
    Lawyer: Were there any girls?

    Lawyer: This myasthenia gravis, does it affect your memory at all?
    Witness: Yes.
    Lawyer: And in what ways does it affect your memory?
    Witness: I forget things.
    Lawyer: You forget. Can you give us an example of something that you've forgotten?

    Lawyer: Can you describe the individual you saw?
    Witness: He was about medium height and had a beard.
    Lawyer: Was this a male, or a female?

  • Funny quotes from films.

    The key here, I think, is to not think of death as an end. But, but, think of it more as a very effective way of cutting down on your expenses.
    ~ Boris Grushenko (Woody Allen) in "Love and Death"

    I'm not bad, I'm just drawn that way.
    ~ Jessica Rabbit (Kathleen Turner) in "Who Framed Roger Rabbit"

    Old age. It's the only disease, Mr. Thompson, that you don't look forward to being cured of.
    ~ Bernstein (Everett Sloane) in "Citizen Kane"

    Scarecrow (Ray Bolger): I haven't got a brain... only straw.
    Dorothy (Judy Garland): How can you talk if you haven't got a brain?
    Scarecrow: I don't know... But some people without brains do an awful lot of talking... don't they?
    Dorothy: Yes, I guess you're right.
    ~ "Wizard of Oz "

    Reporter: Tell me, how did you find America?
    John Lennon: Turned left at Greenland.
    ~ "A Hard Day's Night"

    Gentlemen. You can't fight in here. This is the War Room!
    ~ President Merkin Muffley (Peter Sellers) in "Dr. Strangelove"

    Clarice (Jody Foster): If you didn't kill him, then who did, sir?
    Lecter (Anthony Hopkins): Who can say? Best thing for him, really. His therapy was going nowhere.
    ~ "Silence of the Lambs"

    You know, you haven't stopped talking since I came here? You must have been vaccinated with a phonograph needle.
    ~ Groucho in "Duck Soup"

    Major Strasser (Conrad Veidt): What is your nationality?
    Rick Blaine (Humphrey Bogart): I'm a drunkard.
    Capt. Louis Renault (Claude Rains): That makes Rick a citizen of the world.
    ~ "Casablanca"

    Oh! If I just wasn't a lady! What wouldn't I tell that varmint!
    ~ Scarlett (Vivian Leigh) in "Gone With The Wind"

  • More funny church notices.

    The outreach committee has enlisted 25 visitors to make calls on people who are not afflicted with any church.

    Evening massage - 6 p.m.

    The Pastor would appreciate it if the ladies of the congregation would lend him their electric girdles for the pancake breakfast next Sunday morning.

    The audience is asked to remain seated until the end of the recession.

    Ushers will eat latecomers.

    The third verse of Blessed Assurance will be sung without musical accomplishment.

    The Rev. Merriwether spoke briefly, much to the delight of the audience.

    The pastor will preach his farewell message, after which the choir will sing, "Break Forth Into Joy."

    During the absence of our pastor, we enjoyed the rare privilege of hearing a good sermon when J.F. Stubbs supplied our pulpit.

    Next Sunday Mrs. Vinson will be soloist for the morning service. The pastor will then speak on "It's a Terrible Experience."

    Due to the Rector's illness, Wednesday's healing services will be discontinued until further notice.

    The music for today's service was all composed by George Friedrich Handel in celebration of the 300th anniversary of his birth.

    Remember in prayer the many who are sick of our church and community.

    The concert held in Fellowship Hall was a great success. Special thanks are due to the minister's daughter, who labored the whole evening at the piano, which as usual fell upon her.

    22 members were present at the church meeting held at the home of Mrs. Marsha Crutchfield last evening. Mrs. Crutchfield and Mrs. Rankin sang a duet, The Lord Knows Why.

    Today's Sermon: HOW MUCH CAN A MAN DRINK? with hymns from a full choir.

    Hymn 43: "Great God, what do I see here?"
    Preacher: The Rev. Horace Blodgett
    Hymn 47: "Hark! an awful voice is sounding"

    On a church bulletin during the minister's illness: GOD IS GOOD Dr. Hargreaves is better.

    Potluck supper: prayer and medication to follow.

    Don't let worry kill you off - let the church help.

    The 1997 Spring Council Retreat will be hell May 10 and 11.

    Pastor is on vacation. Massages can be given to church secretary.

  • Raining cats and dogs.

    I've just got absolutely drenched in the rain. I don't know why it is but whenever this happens I always feel the need to get in the bath or under the shower. It'll take about an hour for the water to heat up for my bath - just enough time to have my dinner.

  • Commentating bloopers and miscellaneous cricket quotes.

    Yorkshire 232 all out, Hutton ill - I'm sorry, Hutton 111.
    - John Snagge, BBC News

    Ray Illingworth has just relieved himself at the pavilion end.
    - Brian Johnston, BBC Radio

    Welcome to Worcester where you've just missed seeing Barry
    Richards hitting one of Basil D'Oliveira's balls clean out of the
    ground.
    - Brian Johnston, BBC Radio

    He's usually a good puller - but he couldn't get it up that time.
    - Richie Benaud, Channel 9

    If you go in with two fast bowlers and one breaks down, you're
    left two short.
    - Bob Massie, ABC Radio

    Glenn McGrath joins Craig McDermott and Paul Reiffel in a
    three-ponged prace attack.
    - Tim Gavel, ABC News

    In the back of Hughes' mind must be the thought that he will
    dance down the piss and mitch one.
    - Tony Greig, Channel 9

    It's been very slow and dull day, but it hasn't been boring. It's
    been a good, entertaining day's cricket.
    - Tony Benneworth, ABC Radio

    It was close for Zaheer, Lawson threw his hands in the air and
    Marsh threw his head in the air.
    - Jack Potter, 3UZ

    Laird has been brought in to stand in the corner of the circle.
    - Richie Benaud, Channel 9

    On the first day, Logie decided to chance his arm and it came
    off.
    - Trevor Bailey, Radio 3

    He didn't quite manage to get his leg over.
    - Jonathan Agnew, after Botham had spun around
    off balance and tried to step over the
    wicket unsuccessfully, BBC

    Q: Do you feel that the selectors and yourself have been
    vindicated by the result?
    A: I don't think the press are vindictive. They can write what
    they want.
    - Mike Gatting, ITV

    I think we are all slightly down in the dumps after another loss.
    We may be in the wrong sign...Venus may be in the wrong
    juxtaposition with somewhere else.
    - Ted Dexter, explaining away England's seventh
    successive Test loss, to Australia at
    Lord's, 1993

    There was a slight interruption there for athletics.
    - Richie Benaud, referring to a streaker at
    Lord's, BBC TV

    The bowler's Holding, the batsman's Willey.
    - Brian Johnston, BBC

    Say, when do they begin?
    - Groucho Marx, watching a cricket match at
    Lord's

    It's funny kind of month, October. For the really keen cricket
    fan, it's when you realise that your wife left you in May.
    - Denis Norden, British television writer and
    compere

    Cricket is basically baseball on valium.
    - Robin Williams, American actor

    Playing against a team with Ian Chappell as a captain turns
    cricket match into gang warfare.
    - Mike Brearley, 1980

    Cricket is like sex films. They relieve frustration and tension.
    - Linda Lovelace, star of Deep Throat

    Is there any sex in it?
    - Peter Sellers, as a psychiatrist upon first
    learning about cricket in What's New
    Pussycat, 1965

    Cricket needs brightening up a bit. My solution is to let the
    players drink at the beginning of the game, not after. It always
    works in our picnic matches.
    - Paul Hogan, Australian actor

    Marshall's bowling with his head.
    - ABC commentator.

    The sight of Bright holds no fright for Wright.
    - Jim Maxwell
    and the riposte
    That's right!
    - Norm O'Neil(?)

    And Jajeda is dijappointed...Jadeja is ji..da..I'll come again,
    Jajeda..okay Jadeja looks downcast.
    - Tony Grieg on Channel 9.

    I don't know what these fellows are doing, but whatever they are
    doing, they sure are doing it well.
    - Pete Sampras on watching Lara and Ambrose at Lord's.

    Q: Darryl, who are your favourite actors?
    Cullinan: Dustin Hoffman and some Aussie bowlers in the act of
    appealing.

    Q: What's your favourite animal?
    Steve Waugh: Merv Hughes.

  • Funny computer quotes

    If at first you don't succeed; call it version 1.0"

    "The Internet: where men are men, women are men, and children are FBI agents."

    "Some things Man was never meant to know. For everything else, there's Google."

    "To err is human... to really foul up requires the root password."

    "If brute force doesn't solve your problems, then you aren't using enough."

    "Unix is user-friendly. It's just very selective about who its friends are."

    “Programming is like sex, one mistake and you have to support it for the rest of your life.” — Michael Sinz

    Microsoft: "You've got questions. We've got dancing paperclips."

    "Microsoft is not the answer. Microsoft is the question. NO is the answer." - Erik Naggum

    "Men are from Mars. Women are from Venus. Computers are from hell."

    "SUPERCOMPUTER: what it sounded like before you bought it."

    "Windows95: It's like upgrading from Reagan to Bush.

    "People say Microsoft paid $14M for using the Rolling Stones song 'Start me up' in their commercials. This is wrong. Microsoft payed $14M only for a part of the song. For instance, they didn't use the line 'You'll make a grown man cry'."

    "I'm not anti-social; I'm just not user friendly"

    "A printer consists of three main parts: the case, the jammed paper tray and the blinking red light"

    "A computer lets you make more mistakes faster than any invention in human history - with the possible exceptions of handguns and tequila"

    "1f u c4n r34d th1s u r34lly n33d t0 g37 l41d"

    "To go forward, you must backup."

    "A Windows user spends 1/3 of his life sleeping, 1/3 working, 1/3 waiting."

    "My software never has bugs. It just develops random features."

    "Evolution is God's way of issuing upgrades."

    "The only problem with troubleshooting is that sometimes trouble shoots back."

    "Computer are like air conditioners: they stop working when you open windows."

    "Like car accidents, most hardware problems are due to driver error."

    "Dating a girl is just like writing software. Everything's going to work just fine in the testing lab (dating), but as soon as you have contract with a customer (marriage), then your program (life) is going to be facing new situations you never expected. You'll be forced to patch the code (admit you're wrong) and then the code (wife) will just end up all bloated and unmaintainable in the end."

    "If you give someone a program, you will frustrate them for a day; if you teach them how to program, you will frustrate them for a lifetime."

    "It is easier to change the specification to fit the program than vice versa."

    "I had a fortune cookie the other day and it said: 'Outlook not so good'. I said: 'Sure, but Microsoft ships it anyway'."

    "The nice thing about standards is that there are so many to choose from."

    "The term reboot comes from the middle age (before computers). Horses who stopped in mid-stride required a boot to the rear to start again. Thus the term to rear-boot, later abbreviated into reboot."

    "Programmers are tools for converting caffeine into code."

    "Hacking is like sex. You get in, you get out, and hope that you didn't leave something that can be traced back to you."

  • Paperwork

    Last night I completed a rather complicated form to claim Working Tax Credit. I should be entitled to several hundred pounds during the six months of my contract. This is good news, because at the moment (with me not receiving any Housing Benefit until it is re-assessed) I've got no more money than when I was unemployed.

    I know when everything is sorted out I'll be significantly better off, but at the moment I'm not and it's hardly an incentive to get a job.

  • More funny newspaper classifieds.

    Actual Excerpts From Classified Sections Of City Newspapers

    Stock up and save. Limit: one.

    3 year old teacher needed for pre-school. Experience preferred.

    Mixing bowl set designed to please a cook with round bottom for efficient beating.

    Girl wanted to assist magician in cutting off head illusion. Blue Cross and salary.

    For sale: antique desk suitable for lady with thick legs and large drawers.

    Have several very old dresses from grandmother in beautiful condition.

  • Stupid quotes by U.S. sports stars.

    "You guys pair up in groups of three, then line up in a circle."
    - - Bill Peterson, former Florida State football coach

    "That's so when I forget how to spell my name, I can still find my clothes."
    - - Stu Grimson, Chicago Blackhawks left wing, explaining why he keeps a color photo of himself above his locker

    "You guys line up alphabetically by height."
    - - Bill Peterson, former Florida State football coach

    "I play football. I'm not trying to be a professor. The tests don't seem to make sense to me, measuring your brain on stuff I haven't been through in school."
    - - Clemson recruit Ray Forsythe, who was ineligible as a freshman because of academic requirements

    "I know the Virginia players are smart because you need a 1500 SAT to get in. I have to drop bread crumbs to get our players to and from class."
    - - George Raveling, Washington State basketball coach

    "Why would anyone expect him to come out smarter? He went to prison for three years, not Princeton."
    - - Boxing promoter Dan Duva on Mike Tyson hooking up again with promoter Don King

    "I can't really remember the names of the clubs that we went to."
    - - Shaquille O'Neal on whether he had visited the Parthenon during his visit to Greece

    "I'm going to graduate on time, no matter how long it takes."
    - - Senior basketball player at the University of Pittsburgh

    "Nobody in football should be called a genius. A genius is a guy like Norman Einstein."
    - - Football commentator and former player Joe Theismann

  • Bleeding buses!

    My regular bus didn't turn up and then the next one was fifteen minutes late. So it's taken me ninety minutes to travel six miles - a few years ago I could have run it in less time!

    Thank you, Arriva Buses, Yorkshire.

  • More crazy patents

    From the U.S. Patent Office

    Apparatus for facilitating the birth of a child by centrifugal force.

    Inclining coffin.

    Pillow with retractable umbrella.

    Chin putter.

    Tricycle lawnmower.

    Anti-eating mouth cage.

  • Ways of burning off those calories.

    Proper weight control cannot be attained by dieting alone; however, many people who are engaged in sedentary occupations do not realize that calories can be burned by the hundreds by engaging in strenuous activities that do not require much (or any) physical exercise.

    Here's the guide to calorie-burning activities and the number of calories per hour they consume.

    Beating around the bush . . . . . . . . .75
    Jumping to conclusions . . . . . . . . . 100
    Climbing the walls . . . . . . . . . . . 150
    Swallowing your pride. . . . . . . . . .50
    Passing the buck . . . . . . . . . . . .25
    Pushing your luck. . . . . . . . . . . 250
    Making mountains out of molehills. . . 500
    Hitting the nail on the head . . . . . .50
    Bending over backwards . . . . . . . . .75
    Running around in circles. . . . . . . 350
    Climbing the ladder of success . . . . 650

  • Doncaster

    Here's a brief description of Doncaster from a Yorkshire tourist site.

    Doncaster stands on the River Don in the south-east of the West Riding. The Pennine hills are to the west and Hatfield Chase and the River Trent to the east. So this was the easiest way for north-south travellers.

    As Danum it was the first Roman military station in Yorkshire. The legions would rest here en route for York or Hadrian’s Wall. Thus placed on the Great North Road, it became a halt for stage coaches 1500 years later. Then it became a major railway centre. Though now the A1 by-passes the town, and trains from Leeds and Edinburgh don’t always stop, Doncaster is still in many ways Yorkshire’s link with the midlands and the south. For centuries soldiers and friars, nobles and kings, transport workers and travellers have eaten, drunk, slept or often simply waited in Donny.

    A charter was granted to Doncaster by Richard the Lionheart in 1194. Shakespeare mentions the town in Henry IV (just as he also mentions nearby Pontefract or ‘Pomfret’). It was in Doncaster that the rebels’ army met that of the king during the Pilgrimage of Grace in the sixteenth century. A battle was averted by a series of promises which were never kept.

    There has been a racecourse on the Town Moor since the seventeenth century. The St Leger is, of course, a national institution. It has taken place since 1778, longer than the Derby has been run at Epsom.

    Doncaster’s parish church of St George, England’s patron saint, was built by the Victorians. It was designed by Sir George Gilbert Scott because the medieval church was destroyed in a fire in 1853. The 170 foot tower of the church is the town’s most striking landmark. The tower of Christ Church, built in 1827-9, has an eight sided lantern.

    Among many fine Georgian buildings is the Mansion House, designed by James Paine and built in the 1740s. It contains a splendid ballroom and banqueting hall designed to enable the mayor to entertain on a lavish scale. It still hosts grand occasions like the St Leger dinner and the municipal treasures are kept here.

    Nearby is Conisbrough Castle which has a wonderfully intact Norman keep. It inspired Sir Walter Scott’s Rotherwood in Ivanhoe. Roche Abbey, south of Doncaster but still in Yorkshire, is built of dazzling white magnesian limestone. It was founded in 1147 as a Cistercian monastery. In physical contrast, the blackened ruins of Monk Bretton Priory, a Cluniac house, date from 1154.

    Brodsworth House is Italian in style, designed by an architect from Tuscany who in fact never visited the site. The legal dispute relating to the property, resolved by the House of Lords after sixty years of litigation, inspired Bleak House by Charles Dickens.

    Nostell Priory, between Doncaster and Wakefield, has been superbly restored recently by our friends The National Trust. It reflects two architectural periods in the eighteenth century. Robert Adam was responsible for much fine plasterwork and Thomas Chippendale furnished the house. It is difficult to get tradesmen like that nowadays; try looking up ‘Rococo Interiors’ in the Yellow Pages.
    Nostell Priory

    There are more than quarter of a million people in Doncaster and the surrounding area. They used to be employed in mining, railway plant construction, making butterscotch and other manufacturing. Much of the old heavy industry has now gone and, like other Yorkshire towns, Doncaster has had to re-define its purpose and identity. It has done so often before since its first role as the camp on the Don

  • No Show.

    I've just got back from a quick visit to the pub. I was meant to be meeting my mate but he didn't show up. I'm not that bothered though - it was only going to be a couple of drinks anyhow; I'd always intended having an early night.

    I went to my regular pub on Friday night though and although nothing special happened; I was just talking to the same people, I seemed to have an extra confidence about me knowing that if anyone were to ask me what job I did, I could tell them. It felt bloody good!

  • A slight medical problem.

    An old woman came into her doctor's office and confessed to an embarrassing problem. "I fart all the time, Doctor Johnson, but they're soundless, and they have no odor. In fact, since I've been here, I've farted no less than twenty times. What can I do?"
    "Here's a prescription, Mrs. Harris. Take these pills three times a day for seven days and come back and see me in a week."

    Next week an upset Mrs. Harris marched into Dr. Johnson's office. "Doctor, I don't know what was in those pills, but the problem is worse! I'm farting just as much, but now they smell terrible! What do you have to say for yourself?"

    "Calm down, Mrs. Harris," said the doctor soothingly. "Now that we've fixed your sinuses, we'll work on your hearing!!!"

  • Four Sons - a funny story I've found.

    These four gents go out to play golf one sunny morning. One is detained in the clubhouse, and the other three are discussing their children while walking to the first tee.
    "My son Kent," says one, "has made quite a name for himself in the home-building industry. He began as a carpenter, but now owns his own design and construction firm. He's so successful in fact, in the last year he was able to give a good friend a brand new home as a gift."

    The second man, no to be out done, tells how his son began his career as a car salesman, but now owns a multi-line dealership. "Norm's so successful, in fact, in the last six months he gave his friend two brand new cars as a gift."

    The third man's son, Greg, has worked his way up through a stock brokerage, and in the last few weeks has given a good friend a large stock portfolio as a gift.

    As the fourth man arrives at the tee, another tells him that they have been discussing their progeny and asks what line his son is in.

    "To tell the truth, I'm not very pleased with how my son turned out," he replies. "For 15 years, Chico's been a hairdresser, and I've just recently discovered he's gay. However, on the bright side, he must be good at what he does because his last three boyfriends have given him a brand new house, two cars, and a big pile of stock certificates."

  • A weekend spent with my family.

    For the first occasion for a long time I've been in contact with every member of my immediate family.

    My brother visited on Friday evening; only briefly while he was waiting for his bus.

    My sister contacted me on MSN Messenger early this morning (she lives in Adelaide, Australia) to tell how excited she is about her new boyfriend; and, as arranged, I went to see our parents at Thurnscoe, enjoying a delicious Sunday lunch of steak pie and Yorkshire pudding with potatoes, roast parsnips and carrots, plus lots of onion gravy.

  • A mother writes a letter to her son.

    Dear Son:

    Just a few lines to let you know that I'm still alive. I'm writing this letter slowly because I know that you cannot read fast. You won't know the house when you come home. . . we've moved.

    About your father. . . He has a lovely new job. He has 500 men under him. He is cutting the grass at the cemetery.

    There was a washing machine in the new house when we moved in, but it wasn't working too good. Last week I put 14 shirts into it, pulled the chain, and I haven't seen the shirts since.

    Your sister Mary had a baby this morning. I haven't found out whether it is a boy or girl, so I don't know whether you're an aunt or uncle.

    Your Uncle Dick drowned last week in a vat of whiskey in a Dublin brewery. Some of his workmates dived in to save him, but he fought them off bravely. We cremated his body, and it took three days to put out the fire.

    Your father didn't have much to drink at Christmas. I put a bottle of castor oil in his pint of beer. That kept him going till New Years day.

    I went to the doctor on Thursday and your father came with me. The doctor put a small tube into my mouth and told me not to open it for ten minutes. Your father offered to buy it from him.

    It only rained twice last week. First for 3 days, and then for 4 days. Monday it was so windy that one of our chickens laid the same egg four times.

    We had a letter yesterday from the undertaker. He said if the last installment wasn't paid on your grandmother within 7 days; up she comes.

    Your Loving Mother,

  • Newspaper headlines with double meanings.

    March Planned For Next August

    L.A. Voters Approve Urban Renewal by Landslide

    Patient at Death's Door - Doctors Pull Him Through

    Queen Mary Having Bottom Scraped

    Prostitutes Appeal to Pope

    Juvenile Court to Try Shooting Defendant

    Killer Sentenced to Die for Second Time in 10 Years

    Never Withhold Herpes Infection from Loved One

    Police Begin Campaign to Run Down Jaywalkers

    Reagan Wins on Budget, But More Lies Ahead

  • Newspaper reports

    These stories are funny, sad or tragic; depending on what mood you're in I suppose.

    DAILY RECORD (15th MAY 1992)
    Frank Perkins of Los Angeles made an attempt on the world flagpole-sitting record in 1992. But after he came down, he not only discovered he was eight hours short of the 400-day record, but also that his sponsor had gone bust, his girlfriend had left him, and his phone and electricity had been cut off.

    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    INDEPENDENT (19TH DEC 1996)
    A rapturous welcome awaited Antonio Gomez Bohorquez and Pascual Fuertes Noguera when they returned home to Murcia in southern Spain after pioneering a new route up Mount Sisha Pagma in the Himalayas. On studying specialist publications, however, they had to sheepishly admit that they had, in fact, climbed the wrong mountain.

    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    HOUSTON POST (13TH SEPT 1990)
    In Cebu city, Philippines, Enrique Quinanola made a determined effort to kill himself. Quinanola, 21 and unemployed, attempted to hang himself, but relatives cut the rope and took him to hospital. While doctors prepared a sedative, he slipped away and ran to a nearby restaurant where he grabbed a knife and slashed his wrists. Police saw the incident and tried to subdue Quinanola, but he put up a terrific struggle, so the officers shot him, first in his leg, then in the chest. He died a few minutes later. His relatives sued the government for violating his civil liberties.

    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    INTERNATIONAL HERALD TRIBUNE (20 JUL 1992)
    Tiring of crowds attending football games at the Kennedy Stadium when the Washington Redskins were playing, Charles Buki moved from his home near the ground to Arlington, Virginia. He said parking was impossible on game days, and was sick of picking up beer bottles in his front yard. On arriving in Arlington he was "absolutely paralyzed" to discover that his new home was only a short distance from the Redskins' planned new stadium. The Washington Post compared his fate to that of farmer Wilmer McLean, who fled Manassas, Virginia, after the American Civil War's first battle was fought there. He moved to Appomattox Courthouse, the eventual site of the final battle of the war, where Lee surrendered to Grant in McLean's living room.

    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    VICTORIA TIMES (19TH SEPT 1990)
    Another wartime incident caused Danny Simpson of Ottawa, Canada, much grief. In 1990 he was given six years imprisonment for robbing a bank of $6000 using an elderly Colt .45 pistol. He was arrested and the gun was impounded by the police, where it was recognized as an extremely rare collectors' item, worth between $12,000 and $100,000. It was made under licence by the Ross Rifle Company in Quebec City during WW1, one of only 100 Colt .45's ever made there. Simpson could have walked into any gun shop and sold the pistol for at least twice the haul from his raid without breaking the law.

    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    DAILY MIRROR (28TH SEPT 1995)
    Another armed robber, jailed for eight years in Argentina, decided to hire a private detective to trace the father he never met. The detective discovered the man's father was the warder of the prison in which he was incarcerated

    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    WESTERN MORNING NEWS (28TH SPR 1994)
    Ian Lewis, 43, of Standish, Lancashire, England, was also interested in finding out about his family. He spent 30 years tracing his family tree back to the seventeenth century. He travelled all over Britain, talked to 2,000 relatives and planned to write a book about how his great-grandfather left to seek his fortune in Russia and how his grandfather was expelled after the Revolution. Then he found out he had been adopted when he was a month old and his real name was David Thornton. He resolved to start his family research all over again.

    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    INDEPENDENT (26TH JULY 1995)
    Markku Tahvainen drove his family 250 miles to a zoo in Finland in order to see the bears. Whe they returned home, though, they discovered footprints and droppings in their garden which revealed that in their absence they had been visited by a bear which had eaten their ducks.

    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    BIG ISSUE (20TH FEB 1995)
    After three days of uninterrupted heavy music from the flat next door, Gunthwilde Blom, 63, of Klagenfurt, Austria, began to get cross. She hammered on the walls and put notes under the door of the offending flat. All this had no effect so she confronted her neighbour, Wilma Kock, directly. Kock protested her innocence, but Blom did not believe her, calling her a "venomous herring". When the noise continued Mrs Blom finally went berserk and pushed 20lbs of fresh herring through her neighbor's letter-box. Ms Kock called the police, who discovered while interviewing Blom that the music was actually coming from a radio she had inadvertently left on beneath her own bed. Unrepentant, she declared, "They didn't understand - Kock's a cow."

    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    DAILY MIRROR (2ND JUN 1993)
    A South African came 6,000 miles to photograph the church clock in Grantchester, Cambridge, at ten to three, as in the Rupert Brooke poem. It had broken down, and was stuck as 1:05.

    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    EDINBURGH EVE NEWS (12TH JAN 1990)
    Albin's trek across the world had a similarly disappointing end. He set out for New Zealand from London, England to to track down a cousin he had not seen for 30 years - but cousin Bennett Birch was a recluse who lived in the remote settlement of Takehe in New Zealand's far north. He had died a month or so before Albin's arrival, but due to his reclusive habits no one had noticed.

    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    NEWS OF THE WORLD (21ST AUG 1988)
    Meanwhile, Martin Reeves travelled 8,000 miles to India to find parts for his 1957 Morris Cowley. His mission was succesful, but when he got back to Brighton, England, he found the car had been stolen.

    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    SUSSEX EVE ARGUS (20TH DEC 1990)
    Athlete John Oliver, 31, went all the way from Bournemouth, Dorset, England, to Nepal - a journey of over 5,000 miles - to take part in his first marathon, only to sprain his ankle on the starting line.

    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    DAILY MIRROR (25TH MAY 1990)
    Security measures bring their own headaches. In Broadway, Worcestershire, England, in 1990, a safe was unlocked for the first time since its key had been lost in 1942. All it contained was a note urging people not to lose the key.

    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    DAILY TELEGRAPH (16 SEPT 1986)
    In Mumbles, Swansea, England, Robin Branhall got tired of vandals who had broken the window of this surfing shop more than 20 times, so he fitted an unbreakable one. Arriving at his shop next day, he found the entire window had been stolen.

    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    REUTERS (20TH JULY 1994)
    Likewise, a Dutchman who invested more than $1,000 in a police trained guard dog to protect his house in Schalkhar woke up two days later to find the house had been broken into. The only thing the burglars had taken was the dog.

    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    CHESTERFIELD & DRONFIELD GAZETTE (20TH MAY 1988)
    A lonely heart who placed an ad in an unnamed Yorkshire, England, paper seeking to meet a lady for outings and friendship received one reply - from his mother.

    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    NEWS OF THE WORLD (15TH DEC 1991)
    Had he had better luck, he would have been wise not to use the condoms issued by the New Zealand Health Department in their safe-sex guide. They were attached to the booklet by a staple through the middle.

    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    THE GUARDIAN (26TH APR 1989)
    La Cicciolina, the Italian porn star MP, returned to her native Hungary in 1989 to visit the hamlet of Kiskunhalas in order to celebrate the departure of Soviet military forces from the land they had occupied since 1945. She marked the beginning of the withdrawal by releasing a white dove, but could only watch, along with bemused villagers, as the symbolic bird fluttered down onto the railway transporter's loading ramp and the first tank of the first regiment of the Soviet Southern Army Group 13th Division rolled right over it.

    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    DAILY TELEGRAPH (18TH NOV 1988)
    Sheffield City Council's Norton Nurseries, England, was home to a magnificent 25ft-tall succulent, Agave americana, which had survived WW2, and 50 British winters. In its native South America it flowers once every 15 years, but in the British climate that was believed to take 50-100 years. In 1988 it began to develop a flower spike and was excitedly tended by nurserymen awaiting the great event - until a council workman reversed his lorry over the plant, smashing it to oblivion.

    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    DAILY TELEGRAPH (25 JUL 1986)
    A fireman in Bath, Somerset, England, using a metal detector to trace a fire hydrant which had been covered in tarmac after road resurfacing, dug seven holes in the wrong place before realizing the device was being set off by the steel toe-caps in his boots.

    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    DAILY TELEGRAPH (23 AUG 1986)
    Water supplies also caused much vexation to historians trying to discover the identity of someone buried in the graveyard of Evercreech Church, Shepton Mallet, Somerset, England. They were trying to identify the person under the gravestone simply marked "H.W.P." until the Wessex Water Authority put them out of their misery by pointing out that it was a marker for the church's hot-water pipe.

    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    DAILY RECORD (18TH MAR 1996)
    In 1996 Claude Arcens finally gave up his vigil under the Eiffel Tower. In 1984 someone on the tower dropped a purse which he found and kept, so he returned in the hope of retrieving other treasures. The only thing he found during his 12-year wait was a lighter.

  • Icons of England

    Celebrities nominate their icons on a website I've found.

    Here are some of my favourites -

    Apple and blackberry crumble
    Cardigans and cottage pie
    The pub sign
    The Humber Bridge
    The shipping forecast
    The Tube sign at Piccadilly Circus
    Radio 4, Eeyore and Falstaff
    Fish & chips, and London Cockney Sparrows
    A cup of tea
    Jigsaw puzzles
    Strawberries
    Red telephone box
    The 'Mind the Gap' announcement on London Underground trains
    Bluebells
    The oak tree

  • More funny church notices.

    - Irving Benson & Jessie Carter were married on Octoer 24. So ends a friendship that began in their school days.

    - Eight new choir robes are currently needed due to the addition of several new members and to the deterioration of some older ones.

    - Scouts are saving aluminium cans, bottle and other items to be recycled. Proceeds will be used to cripple children.

    - Please place your donation in the envelope along with the deceased person you want remembered.

    - Attend and you will hear an excellent speaker and heave a healthy lunch.

    - The church will host an evening of fine dining, super entertainment and gracious hostility.

    - This evening at 7PM there will be a hymn singing in the park across from the church. Bring a blanket and come prepared to sin.

    - Ladies Bible Study will be held Thursday morning at 10:00 AM. All ladies are invited to lunch in the fellowship hall after the BS is done.

    - The pastor would appreciate it if the ladies of the congregation would lend him their electric girdles for the pancake breakfast next Sunday.

    - Low self esteem support group will meet Thursday at 7PM. Please use the back door.

    - The eighth graders will be presenting Shakespeare's Hamlet in the church basement Friday at 7PM. The congregation is invited to attend this tragedy.

    - Weight watchers will meet at 7PM at the First Presbyterian Church. Please use the wide double door at the side entrance.

  • In the beginning........

    A surgeon, engineer, and lawyer are arguing about which profession is the most respectable. The surgeon says, "Medicine is the oldest and most respectable profession. It says in the firs chapter of the Bible that Eve was created out of Adam's rib. That's surgery and therefore a doctor had to be there."
    The engineer replies, "I can do better than that. Before it gets to Adam and Eve, the first chapter says that heaven and earth were created out of chaos. That's engineering and therefore an engineer had to be there."
    They both look at the lawyer.
    "Who do you think created all the chaos?""

  • Foolish responses made by U.S. college students.

    Here are some responses to job related and general knowledge questions from real college students that are so funny that they seem simply hilarious:

    1. A person should bathe once in summer but not so often in winter.
    2. Chemical Formula of Water has two gins - Oxygin and Hydrogin. Oxygin is pure gin while Hydrogin is gin and water.
    3. Definition of Census taker - A man who goes from house to house increasing the population.
    4. Definition of Syntax - Tax paid by the sinners at the church.
    5. Definition of Virgin Forest - It is a forest where the hand of man has never set foot.
    6. Future tense of 'I give' - 'I take'.
    7. Houses in France are generally made up of Plaster of Paris.
    8. Iron was discovered because someone smelt it.
    9. One of the main causes of dust is janitors.
    10. Parts of Speech - Lungs and air.
    11. Spinal column is a long bunch of bones. The head sits on the top and you sit on the bottom.
    12. The four seasons are salt, pepper, mustard and vinegar.
    13. The word 'trousers' is an uncommon noun because it is singular at the top and plural at the bottom.
    14. What is H2O and CO2? - H2O is hot water and CO2 is cold water.
    15. What the residents of Moscow are called? - Mosquitoes.

  • First week at work.

    (I only work a half-day on Fridays; and I'm based in town, so that's why I'm blogging a bit earlier today.)

    Well, the first week has been okay. I'm quite a bit older than most of the staff and so fitting in is a bit difficult for me; members of the management team are older and so I naturally gravitate towards them...something that a couple of the youngsters in the office have already commented on.

    The bus service isn't very good and so I'm having to set off earlier than I'd anticipated making the days long and tiring.

    The worst part about the job is the boredom though; just sitting about in the office - I can't even blog because access to the site is blocked.

    I'm hoping that things will improve when my criminal records clearance comes through and I'll be contributing to, and working with, various community projects.

  • Bond girls with the most interesting names.

    Honey Ryder
    Sylvia Trench
    Pussy Galore
    Domino Durval
    Fiona Volpe
    Kissy Suzuki
    Tiffany Case
    Plenty O'Toole
    Mary Goodnight
    Holly Goodhead
    Xenia Onatopp

    I love the Bond films; the humour, glamour and action - Roger Moore was my favourite Bond and Blofeld my favourite villain.

  • Football Gaffes.

    I couldn't settle in Italy - it was like living in a foreign country.
    -- Ian Rush

    On another night, they'd have won 2-2.
    -- Ron Atkinson (Ron commenting on a Valencia-Liverpool Match)

    The midfield is outnumbered numerically.
    -- Ron Atkinson

    For me their biggest threat is when they get into the attacking part of the field.
    -- Ron Atkinson

    Zero-zero is a big score.
    -- Ron Atkinson

    The keeper was unsighted - he still didn't see it.
    -- Ron Atkinson

    Julian Dicks has been everywhere ... it's like West Ham have got eleven Dicks out there.
    -- Anonymous (Metro city radio

    )
    There's nobody fitter at his age, except maybe Raquel Welch.
    -- Ron Atkinson (Ron commenting on 39 year old Scot Gordon Strachan

    )
    ...and now it's Keane with Butt spread wide...

    -- Anonymous

  • More Unusual Museums On The Internet.

    The Virtual Toilet Paper Museum

    Furnace Sticker Museum [I don't know what these are]

    Graham Barker's Navel Fluff Collection

    Novelty Transistor Radios

    Soviet Calculators Collection

    Museum Of Banana Boxes

    Power Company & Assorted Porcelain & Painted Tin Signs

    World Famous Asphalt Museum

    World Of Napkins

    Museum Of Traffic Control

  • The Darwin Awards 2000

    For getting killed in the most extraordinarily stupid way.

    DARWIN AWARD CANDIDATES

    1. In September in Detroit, a 41-year-old man got stuck and drowned in
    two feet of water after squeezing head first through an 18-inch-wide sewer
    grate to retrieve his car keys.

    2. In October, a 49-year-old San Francisco stockbroker, who "totally zoned
    when he ran," according to his wife, accidentally jogged off 100-foot-high
    cliff on his daily run.

    3. Buxton, NC: A man died on a beach when an 8-foot-deep hole he had dug
    into the sand caved in as he sat inside it. Beachgoers said Daniel Jones, 21
    dug the hole for fun, or protection from the wind, and had been sitting in a
    beach chair at the bottom Thursday afternoon when it collapsed, burying him
    beneath 5 feet of sand. People on the beach, on the outer banks, used their
    hands and shovels, trying to claw their way to Jones, a resident of
    Woodbridge, VA, but could not reach him. It took rescue workers using heavy
    equipment almost an hour to free him while about 200 people looked on.
    Jones was pronounced dead at a hospital.

    4. In February, Santiago Alvarado, 24, was killed in Lompoc, CA, as he fell
    face-first through the ceiling of bicycle shop he was burglarizing. Death was
    caused when the long flashlight he had placed in his mouth (to keep his
    hands free) rammed into the base of his skull as he hit the floor.

    5. According to police in Dahlonega, GA, ROTC cadet Nick Berrena, was
    stabbed to death in January by fellow cadet Jeffrey Hoffman, 23, who was
    trying to prove that a knife could not penetrate the flak vest Berrena was wearing.

    6. Sylvester Briddell, Jr , 26, was killed in February in Selbyville, Del, as
    he won a bet with friends who said he would not put a revolver loaded with
    four bullets into his mouth and pull the trigger.

    7. In February, according to police in Windsor, Ontario, Daniel Kolta, 27,
    and Randy Taylor, 33, died in a head-on collision, thus earning a tie in the
    game of chicken they were playing with their snowmobiles.

    DARWIN AWARD HONORABLE MENTIONS

    1. In Guthrie, Okla, in October, Jason Heck tried to kill a millipede
    with a shot from his 22-caliber rifle, but the bullet ricocheted off a
    rock near the hole and hit pal Antonio Martinez in the head, fracturing his skull.

    2. In Elyria, Ohio, in October, Martyn Eskins, attempting to clean out
    cobwebs in his basement, declined to use a broom in favor of a propane
    torch and caused a fire that burned the first and second floors of his house.

    3. Paul Stiller, 47, was hospitalized in Andover Township, NJ, in
    September, and his wife Bonnie was also injured, by a quarter-stick of
    dynamite that blew up in their car. While driving around at 2 AM, the bored
    couple lit the dynamite and tried to toss it out the window to see what would
    happen, but they apparently failed to notice that the window was closed.

    MORE ALSO RANS

    TACOMA, WA - Kerry Bingham, had been drinking with several friends when one
    of them said they knew a person who had bungee-jumped from the Tacoma
    Narrows Bridge in the middle of traffic. The conversation grew more and at
    least 10 men trooped along the walkway of the bridge at 4:30 am. Upon arrival
    at the midpoint of the bridge they discovered that no one had brought bungee
    rope. Bingham, who had continued drinking, volunteered and pointed out that a
    coil of lineman's cable lay nearby. One end of the cable was secured around
    Bingham's leg and the other end was tied to the bridge. His fall lasted 40 feet
    before the cable tightened and tore his foot off at the ankle. He miraculously
    survived his fall into the icy river water and was rescued by two nearby fishermen.
    "All I can say," said Bingham, "is that God was watching out for me on that night.
    There's just no other explanation for it." Bingham's foot was never located.

    AND THE WINNER:

    PADERBORN, GERMANY - Overzealous zookeeper Friedrich Riesfeldt fed his
    constipated elephant Stefan 22 doses of animal laxative and more than
    bushel of berries, figs and prunes before the plugged-up pachyderm finally let
    fly-and suffocated the keeper under 200 pounds of poop! Investigators say ill-fated
    Friedrich, 46, was attempting to give the Ailing elephant an olive oil enema when
    the relieved beast unloaded on him like a dump truck full of mud. "The sheer force of the elephant's unexpected defecation knocked Mr.Riesfeldt to the ground, where he
    struck his head on a rock and lay unconscious as the elephant continued to evacuate
    his bowels on top of him," said flabbergasted Paderborn police detective Erik Dern.
    "With no one there to help him, he lay under all that dung for at least an hour before
    a watchman came along, and during that time he suffocated. "It seems to be just one of those freak accidents that happen.

  • Somehow they've found me.

    Unusual search terms used to find my blog, or to search postings within the blog...I know I haven't written anything about any of these subjects though.

    Croydon ufos are Chinese lanterns

    100% classified and online emails of pastor in Dublin

    made-to-measure rug L-shaped

    August email addresses of cocoa farmers

    Dr. Hillman Bridlington

  • Corporate Lessons.

    Corporate Lesson 1

    A man is getting into the shower just as his wife is finishing up her shower when the doorbell rings. After a few seconds of arguing over which one should go and answer the doorbell, the wife gives up, quickly wraps herself up in a towel and runs downstairs. When she opens the door, there stands Bob, the next-door neighbor. Before she says a word, Bob says, "I'll give you $800 to drop that towel that you have on" After thinking for a moment, the woman drops her towel and stands naked in front of Bob. After a few seconds, Bob hands her 800 dollars and leaves. Confused, but excited about her good fortune, the woman wraps back up in the towel and goes back upstairs. When she gets back to the bathroom, her husband asks from the shower, "Who was that?" "It was Bob the next door neighbor," she replies. "Great!" the husband says, "Did he say anything about the $800 he owes me?"

    Moral of the story: If you share critical information pertaining to credit and risk in time with your stakeholders, you may be in a position to prevent avoidable exposure.

    Corporate Lesson 2

    A priest was driving along and saw a nun on the side of the road, he stopped and offered her a lift, which she accepted. She got in and crossed her legs, forcing her gown to open and reveal a lovely leg. The priest had a look and nearly had an accident. After controlling the car, he stealthily slid his hand up her leg. The nun looked at him and immediately said, "Father, remember Psalm 129?" The priest was flustered and apologized profusely. He forced himself to remove his hand. Changing gear, he
    let his hand slide up her leg again. The nun once again said, "Father, remember Psalm 129?" Once again the priest apologized "Sorry sister but the flesh is weak."
    Arriving at the convent, the nun got out gave him a meaningful glance and went on her way. On his arrival at the church, the priest rushed to retrieve a bible and looked up Psalm 129. It Said, "Go forth and seek, further up, you will find glory."

    Moral of the story: Always be well informed in your job, or you might miss a great opportunity.

    Corporate Lesson 3

    A sales rep, an administration clerk and the manager are walking to lunch when they find an antique oil lamp. They rub it and a Genie comes out in a puff of
    smoke. The Genie says, "I usually only grant three wishes, so I'll give each of you just one." "Me first! Me first!" says the admin clerk. "I want to be in the Bahamas, driving a speedboat, without a care in the world." Poof! She's gone. In astonishment, "Me next! Me next!" says the sales rep. "I want to be in Hawaii, relaxing on the beach with my personal masseuse, an Endless supply of pina coladas and the love of my life." Poof! He's gone. "OK, you're up," the Genie says to the manager. The
    manager says, "I want those two back in the office after lunch."

    Moral of the story: Always let your boss have the first say.

    Corporate Lesson 4

    A crow was sitting on a tree, doing nothing all day. A small rabbit saw the crow, and asked him, "Can I also sit like you and do nothing all day long?" The
    crow answered: "Sure, why not." So, the rabbit sat on the ground below the crow, and rested. All of a sudden a fox appeared, jumped on the rabbit and ate
    it.

    Moral of the story: To be sitting and doing nothing, you must be sitting very, very high up.

    Corporate Lesson 5

    A turkey was chatting with a bull. "I would love to be able to get to the top of that tree," sighed the turkey, but I haven't got the energy." "Well, why don’t you nibble on some of my droppings?" replied the bull. "They're packed with nutrients." The turkey pecked at a lump of dung and found that it actually gave him enough strength to reach the lowest branch of the tree. The next day, after eating some more dung, he reached the second branch. Finally after a fourth night, there he was proudly
    perched at the top of the tree. Soon he was promptly spotted by a farmer, who shot the turkey out of the tree.

    Moral of the story: Bullshit might get you to the top, but it won't keep you there.

    Corporate Lesson 6

    A little bird was flying south for the winter. It was so cold the bird froze and fell to the ground in a large field. While it was lying there, a cow came by and dropped some dung on it. As the frozen bird lay there in the pile of cow dung, it began to realize how warm it was. The dung was actually thawing him out! He lay there all warm and happy, and soon began to sing for joy. A passing cat heard the bird singing and came to investigate. Following the sound, the cat discovered the bird under the
    pile of cow dung, and promptly dug him out and ate him.

    Moral of the story:
    1) Not everyone who shits on you is your enemy.
    2) Not everyone who gets you out of shit is your friend.
    3) And when you're in deep shit, it's best to keep your mouth shut!

  • Les Dawson Quotes

    One of my favourite comedians.

    In awe I watched the waxing moon ride across the zenith of the heavens like an ambered chariot towards the ebon void of infinite space wherein the tethered belts of Jupiter and Mars hang forever festooned in their orbital majesty. And as I looked at all this I thought...I must put a roof on this lavatory.
    Tommorrow it's the mother-in-law's funeral...and she's cancelled it.
    Funny thing how you first meet the woman that you marry. I first met the wife in a tunnel of love. She was digging it.
    I can always tell when the mother in law's coming to stay; the mice throw themselves on the traps.
    He had ambitions, at one time, to become a sex maniac, but he failed his practical.
    The wife's Mother said, "When you're dead, I'll dance in your grave." I said: "Good, I'm being buried at sea."
    I took my mother-in-law to Madame Tussard's Chamber of Horrors, and one of the attendants said, 'Keep her moving sir, we're stock-taking'
    I went to my doctor and asked for something for persistent wind. He gave me a kite.
    Marriage is an institution and that's where a couple finish up.
    I saw six men kicking and punching the mother-in-law. My neighbour said 'Are you going to help?' I said 'No, Six should be enough."

  • 'Comical Ali' Quotes

    Actual Quotes From the Iraqi Information Minister

    (I remember watching his live interviews from the roof of the Ministry of Information building during the early days of the invasion of Baghdad...he certainly looked comical and behaved very strangely at times.)

    "There are no American infidels in Baghdad. Never!"

    "My feelings - as usual - we will slaughter them all"

    "Our initial assessment is that they will all die"

    "I blame Al-Jazeera - they are marketing for the Americans!"

    "God will roast their stomachs in hell at the hands of Iraqis."

    'We have destroyed 2 tanks, fighter planes, 2 helicopters and their shovels - We have driven them back."

    "Surrender or be burned in their tanks."

    "No I am not scared and neither should you be!"

    "We have them surrounded in their tanks"

    Britain "is not worth an old shoe."

    Of U.S. troops: "They are most welcome. We will butcher them."

    "We will welcome them with bullets and shoes."

    "Washington has thrown their soldiers on the fire"

    "These cowards have no morals. They have no shame about lying"

    "They're not even [within] 100 miles [of Baghdad]. They are not in any place. They hold no place in Iraq. This is an illusion ... they are trying to sell to the others an illusion."

    "They do not even have control over themselves! Do not believe them!"

    "Faltering forces of infidels cannot just enter a country of 26 million people and lay besiege to them! They are the ones who will find themselves under siege. Therefore, in reality whatever this miserable Rumsfeld has been saying, he was talking about his own forces. Now even the American command is under siege."

    "They tried to bring a small number of tanks and personnel carriers in through al-Durah but they were surrounded and most of their infidels had their throats cut."

    "We made them drink poison last night and Saddam Hussein's soldiers and his great forces gave the Americans a lesson which will not be forgotten by history. Truly."

    "On this occasion, I am not going to mention the number of the infidels who were killed and the number of destroyed vehicles. The operation continues"

    "We're giving them a real lesson today. Heavy doesn't accurately describe the level of casualties we have inflicted."

    "I can say, and I am responsible for what I am saying, that they have started to commit suicide under the walls of Baghdad. We will encourage them to commit more suicides quickly."

    "Their infidels are committing suicide by the hundreds on the gates of Baghdad. Be assured, Baghdad is safe, protected."

    "NO", snapped Mr al-Sahaf, "We have retaken the airport. There are NO Americans there. I will take you there and show you. IN ONE HOUR!"

    "We defeated them yesterday. God willing, I will provide you with more information. I swear by God, I swear by God, those who are staying in Washington and London have thrown these mercenaries in a crematorium."

    "Please, please! The Americans are relying on what I called yesterday a desperate and stupid method."

    "They will be burnt. We are going to tackle them"

    "We blocked them inside the city. Their rear is blocked"

    "Desperate Americans"

    "Today we slaughtered them in the airport. They are out of Saddam International Airport. The force that was in the airport, this force was destroyed."

    "Their casualties and bodies are many."

    [On surrenders] "Those are not Iraqi soldiers at all. Where did they bring them from?"

    "Just look carefully, I only want you to look carefully. Do not repeat the lies of liars. Do not become like them. Once again, I blame Al-Jazeera before it ascertains what takes place. Please, make sure of what you say and do not play such a role."

    "Search for the truth. I tell you things and I always ask you to verify what I say. I told you yesterday that there was an attack and a retreat at Saddam's airport."

    "You can go and visit those places. Nothing there, nothing at all. There are Iraqi checkpoints. Everything is okay."

    "This boa, the American columns, are being besieged between Basra and other towns north, west, south and west of Basra....Now even the American command is under siege. We are hitting it from the north, east, south and west. We chase them here and they chase us there."

    "By God, I think this is rather very unlikely. This is merely a prattle. The fact is that as soon as they reach Baghdad gates, we will besiege them and slaughter them....Wherever they go they will find themselves encircled."

    "Listen, this explosion does not frighten us any longer. The cruise missiles do not frighten anyone. We are catching them like fish in a river. I mean here that over the past two days we managed to shoot down 196 missiles before they hit their target."

    "Blair...is accusing us of executing British soldiers. We want to tell him that we have not executed anybody. They are either killed in battle, most of them get killed because they are cowards anyway, the rest they just get captured."

    "They fled. The American louts fled. Indeed, concerning the fighting waged by the heroes of the Arab Socialist Baath Party yesterday, one amazing thing really is the cowardice of the American soldiers. we had not anticipated this."

    "The louts of colonialism."

    "It has been rumored that we have fired scud missiles into Kuwait. I am here now to tell you, we do not have any scud missiles and I don't know why they were fired into Kuwait."

    "W. Bush, this man is a war criminal, and we will see that he is brought to trial"

    "I think the British nation has never been faced with a tragedy like this fellow [Blair]."

    "The United Nations....[is] a place for prostitution under the feet of Americans."

    "They are sick in their minds. They say they brought 65 tanks into center of city. I say to you this talk is not true. This is part of their sick mind."

    "They are superpower of villains. They are superpower of Al Capone."

    "Iraqi fighters in Umm Qasr are giving the hordes of American and Brtish mercenaries the taste of definite death. We have drawn them into a quagmire and they will never get out of it."

    "What they say about a breakthrough [in Najaf] is completely an illusion. They are sending their warplanes to fly very low in order to have vibrations on these sacred places . . . they are trying to crack the buildings by flying low over them."

    "Their forces committed suicide by the hundreds. ... The battle is very fierce and God made us victorious. The fighting continues."

    "Yesterday, we slaughtered them and we will continue to slaughter them."

    "We will push those crooks, those mercenaries back into the swamp"

    "When we were making the law, when we were writing the literature and the mathematics the grandfathers of Blair and little Bush were scratching around in caves"

    About Bush: "the leader of the international criminal gang of bastards."

    About Bush and Rumsfeld: "Those only deserve to be hit with shoes."

  • Things I Haven't Yet Done.

    (I don't necessarily want to do everything on this list.)

    I haven't yet:

    Learnt to drive.
    Made a call from a mobile phone.
    Flown in an aeroplane.
    Got anyone pregnant.
    Heard anyone say 'I love you' to me.
    Said 'I love you' to anyone.
    Watched live professional sport at the highest level.
    Secured 'proper' paid employment.
    Sent or received a bunch of flowers.

  • A long list of interesting facts.

    I hope they are all genuinely true because some of them are amazing. However, I suspect some of them aren't...oh how I wish they were though! !

    Molecularly speaking, water is actually much drier than sand.

    The term "bank teller" originated in the wake of the 1929 stock market crash, when banks began hiring low-paid workers to "tell" throngs of frantic depositors that their money was gone.

    The brand name "Jelly Belly" was created in 1982 after Nancy Reagan made a much-publicized quip about her husband's 20-pound weight gain.

    The Internal Revenue Service audits 87 percent of women who claim breast implants as tax deductions.

    Scandinavian berserkers used to cut out their eyes before battle to spare themselves the sight of the carnage they invariably wrought.

    Human tonsils can bounce higher than a rubber ball of similar weight and size, but only for the first 30 minutes after they've been removed.

    Comic duo Cheech and Chong were originally known as Spic and Span before changing due to pressure from Chicano organizations.

    The city of Slaughter, Texas (population: 11,284), has never had a homicide occur within its boundaries.

    Rubbing Tabasco on one's upper lip before bedtime is an effective temporary cure for sleep apnea.

    British pop singer Baby Spice is the great-great-great-great-great-great-grandniece of Archduke William Pinkley-Hogue of Standishfordshire, making her 103rd in line for the throne of England.

    The curved shape of a hockey stick is a throwback to prehistoric use of mastodon tusks in a similar game.

    A Native American tribe in South Dakota collects bottle caps left by campers, using them as currency. Several banks in the area now recognize the caps as legal tender.

    Fish have "dandruff" caused by flaking skin, and it is impossible to filter all traces of it from drinking water.

    Moths are unable to fly during an earthquake.

    The first case of the common cold was diagnosed in 1611 in Stratford, England. The patient? John Common, who coincidentally gave his cold to William Shakespeare who said the new malady exacerbated his lovesickness, thereby inspiring several of his most fondly remembered sonnets.

    "Hello Kitty" began as part of a covert propaganda campaign originally proposed by Prime Minister Tojo during World War II.

    When in heat, female hippopotami secrete an oil with a flavor similar to strawberries. Kalahari bushmen use the oil to make flat-bread treats for children.

    If an average human scrotum were stretched until all its wrinkles were smoothed out, it could hold a basketball.

    Ingesting small doses of ink over an extended period of time will change your eye color slightly.

    To commemorate ratification of the 19th Amendment in 1920, U.S. playing card manufacturers replaced "staffs" with "hearts" as the fourth suit in the deck. The world soon followed.

    In 1960, a then-unknown Dan Rather auditioned for the voice of cartoon character Dudley Do-Right but was turned down by animator/director Jay Ward.

    When subjected to an electric current of at least 50 volts, a cat's tail always points toward the north.

    If the current trend continues, by the year 2215 midgets will outnumber "normal-sized" people.

    Scientists estimate that sleep lost due to daylight saving time reduces the average lifespan by nearly two full months.

    In the late '90s, Microsoft secretly developed its own version of Linux, but shelved it after quality control researchers deemed it "too stable."

    No NCAA basketball team from a school located in its state's capital has ever won the national championship.

    The African black rhinoceros excretes its own weight in dung every 48 hours.

    The top three names for female babies born in China last year were Huan Yue, Jia Li and -- unlikely as it seems -- Buffy.

    Peter Maas, creator of the character Serpico, got his character's name from an ultra-expensive, highly-prized Malaysian liqueur made from fermented viper venom.

    Shortly before his execution, Timothy McVeigh constructed a scale model of the Lincoln Memorial with soda crackers.

    There have been four documented cases of humans who have hibernated through an entire winter.

    Strains of bacteria similar to E. coli have been found in spent printer cartridges -- but only in the cyan ones. Scientists have no explanation.

    The four different people who, at various times, tried -- and failed -- to become the Guinness Book of World Records' "Human Milkshake Volcano" by drinking five gallons of milk and then riding the Six Flags Screaming' Eagle roller coaster all shared the same birthday: September 18, 1970.

    The Australian aborigine language has over 30 words for "dust."

    Anyone convicted of animal cruelty in Sedalia, Missouri, is sentenced to a month's confinement in the county animal shelter.

    Fewer divorces occur in families in which the children wake their parents before 6 a.m. on Saturdays.

    A futuristic automobile designed by Ford for the movie Blade Runner was produced and sold in limited quantities as the "Ford Harrison."

    John F. Kennedy was an accomplished ventriloquist.

    A bad case of laryngitis forced Abraham Lincoln to lip-sync the Gettysburg Address. The speech was actually delivered by an aide hidden beneath the stage.

    A prominent organization of anthropologists has predicted that by the year 5000, humans will have two rectums, but only one nostril.

    For over a decade, the number of drive-by shootings has been directly proportional to increased gas prices.

    Two-thirds of all the world's coriander comes from a single valley in Italy.

    As the sheer volume of Internet traffic has increased, the friction of the electrons passing around the planet has increased the overall global temperature by .07 degrees.

    Contrary to popular belief, the white is not the healthiest part of an egg. It's actually the shell.

    A comprehensive multi-year study using pattern-recognition software determined that Millard Fillmore is the most common identifiable U.S. president seen in cloud formations.

    Baking soda and vinegar will make your scrambled eggs fluffier.

    The first prototype defibrillators delivered 1,200 joules of electrical energy instead of the now standard 360, occasionally causing dead bodies to sit upright momentarily as though they were still alive.

    Ancient Egyptians used molted cobra skins as condoms.

    Using its anal sphincter muscle, the Mongolian tapir is capable of creating high-pitched tones that can be heard by dogs nearly 30 miles away.

    Customs officials have dogs that are trained to distinguish between Cuban cigars and all other cigars.

    Archimedes' screw was the basis for Max Factor's invention of the twisting lipstick holder.

    A Tokyo inventor has developed a laptop computer whose battery is recharged by energy generated from the movement of the user's mouse, yet Sony lawyers have successfully blocked every attempt to produce a product using the technology.

    Female black cats can actually see their shadows at night.

    Ballpoint pens were invented by a Michigan scientist attempting to reduce the number of birds killed for their quills.

    Glamorous movie star Brad Pitt once had a summer job posting warning signs at coal mine entrances.

    The National Weather Service will pay $30 for the rights to any original photograph of lightning.

    U.S. Army medics in World War I knew of the germ-fighting properties of rodent saliva and carried hamsters in their medical bags to sterilize wounds in the field.

    An early draft of the Declaration of Independence included a line by Benjamin Franklin inviting King George to "kisse our collective arse."

    Nearly three percent of the ice in Antarctic glaciers is penguin urine.

    The sound made when a duck passes gas is the precise acoustic opposite of its quack; if it does both simultaneously, there's no audible sound.

    Contrary to their popular image as spinsters, the average librarian has 5.9 random sex partners per year.

    The rhesus monkey is the only animal that can be taught to hum a tune.

    With the exception of a small 200-square-mile section of Antarctica, every single square kilometer of dry land on the planet has been walked on by at least one human being.

    In the weightlessness of space a frozen pea will explode if it comes in contact with Pepsi.

    The increased electricity used by modern appliances is causing a shift in the Earth's magnetic field. By the year 2327, the North Pole will be located in mid-Kansas, while the South Pole will be just off the coast of East Africa.

    The idea for "tribbles" in "Star Trek" came from gerbils, since some gerbils are actually born pregnant.

    Male rhesus monkeys often hang from tree branches by their amazing prehensile penises.

    Johnny Plessey batted .331 for the Cleveland Spiders in 1891, even though he spent the entire season batting with a rolled-up, lacquered copy of the Toledo Post-Dispatch.

    Smearing a small amount of dog feces on an insect bite will relieve the itching and swelling.

    The Boeing 747 is capable of flying upside-down if it weren't for the fact that the wings would shear off when trying to roll it over.

    The trucking company Elvis Presley worked at as a young man was owned by Frank Sinatra.

    The only golf course on the island of Tonga has 15 holes, and there's no penalty if a monkey steals your golf ball.

    Legislation passed during WWI making it illegal to say "gesundheit" to a sneezer was never repealed.

    Manatees possess vocal chords which give them the ability to speak like humans, but don't do so because they have no ears with which to hear the sound.

    SCUBA divers cannot pass gas at depths of 33 feet or below.

    Catfish are the only animals that naturally have an ODD number of whiskers.

    Replying more than 100 times to the same piece of spam e-mail will overwhelm the sender's system and interfere with their ability to send any more spam.

    Polar bears can eat as many as 86 penguins in a single sitting.

    The first McDonald's restaurant opened for business in 1952 in Edinburgh, Scotland, and featured the McHaggis sandwich.

    The Air Force's F-117 fighter uses aerodynamics discovered during research into how bumblebees fly.

    You *can* get blood from a stone, but only if contains at least 17 percent bauxite.

    Silly Putty was "discovered" as the residue left behind after the first latex condoms were produced. It's not widely publicized for obvious reasons.

    Approximately one-sixth of your life is spent on Wednesdays.

    The skin needed for elbow transplants must be taken from the scrotum of a cadaver.

    The sport of jai alai originated from a game played by Incan priests who held cats by their tails and swung at leather balls. The cats would instinctively grab at the ball with their claws, thus enabling players to catch them.

    A cat's purr has the same romance-enhancing frequency as the voice of singer Barry White.

    The typewriter was invented by Hungarian immigrant Qwert Yuiop, who left his "signature" on the keyboard.

    The volume of water that the Giant Sequoia tree consumes in a 24-hour period contains enough suspended minerals to pave 17.3 feet of a 4-lane concrete freeway.

    King Henry VIII slept with a gigantic axe.

    Because printed materials are being replaced by CD-ROM, microfiche and the Internet, libraries that previously sank into their foundations under the weight of their books are now in danger of collapsing in extremely high winds.

    In 1843, a Parisian street mime got stuck in his imaginary box and consequently died of starvation.

    Touch-tone telephone keypads were originally planned to have buttons for Police and Fire Departments, but they were replaced with * and # when the project was cancelled in favor of developing the 911 system.

    Human saliva has a boiling point three times that of regular water.

    Calvin, of the "Calvin and Hobbes" comic strip, was patterned after President Calvin Coolidge, who had a pet tiger as a boy.

    Watching an hour-long soap opera burns more calories than watching a three-hour baseball game.

    Until 1978, Camel cigarettes contained minute particles of real camels.

    You can actually sharpen the blades on a pencil sharpener by wrapping your pencils in aluminum foil before inserting them.

    To human taste buds, Zima is virtually indistinguishable from zebra urine.

    Seven out of every ten hockey-playing Canadians will lose a tooth during a game. For Canadians who don't play hockey, that figure drops to five out of ten.

    A dog's naked behind leaves absolutely no bacteria when pressed against carpet.

    A team of University of Virginia researchers released a study promoting the practice of picking one's nose, claiming that the health benefits of keeping nasal passages free from infectious blockages far outweigh the negative social connotations.

    Among items left behind at Osama bin Laden's headquarters in Afghanistan were 27 issues of Mad Magazine. Al Qaeda members have admitted that bin Laden is reportedly an avid reader.

    Urine from male cape water buffaloes is so flammable that some tribes use it for lantern fuel.

    At the first World Cup championship in Uruguay, 1930, the soccer balls were actually monkey skulls wrapped in paper and leather.

    Every Labrador retriever dreams about bananas.

    If you put a bee in a film canister for two hours, it will go blind and leave behind its weight in honey.

    Due to the angle at which the optic nerve enters the brain, staring at a blue surface during sex greatly increases the intensity of orgasms.

    Never hold your nose and cover your mouth when sneezing, as it can blow out your eyeballs.

    Centuries ago, purchasing real estate often required having one or more limbs amputated in order to prevent the purchaser from running away to avoid repayment of the loan. Hence an expensive purchase was said to cost "an arm and a leg."

    When Mahatma Gandhi died, an autopsy revealed five gold Krugerrands in his small intestine.

    Aardvarks are allergic to radishes, but only during summer months.

    Coca-Cola was the favored drink of Pharaoh Ramses. An inscription found in his tomb, when translated, was found to be almost identical to the recipe used today.

    If you part your hair on the right side, you were born to be carnivorous. If you part it on the left, your physical and psychological make-up is that of a vegetarian.

    When immersed in liquid, a dead sparrow will make a sound like a crying baby.

    In WWII the US military planned to airdrop over France propaganda in the form of Playboy magazine, with coded messages hidden in the models' turn-ons and turn-offs. The plan was scrapped because of a staple shortage due to rationing of metal.

    Although difficult, it's possible to start a fire by rapidly rubbing together two Cool Ranch Doritos.

    Napoleon's favorite type of wood was knotty chestnut.

    The world's smartest pig, owned by a mathematics teacher in Madison, WI, memorized the multiplication tables up to 12.

    Due to the natural "momentum" of the ocean, saltwater fish cannot swim backwards.

    In ancient Greece, children of wealthy families were dipped in olive oil at birth to keep them hairless throughout their lives.

    It is nearly three miles farther to fly from Amarillo, Texas to Louisville, Kentucky than it is to return from Louisville to Amarillo.

    The "nine lives" attributed to cats is probably due to their having nine primary whiskers.

    The original inspiration for Barbie dolls comes from dolls developed by German propagandists in the late 1930s to impress young girls with the ideal notions of Aryan features. The proportions for Barbie were actually based on those of Eva Braun.

    The Venezuelan brown bat can detect and dodge individual raindrops in mid-flight, arriving safely back at his cave completely dry.

    The Mongolian pony is the only animal other than an elephant capable of fending off an attack by a healthy adult tiger.

    Because of their unusual shape, Hershey's Kisses contain more calories per ounce than the same amount of chocolate in other forms.

    The French language has seventeen different words for "surrender."

    The average person can fit exactly one half of their pinky finger in one of their nostrils. However, if an attempt is made to put a pinky finger in EACH nostril, only one quarter of each will fit.

    Showing off at a party one evening, Chopin played the entire "Minute Waltz" in under 10 seconds.

    If the air in your car's tires is not completely replaced every two years, it can turn to liquid and cause severe damage.

    If you tar and feather a 2x4 and place it in your yard, it will ward off bats.

    The largest home in the United States, North Carolina's Biltmore House, was originally intended to be the official residence of a new monarchy to be established when the South rose again.

    The Toltec calendar was based on a 360-day year, with each day being about 24 hours and 20 minutes long.

    The universal size of the credit card is based entirely on the size of the 1960s US Communist Party membership card. Credit cards were designed so that they wouldn't cause the Communist Party card to stand out.

    Nobody born in Kentucky has ever been elected to Congress.

    In an effort to improve the nutritional value of its "Shamrock shakes," McDonald's colors them with broccoli extract.

    Winston Churchill was born with a third nipple, which he removed himself with nail-clippers at the age of 14.

    Only a single dissenting vote prevented the death penalty in Texas from being carried out by immersing the convicted person in a nest of fire ants.

    If you place a fresh Viagra tablet in a houseplant's soil every six months, the plant will not wilt.

    The ancient Arabic word "jorgbushii" translates roughly to "evil one who comes disguised in peace to drink Earth's black blood."

    In Finland, "Sintter Klaas" brings bad children a small bag of old toenail clippings.

    The practice of putting a letter "e" in front of words to mean "web-based" (e.g., eBusiness, eLearning, etc.) was patented by Microsoft in 1992. They are waiting until their anti-trust trial has been officially completed to begin enforcing it.

    The noun "sled" originates from the name of a 18th-century mountaineer from Finland, Schletz Linden, whose body was used by his climbing partner to slide down a mountain during a winter storm after he froze to death.

    If a cricket were the size of Mount Rushmore, it could jump to the moon.

    The increase in the amount of metals mined and brought to the surface of the earth in order to manufacture SUVs has caused higher tides in the Northern Hemisphere.

    Children conceived on airplanes never suffer from motion sickness.

    The life span of dogs allowed to dine in cat litter boxes is on average 18 percent longer than that of dogs restricted to commercial diets.

    Charles Darwin once attempted to breed flying monkeys by crossing chimpanzees with vultures.

    The steady, rhythmic sound produced by dripping water increases the capacity for sleeping males to experience lucid sexual dreams.

    Blue water in a toilet bowl causes males to urinate 7 percent more.

    Women who use chewing tobacco are three times LESS likely to accidentally swallow it while they are pregnant.

    The melody of the classic hymn "Amazing Grace" originated from a 12th-century pagan song celebrating masturbation.

    The Federal Department of Online Commerce has been compiling a list of US-based e-mail addresses. Once 100 million addresses have been collected, the list will be sold to online marketers as part of President Bush's plan to reduce the deficit.

    A 9-volt battery contains roughly the same amount of kinetic energy as a bowl of Lucky Charms.

    The Yanomami tribesmen of the Amazon basin can track game birds by the slight difference in warmth their shadows create on the forest floor as they fly by, for up to an hour after the birds have departed.

    Contrary to the popular saying, 99 percent of the time you lead a horse to water, it'll drink on its own.

    The first Ford Excursion was actually designed and built in 1951. It was never marketed because the then-current braking technology required a drum 3 feet wide on each wheel.

    Rapid deforestation has decreased the friction of the surface of the Earth, causing it to spin infinitesimally faster and thereby cool the air, combating global warming.

    The flush toilet was invented in Flushing, NY.

    The inner core of most standard golf balls is made of nougat, which helps the balls remain aloft longer.

    On occasions when the sun is shining brightly on falling snowflakes, they contain enough ionic charge to stun insects. Observation of this phenomenon inspired the invention of the bug zapper.

    Over the last two decades, more Americans died of heart attacks while watching horror movies in movie theaters than died while sky-diving.

    A common misconception is that the term "salsa dancing" derives from the food condiment called salsa. Actually, the dance was invented in the 1930s by a dance teacher named Frankie Salsa.

    Every common food product, with the exception of fish and veal, contains some traces of peanut enzymes.

    The number of words in the Bible divided by the number of verses equals exactly 666.

    An 18th-century law still on the books in Vermont makes it illegal for a woman to lick a stamp in a public place.

    Anthropologists have discovered a tribe of South American monkeys with a rudimentary system of government analogous to our own three-branch form of government.

    Constipation kills nearly twice as many people as diarrhea, mainly because the former mostly afflicts the old and weak while the latter mostly affects young, strong children.

    It is physically impossible to urinate and give blood at the same time.

    If you fill a standard 750ml wine bottle with live hornets, their angry buzzing will resonate at precisely the right frequency to shatter the glass.

    During his famous "Blue Period," Pablo Picasso invented the substance that eventually became known as Play-Doh.

    Every year in the fall, Niagara Falls is shut down for maintenance for 24 hours. The flow is diverted using a massive series of pipes and spigots built for this purpose in 1837.

    The rare Chilean hummingbird has been known to suck blood from animals like a giant mosquito.

  • Unintentionally funny adverts and signs.

    These are supposedly actual signs that have appeared at various locations.

    On a New York convalescent home: "For the sick and tired of the Episcopal Church."

    On a Maine shop: "Our motto is to give our customers the lowest possible prices and workmanship."

    At a number of military bases: "Restricted to unauthorized personnel."

    On a display of "I love you only" Valentine cards: "Now available in multi-packs."

    In the window of a Kentucky appliance store: "Don't kill your wife. Let our washing machine do the dirty work."

    In a funeral parlor: "Ask about our layaway plan."

    In a clothing store: "Wonderful bargains for men with 16 and 17 necks."

    In a Tacoma, Washington men's clothing store: "15 men's wool suits, $10. They won't last an hour!"

    On a shopping mall marquee: "Archery Tournament-Ears pierced"

  • First Day At Work.

    Pretty much as I expected.

    Mainly induction and filling in forms; a lot of just sitting around doing nothing though.

    It seems I'll be spending more time studying for my NVQs in key skills than doing any actual community development work. I'm not particularly pleased about this because I can't see how it will improve my employability. The subject I've chosen to do my presentation on though is one I'm interested in and know a lot about - 'the Individual And Societal Effects Of Long-Term Unemployment.'

  • Early Start.

    It's my first day at work today. I'm due to start at nine o'clock and so need to catch the 07.55 bus.
    This is quite a bit earlier than I'd anticipated because the bus service out to Askern isn't as frequent as I'd assumed it to be.

    I'm feeling a bit apprehensive I suppose; but I'm really looking forward to doing something positive for once - being involved, contributing and participating.

    It's a pity though it's only a six month fixed term contract.

  • He said.....she said.

    He said... I don't know why you wear a bra; you've got nothing to put in it.
    She said...You wear briefs, don't you?

    He said....Do you love me just because my father left me a fortune?
    She said...Not at all honey, I would love you no matter who left you the money.

    She said...What do you mean by coming home half drunk?
    He said....It's not my fault...I ran out of money.

    He said... Since I first laid eyes on you, I've wanted to make love to you in the worst way.
    She said...Well, you succeeded.

    He said... What have you been doing with all the grocery money I gave you?
    She said...Turn sideways and look in the mirror.

    He said... Let's go out and have some fun tonight.
    She said...Okay, but if you get home before I do, leave the hallway light on.

    He said... Why don't you tell me when you have an orgasm?
    She said...I would, but you're never there.

    He said....Shall we try a different position tonight?
    She said...That's a good idea, you stand by the ironing board while I sit on the sofa and fart."

  • What has Yorkshire given to the world?

    Here's a list of what I can think of:

    Football/Soccer
    Rugby League
    Cat's Eyes/Road Studs
    Abolition of slavery throughout the British Empire
    A reliable way of calculating longitude
    A major contribution to the Industrial Revolution
    Stainless Steel
    Discovery of Australia and New Zealand
    Flushing Toilets
    Gliders
    Beer Pumps
    Trains
    The Guillotine

  • Stupid questions asked by visitors to U.S. and Canadian National Parks.

    Everglades National Park:

    "Are the alligators real?"

    "Are the baby alligators for sale?"

    "Where are the rides?"

    "What time does the two o'clock bus leave?"

    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Grand Canyon National Park:

    "Was this man-made?"

    "Do you light it up at night?"

    "I bought tickets for the elevator to the bottom -- where is it?"

    "Is the mule train air conditioned?"

    "So where are the faces of the presidents?"

    "So is that Canada over there?"

    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Denali National Park:

    "What time to you feed the bears?"

    "What's so wonderful about Wonder Lake?"

    "Can you show me where the Yeti lives?"

    "How often do you mow the tundra?"

    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Mesa Verde National Park:

    "Did people build this, or did Indians?"

    "Why did they build the ruins so close to the road?"

    "Do you know of any undiscovered ruins?"

    "Why did the Indians decide to live in Colorado?"

    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Yellowstone National Park:

    "Does Old Faithful erupt at night?"

    "Do you put the animals away at night?"

    "How do you turn it on?"

    "When does the guy who turns it on get to sleep?"

    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Carlsbad Caverns National Park:

    "How much of the cave is underground?"

    "So what's in the unexplored part of the cave?"

    "Does it ever rain in here?"

    "So what is this -- just a hole in the ground?"

    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Yosemite National Park:

    "Where are the cages for the animals?"

    "What time of year do you turn on Yosemite Falls?"

    "What happened to the other half of Half Dome?"

    "Can I get a picture taken with the carving of President Clinton?"

    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Banff National Park:

    "Is that food coloring in the lakes?"

    "When did you build the glaciers?"

    "How much for a moose?"

    "Where are the igloos?"

    "How do the elk know they're supposed to cross at the Elk Crossing signs?"

    "At what elevation does an elk become a moose?"

    "Are the bears with collars tame?"

    "Is there anywhere I can see the bears pose?"

    "Is it ok to keep an open bag of bacon on the picnic table, or should I store it in my tent?"

    "Where can I find Alpine Flamingos?"

    "Where does Alberta end and Canada begin?"

    "How far is Banff from Canada?"

    "What's the best way to see Canada in a day?"

    "When we enter British Columbia, do we have to convert our money to British pounds?"

    "Where can I buy a raccoon hat? All Canadians own one, don't they?"

    "Are there phones in Banff?"

    "So it's eight kilometers away. Is that in miles?"

    "We're on the decibel system, you know."

    "Is that two kilometers by foot or by car?"

    "Did I miss the turnoff for Canada?"

    "Do you have a map of the State of Jasper?"

    "Is this the part of Canada that speaks French, or is that Saskatchewan?"

    "If I go to British Columbia, do I have to go through Ontario?"

    "Do they search you at the British Columbia border?"

    "Are there birds in Canada?"

    "I saw an animal on the way to Banff today. Could you tell me what it was?"

    "How do you pronounce 'Elk'?" / "'Elk.'" / "Oh."

    "Where can I get my husband really, REALLY lost?"

    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Glacier National Park:

    "When do the deer become elk?"

    "When do the glaciers go by?"

    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Isle Royale National Park:

    "I just saw the ugliest horse I've ever seen." -- After seeing a moose.

    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Sutter's Fort State Historic Park, Sacramento

    "Where are the tracks the wagon trains ran on?"

    "Where do you cook?" / "We cook over the fire here." / "Don't your pans melt?"

    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  • A list of Spoonerisms

    Spoonerisms
    A common type of verbal blunder involves switching the initial sounds of a pair of words. The term "Spoonerism" is an eponym of the late Reverend William Archibald Spooner, who had a notorious penchant for this kind of error.

    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Attributed to Reverend Spooner:

    "Three cheers for our queer old dean!"

    "It is kisstomary to cuss the bride."

    "Those girls are sin twisters."

    "Is the bean dizzy?"

    "The Lord is a shoving leopard."

    "When the boys come back from France, we'll have the hags flung out."

    "Let me sew you to your sheet."

    "The enemy fled quickly from the ears and sparrows."

    "She joins this club over my bed doddy."

    "The old revival hymn, 'Shall We Rather At the Giver?'"

    "There is no peace in a home where a dinner swells."

    "I see before me tons of soil." -- A greeting to a group of farmers; he meant to say, "sons of toil."

    "We all know what it is to have a half-warmed fish inside us." -- A statement made when he meant to say, "Half-formed wish."

    "You have hissed my mystery lectures; you have tasted the whole worm."

  • Don't ever employ any of these people as travel agents.

    Local Yokels:

    "So, you live in Plymouth. What city is that in?"

    "England? Can you get there by train?" -- Asked of an English tourist in the United States.

    "England? That's in London, isn't it?" -- Asked of an English tourist in the United States.

    "England? That's near Paris, the city of love!" -- Asked of an English tourist in the United States.

    "Do they have beer there?" -- Asked of an English tourist in a bar in the United States.

    "So, you guys are from Ireland -- did you drive across?" -- Asked of two Irish women on a trip to Delaware.

    "You're from New Zealand, aren't you? That's just off the southeast corner of Canada, isn't it?" -- Asked of a New Zealander on a trip to Washington D.C.

    "After moving here, how were you able to know what the speed limit was? Could you read our traffic signs?" -- Asked of a Canadian who moved to the United States.

    "You're from America? Do you know my cousin Patrick in Chicago?" -- Asked of a tourist from Connecticut in Ireland.

    "New Zealand is a state in Australia, right?" -- Asked of an Australian, travelling abroad.

    "How do you get around, since you don't have any cars?" -- Asked of an Australian, travelling abroad.

    "You don't have electricity there, do you?" -- Asked of an Australian, travelling abroad.

    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Tourists Without a Clue:

    "Would it be cheaper to fly to California and then take the train to Hawaii?" -- Asked of a travel agent about travel arrangements to Hawaii.

    "Does your flag come in any other colors?" -- Asked by a tourist in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.

    "Excuse me, is this the Eiffel Tower?" - Asked by one tourist of another while waiting in line for the CN Tower in Toronto.

    "Were these steps always here, or did they build them?" -- Asked of a guide at Mitchelstown Caves, Cork, Ireland. The guide jokingly replied, "No, but the electricity was!" and the tourist said, "Oh, really, wow!"

    "Can you smell the smoke from the bush fire?" -- Asked of a resident of Perth, Australia, about a fire in Sydney.

    "How long does it take the penguins to migrate to Kelly Tarlton's?" -- Asked at the Auckland, New Zealand, Visitor Information Centre; Kelly Tarlton's is an aquarium which features penguins.

    "Which parks have swings for six-year-old babies?" -- Asked at the Auckland, New Zealand, Visitor Information Centre.

    "Can I get a ferry to Australia?" -- Asked at the Auckland, New Zealand, Visitor Information Centre.

    "Can you tell me where the Sky Tower is?" -- Asked at the Auckland, New Zealand, Visitor Information Centre; the Sky Tower in Auckland is the tallest building in the southern hemisphere and difficult to miss.

    "How does the snow get up Ben Nevis?" -- Asked of a tourist information center in Scotland, referring to the United Kingdom's highest mountain.

    "What time do the penguins leave the zoo?" -- Asked of a tourist information center in Scotland.

    "Is there anyone here who speaks Australian?" -- Asked of a tourist information center in Scotland.

    "Is Fort William still alive?" -- Asked of a tourist information center in Scotland.

    "Why did the queen build Windsor Castle so close to Heathrow Airport?" -- Asked by an American tourist in England.

    "Didn't this lighthouse used to be round?" -- Asked of a guide at a lighthouse in Nova Scotia.

    "Was it always like that, or did they change it after JFK was President?" -- Asked of a guide at Royal Gorge in Colorado, after saying that from a certain angle, one mountain peak looks like JFK's head.

    "Will I be able to see Polar Bears in the street?" -- Asked by a prospective tourist of Canada.

    "Are there any ATMs in Canada? Can you send me list of them in Toronto, Vancouver, Edmonton, and Halifax?" -- Posted to a web site about tourism in Canada.

    "Can you give me some information about hippo racing in Canada?" -- Posted to a tourism web site.

    "Which direction is north in Canada?" -- Posted to a tourism web site.

    "Can you send me the Vienna Boys' Choir schedule?" -- Posted to a web site about tourism in Canada.

    "Are there supermarkets in Toronto and is milk available all year round?" -- Posted to a tourism web site.

    "I have a question about a famous animal in Canada, but I forget its name. It's a kind of big horse with horns." -- Posted to a tourism web site.

    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Bon Voyage:

    "Oh, are you going to drive there?" -- Asked repeatedly of a couple moving to Iceland.

    "How does Canadian sound? I don't think I've ever heard that language before." -- Asked after a friend told him about his vacation in Canada.

    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    International Business:

    "You guys are working on the Fourth of July? I can't believe it! Don't you celebrate it?" -- Asked of an English employee by an American employee of a international company.

    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Geography:

    "What do you mean New Hampshire's a long distance call?! It's part of Massachusetts!" -- Declared by someone who grew up in Boston.

    "Vermont is a state?" -- Asked of a contractor that provided long-distance information for AT&T.

    "What state is Minnesota in?" -- Overheard in a store.

    "Sorry, we don't sell tickets outside of the U.S. . . . I don't care how new Mexico is, we don't sell tickets outside the U.S." -- A ticket salesperson for the 1996 Olympics, on the phone with someone from New Mexico.

    "What countries belong to the Netherlands? France...Belgium?"

    "I'm from West Virginia."
    "So, what's life like in western Virginia?"
    "No, I said West Virginia."
    "You know, you're the third person I've talked to from western Virginia, and I will never understand why you don't just say you're from Virginia. It's not that bad of a place!"
    -- A conversation between a West Virginian and a Californian.

    "I didn't know you could drive to Europe." -- An eavesdropper, piping in when he overheard a conversation about someone who had driven to Montreal.

    "I want to walk from Vancouver to Toronto -- can I follow the railroad tracks?" -- Posted to a tourism web site.

    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Geography Anecdotes:

    Caller: "Hello. I'm calling about [a product]. I need to talk to one of your technical people so I can assess the product's suitability for a proposal I'm writing."
    Operator: "Sure. So I may route your call more effectively, please tell me the region from which you are calling."
    Caller: "Auckland, New Zealand."
    Operator: "Sir, in which state is that?"
    Caller: (chuckles) "Quite a good one actually, but with recent elections you never know!"
    Operator: "Sir, I need you to tell me which state Auckland New Zealand is in so I can route your call."
    Caller: "Oh. New Zealand is not in any state. It is a country in the South Pacific, near Australia. Auckland is a city in New Zealand."
    Operator: "Thank you, sir. I have Australia -- putting you through now."
    Caller: "No--" (click)

  • Some strange websites

    Really Big Button That Doesn't Do Anything
    Infamous Exploding Whale
    Incredible World of Navel Fluff
    Sea-Monkey Worship Page
    How To Predict The Weather Using A Pig Spleen

  • Things that sound dirty at Thanksgiving but aren't.

    "Just spread the legs open and stuff it in."

    "How many are coming?"

    "Just lay back and take it easy--I'll do the rest."

    "Are you ready for seconds yet?"

    "I didn't expect everyone to come at once!"

    "That's the biggest one I've ever seen!"

    "Use a nice smooth stroke when you whip it."

    "How long will it take after you stick it in?"

    "How long do I beat it before it's ready?"

    "Are you going to come again next time?"

    "It's a little dry. Do you still want to eat it?"

    "Just wait your turn. You'll get some!"

    "Don't play with your meat!"

    "Do you think you'll be able to handle all these people at once?"

    "You still have a little bit on your chin."

    "You'll know it's ready when it pops up."

    "Wow, I didn't think I could handle all of that!"

    "Just reach in and grab the giblets."

    "Whew...that's one terrific spread!"

    "I am in the mood for a little dark meat."

    "Tying the legs together will keep the inside moist."

    "Talk about a HUGE breast!"

    "And he forces his way into the end zone!"

    "She's 5000 pounds fully inflated and it takes 15 men to hold her down."

    "It's cool whip time!"

    "If I don't unbutton my pants, I am going to burst!"

    "It must be broken 'cause when I push on the tip, nothing squirts out."

  • Funny announcements appearing on church notice boards.

    1. Bertha Belch, a missionary from Africa, will be speaking tonight at Calvary Methodist. Come hear Bertha Belch all the way from Africa.
    2. Announcement in a church bulletin for a national PRAYER & FASTING Conference: "The cost for attending the Fasting & Prayer Conference includes meals."

    3. The sermon this morning: "Jesus Walks on the Water."
    The sermon tonight: "Searching for Jesus."

    4. Our youth basketball team is back in action Wednesday at 8 PM in the recreation hall — Come out and watch us kill Christ the King.

    5. Ladies, don't forget the rummage sale. It's a chance to get rid of those things not worth keeping around the house. Don't forget your husbands.

    6. The peace-making meeting scheduled for today has been cancelled due to a conflict.

    7. Remember in prayer the many who are sick of our community. Smile at someone who is hard to love. Say "Hell" to someone who doesn't care much about you.

    8. Don't let worry kill you off — let the Church help.

    9. Miss Charlene Mason sang "I will not pass this way again," giving obvious pleasure to the congregation.

    10. For those of you who have children and don't know it, we have a nursery downstairs.

    11. Next Thursday there will be try outs for the choir. They need all the help they can get.

    12. Barbara remains in the hospital and needs blood donors for more transfusions. She is also having trouble sleeping and requests tapes of Pastor Jack's sermons.

    13. The Rector will preach his farewell message after which the choir will sing: "Break Forth Into Joy."

    14. Irving Benson and Jessie Carter were married on October 24 in the church. So ends a friendship that began in their school days.

    15. A bean supper will be held on Tuesday evening in the church hall. Music will follow.

    16. At the evening service tonight, the sermon topic will be "What Is Hell?" Come early and listen to our choir practice.

    17. Eight new choir robes are currently needed due to the addition of several new members and to the deterioration of some older ones.

    18. Scouts are saving aluminum cans, bottles and other items to be recycled. Proceeds will be used to cripple children.

    21. The church will host an evening of fine dining, super entertainment and gracious hostility.

    22. Potluck supper Sunday at 5:00 PM — prayer and medication to follow.

    23. The ladies of the Church have cast off clothing of every kind. They may be seen in the basement on Friday afternoon.

    24. This evening at 7 PM there will be a hymn sing in the park across from the Church. Bring a blanket and come prepared to sin.

    25. Ladies Bible Study will be held Thursday morning at 10 AM. All ladies are invited to lunch in the Fellowship Hall after the B.S. is done.

    26. The pastor would appreciate it if the ladies of the congregation would lend him their electric girdles for the pancake breakfast next Sunday.

    27. Low Self Esteem Support Group will meet Thursday at 7 PM. Please use the back door.

    28. The eighth-graders will be presenting Shakespeare's Hamlet in the Church basement Friday at 7 PM. The congregation is invited to attend this tragedy.

    29. Weight Watchers will meet at 7 PM at the First Presbyterian Church. Please use large double door at the side entrance.

    30. The Associate Minister unveiled the church's new tithing campaign slogan last Sunday: "I Upped My Pledge ! — Up Yours!"

  • Most Embarrassing Moment

    People recounting their most embarrassing moments.

    1. I walked into a hair salon with my husband and three kids in tow and asked loudly, "How much do you charge for a shampoo and a blowjob?

    I turned around and walked back out and never went back.

    My husband didn't say a word... he knew better.

    2. I was at the golf store comparing different kinds of golf balls. I was unhappy with the women's type of golf balls I had been using.

    After browsing for several minutes, I was approached by one of the good-looking gentlemen who works at the store. He asked if he could help me.

    Without thinking, I looked at him and said, "I think I like playing with men's balls."

    3. My sister and I were at the mall and passed by a store that sold a variety of nuts. As we were looking at the display case, the boy behind the counter asked if we needed any help.

    I replied, "No, I'm just looking at your nuts."

    My sister started to laugh hysterically, the boy grinned, and I turned red and walked away. To this day, my sister has never let me forget.

    4. While in line at the bank one afternoon, my toddler decided to release some pent-up energy and ran amok. I was finally able to grab hold of her after receiving looks of disgust and annoyance from other patrons. I told her that if she did not start behaving "right now" she would be punished.

    To my horror, she looked me in the eye and said in a voice just as threatening, "If you don't let me go right now, I will tell Grandma that I saw you kissing Daddy's pee-pee last night!"

    The silence was deafening after this enlightening exchange. Even the tellers stopped what they were doing. I mustered up the last of my dignity and walked out of the bank with my daughter in tow. The last thing I heard when the door closed behind me were screams of laughter.

    5. A lady picked up several items at a discount store. When she finally got up to the checker, she learned that one of her items had no price tag. Imagine her embarrassment when the checker got on the intercom and boomed out for all the store to hear,
    "Price check on lane thirteen, Tampax Super Size."

    That was bad enough, but the stock manager at the rear of the store apparently misunderstood the word "Tampax" for "Thumbtacks." [drawing pins]

    In a business-like tone, his voice boomed back over the intercom:
    "Do you want the kind you push in with your thumb or the kind you pound in with a hammer?"

    6. Have you ever asked your child a question too many times?

    My three-year-old son had a lot of problems with potty training and I was on him constantly. One day we stopped at Taco Bell for a quick lunch in between errands. It was very busy, with a full dining room.

    While enjoying my taco, I smelled something funny, so of course I checked my seven-month-old daughter, and she was clean. Then I realized that Danny had not asked to go potty in a while, so I asked him if he needed to go, and he said "No."

    I kept thinking, "Oh Lord, that child has had an accident, and I don't have any clothes with me."

    Then I said, "Danny, are you sure you didn't have an accident?"
    "No," he replied.

    I just knew that he must have had an accident, because the smell was getting worse. So, I asked one more time, "Danny, did you have an accident?"

    This time he jumped up, yanked down his pants, bent over and spread his cheeks and yelled,
    "See, Mom? it's just farts!!"

    While 30 people nearly choked to death on their tacos laughing, he calmly pulled up his pants and sat down. An old couple made me feel better by thanking me for the best laugh they'd ever had!

    7. What happens when a weatherman predicts snow but none happens... We had a female news anchor who, the day after it was supposed to have snowed and didn't, turned to the weatherman and asked: "So Bob, where's that 8 inches you promised me last night?"

    Not only did he have to leave the set, but half the crew did too --- they were laughing so hard!

  • Star Trek Films And Episodes Using A Shakespearean Phrase As A Title.

    The Undiscovered Country

    The Conscience of the King

    Thine Own Self

    Mortal Coil

    Once More Unto The Breach

    The Dogs of War

    How Sharper Than A Serpent's Tooth

    Dagger of the Mind

    All Our Yesterdays

    By Any Other Name

    I was aware that Capt. Picard and Data quoted Shakespeare a lot during the Next Generation series, but most of these episode titles are actually from the original series.

  • Timely Quotes

    "Computers in the future may weigh no more than 1.5 tons." --Popular Mechanics, forecasting the relentless march of science, 1949
    "I think there is a world market for maybe five computers." --Thomas Watson, Chairman of IBM, 1943

    "I have traveled the length and breadth of this country and talked with the best people, and I can assure you that data processing is a fad that won't last out the year." --The editor in charge of business books for Prentice Hall, 1957

    "But what ... is it good for?" --Engineer at the Advanced Computing Systems Division of IBM, 1968, commenting on the microchip.

    "There is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home." --Ken Olson, president, chairman and founder of Digital Equipment Corp., 1977

    "This 'telephone' has too many shortcomings to be seriously considered as a means of communication. The device is inherently of no value to us." --Western Union internal memo, 1876.

    "The wireless music box has no imaginable commercial value. Who would pay for a message sent to nobody in particular?" --David Sarnoff's associates in response to his urgings for investment in the radio in the 1920s.

    "The concept is interesting and well-formed, but in order to earn better than a 'C,' the idea must be feasible." --A Yale University management professor in response to Fred Smith's paper proposing reliable overnight delivery service. (Smith went on to found Federal Express Corp.)

    "Who the hell wants to hear actors talk?" --H.M. Warner, Warner Brothers, 1927.

    "I'm just glad it'll be Clark Gable who's falling on his face and not Gary Cooper." --Gary Cooper on his decision not to take the leading role in "Gone With The Wind."

    "A cookie store is a bad idea. Besides, the market research reports say America likes crispy cookies, not soft and chewy cookies like you make." --Response to Debbi Fields' idea of starting Mrs. Fields' Cookies.

    "We don't like their sound, and guitar music is on the way out." --Decca Recording Co. rejecting the Beatles, 1962.

    "Heavier-than-air flying machines are impossible." --Lord Kelvin, president, Royal Society, 1895.

    "If I had thought about it, I wouldn't have done the experiment. The literature was full of examples that said you can't do this." --Spencer Silver on the work that led to the unique adhesives for 3-M "Post-It" Notepads.

    "So we went to Atari and said, 'Hey, we've got this amazing thing, even built with some of your parts, and what do you think about funding us? Or we'll give it to you. We just want to do it. Pay our salary, we'll come work for you.' And they said, 'No.' So then we went to Hewlett-Packard, and they said, 'Hey, we don't need you. You haven't got through college yet.'" --Apple Computer Inc. founder, Steve Jobs, on attempts to get Atari and H-P interested in his and Steve Wozniak's personal computer.

    "Professor Goddard does not know the relation between action and reaction and the need to have something better than a vacuum against which to react. He seems to lack the basic knowledge ladled out daily in high schools." --1921 New York Times editorial about Robert Goddard's revolutionary rocket work.

    "You want to have consistent and uniform muscle development across all of your muscles? It can't be done. It's just a fact of life. You just have to accept inconsistent muscle development as an unalterable condition of weight training." --Response to Arthur Jones, who solved the "unsolvable" problem by inventing Nautilus.

    "Drill for oil? You mean drill into the ground to try and find oil? You're crazy." --Drillers who Edwin L. Drake tried to enlist to his project to drill for oil in 1859.

    "Stocks have reached what looks like a permanently high plateau." --Irving Fisher, Professor of Economics, Yale University, 1929.

    "Airplanes are interesting toys but of no military value." --Marechal Ferdinand Foch, Professor of Strategy, Ecole Superieure de Guerre.

    "Everything that can be invented has been invented." --Charles H. Duell, Commissioner, U.S. Office of Patents, 1899.

    "Louis Pasteur's theory of germs is ridiculous fiction". --Pierre Pachet, Professor of Physiology at Toulouse, 1872

    "The abdomen, the chest, and the brain will forever be shut from the intrusion of the wise and humane surgeon". --Sir John Eric Ericksen, British surgeon, appointed Surgeon- Extraordinary to Queen Victoria 1873.

    "640K ought to be enough for anybody." -- Bill Gates, 1981

  • Before we had computers...

    An application was for employment

    A program was a TV show

    A cursor used profanity

    A keyboard was a piano!

    Memory was something that you lost with age

    A CD was a bank account

    And if you had a 3 1/2 inch floppy

    You hoped nobody found out!

    Compress was something you did to garbage

    Not something you did to a file

    And if you unzipped anything in public

    You'd be in jail for awhile!

    Log on was adding wood to a fire

    Hard drive was a long trip on the road

    A mouse pad was where a mouse lived

    And a backup happened to your commode!

    Cut - you did with a pocket knife

    Paste you did with glue

    A web was a spider's home

    And a virus was the flu!

  • Stupid Criminals.

    Strike one!
    England: A German "tourist," supposedly on a golf holiday, shows up at customs with his golf bag. While making idle chatter about golf, the customs official realizes that the tourist does not know what a "handicap" is. The customs official asks the tourist to demonstrate his swing, which he does--backward! A substantial amount of narcotics was found in the golf bag.

    "Hello? Guns for hire?"
    Arizona: A company called "Guns for Hire" stages gunfights for Western movies, etc. One day, they received a call from a 47-year- old woman, who wanted to have her husband killed. She got 4-1/2 years in jail.

    Say cheese!
    A man successfully broke into a bank after hours and stole--are you ready for this?--the bank's video camera. While it was recording. Remotely. (That is, the videotape recorder was located elsewhere in the bank, so he didn't get the videotape of himself stealing the camera.)

    Drop everything and run!
    Two men tried to pull the front off a cash machine by running a chain from the machine to the bumper of their pickup truck. Instead of pulling the front panel off the machine, though, they pulled the bumper off their truck. Scared, they left the scene and drove home. With the chain still attached to the machine. With their bumper still attached to the chain. With their vehicle's licence plate still attached to the bumper.

    Just forget it
    Virginia: Two men in a pickup truck went to a new-home site to steal a refrigerator. Banging up walls, floors, etc., they snatched a refrigerator from one of the houses, and loaded it onto the pickup. The truck promptly got stuck in the mud, so these brain surgeons decided that the refrigerator was too heavy. Banging up *more* walls, floors, etc., they put the refrigerator BACK into the house, and returned to the pickup truck, only to realize that they locked the keys in the truck--so they abandoned it.

    Ouch
    A man successfully broke into a bank's basement through a street-level window, cutting himself up pretty badly in the process. He then realized that (1) he could not get to the money from where he was,(2) he could not climb back out the window through which he had entered, and (3) he was bleeding pretty badly. So he located a phone and dialed "911" for help . . .

    Let's do a little maths
    A man walked into a Circle-K (a convenience store similar to a 7-11), put a $20 bill on the counter and asked for change. When the clerk opened the cash drawer, the man pulled a gun and asked for all the cash in the register, which the clerk promptly provided. The man took the cash from the clerk and fled-- leaving the $20 bill on the counter. The total amount of cash he got from the drawer? Fifteen dollars.

    I know I forgot something
    Indiana: A man walked up to a cashier at a grocery store and demanded all the money in the register. When the cashier handed him the loot, he fled--leaving his wallet on the counter.

    You mean me?
    A pair of Michigan robbers entered a record shop nervously waving revolvers. The first one shouted, "Nobody move!" When his partner moved, the startled first bandit shot him.

    The Hefty-bag
    A man went into a drug store, pulled a gun, announced a robbery, and pulled a Hefty-bag face mask over his head--and realized that he'd forgotten to cut eye holes in the mask.

  • More Unusual Signs And Notices.

    Beware Of Children.

    Caution. Banana slug crossing.

    Moose Parts Available.

    Big Bone Lick State Park.

    Free Bathroom Tours.

    Brown Material Road.

    Climax High Point.

    Dead Cows On Sale Here.

    I got my crabs from Dirty Dick's crabhouse.

    Eat Here And Get Gas.

    Entrance Only. Do Not Enter.

    Explosive Deliveries Only.

  • The Da Vinci Code

    I watched the film last night with a couple of friends and I can't understand what all the fuss is about; I found it boring and difficult to follow. I suppose the fact that it was a pirated copy with no English subtitles for the foreign language sections didn't help.

    It also made me realise how poor my understanding of Christianity is; until last night when my friend pointed it out to me I've always thought that Mary Magdalene, the prostitute, was Christ's mother.

    It's a good job I'm an atheist and not at all interested in what happened in the Middle East two thousand years ago.

  • West Yorkshire Wonders

    Last year visitors to the BBC Bradford webpage were invited to nominate their own lists.

    This was the overall short-list. I haven’t found the final result yet.

    WAINHOUSE TOWER

    Standing at over 250 feet, Wainhouse Tower in Halifax is pretty impossible to miss. Named after its creator, John Edward Wainhouse, it was built in the early to mid-1870s (yes, it took that long!).

    Originally it was going to be a chimney to keep the smoke from Wainhouse's mill out of the valley it overlooks...but after selling the mill, Wainhouse ended up with a half-finished chimney that nobody wanted!

    So Wainhouse did what anyone would do in that situation and converted it into the tower we see today. You need to be energetic to climb the tower...it has 403 steps to walk up!

    THE M62 MOTORWAY

    Linking Hull with Liverpool via West Yorkshire was never going to be an easy task - especially with the small matter of having to cross the Pennines, the backbone of England!

    The trans-Pennine link was built between 1970 and 1976 and it features the highest point on the English motorway network at Saddleworth Moor, just past the Yorkshire-Lancashire border - 1442 feet above sea level!

    Perhaps the most memorable part of the M62 is where the road is divided by an 18th century farm. Calderdale sheep farmer Ken Wild lives there, surrounded by the six lanes of the M62 motorway. From Ken's farm it is twenty yards on either side to the fast lanes of the east and west bound carriageways of the M62 - as the transpennine route climbs to its peak. Ken and Beth's house is seen by 90,000 people on a daily basis, yet most only get a fleeting glimpse as they pass by at 70 mph - and often in the harshest of weather conditions!

    PONTEFRACT CASTLE
    Wandering around the ruins of Pontefract castle today it comes as something of a surprise to find that this was once one of the most important fortresses in the country. The execution of traitors, the imprisonment of enemies and even the murder of kings - it all happened in Pontefract.

    Pontefract Castle is certainly something that Cromwell's soldiers knocked about a bit. During the English Civil War it was held by the Royalists throughout three sieges and was the last royal castle to fall to the Parliamentarians. Today, although a scheduled ancient monument in the care of Wakefield Council, it is still the property of Her Majesty The Queen as part of the Duchy of Lancaster.

    The history of Pontefract Castle begins with the Norman Conquest as an earth and timber fortress built by Ilbert de Lacy in the 1080s. Ilbert had come over from Normandy with William and fought at Hastings. From then, the castle grew and grew - and its size and importance is still clear today even though it's all in ruins!

    EMLEY MOOR TV MAST
    As Britain's tallest man-made free-standing structure, the Emley Moor TV mast dominates the surrounding landscape...and on a clear day you can see it from most points in West Yorkshire. Which is a good thing, as it means we can see all our fave TV programmes! It's 330.4 metres (1084 feet) tall and transmits all the main terrestrial TV channels, together with radio channels and more!

    The current tower is actually the THIRD. The first one was built in 1956 and was replaced in 1964 by a taller mast. Unfortunately, March 1969 saw this version of Emley Moor collapse after particularly bad weather...The new concrete tower built in its place finally started transmitting in January 1971.

    So significant is Emley Moor that it's now a Grade II Listed Building of 'significant architectural or historic interest'!

    FIVE RISE LOCKS, BINGLEY
    Bingley's Five Rise Locks were built so that barges on the Leeds-Liverpool Canal (opened in 1774) could rise or fall around 60 feet - essential so that they could continue their progress in this hilly landscape in either direction.
    A feat of engineering then, and still spectacular today - we've managed to capture two barges making their watery way up part of the locks at the same time!

    HUDDERSFIELD MARKET
    Huddersfield's controversial 1970s Market Hall recently became a listed building - meaning it will be protected for future generations - despite being condemned by one local historian as 'dull and shabby'.

    The 1970s Queensgate Market Hall features a "stunning roof structure" and is enhanced by abstract art on its east wall, the Departure for Culture, Media and Sport said.
    "It is an imaginative structure that combines innovative technology of its time to produce a dramatic space full of natural light with the striking focal point of the roof," Culture Minister David Lammy said of the market.

    Not everybody's convinced!

    SALTAIRE
    Ever fancied having a whole town or city named after you? Well, that's exactly what happened to Victorian philanthropist and millowner Sir Titus Salt (1803-1876) in the mid-1800s right here in Bradford. But, he DID have to build the place first..!

    His thinking was sound: After all, if you're wanting your workers to turn up at the factory on time without fail every day, the best way to achieve this must surely be to build their homes outside the mill's front door! So, with that thought in mind by the early 1870s Sir Titus had a workforce literally living on his doorstep.

    And, in what must be a final symbol of just how special Saltaire is, it has now been awarded UNESCO World Heritage status which puts it in the same league as the Taj Mahal, the Grand Canyon, the Pyramids and many other global landmarks!

    BRADFORD ALHAMBRA THEATRE

    It may not be Granada in Spain, but Bradford's Alhambra Theatre is a splendid theatre with its distinctive Art Deco exterior and warm Edwardian interior.

    Opening in 1914, the theatre's played host to the big names and big productions - but also continues to put on intimate shows at the Studio Theatre.

    But it's the Alhambra's domes which have become one of the symbols of Bradford!

    STANDEDGE TUNNEL
    Standedge Tunnel is the longest, highest and deepest canal tunnel in Britain.

    The tunnel takes the canal under the high Pennine spine of Northern England between Marsden in the Colne Valley and Diggle in Saddleworth.
    Before the canal tunnel near Huddersfield was complete all boats transferred their cargo to packhorses.

    The first boat passed through on December 10th 1810, after restoration the tunnel re-opened in 2001.

    SCAMMONDEN DAM
    Anyone travelling along the M62 from Yorkshire to Lancashire will have noticed Scammonden Water. The reservoir was completed in 1971 and was dammed by a section of the M62, a considerable feat of engineering, opened by the Queen in 1971.
    The reservoir can just be seen in the above image which was taken in the picnic area at the far end from the dam. A path up to the left takes visitors to the hamlet of Deanhead, part of which now lies under the reservoir.
    The circular walk around the reservoir is a popular weekend outing for Huddersfield people. However, you might notice it does rain at Scammonden from time to time!

    WAKEFIELD CATHEDRAL
    At 247 feet high Wakefield Cathedral's spire is the tallest in Yorkshire and the fourth highest in England!
    A church has stood on the site in Northgate in the centre of the city since Saxon times. The present building was built in the 14th century and restored in the 19th century by the architect Gilbert Scott. It became a cathedral in 1888.

    Wakefield Cathedral still serves as the parish church of All Saints.

    GALPHARM STADIUM
    The award-winning Huddersfield stadium has already become a landmark because of its futuristic appearance.

    It takes up 51 acres and seats 24,500 people for Huddersfield Town, the Huddersfield Giants and major concerts.
    Blue, Elton John, REM and the Eagles have taken part in concerts at the stadium.

    It cost almost £40m to build and was funded by commercial and government sources.

    HALIFAX PIECE HALL
    This grand Georgian building in the centre of Halifax, which is on quite a different scale than anything around it, is the Piece Hall where weavers from all around the district would bring their 'pieces' to sell them to the merchants.
    But the making of cloth moved into the factories and for over a century the Piece Hall was used as a wholesale market and over the years became very dilapidated.

    In 1976 the renovated building was re-opened to the public including specialist shops, an art gallery, cafe and markets in the courtyard.
    The Piece Hall could be said to have been the very epicentre of trade in West Yorkshire, and if this was anywhere else in the world it would be celebrated to this day as an architectural gem!

    WIND FARM, OGDEN MOOR
    Not everybody likes them, and whatever side of the wind farm debate you are on it's clear that they make an impact on the landscape and the view - and the wind farm at Ogden Moor is no different!

    This wind farm overlooks the picturesque Ogden Water, between Halifax and Oxenhope.

  • Some more interesting facts I've found.

    1. A vulture will never attack a human or animal that is moving.

    2. About 75% of the people in the U.S. live on 2% of the land.

    3. According to a recent survey, more Americans lose their virginity in June than any other month.

    4. Adult Northwestern American Grizzly Bears can bite through steel as thick as one half inch.

    5. After spending hours working at a computer display, look at a blank piece of white paper. It will probably appear pink.

    6. All polar bears are left-handed.

    7. Almonds are the oldest, most widely cultivated and extensively used nuts in the world.

    8. Al Capone's business card said he was a furniture dealer.

    9. Americans are responsible for about 1/5 of the world's garbage annually. On average, that's 3 pounds a day per person.

    10. An ant's sense of smell is as good as a Dog's.

    11. Abe Lincoln's mother died when the family dairy cow ate poisonous mushrooms and Ms. Lincoln drank the milk.

    12. According to Playboy, more women talk dirty during sex than men.

    13. Americans drink over a billion pounds of coffee every year and around five million bottles of soda.

    14. After they are roasted, and when the coffee beans begin to cool, they release about 700 chemical substances that make up the vaporizing aromas.

    15. Americans, on average, eat 18 acres of pizza in one day.

    16. An eagle can kill a young deer and fly away with it.

    17. An elephant's trunk contains more than 50,000 muscles.

    18. An eyelash lives about 5 months.

    19. Ancient Egyptians shaved off their eyebrows to mourn the death of their cats.

    20. According to Hammurabi's Code, the penalty for medical malpractice was to cut off the doctor's hands.

    21. An Octopus has 3 hearts!

    22. According to Playboy, more women talk dirty during sex than men.

    23. A whale's penis is called a dork.

    24. An ear of corn always has an even number of rows because of the genetic formula which divides the cells.

  • More interesting trivia.

    Fifteen percent of cell phone users in the U.S. say they have interrupted sex to take a call.

    7Up was originally called "Bib-Label Lithiated Lemon-Lime Soda."

    At the height of the popularity of "America's Funniest Home Videos," producers reported receiving about 2,000 video submissions each day.

    Tuesday is named after Tiw, the Saxon god of war.

    Surveys show 50% of women and 33% of men remain angry for 10 years after a divorce.

    For a time, from 1941 to 1976, pinball was banned in New York City. Lawmakers felt pinball promoted gambling.

    The office cubicle was invented by furniture designer Bob Probst in 1968.

    A group of kittens is called a "kindle."

    July is National Wheelchair Beautification Month.

    Planned Parenthood was originally named the National Birth Control League (founded in 1916), and became the American Birth Control League in 1921. The full name of Planned Parenthood is Planned Parenthood Federation of America.

    The Old Testament has 23,214 verses. The middle verse of the Old Testament is 2 Chronicles 20:17.

    The word "grenade" came from the French word for "pomegranate" because early grenades resembled pomegranates.

    Isaac Asimov, the prolific author of more than 500 books during his lifetime, died of AIDs.

    Iron weighs more after it rusts.

    More than five million American children suffer from "nocturnal enuresis," the affliction better known as bedwetting.

    Even as late as 1940, a candidate for the US Naval Academy was rejected if it was discovered that he masturbated.

    Casanova learned to read in less than a month.

    Thug Behram, a member of the Indian Thugee cult, holds the record for most murders by a single individual. He strangled 931 people between 1790-1840 with a piece of ceremonial cloth called a "ruhmal."

    Coprastasophobia is the fear of constipation.

    Early in his career, Liberace performed as Walter Busterkeys.

  • More funny signs from around the world.

    Please do not spit too loud.

    Soft shoulder, blind curves, steep grade, big trucks. Good luck!

    Absolutely nothing next 22 miles.

    Give blood. 8 billion mosquitos can't be wrong.

    Slow down. Kids don't bounce.

    Caution: water on road during rain.

    Emergency telephone; 124km ahead.

    Hitchhikers may be escaping inmates.

  • Typographical errors in local newspaper small ads.

    (Monday) FORE SALE - R. D. Jones has one sewing machine for sale. Phone 555-0707 after 7 p.m. and ask for Mrs. Kelly who lives with him cheap.

    (Tuesday) NOTICE - We regret having erred in R. D. Jone's ad yesterday. It should have read: One sewing machine for sale. Cheap: 555-0707 and ask for Mrs. Kelly who lives with him after 7 p.m.

    (Wednesday) NOTICE - R. D. Jones has informed us that he has received several annoying telephone calls because of the error we made in his classified ad yesterday. His ad stands corrected as follows: FOR SALE - R. D. Jones has one sewing machine for sale. Cheap. Phone 555-0707 and ask Mrs. Kelly who loves with him.

    (Thursday) NOTICE - I, R. D. Jones, have NO sewing machine for sale. I SMASHED IT. Don't call 555-0707, as the telephone has been disconnected. I have NOT been carrying on with Mrs. Kelly. Until yesterday she was my housekeeper, but she quit."

  • A true story

    Newton, North Carolina -- Ken Charles Barger, 47, accidentally shot himself to death in December in Newton when, awakening to the sound of a ringing telephone beside his bed, he reached for the phone but grabbed instead a Smith & Wesson .38 Special, which discharged when he drew it to his ear.
    -- The Hickory (N.C.) Daily Record

  • A few more interesting facts.

    Dolphins sleep with one eye open

    A dragonfly's life span is 24 hours

    A human's thigh bone is stronger than concrete

    Babies are born without kneecaps

    Walt Disney was afraid of mice

    A novel called Gadsby had 50,000 words, and none had the letter E

    Cockroaches fart every 15 minutes

    Albert Einstein couldn't speak very well at age nine

    Houseflies vomit their food after eating

    Over 10% of Americans each day eat at McDonalds

  • Funny computer virus names

    Beware of the following new computer viruses
    ========================================
    I found this list on an American site and some the references are a bit obscure; most aren't though and are quite funny.

    ADAM AND EVE VIRUS - Takes a couple of bytes out of your Apple.

    AIRBAG VIRUS - Can only cause harm if you are a petite computer operator who sits too close to the screen. Provides a handy ON-OFF switch in most current release.

    AIRLINE LUGGAGE VIRUS - You're in Dallas, but your data is in Singapore.

    Al Gore Virus - Claims that it is the Internet. Causes your computer to just keep counting and re-counting.

    ALZHEIMER'S VIRUS - It makes your computer forget where it put your files.

    APPLE VIRUS - Virus-8, originally planned as a revolutionary redesign of aging but classic virus software, had to be repackaged and simplified after the original attempt failed to keep up with rapidly shifting design goals. Fortunately, the current production version can infect older Macintoshes as well as the latest models.

    ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER VIRUS v 1.0 - It terminates and stays resident. It'll be back!

    Arnold Schwarzenegger virus v 2.0 - Now widespread in California where it wiped out the Gray Davis virus and is terminating programs left and right in the state legislature's computers.

    AT&T VIRUS - Every three minutes it tells you what great service you are getting.

    Bill Clinton Virus v 1.0 - It has a six inch hard drive and no memory. Freezes entire system due to unresolved memory conflicts.

    Bill Clinton Virus v 2.0 - It tells you it's executing any program you want, whether or not it's on your computer.

    Bill Clinton Virus v 3.0 - Fills you with the compulsion to cut wasteful government spending at the same time that it compels you to hop into an airplane for a $200.00 haircut at taxpayer expense.

    Bill Clinton Virus v 4.0 - Mutates from region to region and we're not exactly sure what it does.

    Bill Clinton Virus v 5.0- Promises to give equal time to all processes- 50% to poor, slow processes; 50% to middle-class processes, and 50% to rich ones. This Virus protests your computer's involvement in other computer's affairs, even though it has been having one of its own for 12 years.

    Bill Clinton virus v 6.0 - Automatically connects to every URL in your Internet browser's list of bookmarks, then it tells you emphatically that your computer never made any connections...to any URL...because since it didn't transmit and receive simultaneously, it wasn't really connected.

    BILL GATES VIRUS - This dominant strain searches for desirable features in all other viruses via the internet. It then either engulfs the competing viruses or removes their access to computers until they die out.

    Bin Laden (aka Al Qaeda) virus - displays threatening messages and spawns numerous smaller viruses that periodically destroy files. The Bin Laden virus and its spawned viruses are being seen less and less frequently and may be becoming extinct due to the spread of the George W. Bush virus.

    Birthday Virus - Keeps advancing your clock by another year.

    BOB DOLE VIRUS - Could be virulent, but it's been around too long to be much of a threat.

    Bob Dole (aka Viagra) Virus - Makes a new hard drive out of an old floppy.

    Bureaucrat Virus - Divides your hard disk into hundreds of little units, each of which does practically nothing, but all of which claim to be the most important part of your computer.

    CHILD VIRUS - It constantly does annoying things, but is too cute to get rid of.

    CONGRESSIONAL VIRUS v 1.0 - It runs every program on the hard drive simultaneously but doesn't allow the user to accomplish anything.

    Congressional Virus v 2.0 - Computer locks up, screen splits vertically with a message appearing on each half blaming the other side for the problem.

    Congressional Virus v 3.0 - Overdraws your disk space.

    Couch Potato Virus - Just sits there, eating chips all day.

    DEMOCRAT VIRUS - Doesn't allow you to delete inefficient programs or wasted disc space - if you try, it accuses you of being a "mean-spirited extremist".

    DIET VIRUS - Allows your hard drive to lose weight by eliminating the FAT table.

    DISNEY VIRUS - Everything in the computer goes Goofy.

    DOLLY PARTON VIRUS - It sounds pretty good, but you'd swear your monitor looks larger and have more knobs than it used to. DEFLATE.COM removes it.

    DONALD TRUMP VIRUS - Harmless unless you use online banking.

    ELLEN DEGENERES VIRUS v 1.0 - Your IBM suddenly claims it's a MAC.

    Ellen Degeneres Virus v 2.0 - Disks can no longer be inserted.

    Elvis Virus - Your computer gets fat, slow and lazy and then self-destructs, only to resurface at shopping malls and service stations across rural America.

    Federal Bureaucrat Virus - Divides your hard disk into hundreds of little units, each of which does practically nothing, but all of which claim to be the most important part of the computer.

    Federal Reserve Virus - Affects performance of CDs.

    Firestone Viruses - Causes mouse to explode after 10,000 miles. Flying toasters actually fly off your screen saver. Leaves chunks of its code all over the information highway.

    Freudian Virus - Your computer becomes obsessed with marrying it's own motherboard. Becomes very jealous of the size of your friend's hard drive.

    French virus - garbles some files and then displays a message asking you for help. If you click OK, it just garbles more files and asks for help again. If you click Cancel, it displays the message, "I surrender!" and shuts down your computer. If you click Ignore, it scans your computer for the German and Russian viruses. If the French, Russian, and German viruses find each other, they merge into a single virus that conflicts with the George W. Bush virus, slowing it down.

    Gallup Poll Virus - 60% of the PC's infected will lose 30% of their data 14% of the time (plus or minus a 3.5% margin of error).

    GEORGE MICHAEL VIRUS - Runs its course, occasionally releasing excess data buildup.

    George W. Bush virus v 1.0 - Doesn't do anything, but you can't get rid of it until November.

    George W. Bush virus v 2.0 - Tells you it's going to eliminate all other viruses from your computer but that it may take a long time. Then it actually does scan your computer and eliminate viruses. It also scans for Programs of Mass Destruction (PMD), which are programs that destroy a lot of files if they are run. PMDs may be caused by a number of other viruses, such as the Saddam Hussein virus. The only problems with the George Bush virus are that it uses up a lot of your computer's resources while it's scanning, it never seems to find any PMDs, and it keeps switching the background color on your computer screen back and forth between yellow and orange.

    GERALDO RIVERA VIRUS - Digs dirt out of your files, but it airs the dirt for all to see. Temporarily disabled with CHAIR.EXE.

    GOVERNMENT ECONOMIST VIRUS - Nothing works, but all your diagnostic software says everything is fine.

    Gridlock Virus - Keeps shuffling information that it calls 'bills' between your CPU and BUS, sending messages like 'House Bill #xxxx is unacceptable to Senate'. Never gets any work done.

    HEALTH CARE VIRUS - Tests your system for a day, finds nothing wrong, and sends you a bill for $4,500.

    HILLARY CLINTON VIRUS v 1.0 - Files disappear, only to reappear mysteriously a year later, in another directory.
    Hillary Clinton virus v 2.0 - sets the "hidden" attribute on all your accounting files and tells you your computer won't run in 2004 or 2008. Many experts believe this virus may become its most dangerous in 2008.

    HOWARD STERN VIRUS - One of the dirtiest viruses around. It writes 4 letter words to all of your files just to annoy the operating system. It also installs an X-rated GIF on your hard drive. Very popular.

    HURRICANE VIRUS - It blows away all your files, then tells you the government will help you rebuild them.

    IRS Audit Virus - It comes in with very little warning, digs through all your files then sells all your worldly possessions on Ebay, and there's not a damn thing you can do about it. It doubles the files on your hard drive while it states it is decreasing the number of files, increases the cost of your computer, taxes its CPU to maximum capacity, and then uses Quicken to access your bank accounts and deplete your balances.

    JEFFREY DAHMER VIRUS - Eats away at your systems resources piece by piece.

    Jerry Springer Virus - Appears on your screen and says it has something to tell you and you may not like it.

    Jesse Jackson virus - warns you repeatedly not to reproduce illegitimate files, but meanwhile, it's reproducing illegitimate files in the background. And if you don't have a color monitor displaying 32-bit true color, it floods your screen with icons and threatens to shut down your computer.

    Jiminy Cricket Virus - Changes your Zip disk into a Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah disk.

    Jimmy Hoffa Virus - Nobody can find it. Your programs can never be found again.

    Johnny Cochran Virus - (Often accompanied by one or more of the O.J. Viruses.) If it has no RISC, you must FDISK.

    Joke Virus - poses as a harmless list of funny computer Virus names. Is quickly passed from one user to all other users via e-mail, consequently consuming all known network resources.

    Kafka Virus - Your operating system gradually metamorphosizes into a big hairy bug.

    Ken Starr Virus v 1.0 - Completely examines every aspect of your computer, then compiles a complex report that discredits every aspect of your computer.

    KEN STARR VIRUS v 2.0 - Developed in early 1990's at considerable government expense. Claims to be working on one task but can quickly switch functions when the first process bogs down. Only operates on US government computers at this time. Tends to diminish effectiveness of more important programs by hogging most CPU cycles with infinite loops.

    Kevorkian Virus - Helps your computer shut down whenever it wants to. Searches your hard drive for old files and deletes them.

    LAPD Virus - It claims it feels threatened by the other files on your PC and erases them in "self-defense."

    Left-Wing-Drivel Virus - Deletes all monetary files, but keeps smiling and sending messages about how the economy is going to get better.

    Linux Virus - Causes the computer to hang for several days while it tracks down hardware drivers, networking how-to's, and window managers. Then it quits, saying that if you had better programming skills, your hard drive would be wiped by now.

    MAFIA VIRUS - You don't want it, but you're afraid to get rid of it.

    Mario Cuomo Virus - It would be a great Virus, but it refuses to run.

    MARTHA STEWART VIRUS - Takes all your files, sorts them by category and folds them into cute little doilies to be displayed on your desktop.

    MCI Virus v 1.0 - Encourages you to send it to your friends and family.

    MCI VIRUS v 1.0 - Every three minutes it reminds you that you're paying too much for the AT&T virus.

    Michael Jackson Virus v 1.0 - Hard to identify because it is constantly altering its appearance.

    MICHAEL JACKSON VIRUS v 2.0 - It preys on child processors.

    MICHAEL JACKSON VIRUS v 3.0 - It's BAD. Computer freaks out when you put flame or Pepsi next to it. Some people think it's identical to the Latoya Jackson virus because they have both never been seen together.

    MIKE TYSON VIRUS - Quits after one byte.

    MILITIA VIRUS - Wipes out your operating system claiming it has no right to control your PC.

    Mom Virus - Places a phone call to your mother every time you click on an adult website.

    Monica Lewinsky Virus v 1.0 - It sucks the juice out of your system, but only affects laptops. Then, it emails everyone about what it did. This later activates the Independent Counsel virus.

    MONICA LEWINSKY VIRUS v 2.0 - A low level virus that enters restricted parts of your file system 36 times yet there's no record of its activity. When it runs, it has no improper relationship with your computer's executive software yet its effectiveness is somehow diminished.

    MORAL MAJORITY VIRUS - This modest virus claimed great influence in the 1980's, but fell behind in features and upgrades and was finally abandoned by it's developers.

    MTV's "The Real World" Virus - Replaces your default Windows sounds with excruciating Gen-X whining and bitching.

    NATIONAL ORGANIZATION OF WOMEN (NOW) VIRUS - Forces your PC to recognize its female connections as male connections.

    NATIONAL PUBLIC RADIO VIRUS - This virus design used to be quite influential and innovative when it's original release was publicly funded. After Government funding cuts yanked it's teeth, the designers sold out to corporate interests and it no longer affects your data much.

    NEW WORLD ORDER VIRUS - Probably harmless, but it makes a lot of people really mad just thinking about it.

    NEWT GINGRICH VIRUS - It repartitions your hard disk into two volumes yet allocates most of the available resources to the 'Right' partition. When attacked by anti-virus software from the 'left' partition, it terminates and restarts to continue its work as a background process.

    NIKE VIRUS - Just does it.

    O.J. SIMPSON VIRUS v 1.0 - It claims that it did not, could not, and would not delete two of your files and vows to find the virus that did it.

    O.J. Simpson Virus v 2.0 (Often accompanied by the Johnny Cochran Virus.) – You know it's guilty of trashing your system, but you just can't prove it. Every time you try to search for a file, it runs "Pro Golf Tour 2000" instead.

    Oprah Winfrey Virus - Your 200MB hard drive suddenly shrinks to 80MB, and then slowly expands back to 200MB.

    Pat Buchanan Virus v 1.0 - Shifts all your output to the extreme right of your screen.

    PAT BUCHANAN VIRUS v 2.0 - Your system works fine, but it complains loudly about foreign software.

    Pat Buchanan Virus v 3.0 - Splits an otherwise healthy hard drive into two meaningless parts. Don't worry -- it affects less than 1% of computers and isn't likely to spread at all.

    PAUL REVERE VIRUS - This revolutionary virus does not horse around. It warns you of impending hard disk attack- Once, if by LAN; twice if by C.

    PBS VIRUS - Your computer stops every few minutes to ask for a tax deductible contribution.

    Pokemon Virus - Sucks up all your money and only renders 3rd rate animation.

    POLITICALLY CORRECT VIRUS v 1.0 - Never calls itself a "virus," but instead refers to itself as an "electronic microorganism."

    POLITICALLY CORRECT VIRUS v 2.0 - Rephrases the "Abort, Retry, Fail" prompt as "Choice, Retry, Success-Impaired".

    Ponzi Virus - It logs onto your bank's computer and transfers $1 into the accounts of the owners of the last 10 computers it was on. It then attaches itself to the next 10 items of mail you send.

    POPE JOHN PAUL VIRUS - Deletes all your dirty files and blesses the rest.

    Pornography Virus - Consumes all available hard drive space, but leaves the computer's owner with a warm sense of contented well-being.

    PRO-CHOICE VIRUS - Although it presents the standard "Abort, Retry, Fail" prompt, it pressures you to choose "Abort", telling you the process being terminated is just "a blob of bits" which has no value.

    Prozac Virus - Screws up your RAM, but your processor doesn't care.

    Public Transportation Virus - Makes your browser stop at every website.

    Quantum Leap Virus - One day your PC is a laptop, the next day it is a Macintosh, then a Nintendo.

    Ralph Nader Virus - Not harmful per se, but perfectly willing to let your system crash just to "teach you a lesson."

    Regis Philbin Virus - Will not complete display of algorithm results until CPU confirms that's its final answer.

    REPUBLICAN VIRUS - Sells off your system resources to the highest bidder.

    Richard Nixon Virus - Also known as the "Tricky Dick Virus", you can wipe it out but it always makes a comeback. Popular in China.

    RICHARD SIMMONS VIRUS - Deletes FAT table.

    Right to Life Virus v 1.0 - Won't allow you to delete a file, regardless of how old it is. Prints, “Oh, no, you don't!”, whenever you choose Abort from the "Abort, Retry, Fail" message.

    Right-To-Life Virus v 2.0 - Before allowing you to delete any file, it first asks you if you've considered the alternatives.

    Right-Wing-Hardliner Virus - Won't allow any changes on your system, but keeps saying that things will get better as soon as it takes over the Whitehouse.

    RODNEY DANGERFIELD VIRUS - Gets no respect. Only allows data do be displayed as one-liners.

    David Duke Virus - Makes your screen go completely white.

    RUSH LIMBAUGH VIRUS v 1.0 - Probably the most dangerous virus we've ever seen. It occupies 50Mb, complains about all the other files, than eats them. It's so stupid you don't take it seriously until it's too late.

    RUSH LIMBAUGH VIRUS v 2.0 - This virus produces an amplified, continuous, babbling sound in Dolby Stereo as it grows to fill all available space on your hard disk. Fortunately, its virulence is low as it has difficulty finding willing code fragments that will support its replication.

    SADDAM HUSSEIN VIRUS v 1.0 - This virus, first developed in the software labs of Western democracies, attacks its closest neighbors first and then fragments to hide it's most virulent components in the hidden folders of your disk drive. As a defense mechanism, it claims that commercial virus detection software insults its national dignity.

    Saddam Hussein Virus v 2.0 - Won't let you into any of your programs.

    Saddam Hussein virus v 3.0 - spawned other viruses and was believed to create Programs of Mass Destruction (PMD). Some of the spawned viruses are still in existence but are gradually being eradicated by the George W. Bush virus. PMDs spawned by the Saddam Hussein virus, if they exist, have yet to be found because they have the "hidden" attribute set. The Saddam Hussein virus wasn't seen for a long time because of the rapid spread of the George Bush virus. At the end of 2003, the George Bush virus found every instance of the Saddam Hussein virus, which was discovered to have mutated into a harmless, ugly graphic hiding in the Trash/Recycle Bin.

    SEARS VIRUS - Your data won't appear unless you buy new cables, power supply, and a set of shocks.

    SHARON STONE VIRUS - Makes a huge initial impact, then you forget it's there.

    Slacker Virus - Uses 80% of your computer's resources, yet does absolutely nothing.

    SONNY BONO VIRUS - Just when you get to surfing the web, a firewall appears out of nowhere.

    SPICE GIRL VIRUS - Has no real function, but makes a pretty desktop.

    Sprint Virus - Periodically runs sound file of a pin dropping.

    STAR TREK VIRUS - Invades your system in places where no virus has gone before.

    Stephen King Virus - It wipes a fifth of your hard drive, then tells you that if enough people send in a dollar, it will destroy the rest in some surprising, exciting way.

    Survivor Viruses - Deletes your files one by one over 13 weeks until only the most annoying one remains.

    Tech Stock Virus - At the slightest hint of an error, plays a screaming panic sound and shuts down your computer.

    TED KENNEDY VIRUS - It drives your files into the bitstream, crashes your computer, then denies it ever happened.

    TED TURNER VIRUS - Colorizes your monochrome monitor.

    TEENAGER VIRUS - Your PC stops every few seconds to ask for money.

    TEXAS VIRUS - Makes sure that it's bigger than any other file.

    Tiger Woods Viruses - Assumes pre-eminence over other applications, which are left to operate at consistently humiliating performance levels. Beats you in every computer game you play.

    TIM ALLEN VIRUS - Appears helpful, only to destroy your hard drive upon contact.

    Tipper Gore Virus - When you attempt to play any sound file, it pops up a warning window stating that some lyrics may be unsuitable for children.

    Titanic Virus - Makes your whole computer go down. You get a sinking feeling when your system crashes.

    TOBACCO INDUSTRY VIRUS - It contends that there is no reliable scientific evidence that viruses can harm you computer or that it targets adolescent computer users.

    Tonya Harding Viruses - Turns your .BAT files into lethal weapons. Your
    CD-ROM drive randomly ejects in an attempt to bash your knee.

    U.N. virus - Annoying but harmless. Every day, it displays a message saying you must let it inspect your computer's files for viruses, but then it gives you the options "OK, Cancel, Ignore." Even if you click OK, it doesn't do anything.

    Viagra Virus - Expands your hard drive while putting too much pressure
    on your zip drive. Turns your 3.5" floppy into a hard drive.

    WARREN BEATTY VIRUS - Constantly tries to prove its virility by attaching itself to younger or newer files.

    Wonderbra Virus - Results in overflow stack.

    WOODY ALLEN VIRUS - Bypasses the motherboard and corrupts a daughter card.

    X-FILES VIRUS - All your icons start shape-shifting.

  • Starting on Monday

    I've just been telephoned by the woman from the place where I'll be working and she's told me I'm due to start on Monday, a week earlier than expected.

    The charity doesn't seem to be very well organised; I hope it isn't a portend for the future. I originally applied for the post I'll be taking up but was interviewed for a different position (at a different location) but then was offered this post - but starting a week later.

    As long as I receive official notification in writing I can start the process of signing off the unemployment register and putting in a new claim for Housing Benefit.

  • Some strange personal ads.

    These are all genuine - there are even photos of them on the webpage.

    Wanted: Thirty Chinamen and a Zeppelin for elaborate practical joke.

    Albino he-she, seeks similar.

    Incurable romantic, seeks filthy whore.

    Nemesis Wanted: I'm 5'10", into kayaking, books and conversation (by day), justice, honour and vengeance (by night). Seeking arch-enemy, possibly crimelord or deformed megalomaniac.

    For Sale: Holiday photos. Choice of ski, sun or city break. Ideal for anecdote or alibi.

  • Unusual Accidents.

    Figures published by the Department of Health reveal a huge range of unusual accidents, which put people in hospital in England in 2004. Here is just a small sample. Odd accidents affect one million people.

    1) Two people were admitted after being in contact with venomous spiders. Both stayed in hospital for five days.

    2) Twenty two people suffered from exposure to ignition or melting of nightwear, most of them men.

    3) 1,481 people, most of them children, were injured by hot drinks. Most of the children required an overnight stay in hospital.

    4) Two people needed five days of treatment after contact with centipedes or venomous millipedes.

    5) 15 people were admitted after contact with a marine animal. On average they needed an average of two days in hospital.

    6) Four people had an average of two days' treatment after exposure to vibrations.

    7) 1,839 people fell out of trees. No surprises that 80% of the injuries were to children.

    8) 4,533 people fell when using ice-skates, skis, roller-skates or skateboards. 57% of them were under 15.

    9) One boy needed an overnight stay after being "bitten or struck" by an alligator. (By comparison, 3,508 people were bitten or struck by dogs.)

    10) One child was admitted to hospital after "prolonged stay in a weightless environment". He or she did not stay overnight. There are no further details about who this person was or how they had come to need treatment

  • Witticisms of condemned men.

    1. GEORGE APPEL (electrocuted in 1928)

    As he was being strapped into the electric chair Appel quipped, 'Well, folks, you'll soon see a baked Appel.'

    2. JESSE WALTER BISHOP (gassed in 1979)

    The last man to die in Nevada's gas chamber, Bishop's final words were, 'I've always wanted to try everything once . . . Let's go!'

    3. GUY CLARK (hanged in 1832)

    On the way to the gallows the sheriff told Clark to speed up the pace. Clark replied, 'Nothing will happen until I get there.'

    4. JAMES DONALD FRENCH (electrocuted in 1966)

    Turning to a newsman on his way to the electric chair, French helpfully suggested, 'I have a terrific headline for you in the morning. "French Fries".'

    5. ROBERT ALTON HARRIS (gassed in 1992)

    The last person to die in the gas chamber at San Quentin, Harris issued a final statement through the prison warden that stated, 'You can be a king or a street-sweeper, but everybody dances with the Grim Reaper.' The quote was inspired by a line from the film Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey.

    6. WILLIAM PALMER (hanged in 1856)

    As he stepped onto the gallows Palmer looked at the trapdoor and exclaimed, 'Are you sure it's safe?'

    7. SIR WALTER RALEIGH (beheaded in 1618)

    Feeling the edge of the axe soon to be used on him, Raleigh said, ''Tis a sharp remedy but a sure one for all ills.'

    8. JAMES W. RODGERS (shot in 1960)

    Asked if he had a last request, Rodgers stated, 'Why yes - a bulletproof vest.'

    9. FREDERICK CHARLES WOOD (electrocuted in 1963)
    Sitting down in the electric chair Wood said, 'Gentlemen, you are about to see the effects of electricity upon wood.'

  • I'm a proud Yorkshireman, but...

    ...there are some aspects of Yorkshire culture that don't appeal to me.

    licorice
    rhubarb
    black pudding
    beer
    pigeon racing
    angling
    greyhound racing
    horse racing
    rugby league
    brass bands
    male voice choirs

    There are many things I do enjoy and admire about the county though.

    parkin
    Yorkshire pudding
    Wensleydale cheese with apple pie
    fish and chips
    the honesty and friendliness of the people
    the beautiful countryside
    the industrial, architectural and cultural heritage
    the City of York

  • Some interesting facts.

    The word "queue" is the only word in the English language that is still pronounced the same way when the last four letters are removed.
    Beetles taste like apples, wasps like pine nuts, and worms like fried bacon.

    Of all the words in the English language, the word 'set' has the most definitions!

    What is called a "French kiss" in the English speaking world is known as an "English kiss" in France.

    "Almost" is the longest word in the English language with all the letters in alphabetical order.

    "Rhythm" is the longest English word without a vowel.

    In 1386, a pig in France was executed by public hanging for the murder of a child

    A cockroach can live several weeks with its head cut off!

    Human thigh bones are stronger than concrete.

    You can't kill yourself by holding your breath

    There is a city called Rome on every continent.

    It's against the law to have a pet dog in Iceland!

    Your heart beats over 100,000 times a day!

    Horatio Nelson, one of England's most illustrious admirals was throughout his life, never able to find a cure for his sea-sickness.

    The skeleton of Jeremy Bentham is present at all important meetings of the University of London

    Right handed people live, on average, nine years longer than left-handed people

    Your ribs move about 5 million times a year, everytime you breathe!

    The elephant is the only mammal that can't jump!

    One quarter of the bones in your body, are in your feet!

    Like fingerprints, everyone's tongue print is different!

    The first known transfusion of blood was performed as early as 1667, when Jean-Baptiste, transfused two pints of blood from a sheep to a young man

    Fingernails grow nearly 4 times faster than toenails!

    Most dust particles in your house are made from dead skin!

    The present population of 5 billion plus people of the world is predicted to become 15 billion by 2080.

    Women blink nearly twice as much as men.
    Adolf Hitler was a vegetarian, and had only ONE testicle.

  • Public Art In Doncaster.

    Titles of public art pieces in Doncaster town centre.

    Muse & Artist
    Epicentre
    Banners
    Leaf and Vessels
    Doncaster Borough Map (Time Capsule)
    Finials
    Mercury
    Bronze Rose Tree Sculptures
    Waymarkers
    Time Line

    THese aren't representative of the town's heritage at all. Where is the acknowledgement of the coal mines, the railways, the racecourse and the Romans?

  • Visit To Nostell Priory

    I didn't clarify it in my previous post, but Nostell Priory is actually a stately home - built on the site of the mediaeval priory.

    I've just returned from Nostell Priory, and both myself and my brother enjoyed our free day out (although the bus fare was £4.60.) The hall didn't open until one o'clock, so we first spent a couple of hours walking around the grounds - the views of the hall's frontage and the lakes were spectacular.

    Inside the hall it was just overwhelming; portraits and tapestries covering every wall, plasterwork on every ceiling and many rooms crammed full with Chippendale furniture.

    The one item I was particularly keen to see was an early Harrison chronograph...having an accurate means of keeping time onboard a ship meant that the Royal Navy could far more easily and accurately calculate longitude anywhere in the world; thus allowing the British Empire to outstrip its rivals.

    I've really enjoyed these last two days, but I'm tired now and my knee hurts. I'll be quite happy with a quiet Saturday night at home and Sunday spent reading the newspaper and pottering about in the garden.

  • Free Day Out.

    I've been watching the breakfast time news and found out that some National Trust properties are offereing free admission for the day today. I checked the website and discovered that one local property, Nostell Priory is participating this year.

    I've phoned up my brother and we've decided to go and visit; it's easy enough to get there; it's on the bus route to Wakefield.

    I've never been, but it reads quite interesting on the website; an impressive art collection and extensive landscaped grounds.

  • Nicknames of European Cities.

    Aberdeen - The Granite City

    Belgrade, Serbia - The White City

    Bucharest,Romania - Little Paris

    Budapest,Hungary - Pearl of the Danube

    Edinburgh - Athens of the North

    Florence, Italy - The City of Lilies

    [City of] London - The Square Mile

    Oxford - City of Dreaming Spires

    Paris - City of Light

    Prague, Czech Republic - The Golden City

    Rome - The Eternal City/ The City of the Seven Hills/ City of Love

    St. Petersburg, Russia - Venice of the North

    Stockholm, Sweden - The Oak/ Venice of the North

    Venice, Italy - Bride of the Sea/ Queen of the Adriatic

  • Funny mistranslated menu items.

    Cold shredded children and sea blubber in spicy sauce - China

    Indonesian Nazi Goreng - Hong Kong

    Muscles Of Marines/Lobster Thermos - Cairo

    French fried ships - Cairo

    Garlic Coffee - Europe

    Sole Bonne Femme (Fish Landlady style) - Europe

    Boiled Frogfish - Europe

    Sweat from the trolley - Europe

    Dreaded veal cutlet with potatoes in cream - China

    Rainbow Trout, Fillet Streak, Popotoes, Chocolate Mouse - Hong Kong

    Roasted duck let loose - Poland

    Beef rashers beaten up in the country peoples fashion - Poland

    Fried friendship - Nepal

    Strawberry crap - Japan

    Pork with fresh garbage - Vietnam

    Toes with butter and jam - Bali

    French Creeps - L.A.

    Fried fishermen - Japan

    Teppan Yaki - Before Your Cooked Right Eyes - Japan

  • Fads of the 1970s.

    Trans Am automobiles
    A muscle car that became popular after the movie 'Smokey & the Bandit' which starred Burt Reynolds and Sally Field.

    Star Wars action figures
    After the popular Star Wars movies there was a cult following with many fans who couldn't get enough of their favorite characters. Many youths started collecting action figures of Darth Vader, Luke Skywalker, Han Solo and more.

    Earth Shoes
    Earth Shoes were designed to promote a natural and healthier way of walking. Wearing the shoes would result in a better posture and help with back pain and breathing.

    8-Track Tape Player
    Developed as a car accessory to give drivers an alternate to listening to radio stations so they could listen to their own song selections. Motorola manufactured the first players, which were installed in Ford automobiles. Many record companies were quick to put many of their artists on the new format, but by the mid 1970's, most record labels had stopped producing music in 8-Track tape format because the quality was not good and they were bulky and inconvenient. Cassette tapes and vinyl records replaced 8-Tracks by the late 1970's.

    String Art
    Considered to be pop art, this fad was a challenge. You could choose from a variety of unassembled kits ranging from ships to animals. The kits included a board (often covered in black velvet), nails, and enough string that had to be wound around the nails as instructed. They took many hours to complete and could be hung on the wall as a conversation piece.

    Streakers
    People started the craze of taking off all their clothes and running across the field at major sporting events. A streaker ran across the stage of the Oscars in 1973 while it was being broadcast live on TV. There was even a 1970's song written about streakers called "The Streaker". Streaking was popular for only a couple years and soon faded, probably because people were being arrested for streaking.

    Sayings
    Do Your Own Thing!: - Be yourself! Do what you want to do. "I got a few acres out in the country where I can do my own thing".
    Laid Back: - Someone relaxed, easygoing. A place that's cool. "I've been to the commune, it's real laid back."
    Dig It : - To understand. "Dig it?" To like something. "I really dig the Monkees."
    If it feels good ...do it: - Don't be inhibited, explore what life has in store for you

    Wizzers
    They looked like a top and you could roll the tip across the floor to get just the tip spinning and then set it down and watch it go.

    Pet Rocks
    More than a million people bought Pet Rocks as Christmas gifts in 1975. Gary Dahl, of Los Gatos, California, had the idea while joking with friends about his easy-to-care-for pet, a rock. This pet ate nothing and didn't bark or chew the furniture. Pet Rocks were sold with a funny manual that included tips on how to handle an excited rock and how to teach it tricks. By 1976, Gary Dahl was a millionaire and Pet Rocks were the nation's favorite pet.

    Mopeds
    In 1974, the United States was in the midst of a national fuel crisis due to the OPEC oil embargo. Travelers were forced to wait in lines for hours just to get a tank of gas. Most cars to that point were not very fuel-efficient and people looked for a new method of transportation, which could allow them to travel efficiently and reasonably.

    The moped, which was half bicycle / half motorcycle had existed for years in Europe but had not made it to the United States, in part because of safety restrictions implemented by the Department of Transportation. In 1972, Serge Seguin of France wrote his Masters thesis on the European moped. After receiving two mopeds and a small amount of money from a company called Motobecane, Seguin traveled throughout the United States promoting the vehicle. After lobbying Congress on its fuel efficiency benefits, Seguin was able to get more than 30 states to devise a specific vehicle classification for the bikes.

    The bikes had very small engines and often could not exceed 40 miles per hours. What they could do, however, was run for up to 220 miles on one tank of fuel. Because of the problems caused by the aforementioned energy crisis, mopeds caught on like wildfire, with more than 250,000 people in the United States owning one in 1977.

    The video game
    revolution began with Pong in 1972, which spawned Atari (1978) and those little hand-held football games.

    Disco Music
    Saturday Night Fever (John Travolta), ABBA, Donna Summer, The Village People, Dance Fever, Bee Gees.

    Acupuncture
    Found by President Nixon in 1971 on a trip to Mainland China. He returned home and brought with him a new acceptance of many things Chinese - including approaches to medicine. Its proponents believe that an imbalance in the body's tch'i (energy), the result of illness or injury, can be adjusted by inserting needles into certain strategic acupuncture points. There are over 900 of these points. Many have claimed that acupuncture works when no other type of medical treatment or procedure seems to do the trick. Also has been used to control diet and as an anesthetic.

    EST Therapy
    When feeling insecure or unhappy with your life, people would have others just verbally abuse and degrade them until you felt worthless. Then they would be rebuilt and reborn as a useful member of society. Basic tenets of EST is (Erhard Seminars Training), a therapy developed by an encyclopedia salesman named Warner Erhard. His first training sessions were held in a small apartment, soon to take place in the conference rooms of expensive hotels.

    Glass Eating
    Glass was not safe around Tim Rossovich, an all-pro linebacker for the Philadelphia Eagles. Rossovich liked to show the public how tough he was by eating beer mugs and light bulbs. As an undergrad at the University of Southern California, Rossovich was infamous for pulling crazy stunts. But it wasn't until his pro career was underway that his strangest stunt received media coverage. He amazed spectators with his ability to snack on glass without killing himself. Then a sophomore at Harvard University decided to challenge his prowess by munching a light bulb himself. Soon, other students were following suit. But Harvard authorities quickly terminated the budding trend, and the fun was over.

    Rocky Horror Picture Show
    For well over 25 years, fans have flocked to midnight screenings of the Rocky Horror Picture Show. The original movie came out in 1973 as a British musical. It was then turned into a motion picture, which was released around the time of the dying our glam rock scene. Then, it was to be screened "only" at midnight, later the decision turned out to be a stroke of genius. Midnight movie going had become popular among young film buffs and turned the movie into an instant cult classic.

    Cork Pop Guns
    When you would shoot it, the cork would pop out and hit your assailant.

    Dashboard Hula Girls
    A small hula girl doll that attached to your car dashboard and danced when the car moved.Made popular by California surfers.

    Happy Days - The "Fonz"
    A hit tv show about life in the 1950’s. Fonzie was a James Dean type ultra cool guy who rode a motorcycle and could always get a date.

    Mexican Jumping Beans
    Beans that jump around.

  • More funny personal ads and marketing literature .

    A superb and inexpensive restaurant. Fine food expertly served by waitresses in appetizing forms.

    For sale: an antique desk suitable for lady with thick legs and large drawers.

    Four-poster bed, 101 years old. Perfect for antique lover.

    Now is your chance to have your ears pierced and get an extra pair to take home, too.

    Wanted: 50 girls for stripping machine operators in factory.

    We do not tear your clothing with machinery. We do it carefully by hand.

    For Sale. Three canaries of undermined sex.

    For Sale -- Eight puppies from a German Shepherd and an Alaskan Hussy.

    Great Dames for sale.

    Have several very old dresses from grandmother in beautiful condition.

    Tired of cleaning yourself? Let me do it.

    Dog for sale: eats anything and is fond of children.

    Vacation Special: have your home exterminated.

    If you think you've seen everything in Paris, visit the Pere Lachasis Cemetery. It boasts such immortals as Moliere, Jean de la Fontain, and Chopin.

    Mt. Kilimanjaro, the breathtaking backdrop for the Serena Lodge. Swim in the lovely pool while you drink it all in.

    The hotel has bowling alleys, tennis courts, comfortable beds, and other athletic facilities.

    Get rid of aunts: Zap does the job in 24 hours.

    Toaster: A gift that every member of the family appreciates. Automatically burns toast.

    Sheer stockings. Designed for fancy dress, but so serviceable that lots of women wear nothing else.

    Stock up and save. Limit: one.

    We build bodies that last a lifetime.

    Man, honest. Will take anything.

    UsedCars: Why go elsewhere to be cheated? Come here first!

    Christmans tag-sale. Handmade gifts for the hard-to-find person.

    Modular Sofas. Only $299. For rest or fore play.

    Wanted: Hair-cutter. Excellent growth potential.

    Wanted. Man to take care of cow that does not smoke or drink.

    3-year-old teacher need for pre-school. Experience preferred.

    Our bikinis are exciting. They are simply the tops.

    Wanted. Widower with school-age children requires person to assume general housekeeping duties. Must be capable of contributing to growth of family.

    Mixing bowl set designed to please a cook with round bottom for efficient beating.

    And now, the Superstore--unequaled in size, unmatched in variety, unrivaled inconvenience.

    We will oil your sewing machine and adjust tension in your home for $1.00.

    50% Off Our Rockers!

    Tyres Slashed 30%!

  • No way!

    There is no way I'm ever going to fly - not after what I've observed today.

    I went with my brother to walk around the perimeter of the airport (Doncaster/Sheffield Robin Hood International Airport to give it its full title) and got some close-up views of aeroplanes taking off; three large jets, one light aircraft and two Chinook helicopters (which might have been military.)

    Unfortunately we didn't get to see any aircraft land; whenever they were landing we were out of sight of the runway - usually in a wood.

    The reason I never want to fly? The steep angle of ascent (about 45 degrees) and the tight 180 degree turn during the ascent....no way am I wanting to experience that.

    The airport is situated out in a rural area and there are no flightpath restrictions as far as I could ascertain - it must be even worse at some of these closed in mountain airports.

    Until today I thought I'd missed out on something not ever having flown; now I know better. We all live and learn.

  • Good News!

    Today has been brilliant so far; two items of good news!

    Firstly, my interview was successful - I've got the job, well...that's not exactly true - they've actually offered me a different post to the one I applied for, but to be honest I think I prefer this one anyhow: I'm due to start in a couple of weeks' time.

    My second piece of good news is that I've received an appointment from the orthopedic and trauma department at the hospital informing me that I've an appointment for October 13th. - it's just an initial assessment though, to ascertain how bad my cartilage trouble is and what course of treatment would be appropriate.

    Can things get any better today? Probably not; I've just turned on the cricket commentary and England will most likely lose.

  • Dull men's club.

    Titles of some of the reports featured on this site that I recently found; The Dull Men's Club.

    Airport luggage carrousel report from Bergen.

    Camcording disused railway lines.

    Allotment shed photography.

    Watching a wasp queen building her nest.

    History of folding chairs.

    Webcam of a bus-stop in the Algarve.

  • No news is good news?

    Well. I've just got home and there's no message on the answering machine concerning the outcome of my interview earlier. They did say they'd phone this afternoon...but I said I wouldn't be in. Maybe they've decided to leave it until tomorrow - I'll be out most of the day then though also.

  • My job interview.

    I think it went very well; they said they'd phone me later today (leave a message on the answerphone actually, because I'll be out.) I got on really well with the two people who interviewed me (a mother and son who had founded the organisation) and we seemed to agree on most issues when it comes to reintegrating various groups of people into mainstream society...I think I struggled a bit on the question about health and safety though, I didn't say much; but if I do get the job I'll be working in an office above a ladies' hairdressing salon so there aren't really any issues.

    Yes; it went well and I'm feeling good at the moment. I might not be later though - I'll report the outcome.

  • A few clever witticisms.

    'Lord Birkenhead is very clever, but sometimes his brains
    go to his head'

    Margot Asquith

    'Diplomacy is the art of saying 'Nice Doggie!' till you can find a rock'

    Wynn Catlin

    "If infinite rednecks fired infinite shotguns at an infinite number of road
    signs, they'd eventually create all the great literary works of the world in
    braille."
    -- Discordian Quote File

    Calvin and Hobbes (Bill Watterson) - "The surest sign that
    intelligent life exists elsewhere in the universe is that
    it has never tried to contact us."

    Sacred cows make the best hamburger. -- Mark Twain

    A cement mixer collided with a prison van on the Kingston Pass.
    Motorists are asked to be on the lookout for sixteen hardened
    criminals.
    Ronnie Corbett

    They think they can make fuel from horse manure... Now I don't know if
    your car will be able to get thirty miles to the gallon, but it's sure
    gonna put a stop to siphoning.
    Billie Holliday

    I would love to speak a foreign language but I can't. So I grew hair
    under my arms instead.
    Sue Kolinsky

  • Funny quotes about computers.

    Computers will never take the place of books. You can't stand on a floppy disk to reach a high shelf.
    -- Sam Ewing

    They've finally come up with the perfect office computer. If it makes a mistake, it blames another computer.
    -- Milton Berle

    Reading computer manuals without the hardware is as frustrating as reading sex manuals without the software.
    -- Arthur C. Clarke (Clarke's 69th Law, The Odyssey File, 1984)

    My computer goes down on me more often than my girlfriend.
    -- Robert Paul

    The question of whether computers can think is like the question of whether submarines can swim.
    -- Edgar Dijkstra

    I think there is a world market for maybe five computers.
    -- Thomas Watson

    Always be wary of the Software Engineer who carries a screwdriver.
    -- Robert Paul

  • Quotes about America.

    In America any boy may become President and I suppose it's just one of the risks he takes.
    Adlai E. Stevenson Jr. (1900 - 1965), Speech in Indianapolis, 26 Sept. 1952

    There is a New America every morning when we wake up. It is upon us whether we will it or not.
    Adlai E. Stevenson Jr. (1900 - 1965)

    America's greatest strength, and its greatest weakness, is our belief in second chances, our belief that we can always start over, that things can be made better.
    Anthony Walton

    America is a large, friendly dog in a very small room. Every time it wags its tail, it knocks over a chair.
    Arnold Toynbee (1889 - 1975)

    There is nothing wrong with America that cannot be cured by what is right with America.
    Bill Clinton (1946 - )

    America's one of the finest countries anyone ever stole.
    Bobcat Goldthwaite

    There's the country of America, which you have to defend, but there's also the idea of America. America is more than just a country, it's an idea. An idea that's supposed to be contagious.
    Bono (1960 - ), Oprah Winfrey Show, 2002

    I see America, not in the setting sun of a black night of despair ahead of us, I see America in the crimson light of a rising sun fresh from the burning, creative hand of God. I see great days ahead, great days possible to men and women of will and vision.
    Carl Sandburg (1878 - 1967)

    The trouble with America is that there are far too many wide-open spaces surrounded by teeth.
    Charles Luckman

    There is nothing wrong with America that the faith, love of freedom, intelligence and energy of her citizens cannot cure.
    Dwight D. Eisenhower (1890 - 1969)

    The United States is a nation of laws: badly written and randomly enforced.
    Frank Zappa (1940 - 1993)

    America is therefore the land of the future, where, in the ages that lie before us, the burden of the World's History shall reveal itself.
    Georg W. Hegel (1770 - 1831)

    America is a young country with an old mentality.
    George Santayana (1863 - 1952)

    America has never been an empire. We may be the only great power in history that had the chance, and refused – preferring greatness to power and justice to glory.
    George W. Bush (1946 - ), speech, November 19, 1999

    America has never been united by blood or birth or soil. We are bound by ideals that move us beyond our backgrounds, lift us above our interests and teach us what it means to be citizens.
    George W. Bush (1946 - ), Inaugural address, 2001

    America will never run... And we will always be grateful that liberty has found such brave defenders.
    George W. Bush (1946 - )

    By heritage and by choice, the United States of America will make that stand.
    George W. Bush (1946 - ), Speech to the United Nations, September 12, 2002

    In the United States there is more space where nobody is than where anybody is. That is what makes America what it is.
    Gertrude Stein (1874 - 1946), The Geographical History of America (1936)

    What's right about America is that although we have a mess of problems, we have great capacity - intellect and resources - to do some thing about them.
    Henry Ford II (1917 - 1987)

    America - a great social and economic experiment, noble in motive and far-reaching in purpose.
    Herbert Hoover (1874 - 1964)

    This is the story of America. Everybody's doing what they think they're supposed to do.
    Jack Kerouac (1922 - 1969), On the Road

    In a country as big as the United States, you can find fifty examples of anything.
    Jeffery F. Chamberlain

    Our American values are not luxuries but necessities, not the salt in our bread, but the bread itself. Our common vision of a free and just society is our greatest source of cohesion at home and strength abroad, greater than the bounty of our material blessings.
    Jimmy Carter (1924 - )

    I always consider the settlement of America with reverence and wonder, as the opening of a grand scene and design in providence, for the illumination of the ignorant and the emancipation of the slavish part of mankind all over the earth.
    John Adams (1735 - 1826)

    I believe America's best days are ahead of us because I believe that the future belongs to freedom, not to fear.
    John Kerry (1943 - )

    America is a vast conspiracy to make you happy.
    John Updike (1932 - ), Problems and Other Stories

  • Famous people associated with Yorkshire towns and cities.

    York - Constantine (Roman Emperor),Dick Turpin, Guy Fawkes

    Hull - William Wilberforce

    Whitby - Captain Cook, Bram Stoker

    Scarborough - Alan Ayckbourn (playwright)

    Castleford - Henry Moore (sculptor)

    Knaresborough - Old Mother Shipton

    Mexborough - Ted Hughes (former Poet Laureate)

  • Fads of the 1960s.

    Scully
    A street game where the course was painted or chalked on concrete grounds. The object was to go from the starting line to each of the numbered boxes and then back down to the beginning by flicking your bottle caps on the course.

    Rickie Tickie Stickers
    These were colorful flower stickers. People were sticking these rickie tickie stickers on everything from automobiles, waste baskets, walls, windows, and more.

    Bellbottoms
    These wide-legged pants were derived from Navy styled uniforms and became very popular with the young society in the 1960's. Elvis Presley, Sonny and Cher helped make bellbottoms a fashion statement for the hippies and counter-culture audience. They were typically made of denim until they were produced with corduroy and polyester so they could be worn in any situation. Bellbottoms were still popular in the 1970's during the disco years and even in the 1990's when the Gen X crowd was wearing them to be cool too.

    Platform Shoes
    Although popular in the late 1960's, these high-heeled shoes were more popular in the 1970's during the disco period. Originally, one to two inches high, they grew in height and variety even as people were being treated for twisted or broken ankles caused by lack of mobility. The platform shoe made a comeback among women in the 1990's and still can be seen today.

    The Twist
    Chubby Checker made this dance style very popular when he appeared on American Bandstand in the early 1960's. It originated in a small New York club called The Peppermint Lounge in 1961. The dance was featured in a few films in the early sixties but quickly faded when other dances such as the Mashed Potato and the Watusi were introduced to TV shows and movies.

    Love Beads
    Love beads came in a variety of patterns and were given as gifts between friends or made by the person wearing them. They were worn around the neck and wrist and were very colorful. They could be purchased in a store or could be made at home. Love beads were a common sign of friendship in the 60's and early 70's.

    Mood Rings
    The famous black oval ring that changed colors when the mood of the person changed. As the moods of society changed, someone thought we needed a way to monitor this change. Tada - the birth of the mood ring.

    Surfing
    California surf music and films like "Gidget" made it cool to ride the waves, and all those beach party movies made us wish we could have an endless summer, too.

    Tie Dye T-shirts
    Nothing said 'psychedelia' better than the rainbow explosion of swirling colors and bold designs of the ancient art of tie-dye. Tie-dye is one of the oldest forms of fabric manipulation and design. The concept is simple: dye can only penetrate loose fabric, and when portions are bound off by string, rocks, clothespins, or rubber bands, the dye cannot reach that part of the fabric. That untouched section could remain the original color, or you could then dye the pristine sections a separate color to create works of art.

    During the 60's, the hippies' revival of old ethnic crafts resurrected the art and put a new spin on tie-dye. The hippies' tie-dye was no subtle handicraft-they tie-dyed with several colors, layering one on top of the other for wild bursts of color and crazy visual trips. Hearts, peace signs, bulls eyes-anything could be done with a little creativity. Tie-dyeing became the ultimate sign of the times.

    The 80's returned to tie-dye when a new generation pulled out the crazy Dead Head shirts their parents wore when they were kids. Parents passed down the knowledge by turning t-shirts, sheets, socks and more into colorful pinwheels of fun. Even when it wasn't a widespread fad, tie-dye remained a style of choice for 60's holdovers and people who just wanted a little psychedelia in their wardrobe.

    Barbie Dolls
    By 1965, one hundred million dollars of Barbie merchandise was sold. Barbie is the one to help make Mattel the biggest toy company in the world. Created by Ruth and Elliott Handler (owners of Mattel), after watching there daughter play with paper dolls, realizing there weren't any 3-dimentional dolls to play with and dress. Barbie was names after the daughter for the idea.

    Bouffant Hairdo
    A trend launched by First Lady Jackie Kennedy. It was a difficult style to wear, time consuming to achieve and required a great number of tools to concoct. Came to an end about 1964 after the assassination of President Kennedy.

    Fallout Shelters
    With the threat of a nuclear war on the horizon, some Americans looked for ways to protect themselves from horrible destruction. They decided upon bomb proof, fallout shelters. Most looked like basic units, providing space only for necessities (which were generally only two-week supplies) while others looked like small guesthouses, equipped with pool tables, paintings and wine cellars. The fallout shelter fad reached its peak in the early 60's as the Cuban Missile crisis loomed. But it was waned in the 70's as various treaties were signed, calming apocalyptic fears.

    Smiley faces
    Started in 1963 by creator H.R. Ball. He was working in Massachusetts for an ad agency when one of his clientele asked him to come up with a way to soothe employees. He was only paid $45 for the drawing, which he never trademarked. The Smiley Face has appeared on millions of items since, including a United States postage stamp.

    Go-Go boots
    Created in 1965 by Andre Courreges, a leading French fashion designer. Worn by women from Los Angeles to New York, at nightclubs all over. Nancy Sinatra also chopped the charts with "these boots are made for walking" establishing her as the poster child for go-go boots.

    Granny Glasses
    Was once a fashion statement of vibrant youth, also known as Ben Franklin glasses. First appeared in the 60's in California. Adorned by such famous faces as John Lennon and Roger McGuinn. Within about 2 years from its beginning, the granny glasses had soon died out, and became undecidedly cool.

    Hair Ironing
    Once the troublesome bouffant had begun to look old, young girls in the northeastern states staged a revolt. Taking up hot irons and ironed their hair dead straight. The ironed tresses lasted about an hour, this fad diminished in the early 70's followed by less dangerous styles.

    Lava Lamps
    Invented by Craven Walker in the mid 60's, people were entranced with this device that consisting of illuminated glass cylinder within which a colorful, wax like substance was heated.

    Miniskirts
    Began the era of women's liberation. Miniskirts achieved the height of their popularity around 1967. By that point, virtually every young woman was wearing one, most as a sign of rebellion. Demure was out, "letting it all hang out" was in., and the new woman demanded that the world appreciate her on her own terms.

    Ouija Boards
    First brought about after many viewed the movie "The Exorcist", where a young girl was possessed by the devil while playing with a Ouija board. A once thought dangerous game that in the late 1960's outsold the venerable game Monopoly. Thought to believe that we could communicate with the dead through a Ouija board, the game was born in the mid nineteenth century brought upon by a spiritualism craze that sweeped through Europe and spread to New York.

    Sea monkeys
    In 1957, Harold von Braunhut discovered a true freak of nature and recognized its potential to become one of the greatest marketing opportunities in history. After watching the creature known as Artema nyos, a relative to the bryn shrimp. Out of water it would appear dead and once introduced back into water it would mysteriously come back to life, without any suffered ill effects. He then began to sale them through mail order, around the early 1960's, packaging them in a box labeled "Instant Life" and they were sold for $.49 thought comic book advertisements. The fad kept growing and now 40 years later, his freaks of nature are still charming kids everywhere.

    Slogan Buttons/Badges
    First began in 1896, during the presidential race between McKinley and Bryan. But in the 1960's, it attained true fad status. The typical hippie backpack was positively bristled with them. The buttons gave voice to many sentiments and declarations, most of which were political.

    Slot cars
    Well before the eras of video games, young boys throughout the world shared another obsession, the slot car. It's an electric toy-racing car that ran on a grooved track. Slot-car racing was a part of the British culture, but it wasn't until it hit the United States in 1965 that its popularity really took off. Many fans built their own cars, and constructed their own tracks. By 1967 the slot car had been sidelined, in this high tech world, that flashier and more powerful toys would rule the world.

    Superballs
    Norman Stingley conducted experiments with highly resilient synthetic rubber. He accidentally produced an astonishing new toy. When compressed under extreme pressure, the substance would bounce like crazy. The compound was called Zectron, but the ball became known as the Superball. More than 6 million of these bouncing balls had been sold by 1965. At the height of their popularity, the balls even infiltrated the White House; Cabinet member McGeorge Bundy passed them out to staff members.

    Troll Dolls
    Created by Thomas Dam, the inventor of the Dammit doll, names after Thomas. The dolls were established into a company called Dam Things in 1964. A year which more than one million of these trolls were sold in the United States. The doll was made for his daughter, cause he couldn't afford to buy her a birthday present. The doll was inspired by the legend of trolls whom inhabited deep dark forests and brought good luck to the human that could catch one. It would seem many humans at that time were catching them.

    Turtlenecks
    Daily News Record magazine proclaimed 1967 the year of the turtle, as in turtleneck sweater. Favored by beatniks and flower children. At its peak, the turtleneck was worn by such high-profile celebs as Johnny Carson, Sammy Davis Jr., Senator Robert Kennedy, Paul Newman and Steve McQueen.

    Black Light
    In the late sixties, black light put things in a new perspective - adding a fluorescent glow to the room. White T-shirts and teeth would light up the room with their bright white glow. Black light would reveal secret symbols or slogans on posters located in college dorm room. These lights also appeared in nightclubs and theater productions around the country, creating a surreal atmosphere. Coupled with a strobe light, black lights created a disorienting purple haze. Nowadays, you can still find these black lights in nightclubs. There are more fluorescent materials on the market - paints, dyes, and clothes, markers - that seem to come to life with the existence of the black light.

    Balsa Wood Airplanes
    Model planes made from balsa wood. Kids would make them and fly them just like paper airplanes, but they would
    fly better.Companies stopped making them because kids were sniffing the glue used to make the planes..

    Beatlemania
    Rabid Beatles fans suffered from Beatlemania. The British rock group was a huge hit among the kids of the 60’s. People would faint at their concerts and even just from seeing them perform on tv.

  • I've got a job interview tomorrow.

    Yes; I've just received a phonecall inviting me in for an interview tomorrow afternoon. Well, technically it's not for a job; it's for a place on the Transitional Labour Market Programme which is a new initiative specifically for long-term unemployed people being trialled in Doncaster and a few other parts of the country.

    The post is for 34 hours per week, 26 weeks and paying minimum wage...a significant improvement on living on benefits. Financially things might be a bit difficult for a few weeks until I get my first wage packet though.

    I'm not sure of the exact job title; never mind the job description - it seems to be working as some sort of mentor with disadvantaged young adults. There should be some training involved and the opportunity to shadow qualified staff as they undertake their duties.

    I'm a bit wary about the interview, but the woman who spoke on the phone to me will be the person who'll be doing the interview - everything was fine on the phone, so it should be alright tomorrow. I'm looking forward to it; I suppose.

  • What a gas!

    I recently found this online, purporting to be a true story as reported by the Bloomberg News Service on March 25th. 1997. Of course, it isn't true and the story has been debunked by a popular U.S. science TV programme. Additionally, Bloomberg only reports financial news and wouldn't be interested in such a story...it's a good giggle though.

    A terrible diet and a room with no ventilation are being blamed for the death of a man who was killed by his own gas.
    There was no mark on his body, but an autopsy showedlarge amounts of methane gas in his system, police said. His diet had consisted primarily of beans and cabbage (and a couple of other things).
    It appears that the man died in his sleep from breathing from the poisonous cloud that was hanging over his bed, police said. Had he been outside or had his windows been opened, it wouldn't have been fatal. But the man was shut up in his near airtight bedroom.
    He was "a big man with a huge capacity for creating [this deadly gas]," a police representative said.
    Three of the rescuers got sick and one was hospitalized.

  • Some More Weird Festivals.

    Gilroy Garlic Festival, California.

    Cow Painting Festival, Luxembourg.

    Moose Dropping Festival, Alaska.

    Golden Shears Sheep Shearing Festival, New Zealand.

    Frog Festival, Louisiana.

    Cooper's Hill Annual Cheese Rolling, Gloucestershire.

    La Tomatina (Tomato throwing), Spain.

  • Children re-write popular proverbs.

    A first grade teacher collected well known proverbs. She gave each child in her class the first half of a proverb and asked them to come up with the remainder of the proverb.

    Strike while the .........insect is close.
    Never underestimate the power of............ants.
    Don't bite the hand that....................looks dirty.
    Better to be safe than................punch a grade 7 boy.
    If you lie down with dogs, you'll.......stink in the morning.
    It's always darkest before............Daylight Saving Time.
    You can lead a horse to water but...........how?
    No news is..................................impossible.
    A miss is as good as a......................Mr.
    You can't teach an old dog new..............maths.
    Love all, trust.............................me.
    The pen is mightier than the................pigs.
    An idle mind is.....................the best way to relax.
    Where there's smoke there's.................pollution.
    Happy the bride who...............gets all the presents.
    A penny saved is............................not much.
    Two's company, three's.....................the Musketeers.
    Don't put off till tomorrow what....you put on to go to bed.
    Laugh and the whole world laughs with you, cry and..........you have to blow your nose.
    There are none so blind as..................Stevie Wonder.
    Children should be seen and not.............smacked or grounded.
    If at first you don't succeed...............get new batteries.
    You get out of something only what you......see in the picture on the box.
    When the blind leadeth the blind........get out of the way.
    And the favorite:
    Better late than............................pregnant

  • Some inaccurate predictions.

    "Inventions have long since reached their limit, and I see no hope for further developments."
    Julius Sextus Frontinus, Roman Engineer, AD 10.

    "Radio has no future. Heavier-than-air flying machines are impossible. X-rays will prove to be a hoax."
    William Thomson, Lord Kelvin, British physicist, 1899.

    "Rail travel at high speed is not possible because passengers, unable to breath, would die of asphyxia."
    Dionysius Lardner, British scientist, 1823.

    "This 'telephone' has too many short comings to be seriously considered as a means of communication. This device is inherently of no value to us."
    Internal memo, Western Union, 1876.

    "That's an amazing invention, but who would ever want to use one of them?"
    President Rutherford B. Hayes to Alexander Graham Bell, 1876.

    "The wireless music box has no imaginable commercial value. Who would pay for a message sent to nobody in particular?"
    Associates of David Sarnoff in response to his call for investment in radio, 1920's.

    "I have anticipated [radio's] complete disappearance ­ confident that the unfortunate people, who must now subdue themselves to 'listening-in' will soon find a better pastime for their leisure."
    H.G. Wells, The Way the World is Going, 1925.

    "Who the hell wants to hear actors talk?"
    H.M. Warner, Warner Bros, 1927.

    "While theoretically and technically television may be feasible, commercially and financially it is an impossibility."
    Lee DeForest, Radio pioneer.

    "The problem with television is that the people must sit and keep their eyes glued on a screen; the average American family hasn't time for it."
    The New York Times, after a prototype demonstration at the 1939 World's Fair.

    "Louis Pasteur's theory of germs is ridiculous fiction."
    Pierre Pachet, Professor of Physiology, Toulouse, 1872.

    "However fascinating it may be as a scholarly achievement, there is virtually nothing that has come from molecular biology that can be of any value to human living."
    Frank MacFarlane Burnet, Nobel Prize winning immunologist (1899-1985).

    "There will be no epidemics. There will be no incurable diseases."
    Norman Bel Geddes, Ten Years from Now, 1931.

    "The abdomen, the chest, and the brain will forever be shut from the intrusion of the wise and humane surgeon."
    John Eric Ericksen, Surgeon Extraordinary to Queen Victoria, 1873.

    "Teeth will disappear in about 75 years from now, because the food of the future will be concentrated and made directly from chemicals so that there will be no strain on the digestion, or gums."
    Editor, Brooklyn Daily Eagle, 1900.

    "We shall escape the absurdity of growing a whole chicken in order to eat the breast or wing by growing these parts separately under a suitable medium."
    Winston Churchill, "Fifty Years Hence" in Popular Mechanics, 1930.

    "I see no good reasons why the views given in this volume should shock the religious sensibilities of anyone."
    Charles Darwin, The Origin of the Species, 1869.

    "Stocks have reached what looks like a permanently high plateau."
    Irving Fisher, Professor of Economics, Yale University, 1929.

    "1930 will be a splendid employment year."
    U.S. Department of Lab