No More Quizzes – Not This June Anyway. (Except For This One!)

“Fight Against Stupidity And Bureaucracy”

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Welcome to final fasab quiz for June 2015.

Half the year almost gone, but not before you get the chance to try out these questions.

As usual, if you get stuck, you can find the answers waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay down below, but please NO cheating.

Enjoy and good luck.

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Q.  1.  What was bought by the United States from France in 1803?

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Q.  2. ‘Black’, ‘Hooper’ and ‘Bewick’ are all types of what bird?

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Q.  3.  What city in South America is known as ‘The City Of The Kings’ ?

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Q.  4.  Very recently in the news for all the wrong reasons, what organization do the letters ‘FIFA’ represent?

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Q.  5.  Who was the leader of the Soviet Union from the mid-1920s until his death in 1953?

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Q.  6.   What did Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen discover by accident on November 8 1895?

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Q.  7.  He was born in Illinois and died in Idaho and during his lifetime he published seven novels, six short story collections, and two non-fiction works, and was awarded a Pulitzer Prize and the Nobel Prize for Literature. Many of his works are considered classics of American literature. Who was he?

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Q.  8.  What name is given to calfskin, dressed and prepared for writing on?

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Q.  9.  Which sea is sometimes called the Euxine Sea?

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Q. 10.  What is the name given to the person who is appointed the chief lawyer of the U.S. government?

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Q. 11.  Name the famous Russian ballet dancer who changed the face of modern ballet?

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Q. 12.  Who invented the rabies vaccination?

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Q. 13.  Who is the current (2015) British Prime Minister?

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Q. 14. Big points opportunity. How many countries lie between Canada and Colombia? (A point for the correct number and a bonus point for each one you can name correctly.)

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Q. 15.  What fruit is ‘Calvados’ distilled from?

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Q. 16.  What is ‘Scooby’ short for in the name ‘Scooby Doo’ ?

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Q. 17.  What does ‘RADAR’ stand for?

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Q. 18.  In which French city was Joan of Arc put to death?

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Q. 19. What are the seven most popular sports in America? (A point for each correct answer and a bonus point if you can name them in the correct order.)

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Q. 20.  He was famous as ‘Dracula’, ‘Scaramanga’ and ‘Saruman’. Who was he?

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ANWERS

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Q.  1.  What was bought by the United States from France in 1803?

A.  1.  The Louisiana territory (828,000 square miles).

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Q.  2. ‘Black’, ‘Hooper’ and ‘Bewick’ are all types of what bird?

A.  2. Swans.

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Q.  3.  What city in South America is known as ‘The City Of The Kings’ ?

A.  3.  Lima, Peru. (Ciudad de los Reyes)

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Q.  4.  Very recently in the news for all the wrong reasons, what organization do the letters ‘FIFA’ represent?

A.  4.  The Fédération Internationale de Football Association, the international governing body of association football, futsal and beach soccer.

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Q.  5.  Who was the leader of the Soviet Union from the mid-1920s until his death in 1953?

A.  5.  Joseph Stalin.

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Q.  6.   What did Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen discover by accident on November 8 1895?

A.  6.  X-rays.

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Q.  7.  He was born in Illinois and died in Idaho and during his lifetime he published seven novels, six short story collections, and two non-fiction works, and was awarded a Pulitzer Prize and the Nobel Prize for Literature. Many of his works are considered classics of American literature. Who was he?

A.  7.  Ernest Hemmingway.

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Q.  8.  What name is given to calfskin, dressed and prepared for writing on?

A.  8.  It is known as ‘Vellum’.

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Q.  9.  Which sea is sometimes called the Euxine Sea?

A.  9.  The Black Sea.

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Q. 10.  What is the name given to the person who is appointed the chief lawyer of the U.S. government?

A. 10.  He/she is known  as the ‘Attorney General’.

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Q. 11.  Name the famous Russian ballet dancer who changed the face of modern ballet?

A. 11.  Rudolf Nureyev.

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Q. 12.  Who invented the rabies vaccination?

A. 12.  Louis Pasteur.

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Q. 13.  Who is the current (2015) British Prime Minister?

A. 13.  David Cameron.

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Q. 14. Big points opportunity. How many countries lie between Canada and Colombia? (A point for the correct number and a bonus point for each one you can name correctly.)

A. 14.  There are 9 countries that lie between Canada and Colombia – they are The United States, Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama.

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Q. 15.  What fruit is ‘Calvados’ distilled from?

A. 15.  Apples.

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Q. 16.  What is ‘Scooby’ short for in the name ‘Scooby Doo’ ?

A. 16.  Scoobert.

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Q. 17.  What does ‘RADAR’ stand for?

A. 17.  ‘RADAR’ stand for ‘Radio Detection and Ranging’.

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Q. 18.  In which French city was Joan of Arc put to death?

A. 18.  Rouen.

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Q. 19. What are the seven most popular sports in America? (A point for each correct answer and a bonus point if you can name them in the correct order.)

A. 19.  1.  American Football     2. Baseball     3. Basketball     4. Ice Hockey    5. Soccer    6. Tennis    and    7. Golf

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Q. 20.  He was famous as ‘Dracula’, ‘Scaramanga’ and ‘Saruman’. Who was he?

A. 20.  He was the wonderful actor Sir Christopher Lee.

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I Really Can’t Stand Sitting Down.

“Fight Against Stupidity And Bureaucracy”

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I bet you can’t stand sitting down either. It’s not easy.

But what is easy is having a look at some more puns.

So here you are.

Enjoy or endure!

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I just bought a Monopoly set which had no instructions.

What are the chances?

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Sony. Panasonic, Technics, Bang Olufsen, Teac.

They’re just stereotypes.

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A contestant accused me of being an unfair quiz host.

Point taken.

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I was walking down the street.

This guy waved to me, then came up to me and said,

“I’m sorry, I thought you were someone else.”

I said, “I am.”

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Bilbo Baggins has died.

I read it in the hobbituary column.

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Two mountaineers reach a huge, deep fissure in a glacier.

“Careful here,” says one of them.

“My mountain guide fell down there last year.”

“I bet you feel bad about that,” says the other.

“Not really, it was pretty old and missing a few pages.”

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My friend just finished watching Kill Bill, volume 1;

He said he couldn’t hear it very well, though.

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I was reading this book on the anatomy of a pig.

It was pretty standard, but I got to the end

and found there to be a twist in the tale.

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I’ve been out of work for a while but have just got

a job at a factory making periscopes.

Things are looking up.

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Our Marriage Guidance Counsellor said my wife and I

needed to talk about the elephant in the room.

I turned to my wife and said

”see, even she thinks you’re fat”

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It took me ages to change all my clocks.

There’s an hour of my life I’ll never get back!

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I’ve decided to have a party in my vegetable garden tonight.

Lettuce turnip the beet.

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I haven’t used my eBook reader for a while.

Maybe it’s time to rekindle our relationship.

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How does the barber cut the moon’s hair?

Eclipse it.

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And speaking of hair, The Beatles’ song,

“Love Me Do” was written by John Lennon

after he’d had a really good haircut.

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Did You Know? – Another Round Of Fabulous Facts!

“Fight Against Stupidity And Bureaucracy”

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Another random bunch of facts for you today.

I think I prefer the final one the best because of its irony and the fact that it illustrates that people can sometimes delude and convince themselves into believing they saw what the really didn’t.

Anyway, here they are, so choose your own favorite, but whatever you do….

Enjoy.

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The US Constitution contains many

spelling and grammatical errors.

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The term ‘Lunatic’ is derived from the Latin word ‘luna’ meaning ‘moon’.

It originated from the belief that insanity is caused by changes in the moon.

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Thirty-three light years away there is an

exoplanet completely covered in burning ice.

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James Stephen “Steve” Fossett was an American businessman,

and a record-setting aviator, sailor, and adventurer

who, in 2002, became the first person to

fly solo nonstop around the world in a balloon.

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At its peak the Roman Empire

stretched for 2.51 million square miles,

but it was only the 19th largest empire in history.

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Throughout the 1800s people were buried alive so often

that coffins included mechanisms to allow those people

to ring a bell in the graveyard.

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Homer and Langley Collyer, two compulsive hoarders,

were found buried beneath a collapsed pile of

the things they had stored in their house over the years.

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The last time a cavalry charge was used on the battlefield

was during WWII when a Mongolian cavalry division

charged a German infantry division.

Two thousand Mongolians were killed

and not a single German died.

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In ancient Egypt some servants were covered in honey

to attract flies away from the pharaoh.

(I suppose it’s better than the alternative!)

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June 28, 2014 was the 100 year anniversary of the assassination

of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria,

heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne,

who was killed in Sarajevo along with his wife Duchess Sophie

by Bosnian Serb Gavrilo Princip.

This was the incident that led to the Great War,

also now known as World War I.

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Although several notable people died on the toilet,

one of the most famous is probably Elvis Presley.

Doctors attributed his death to too many prescription drugs.

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When pizza deliveryman Brian Wells

was stopped by the police in the middle of a bank robbery

no one believed his story that he had been forced to do it

by some people he had delivered pizza to.

He kept on pleading with the officers saying that

the necklace he was wearing was a bomb.

Unfortunately for him though,

the bomb squad didn’t show up early enough.

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Almost one-seventh (840) of all the languages on Earth

are spoken in one country…

Papua New Guinea.

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When it was first built,

Disney’s Tomorrowland

was supposed to represent

the far off future year of 1986.

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A famous proponent of healthy eating and organic farming,

Jerome Irving Rodale died of a heart attack

while being interviewed on the Dick Cavett Show in 1971.

Some of his last words were that [he] would

“live to 100, unless [he was] run down by a a sugar-crazy taxi driver”.

Appearing fast asleep during the show, Dick Cavett joked

“Are we boring you, Mr. Rodale?”

before discovering that his 72-year-old guest had indeed died.

Many people are convinced they saw this on TV

but the incident was never aired.

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Did You Know – The August Fact File Is Open.

“Fight Against Stupidity And Bureaucracy”

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In truth nothing much to do with August, except that’s the months we are now in and you have to call these posts something.

But don’t let that deter you from finding out a few more interesting facts.

Here they are.

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You have over 100,000 km of blood vessels in your brain.

That’s enough to wrap around the world 4 times.

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Poinsettias are not lethal.

If your pet is silly enough to eat one,

it may upset its stomach but it won’t kill anything.

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Allan Pinkerton,

famous for creating the Pinkerton detective agency

died of an infection after biting his tongue

when he slipped on a sidewalk.

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Your ears secrete more earwax when

you are afraid than when you aren’t.

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Chewing gum doesn’t take 7 years to digest.

It actually can’t be digested at all

and will pass right through you as is.

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It takes a photon, on average, 170,000 years

to travel from the core of the sun to the surface.

Then it takes just 8 minutes

from the sun’s surface to your eyes.

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The radiation leak from the Chenobyl nuclear reactor accident

caused the nearby forest to turn a bright ginger color,

thus the forest was named the “Red Forest”.

 

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The Tinkerbelle that flies across the sky during the

Disney fireworks show is sometimes a man.

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According to researchers,

who have not been there and don’t know what they are talking about,

the center of our galaxy tastes like raspberries and smells like rum.

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According to astronauts,

who have been there and do know what they are talking about,

space smells like seared steak, hot metal, and welding fumes.

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On Sept. 2, 1944, George H W Bush was flying over Japan

when his aircraft was shot down in the Pacific.

Bush and another crewman were able to bail out,

but the other man’s parachute malfunctioned,

and he went down with the plane.

Bush was eventually rescued by a

submarine off the coast of Chichi-jima.

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There are roughly 7,000 languages

estimated to still be spoken on Earth.

About 2,400 of them are in danger of going extinct.

In fact, one goes extinct every 14 days.

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War comes from a Germanic root

that meant “to confuse”

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For a long time people speculated over the identity

of the secret informant behind the Watergate Scandal,

codenamed “Deep Throat”.

Recently he was revealed to be

former FBI associate director Mark Felt.

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Michael Holmes, the youngest man

to have ever received a skydiving instructor certification,

saw his young career almost come to an end

when on December 2006 a skydive jump went horribly wrong.

Due to faulty ropes, Holmes’ main and reserve parachutes

failed to deploy sending him spiraling out of control

towards certain death.

However, thanks to a blackberry bush,

Holmes was able to survive the fall

with only a punctured lung and a shattered ankle.

This horrifying experience was all captured on camera.

Here it is….

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Did You Know – The Facts Are Here!

“Fight Against Stupidity And Bureaucracy”

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The facts are indeed here.

Most Tuesdays in fact (no pun intended, that’s Thursdays!).

A very random selection of hopefully interesting things to peruse, perhaps with a nice cup of coffee.

Enjoy.

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Dogs don’t sweat through their tongue.

Most of their sweat glands are located in their foot pads.

While panting does keep them cool,

panting is not equivalent to sweating.

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The word “Berserk” comes from ancient Norse fighters

who were known as Berserkers

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800,000 brave men risked their lives

by exposing themselves to radiation

in order to contain the Chernobyl disaster.

25,000 of these have died (20 percent by suicide)

and 70,000 are disabled.

The environmental group Greenpeace places the

eventual death toll at 93,000 cancer deaths world wide,

but surprisingly, the overall rate of cancer deaths

and other health effects related to the Chernobyl accident

is lower than initially feared.

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The average woman is 5 inches shorter

than the average man.

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On her 112^th jump South African skydiver,

Christine McKenzie’s main and reserve

parachutes both failed to deploy.

As she raced towards earth from a height

of about 11,000 feet, she fell on power lines.

She was not electrocuted,

but instead the power lines helped

brake her fall and save her life.

 

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At any given time your brain

can generate up to 25 watts of power.

That’s enough to power a lightbulb.

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Martin Bormann, the highest ranking Nazi official

who wasn’t accounted for after World War II

was thought to have gone into hiding

somewhere in South America

and sightings had been reported for years.

In 1999, however, his body was found

in an unmarked grave near the bunker

where Hitler committed suicide.

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Bats aren’t blind.

While many species do use echolocation,

some have excellent night vision

and don’t rely on echolocation at all.

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British pro wrestler Mal “King Kong” Kirk

was squished to death under the belly

of Shirley “Big Daddy” Crabtree when

Crabtree performed his signature “belly slam”

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There’s a gas cloud in the constellation of Aquila

that contains enough alcohol to make

400 trillion trillion pints of beer.

(Now that’s my kinda gas cloud!)

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When you are looking at someone you love,

your pupils dilate…

they do the same when

you are looking at someone you hate!

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The statue of Cinderella at Disney

looks sad to adults,

but from a child’s view she is

happily smiling and wearing a crown.

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A Japanese man recently sued the

National Broadcasting Company

for the mental distress they caused him

by using too many English words in their programs

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The Earth isn’t actually orbiting around the Sun.

It’s orbiting around the Solar System’s center of mass

known as the Barycenter.

Although this point often falls within the mass of the Sun,

it can be shifted by the pull of larger planets.

Therefore, at least some of the time,

everything in the solar system

is orbiting around empty space

 

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The Silbo language of La Gomera

off the coast of Spain

consists entirely of whistles.

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Have You Noticed, Winzip Files Are Becoming Rar These Days.

“Fight Against Stupidity And Bureaucracy”

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A little nerdy pun in the title to set the tone for today, because it’s another Pun Day.

Some more plays on words, which you will either….

Enjoy or endure!

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I was thinking of getting a tattoo on my palm

On the other hand I might not bother.

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I’m giving away a free gate.

Honestly, there’s no catch.

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A Rastafarian just gave my friend a haircut.

He looks dreadful.

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Just been thinking, Hooters should do a home delivery service.

They could call it Knockers.

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Whenever anybody asks what I do.

I tell them I’m a Thai boxer, to make myself sound hard.

Sounds better than telling them

I pack men’s neckwear in a warehouse.

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I find it difficult to count in

Roman numerals until the number 159.

Then it just CLIX.

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If you’d like to know more about bulimia,

just do a Google search and see what it throws up.

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I used to live in a tire, but it got a puncture.

Now I just live in a flat.

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Statistically speaking,

the word “duck” is 75% obscene.

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To those men who whinge and whine

saying it’s too hard to cultivate apples,

I say, “Grow a pear.”

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I want to thank my friend, who looked up

“Agglomeration” for me in the dictionary.

It means a lot.

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Do you think that a Clairvoyants meeting has

ever been cancelled due to unforeseen events.

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I’ve written a book about

an Apartment block for Midgets.

It’s a collection of short storeys.

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My Korean friend died last week.

So Yung…

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Apparently Matt Damon believes in two things:

Sequels, and reincarnation.

Basically, he thinks he’ll be Bourne again.

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Shock Headline: Rising Numbers Are On The Increase.

“Fight Against Stupidity And Bureaucracy”

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But no shock that today is another Pun Day!

Enjoy or endure!!

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Just opened my Electric bill and my Water bill at the same time.

I was completely shocked.

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The man who invented Velcro has died.

RIP

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Keifer Sutherland was held up by Homeland Security

when he flew into LA airport for the

filming of the first episode of a new TV series.

They asked him the purpose of his visit and he said,

“I’m here to shoot a pilot.”

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My great uncle was so stubborn,

when he died, he left a won’t.

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“You make a very good cuppa,” she said.

“It’s my special tea,” I replied.

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I fell down a really deep dark hole today.

I just couldn’t see that well.

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There are countless films without Dracula in them.

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Just read a really sad story about how

blind people get used to new surroundings…

Touching stuff.

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I’ve decided to stop wearing my glasses.

It makes me look harder.

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 A rule of grammar:

double negatives are a no-no.

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So here I am trekking through the woods……

hang on, bear with me

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Weighing an elephant is just like weighing a human.

But on a much bigger scale.

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I asked my boss if I could leave half an hour early the other day.

He said, ” Only if you make up the time.”

I said, ” OK. It’s 35 past 50.”         

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I work in McDonald’s and a customer was rude to me today,

so I got him back by not putting any Coke in his drink.

Just ice was served.         

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Brian May is a slightly more optimistic version of Brian Cant.         

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Today It’s The Fasab Monday Quiz.

“Fight Against Stupidity And Bureaucracy”

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Welcome to the start of another week and to another quiz.

Quite a tough selection this time, I think, but if you enjoy a challenge give them a go.

No point if they were all too easy 🙂

As always if you get stuck you can find the answers waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay down below, but please NO cheating!

Enjoy and good luck.

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Q.  1:  Which is farther south, New York City or Rome, Italy?

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Q.  2:  What is the ball on top of a flagpole called?

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Q.  3:  Which are there more of in the United States of America, public libraries or McDonald’s fast food outlets?

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Q.  4:  Apart from wanting to be US President what did all three major 1996 Presidential candidates, Clinton, Dole and Perot, have in common.

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Q.  5:  Where was chocolate milk was invented?

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Q.  6:  If you’re in Detroit and you walk south, what is the first country you’ll enter?

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Q.  7:  Where did the ever popular trousers called ‘Jeans’ get their name?

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Q.  8:  And what was the origin of ‘Denim’ the material that jeans are made from?

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Q.  9:  What is the most filmed story of all time? (Bonus points if you can name second and third aswell.)

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Q. 10:  When ocean tides are at their highest, they are called ‘spring tides’. What are they called when they are at their lowest?

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Q. 11:  Which of these kills the most humans on average every year?

            a) crocodiles          b) hippopotamus            c) mosquitos            d) tigers

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Q. 12:  What do you call a scholar who studies the works of the Marquis de Sade?

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Q. 13:  What are ‘second unit’ movie shots?

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Q. 14:  Which well known American writer was born on a day in 1835 when Haley’s Comet came into view and died on a day in 1910 when Haley’s Comet came into view again? (Will accept either his real name or pen name, a bonus point if you know both.)

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Q. 15:  Which of these is the oldest?

            a) The Aztec Empire          b) The Inca Empire          c) Cambridge University

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Q. 16:  What is the only state of the USA whose name is just one syllable? (Hint: the answer is not California.)

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Q. 17:  You’ve seen it many times and on lots of things, but what does the name ‘NABISCO’ mean?

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Q. 18:  Which side of a woman’s blouse are the buttons on?

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Q. 19:  He was a Spanish hero who, before he was 20, led a Spanish force against the Moors and drove them out of Spain. He is celebrated in poem and romance. Who was he?

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Q. 20:  In 1972 who didn’t want Ruby to take her love to town?

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ANSWERS

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Q.  1:  Which is farther south, New York City or Rome, Italy?

A.  1:  New York City is further south than Rome, Italy.

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Q.  2:  What is the ball on top of a flagpole called?

A.  2:  The ball on top of a flagpole is called the truck.

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Q.  3:  Which are there more of in the United States of America, public libraries or McDonald’s fast food outlets?

A.  3:  There are more public libraries than McDonald’s in the U.S.

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Q.  4:  Apart from wanting to be US President what did all three major 1996 Presidential candidates, Clinton, Dole and Perot, have in common.

A.  4:  All three major 1996 Presidential candidates, Clinton, Dole and Perot, are left-handed.

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Q.  5:  Where was chocolate milk was invented?

A.  5:  Chocolate milk was invented in Ireland.

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Q.  6:  If you’re in Detroit and you walk south, what is the first country you’ll enter?

A.  6:  Understandable if you said Mexico, but If you’re in Detroit and you walk south, the first country you’ll enter will be Canada.

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Q.  7:  Where did the ever popular trousers called ‘Jeans’ get their name?

A.  7:  ‘Jeans’ were named after their place of origin, Genoa, Italy.

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Q.  8:  And what was the origin of ‘Denim’ the material that jeans are made from?

A.  8:  ‘Denim’ also takes its name from its place of origin, Nimes, in France. It was originally called ‘serge de Nimes’ or ‘fabric from Nimes’. The ‘serge’ soon disappeared and left us with ‘de Nimes’ or ‘denim’.

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Q.  9:  What is the most filmed story of all time? (Bonus points if you can name second and third aswell.)

A.  9:  Dracula is the most filmed story of all time, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is second and Oliver Twist is third.

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Q. 10:  When ocean tides are at their highest, they are called ‘spring tides’. What are they called when they are at their lowest?

A. 10:  When ocean tides are at their lowest, they are call ‘neep tides’.

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Q. 11:  Which of these kills the most humans on average every year?

            a) crocodiles          b) hippopotamus            c) mosquitos            d) tigers

A. 11:  The correct answer is c) Mosquitos. They kill as many as 1,000,000 people per year from Malaria. Although it appears quite docile, the Hippopotamus is considered the most dangerous animal in Africa, killing 3,000 people per year. Crocodiles kill between 1500 and 2500 people per year. And Tigers are estimated to kill around 100 humans per year.

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Q. 12:  What do you call a scholar who studies the works of the Marquis de Sade?

A. 12:  A scholar who studies the works of the Marquis de Sade is called a ‘Sadian’, not a ‘Sadist’.

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Q. 13:  What are ‘second unit’ movie shots?

A. 13:  ‘Second unit’ movie shots do not require the presence of actors.

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Q. 14:  Which well known American writer was born on a day in 1835 when Haley’s Comet came into view and died on a day in 1910 when Haley’s Comet came into view again? (Will accept either his real name or pen name, a bonus point if you know both.)

A. 14:  Samuel Clemens aka Mark Twain was born on a day in 1835 when Haley’s Comet came into view and died on a day in 1910 when Haley’s Comet came into view again.

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Q. 15:  Which of these is the oldest?

            a) The Aztec Empire          b) The Inca Empire          c) Cambridge University

A. 15:  The correct answer is c) Cambridge University in England is older than both the Aztec and Inca empires.

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Q. 16:  What is the only state of the USA whose name is just one syllable? (Hint: the answer is not California.)

A. 16:  Maine is the only state whose name is just one syllable.

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Q. 17:  You’ve seen it many times and on lots of things, but what does the name ‘NABISCO’ mean?

A. 17:  ‘NABISCO’ simply means NAtional BIScuit COmpany.

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Q. 18:  Which side of a woman’s blouse are the buttons on?

A. 18:  The left.

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Q. 19:  He was a Spanish hero who, before he was 20, led a Spanish force against the Moors and drove them out of Spain. He is celebrated in poem and romance. Who was he?

A. 19:  El Cid.

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Q. 20:  In 1972 who didn’t want Ruby to take her love to town?

A. 20:  Kenny Rogers. Here it is….

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Another Month, Another Fact Filled Tuesday

“Fight Against Stupidity And Bureaucracy”

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What better way to start October than by arming yourselves with a few choice facts?

So here is a random selection of twenty totally unrelated pieces of information.

Enjoy.

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Because it’s growing about half an inch a year,

a person climbing Mount Everest today

would have to go 27 inches further to reach the peak

than Sir Edmund Hillary did in 1953.

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It is said that in 10th century Burma,

King Theinhko ate a farmer’s cucumbers without permission.

The farmer killed the king and took the throne.

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Walt Disney’s famous “logo” signature wasn’t really his;

it was designed by a staff artist.

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John F. Kennedy’s assassination on November 22nd, 1963,

overshadowed the deaths of two prominent authors:

Aldous Huxley and C. S. Lewis.

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Three months after Charlie Chaplin died

his corpse was stolen by two Swiss mechanics

in order to extort money from the family.

The robbers were captured and

Chaplin’s body was found eleven weeks later.

To prevent further attempts,

he was reburied under concrete.

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The Kit Kat bar got its name

from the Kit Kat Club in London’s West End,

a joint famous for bringing dance-band music to the city in the 1920s.

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Philo Farnsworth, an American television pioneer,

was inspired by a farmer’s plowing of a field

– the parallel rows giving him the idea of ‘scanning’ a picture.

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In the 1940s, Eleanor Abbott invented the board game Candy Land

as a diversion for children recovering from polio.

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In early 1900s America, “jay” was a slang term

used to describe a naïve or foolish person.

Thus, when such a pedestrian decided to ignore traffic signals and street signs,

he or she was referred to as a “jaywalker.”

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Thomas Jefferson and John Adams, once sworn political enemies

(though after retirement they became quite friendly),

both died on July 4th, 1826 (America’s 50th anniversary).

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Before aspirin was produced,

ailing patients chewed the bark of the white willow tree

(from which aspirin is derived)

to help alleviate fever and pain.

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Those doves released at weddings and other formal ceremonies

are actually white homing pigeons.

True ring-neck doves are bred to be kept as pets

and rarely survive out of captivity.

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Nutella was invented during WWII

when an Italian pastry maker mixed hazelnuts into chocolate

to extend his chocolate ration.

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King Louis XIV lived and ruled so long (72 yrs) that he is

not only the longest reigning ruler of Europe,

but his successor, Louis XV, was neither his son,

nor his grandson, but his great-grandson.

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Contrary to popular belief, the crash test dummy

(proper name, Anthropomorphic Test Device)

was first developed, not the automobile industry,

but for the Air Force to test ejection seats.

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Chemotherapy drugs are designed to kill any rapidly dividing cells.

Unfortunately, our hair follicles are some of the fastest-growing cells in the body,

which is why most cancer patients lose their hair during treatment.

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Some deaf people sign in their sleep.

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We all know that actor George Clooney

catapulted to fame as Doug Ross in the smash series ER,

which began in 1994.

However, 10 years earlier, Clooney starred as “Ace” Kolmar

in the ill-fated series E/R.

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Ian Murphy is the king of the old-school computer hackers.

In 1981, he and three accomplices broke into the AT&T phone system

and changed its internal clocks so that customers

would get midnight discounts in midday,

while late-night callers got stuck with outrageous bills.

For the incident, Murphy became the first hacker

to be charged with a computer crime.

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When Elvis Presley appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show,

Ed was recuperating from an arm injury

and the host was Charles Laughton.

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Did They Really Mean To Say That? Newspaper Headlines Nightmares, Part Three!!!

“Fight Against Stupidity And Bureaucracy”

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Another mid-week selection of linguistic catastrophes in the form of newspaper headlines that went sadly wrong.

I bet the authors were congratulating themselves when they wrote them on how clever they had been.

Sorry (at them), but hurrah to us, they had quite the opposite result.

Enjoy.

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