Veni, Vidi, Velcro… I Came, I Saw, I Stuck Around.

“Fight Against Stupidity And Bureaucracy”

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I hope you stick around too, because it’s another Pun Day.

You know the drill….

Enjoy or endure!

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rofl

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My little cousin has been diagnosed with an unusual case of OCD

where all he does all day is organize dinner plates by the year they were made,

It’s an extremely rare dish-order

spinning-plates

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I’ve written my own book

called 50 Shades of Gravy.

It’s very saucy.

gravy

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I’m an easy target for muggers.

Take it from me.

mugger

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I knew I had failed my Braille exam at the time.

It just felt wrong.

Braille exam

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“How’s your new stairlift nan?”

“It’s driving me up the wall.”

stairlift

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Just finished an experiment to find

the best cure for hiccups.

The result was a big surprise.

Hiccups-Scare

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I stabbed someone with a blunt pencil today.

It was an act of pointless violence.

blunt pencil

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I just took some pills and now my pupils look massive!

I really shouldn’t take hallucinogenic drugs while teaching.

The Simpsons Homer Dilated Pupil

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The wife would like us to feel a gentle and relaxing breeze

all over our bodies when we have sex.

I’m not a fan.

fan

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I thought I’d dug up an unknown

species of dinosaur in my back garden.

Excitedly I phoned the Natural History Museum,

but it turned out to be a fossil arm.

fossil arm

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Do you think eating horse meat

would give you the trots?

the trots

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I got my girlfriend the Connery and Dalton

James Bond movies for her birthday,

but she wasn’t happy.

I think she was expecting Moore.

roger_moore___007

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Hungry astronomers don’t like galaxies,

they prefer something that’s a little meteor.

meteor

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I have an Eskimo fetish,

but most people just aren’t that Inuit.

Selawik-Eskimo-Woman

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I’ve booked a table at one of those new

Elvis Presley-themed steakhouses.

They’re for people who love meat tender.

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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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facts 02

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The US Constitution contains many

spelling and grammatical errors.

american-constitution

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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.

Lunatic

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Thirty-three light years away there is an

exoplanet completely covered in burning ice.

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.

Steve Fossett

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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.

Roman_Empire_Map

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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.

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.

Homer and Langley Collyer house

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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.

Mongolian cavalry division

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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!)

servants were covered in honey to attract flies away from the pharaoh

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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.

assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria

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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.

elvis-presley-s-toilet

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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.

pizza deliveryman Brian Wells

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

are spoken in one country…

Papua New Guinea.

map_of_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.

Tomorrowland_Disneyland

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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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Some Challenging Questions – It must Be Quiz Day!

“Fight Against Stupidity And Bureaucracy”

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Welcome to another Quiz Day on the fasab blog.

I hope you are ready to try these challenging questions.

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

Enjoy and good luck.

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Quiz3

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Q  1:  We’ve all eaten M&Ms, but what do the two Ms stand for?

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Q  2: On the back of a $1 bill, what is in the center?

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Q  3: Who wrote ‘High Adventure’, about a spectacular mountain climb?

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Q  4: During World War II American factories produced approximately how many military aircraft?

           a)  200,000          b)  300,000          c)  400,000          d)  500,000

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Q  5: Captain Cook discovered which island in the pacific in 1777?

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Q  6: Who was assassinated at Memphis, Tennessee, in 1968?

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Q  7: What is the name of Elvis Presley’s home and where is it located? (A point for each correct answer.)

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Q  8: What name is given to a flat stretch of land within a river valley, which is the remnant of an earlier flood plain, when the river was at a higher level?

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Q  9: What is the name of the new TV series, starring John Malkovich, about the pirate Blackbeard?

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Q  10: What war ended with the fall of Saigon and in what year did it end? (A point for each correct answer.)

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Q  11: Which country lies to the north of Austria and the south of Poland?

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Q  12: Plus or minus 30 minutes, what was the Concorde’s record flight time from New York to London?

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Q  13: Who was responsible for the Green Car Crash in 1963?

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Q  14: What team thrashed Brazil by 7 goals to 1 in this year’s soccer World Cup semi-finals?

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Q  15: Who wrote about a fictional, diminutive, humanoid race called ‘Hobbits’ who inhabit the lands of Middle-earth?

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Q  16: The normal wing beat frequency of the annoying mosquito is what?

    a)  6 beats per sec.    b) 60 beats per sec.    c) 600 beats per sec.    d) 6,000 beats per sec.

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Q  17: ‘Cebuano’, ‘Fula’, ‘Gujarati’ and ‘Kannada’ are all examples of what?

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Q  18: What Oscar winning movie is based on the trials and tribulations of Harold Abraham and Eric Liddell?

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Q  19: Now a chance for some mega points. There are 13 official countries in the world which have a capital city beginning and ending with the same letter. (I don’t expect anyone to get them all, but have a point for each one you can name correctly. (names in the English language)).

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Q  20: Who said you could “call me Al” in 1986?

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ANSWERS

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Q  1:  We’ve all eaten M&Ms, but what do the two Ms stand for?

A  1:  The two Ms in M&Ms stand for Mars & Murrie’s, named after Forrest Mars and Bruce Murrie who started producing M&M’s exclusively for the military during WWII.

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Q  2: On the back of a $1 bill, what is in the center?

A  2: ONE.

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Q  3: Who wrote ‘High Adventure’, about a spectacular mountain climb?

A  3: Sir Edmund Hilary, the first man to climb Mount Everest.

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Q  4: During World War II American factories produced approximately how many military aircraft?

           a)  200,000          b)  300,000          c)  400,000          d)  500,000

A  4: The correct answer is b), American factories produced approximately 300,000 military aircraft during WWII.

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Q  5: Captain Cook discovered which island in the pacific in 1777?

A  5: Christmas Island.

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Q  6: Who was assassinated at Memphis, Tennessee, in 1968?

A  6: Martin Luther King jnr.

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Q  7: What is the name of Elvis Presley’s home and where is it located? (A point for each correct answer.)

A  7: The name of Elvis Presley’s home is Graceland and it is located in Memphis, Tennessee (3764 Elvis Presley Boulevard to be precise.)

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Q  8: What name is given to a flat stretch of land within a river valley, which is the remnant of an earlier flood plain, when the river was at a higher level?

A  8: It is called a River Terrace.

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Q  9: What is the name of the new TV series, starring John Malkovich, about the pirate Blackbeard?

A  9: Crossbones.

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Q  10: What war ended with the fall of Saigon and in what year did it end? (A point for each correct answer.)

A  10: The Vietnam War ended with the fall of Saigon. on 30 April 1975.

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Q  11: 4. Which country lies to the north of Austria and the south of Poland?

A  11: The Czech Republic.

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Q  12: Plus or minus 30 minutes, what was the Concorde’s record flight time from New York to London?

A  12: 2 hours. 55 minutes. 15 seconds.

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Q  13: Who was responsible for the Green Car Crash in 1963?

A  13: The Green Car Crash is Andy Warhol’s most famous painting. It was sold at auction on May 16, 2007 for $71.7m (£42.3m).

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Q  14: What team thrashed Brazil by 7 goals to 1 in this year’s soccer World Cup semi-finals?

A  14: Germany, who went on to win the competition.

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Q  15: Who wrote about a fictional, diminutive, humanoid race called ‘Hobbits’ who inhabit the lands of Middle-earth?

A  15: J. R. R. Tolkien.

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Q  16: The normal wing beat frequency of the annoying mosquito is what?

    a)  6 beats per sec.    b) 60 beats per sec.    c) 600 beats per sec.    d) 6,000 beats per sec.

A  16: The correct answer is c) 600 beats per sec.

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Q  17: ‘Cebuano’, ‘Fula’, ‘Gujarati’ and ‘Kannada’ are all examples of what?

A  17: They are all examples of languages. Cebuano is from the Philippines; Fula from Cameroon and Nigeria;  Gujarati from India and Pakistan; and Kannada from India.

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Q  18: What Oscar winning movie is based on the trials and tribulations of Harold Abraham and Eric Liddell?

A  18: ‘Chariots of Fire’ which tells the fact-based story of two athletes in the 1924 Olympics: Eric Liddell, a devout Scottish Christian who runs for the glory of God, and Harold Abrahams, an English Jew who runs to overcome prejudice.

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Q  19: Now a chance for some mega points. There are 13 official countries in the world which have a capital city beginning and ending with the same letter. (I don’t expect anyone to get them all, but have a point for each one you can name correctly. (names in the English language)).

A  19: They are: Abuja (Nigeria), Accra (Ghana), Addis Ababa (Ethiopia), Andorra la Vella (Andorra), Ankara (Turkey), Apia (Samoa), Asmara (Eritrea), Astana (Kazakstan), Oslo (Norway), St. George’s (Grenada), St. John’s (Antigua and Barbuda), Tashkent (Uzbekistan) and Warsaw (Poland).

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Q  20: Who said you could “call me Al” in 1986?

A  20: Paul Simon.

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Last Day Of The Month, First Quiz Of The Week.

“Fight Against Stupidity And Bureaucracy”

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Welcome to another start of the week quiz.

Another twenty brain teasing questions to stimulate those old grey cells.

As usual the answers can be found waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay down below, but please NO cheating!

Enjoy and good luck.

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Quiz 07

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Q.  1:  Where would you go to look at the Abominable Snowman?

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Q.  2:  Who was Jacqueline Lee Bouvier’s second husband?

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Q.  3:  Where were Gregory Peck, Ava Gardner, Fred Astaire and Antony Perkins in the 1959 post apocalyptic movie that they starred in?

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Q.  4:  What famous magician shares his name with an equally famous Dickens’ character?

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Q.  5:  In which country is Togariro National park with its three volcanoes, including Mt. Ruapahu?

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Q.  6:  Very few non Russians appeared on postage stamps in the USSR between 1922 and 1991, but two Americans did. Can you name them? (A point for each.)

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Q.  7:  This famous actor starred in a movie being himself, who is he?

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Q.  8:  Who was ‘The Once and Future King’? 

           a) Elvis           b) Arthur          c) Idi Amin           d) Aragorn

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Q.  9:  What was the name of the first director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and who is it’s current chief?  (A point for each correct answer.)

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Q. 10:  What is the name of the river that rises on the Tibetan Plateau of western China and has flooded more often and killed more people than any other?

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Q. 11:  Why were there no registered births or deaths in England on September 3rd 1752?

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Q. 12:  The name of which form of literature stems from a Greek word meaning ‘making’?

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Q. 13:  Which actor won his only Oscar for his role in the western ‘True Grit’?

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Q. 14:  The old name for which island country stems from the Latin word for beautiful?

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Q. 15:  What is the real name of The Shark Tank’s ‘Mr Wonderful’?

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Q. 16:  What is the capital of Equador?

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Q. 17:  Vincent van Gogh is not only a very famous artist with his works now commanding millions of dollars, but he is also well known for an incident in which he cut off an ear. Which one?  (Go on, you have a 50:50 chance on this one!)

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Q. 18:  What aliases did Hannibal Hayes and Kid Curry use in the long running television series?

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Q. 19:  Who was hailed as the founder of the Mongol Empire?

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Q. 20:  What was Elvis Presley’s first number one hit single in the USA?

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ANSWERS

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Q.  1:  Where would you go to look at the Abominable Snowman?

A.  1:  The Himalayas.

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Q.  2:  Who was Jacqueline Lee Bouvier’s second husband?

A.  2:  Greek shipping magnate, Aristotle Onassis.

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Q.  3:  Where were Gregory Peck, Ava Gardner, Fred Astaire and Antony Perkins in the 1959 post apocalyptic movie that they starred in?

A.  3:  On The Beach.

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Q.  4:  What famous magician shares his name with an equally famous Dickens’ character?

A.  4:  David Copperfield.

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Q.  5:  In which country is Togariro National park with its three volcanoes, including Mt. Ruapahu?

A.  5:  New Zealand.

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Q.  6:  Very few non Russians appeared on postage stamps in the USSR between 1922 and 1991, but two Americans did. Can you name them? (A point for each.)

A.  6:  They were Benjamin Franklin and Mark Twain.

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Q.  7:  This famous actor starred in a movie being himself, who is he?

A.  7:  He is John Malkovich, who starred in the movie ‘Being John Malkovich’.

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Q.  8:  Who was ‘The Once and Future King’? 

           a) Elvis           b) Arthur          c) Idi Amin           d) Aragorn

A.  8:  b) Arthur.

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Q.  9:  What was the name of the first director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and who is it’s current chief?  (A point for each correct answer.)

A.  9:  J Edgar Hoover was the first, the current director is James Comey.

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Q. 10:  What is the name of the river that rises on the Tibetan Plateau of western China and has flooded more often and killed more people than any other?

A. 10:  The Yellow River.

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Q. 11:  Why were there no registered births or deaths in England on September 3rd 1752?

A. 11:  There was no September 3rd 1752. The British government adopted the Gregorian calendar.  It was decreed that the day following September 2nd 1752 should be called September 14.

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Q. 12:  The name of which form of literature stems from a Greek word meaning ‘making’?

A. 12:  Poetry.

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Q. 13:  Which actor won his only Oscar for his role in the western ‘True Grit’?

A. 13:  John Wayne.

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Q. 14:  The old name for which island country stems from the Latin word for beautiful?

A. 14:  Formosa (the modern name is Taiwan.)

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Q. 15:  What is the real name of The Shark Tank’s ‘Mr Wonderful’?

A. 15:  Kevin O’Leary.

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Q. 16:  What is the capital of Equador?

A. 16:  Quito.

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Q. 17:  Vincent van Gogh is not only a very famous artist with his works now commanding millions of dollars, but he is also well known for an incident in which he cut off an ear. Which one?  (Go on, you have a 50:50 chance on this one!)

A. 17:  It was his left ear.

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Q. 18:  What aliases did Hannibal Hayes and Kid Curry use in the long running television series?

A. 18:  They were ‘Alias Smith And Jones’.

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Q. 19:  Who was hailed as the founder of the Mongol Empire?

A. 19:  Genghis Khan.

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Q. 20:  What was Elvis Presley’s first number one hit single in the USA?

A. 20:  Heartbreak Hotel (in 1956).

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Another Day For All You Quizzers Out There.

“Fight Against Stupidity And Bureaucracy”

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Another set of twenty questions to get you thinking.

They say they are all easy if you know the answers – and can remember them!

Good luck with this lot, some are easy but some are quite tough.

And if you get stuck you’ll find the answers waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay down below – but NO cheating please!

Enjoy.

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quiz confused1

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Q.  1:  Which vitamin is also known as ascorbic acid?

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Q.  2:  Approximately what percentage of all the water on Earth is fresh water?

           a)  3%        b)  13%        c) 23%        d) 33%

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Q.  3:  In Greek mythology which Trojan hero killed Achilles?

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Q.  4:  In which Hitchcock movie is Cary Grant’s character the victim of mistaken identity?

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Q.  5:  What type of animal is a skink?

           a) Snake        b) Lizard        c) Marsupial

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Q.  6:  In German cuisine what is Stollen?

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Q.  7:  Which of these wars took place first?

           a) Boer War         b) First World War        c) Crimean War

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Q.  8:  Which American company produces the Polo clothing line?

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Q.  9:  On what English play is the musical West Side Story based?

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Q. 10:  What color is known as sable in heraldry?

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Q. 11:  Which Apostle is often described as the first Pope?

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Q. 12:  Professor Robert Langdon features in novels by which American author?

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Q. 13:  What shape is ‘rigatoni’ pasta?

            a) shell        b) tube        c) cartwheel        d) spiral

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Q. 14:  ‘Nature morte’ is the French term for what type of painting?

            a) portrait        b) landscape        c) still life

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Q. 15:  The term ‘zoophagous’ has a similar meaning to which of the following words?

            a) carnivorous        b) herbivorous        c) piscivorous

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Q. 16:  What does the musical term ‘adagio’ mean?

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Q. 17:  Harold Holt who disappeared while swimming in 1967 was the Prime Minister of which country?

            a) Canada        b) United Kingdom        c) Australia         d) New Zealand

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Q. 18:  In what country did the tango dance originate?

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Q. 19:  Which US President did John Hinckley try to assassinate?

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Q. 20:  In what year did Elvis Presley die?

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ANSWERS

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Q.  1:  Which vitamin is also known as ascorbic acid?

A.  1:  Vitamin C.

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Q.  2:  Approximately what percentage of all the water on Earth is fresh water?

           a)  3%        b)  13%        c) 23%        d) 33%

A.  2:  a)  3%

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Q.  3:  In Greek mythology which Trojan hero killed Achilles?

A.  3:  Paris, who shot him in the heel with a poison arrow.

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Q.  4:  In which Hitchcock movie is Cary Grant’s character the victim of mistaken identity?

A.  4:  North By Northwest.

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Q.  5:  What type of animal is a skink?

           a) Snake        b) Lizard        c) Marsupial

A.  5:  b) Lizard

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Q.  6:  In German cuisine what is Stollen?

A.  6:  A Fruit Loaf.

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Q.  7:  Which of these wars took place first?

           a) Boer War         b) First World War        c) Crimean War

A.  7:  c) Crimean War

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Q.  8:  Which American company produces the Polo clothing line?

A.  8:  Ralph Lauren.

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Q.  9:  On what English play is the musical West Side Story based?

A.  9:  Romeo And Juliet by William Shakespeare.

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Q. 10:  What color is known as sable in heraldry?

A. 10:  Black.

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Q. 11:  Which Apostle is often described as the first Pope?

A. 11:  Peter.

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Q. 12:  Professor Robert Langdon features in novels by which American author?

A. 12:  Dan Brown.

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Q. 13:  What shape is ‘rigatoni’ pasta?

            a) shell        b) tube        c) cartwheel        d) spiral

A. 13:  b) tube.

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Q. 14:  ‘Nature morte’ is the French term for what type of painting?

            a) portrait        b) landscape        c) still life

A. 14:  c) still life.

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Q. 15:  The term ‘zoophagous’ has a similar meaning to which of the following words?

            a) carnivorous        b) herbivorous        c) piscivorous

A. 15:  a) carnivorous.

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Q. 16:  What does the musical term ‘adagio’ mean?

A. 16:  Slow.

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Q. 17:  Harold Holt who disappeared while swimming in 1967 was the Prime Minister of which country?

            a) Canada        b) United Kingdom        c) Australia         d) New Zealand

A. 17:  c) Australia

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Q. 18:  In what country did the tango dance originate?

A. 18:  Argentina.

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Q. 19:  Which US President did John Hinckley try to assassinate?

A. 19:  Ronald Reagan.

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Q. 20:  In what year did Elvis Presley die?

A. 20:  1977.

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More Random Samples From The Fasab Fact File

“Fight Against Stupidity And Bureaucracy”

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If its facts you want we have them!

So here is another selection.

If you can’t find something you don’t know in here then you know far too much.

Enjoy.

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did you know3

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“Kemo Sabe”, the name Tonto called The Lone Ranger

means “Soggy Shrub” in Navajo Indian.

The Tonto in Spanish means “a fool”.

Lone Ranger and Tonto

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Ketchup was sold in the 1830’s as medicine.

ketchup

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Killer whales have such a good sense of touch

that if you dropped a pill into a bucket

and feed it to the orca

it would eat the fish and spit out the pill.

Shamu_the_Killer_Whale_Sea_World_Orlando

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Kleenex tissues were originally used as filters in gas masks.

Kleenex

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Knitted socks discovered in Ancient Egyptian tombs

have been dated back as far as the 3rd century AD.

Oh mummy!

knitted socks

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Larry Lewis ran the 100 yard dash in 17.9 seconds in 1969,

there by setting a new world’s record

for runners in the 100 years or older class.

He was 101.

old-runner

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5% of Canadians don’t know the first 7 words of the Canadian anthem,

but know the first 9 of the American anthem.

Canadian Anthem

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7% of Americans don’t know the first 9 words of the American anthem,

but know the first 7 of the Canadian anthem.

American Anthem

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85,000,000 tons of paper are used each year in the U.S.

paper

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99% of the solar system’s mass is concentrated in the sun.

sun-etc

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There is a company in Taiwan makes dinnerware

out of wheat, so you can eat your plate.

wheat dinnerware

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About 70% of Americans who go to college

do it just to make more money.

(The rest are just avoiding reality for four more years.)

college

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America once issued a 5-cent bill.

5 Cent Bill

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The Aztec emperor Montezuma had a nephew named Cuitlahuac,

whose name meant “plenty of excrement.”

Now there’s revenge for you!

cuitlahuac_realista

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Clans of long ago that wanted to get rid of

their unwanted people without killing them

used to burn their houses down

– hence the expression “to get fired.”

youre-fired

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Donald Duck comics were banned from Finland

because he doesn’t wear pants

– the little pecker!

donald_duck

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Marijuana is not as chemically addictive

as is nicotine, alcohol, or caffeine.

One of the reasons marijuana is illegal today

is because in the 1930’s cotton growers lobbied against

hemp farmers whom they saw it as competition.

marijuana-leaf

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Special playing cards were issued to British pilots in WWII.

If captured, they could be soaked in water

and unfolded to reveal a map for escape.

map-card

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The three best-known western names in China are

Jesus Christ, Richard Nixon, and Elvis Presley.

Nixon and Elvis

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Lady Astor once told Winston Churchill,

‘If you were my husband, I would poison your coffee’.

To which Churchill replied,

‘If you were my wife, I would drink it’.

Astor vs Churchill

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Clever Celebrity Caricatures

“Fight Against Stupidity And Bureaucracy”

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As most of you know, the main focus of this blog is on the stupidity of the politicians and bureaucrats who do all that they can to make our lives less enjoyable and free than they could be without such unwanted and idiotic interference.

Occasionally, however, I like to feature quite the opposite, things and people who are exceptional in their chosen field, whether that be science, sport, engineering, music or whatever.

Today’s post is one of the latter and is a wonderful selection of caricatures that I received in a recent email. Unfortunately I don’t know the names of the exceptional artists who did these drawings, otherwise I would be more than happy to acknowledge them. Nonetheless I think as wide an audience as possible deserves to be able to view their work and what follows I hope will be a small part of that.

Enjoy, I think you will. And if you feel the urge please let me know you favorite or favorites.

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Caricatures.

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Einstein

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Angela Merkel and Gordon Brown

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Barack Obama and Arnold Schwarzenegger

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Benedikt XVI and Prince Charles

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George W Bush and Vladimir Poetin

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Bill Clinton and Gerhard Schroder

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Donald Trump and Bill Gates

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Andy Warhol and Salvador Dali

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Pablo Picasso and Karl Lagerfeld

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Quentin Tarantino and Alfred Hitchcock .

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Steven Spielberg and Roman Polanski

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Angela Jolie and Brad Pitt.

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Bette Davis and Marlene Dietrich.

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Bill Murray and Bruce Willis

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Christopher Walken

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Clint Eastwood and George Clooney

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Humphrey Bogart and Harrison Ford

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Jack Nicholson and Jamie Lee Curtis

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John Wayne and Klaus Kinski

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Lee Marvin and Marilyn Monroe

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Meryl Streep and Nicolas Cage

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Paul Newman and Orson Wells

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Penelope Cruz and Robert de Niro

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Rowan Atkinson and Sarah Jessica Parker

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Sean Connery and Sophia Loren

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Sylvester Stallone and Tom Cruise.

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Tom Hanks and Uma Thurman

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Whoopi Goldberg and Bruce Lee

.

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Bjork and David Bowie

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.

Chet Baker

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Dolly Parton and Duke Ellington

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Elvis Presley and Eric Clapton

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James Brown and John Lenon

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Keith Richards and Kylie Minogue

.

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Lou Reed and Michael Jackson

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Madonna

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Mick Jagger and Neil Young

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Paul McCartney and Steve Tyler

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Tina Turner and Katarina Witt

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THE END

(Copyright to all drawings belong to the original artists)

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Significant Number Factoid Friday – Today Number Eleven 11

“Fight Against Stupidity And Bureaucracy”

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The number for today’s Friday Factoid is eleven. If this is your lucky number, date of birth or if you are just interested in random facts, now is your chance to find out some things you probably didn’t know about the number eleven.

Enjoy!

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The Number Eleven 11

11

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In religion

  • The word “apple” is cited 11 times in the Bible, all in the Old Testament.
  • Moses was instructed to make curtains of goats’ hair to be a covering upon the tabernacle: “eleven curtains shalt thou make.” ( Exodus 26.7)
  • 11 apostles remained with Jesus after the treason and suicide of Apostle Judas:
  • After Judas Iscariot was disgraced, the remaining apostles of Jesus were sometimes described as “the Eleven”; this occurred even after Matthias was added to bring the number to 12, as in Acts 2:14.
  • Jesus’ parable of the vineyard laborers: And about the eleventh hour he went out, and found others standing idle, and says unto them, Why stand you here all the day idle? (Matthew 20.6)
  • 11th Book of Enoch describes the Messianic Kingdom. 
  • 11th Station of the Cross: Crucifixion of Jesus (14 Stations of the Cross, Via Dolorosa)
  • 11 is a spiritually significant number in Thelema.

 

 

In mathematics

  • If a number is divisible by 11, reversing its digits will result in another multiple of 11.
  • As long as no two adjacent digits of a number added together exceed 9, then multiplying the number by 11, reversing the digits of the product, and dividing that new number by 11, will yield a number that is the reverse of the original number. (For example: 142,312 x 11 = 1,565,432. 2,345,651 / 11 = 213,241.)
  • An 11-sided polygon is called a hendecagon or undecagon.

 hendecagon 11 sides

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In computing

  • In Mozilla Firefox, Opera, Konqueror for KDE, Google Chrome and Internet Explorer for Windows, the function key F11 key toggles full screen viewing mode. In Mac OS X, F11 hides all open windows.
  • The windowing system for Unix computers is known as X11.
  • Computers of the PDP-11 series from Digital Equipment Corporation were informally referred to as “elevens”.

 

cpu room with DEC PDP-11
cpu room with DEC PDP-11

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In science

  • 11 is the atomic number of sodium.
  • 11 is the Atomic Weight of Boron, a black and semi-metallic element, chemically closer to silicon than to aluminium.
  • In modern string theory physics, 11 dimensions are proposed to exist in the universe.

 modern string theory physics

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In space

  • Apollo 11 was the first manned spacecraft to land on the Moon.

Apollo 11 insignia

  • The approximate periodicity of a sunspot cycle is 11 years.
  • Messier object M11, a magnitude 7.0 open cluster in the constellation Scutum, also known as the Wild Duck Cluster.
Messier object M11 - Wild Duck Cluster
Messier object M11 – Wild Duck Cluster
  • The New General Catalogue object NGC 11, a spiral galaxy in the constellation Andromeda
  • The 11th moon of Jupiter is Himalia.

 

himalia, the 11th Moon of Jupiter
Himalia, the 11th Moon of Jupiter

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 .

In politics

  • 11th State to enter the Union is New York (July 26, 1788)
  • The 11th President of the United States is James Polk (1795-1849) who served (1845-1849).
James Polk 11th President of the United States of America
James Polk 11th President of the United States of America
  • Polk was on the 11¢ stamp issued on September 8, 1938 in the Presidential Series.
  • 11¢ stamps of the United States have also featured Presidents, Benjamin Franklin (issued Aug. 9, 1915) and Rutherford B. Hayes (issued Oct. 4, 1922)

 

11 cent stamps, Franklin, Polk, Hayes
11 cent stamps, Franklin, Polk, Hayes

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 .

In Canada

  • The stylized maple leaf on the Flag of Canada has 11 points.

Flag of Canada

  • The Canadian one-dollar coin is a hendecagon, an 11-sided polygon.
Canadian one-dollar coin
Canadian one-dollar coin
  • Clocks depicted on Canadian currency, for example the Canadian fifty-dollar bill, show 11:00.
Canadian fifty-dollar bill
Canadian fifty-dollar bill showing clock
  • Eleven denominations of Canadian currency are produced in large quantities.
  • Due to Canada’s federal nature, eleven legally distinct Crowns effectively exist in the country, with the Monarch being represented separately in each province, as well as at the federal level.

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In sport

  • There are 11 players on a soccer team on the field at a time as well as in a cricket team.
  • Also in soccer, a penalty kick is referred to as “Elfmeter” because the penalty spot is approximately 11m (precisely 12 yards) from the goal line.
  • Historically, in the Pyramid formation that position names are taken from, a left wing-forward in football wears number 11. In the modern game, especially using the 4-4-2 formation, it is worn by a left-sided midfielder. Less commonly a striker will wear the shirt.
  • There are 11 players in a field hockey team. The player wearing 11 will usually play on the left-hand side, as in soccer.
  • An American football team also has 11 players on the field at one time during play. 11 is also worn by quarterbacks, kickers, punter and wide receivers in American football’s NFL.
  • In rugby union, the starting left wing wears the 11 shirt.
  • In cricket, the 11th batsman is usually the weakest batsman, at the end of the tail. He is primarily in the team for his bowling abilities.
  • The jersey number 11 has been retired by several North American sports teams in honor of past playing greats or other key figures:
  • In Major League Baseball: the Chicago White Sox, for Hall of Famer Luis Aparicio ( 2010 and 2011, Aparicio allowed fellow Venezuelan Omar Vizquel to wear the number); the Cincinnati Reds, for Hall of Famer Barry Larkin; the Detroit Tigers, for Hall of Fame manager Sparky Anderson; the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, for Jim Fregosi (who played for the team in its former incarnations as the Los Angeles Angels and California Angels, and also managed the California Angels); the Pittsburgh Pirates, for Hall of Famer Paul Waner; the San Francisco Giants, for Hall of Famer Carl Hubbell (honoring the number’s retirement when the team was known as the New York Giants); the Seattle Mariners have yet to retire any numbers, but have not issued #11 since the retirement of Edgar Martínez at the end of the 2004 season.
Baseball Hall of Fame Cincinnati Reds
Baseball Hall of Fame Cincinnati Reds
  • In the NBA: the Detroit Pistons, for Hall of Famer Isiah Thomas; the Sacramento Kings, for Hall of Famer Bob Davies (honoring the number’s retirement when the team was known as the Rochester Royals); the Washington Wizards, for Hall of Famer Elvin Hayes (who played for the team in its past incarnations as the Baltimore, Capital, and Washington Bullets);
Elvin Hayes
Elvin Hayes
  • In the NFL: the New York Giants, for Phil Simms.
  • In the NHL: the Buffalo Sabres, for Hall of Famer Gilbert Perreault; the Edmonton Oilers and New York Rangers, for Hall of Famer Mark Messier; the St. Louis Blues, for Brian Sutter; the Washington Capitals, for Hall of Famer Mike Gartner.

 

Oilers and New York Rangers, for Hall of Famer Mark Messier
Oilers and New York Rangers, for Hall of Famer Mark Messier

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In militaria

  • World War I ended with an Armistice on November 11, 1918, which went into effect at 11:00 am, the 11th hour on the 11th day of the 11th month of the year. Armistice Day is still observed on November 11 of each year, although it is now called Veterans Day in the United States and Remembrance Day in the Commonwealth of Nations and parts of Europe.

Armistice Day

  • 11 is the number of guns in a gun salute to U.S. Army, Air Force and Marine Corps Brigadier Generals, and to Navy and Coast Guard Rear Admirals Lower Half.
  • 11 is the number of General Orders for Sentries in the Marine Corps and United States Navy.

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  • USN F11F Tiger
  • The Grumman F11F/F-11 Tiger was a single-seat carrier-based United States Navy fighter aircraft in operation during the 1950s and 1960s. Originally designated the F11F Tiger in April 1955 under the pre-1962 Navy designation system, it was redesignated as F-11 Tiger under the 1962 United States Tri-Service aircraft designation system.
  • The F11F/F-11 was used by the Blue Angels flight team from 1957 to 1969. Grumman Aircraft Corporation made about 200 Tigers, with last delivered 23 January 1
The Grumman F11F/F-11 Tiger
The Grumman F11F/F-11 Tiger

 

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  • J-11 Chinese Light Fighter Aircraft
  • The J-11 designation was originally applied in the design Shenyang Aircraft Factory in response to a 1968 requirement for a replacement PLAAF J-6 (MiG-19 Farmer). Shenyang’s proposal was triggered by a British Spey 512 afterburning turbofan engine and followed a conventional light fighter design, with wings swept back and side of the fuselage assembly entries.
  • The J-11 was a sophisticated design for its time, but the British Spey-512 engines proved “difficult” for Communist China to obtain at that time. Shenyang factory was ordered to concentrate their energies in the J-8, and J-11 never went beyond the planning stage.

 

J-11 Chinese Light Fighter Aircraft
J-11 Chinese Light Fighter Aircraft

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  • The B-11 Gun
  • The B-11 gun is designed by the Design Bureau under guidance of B.I. Shavyrin. Its barrel consists of a smooth-bore tube, chamber, breech and breech mechanism. It is fixed on a tripod mount consisting of frame and boom. In firing position, the gun rests on the tripod mount and the wheels are elevated above ground level. The gun is transported by means of a prime-mover.
  • The gun can be transported in a truck body together with crew and ammo load. The gun can be also dropped by parachute.

 

BZO (Recoillessgun) B-11

  • Colt 1911
  • Designed by John Browning, the M1911 Colt is arguably the most well known pistol in the world. It is a single-action, semi-automatic, magazine-fed, recoil-operated handgun chambered for the .45 ACP cartridge. It  served as the standard-issue side arm for the United States armed forces from 1911 to 1985 and was widely used in World War I, World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War.
  • The M1911 is still carried by some U.S. forces. Its formal designation as of 1940 was Automatic Pistol, Caliber .45, M1911 for the original Model of 1911 or Automatic Pistol, Caliber .45, M1911A1 for the M1911A1, adopted in 1924.
  • In total, the United States procured around 2.7 million M1911 and M1911A1 pistols in military contracts during its service life. The M1911 was replaced by the M9 pistol as the standard U.S. sidearm in the early 1990s, but due to its popularity among users, it has not been completely phased out. Modern M1911 variants are still in use by some units within the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps.
  • Many military and law enforcement organizations in the United States and other countries continue to use (often modified) M1911A1 pistols including Marine Corps Special Operations Command, Los Angeles Police Department S.W.A.T. and L.A.P.D. S.I.S., the FBI Hostage Rescue Team, F.B.I. regional S.W.A.T. teams, and 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment—Delta (Delta Force). The Tacoma, Washington Police Department selected the Kimber Pro Carry II or Pro Carry II HD as optional, department supplied weapons available to its officers
Colt 1911
Colt 1911

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  • Sig Sauer M11-A1
  • Two of the most watched shows on television are NCIS and NCIS: Los Angeles. The 2nd spinoff show, NCIS: LA features covert NCIS agents based out of Los Angeles investigating things that have nothing to do with NCIS and regularly getting into gunfights and leaving bodies all over LA. And each week, they’re correctly depicted using the Sig Sauer M11, the standard issue pistol for NCIS, Army CID, and a number of other special units of the US military.
  • The Sig Sauer M11-A1 is a commercially available version of the military sidearm; upgrading the slide to stainless steel and adding Sig’s excellent Short Reset Trigger. The Sig M11-A1 comes standard with three 15-round magazines, and SigLite night sights.

 

Sig Sauer M11-A1
Sig Sauer M11-A1

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  • Smith & Wesson Model 11 .38 Pistol
  • The American Smith & Wesson .38 Model 11 Revolver was supplied to British Commonwealth countries 1950s – 1970s for Police use. A standard 6-shot hand ejector with 4” barrel, ‘Mod 11’ marking and flared chequered walnut grips.
Smith-and-Wesson-Model-11
Smith-and-Wesson-Model-11

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  • In music, movies and television
  • The interval of an octave and a fourth is an 11th.
  • A complete 11th chord has almost every note of a diatonic scale.
  • The number of thumb keys on a bassoon, not counting the whisper key. (A few bassoons have a 12th thumb key.)
  • In Igor Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring, there are 11 consecutive repetitions of the same chord.
  • In Tool’s song Jimmy, and in Negativland’s song Time Zones the number 11 is heard numerous times in the lyrics.
  • “Eleven pipers piping” is the gift on the 11th day of Christmas in the carol “The Twelve Days of Christmas”
  • The Eleven is a song by The Grateful Dead.
  • Eleven Records is the record label of Jason Webley, and many of Webley’s works feature the number 11.
  • Three films, Ben-Hur (1959), Titanic (1997), and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003), have each won 11 Academy Awards, including Best Picture of their respective years.
ben hur action shot
ben hur action shot
  • Ocean’s Eleven is the name of two American films.
  • The Eleventh Commandment is a feature length film by Allied Pictures Corp. (1933) adapted from the story The Pillory by Brandon Fleming.
  • The Eleventh Commandment (1962) is a science fiction novel by Lester del Rey (USA). In a heavily overpopulated future, the Roman Catholic Church continues to encourage people to be fruitful and multiply. But there is a scientific reason behind this apparent madness.
  • The number of incarnations of The Doctor in BBC sci-fi series Doctor Who is 11, as of 2012. (William Hartnell; Patrick Troughton; Jon Pertwee; Tom Baker; Peter Davison; Colin Baker; Sylvester McCoy; Paul McGann; Christopher Eccleston; David Tennant and Matt Smith)
The 11 actors who have played 'The Doctor'
The 11 actors who have played ‘The Doctor’

 

 

 

Other stuff

  • Cities located at 11o longitude: Munich, Germany; Monrovia, Liberia
  • Cities located at 11o latitude: Phnom Penh, Cambodia; Baranquilla, Colombia
  • The eleventh hour means the last possible moment to take care of something, and often implies a situation of urgent danger or emergency (see Doomsday clock).
  • 11 days were lost when the British imposed the Gregorian calendar in 1752, decreeing that the day following September 2 be called September 14.
  • “Elevenses” is a tea or coffee taken at midmorning and often accompanied by a snack (British custom).
  • The number 11 bus is a low-cost way of sightseeing in London
  • In the game of blackjack, an Ace can be counted as either one or 11, whichever is more advantageous for the player.

BlackJack

  • 11 is the number of the French department Aude.
  • 11 is the channel assignment of GMA News TV in the Philippines (formerly ZOE-TV 11). Both owned by ZOE Broadcasting Network and GMA Network.
  • The Roman numeral for 11 is XI.
  • Steel wedding anniversary celebrates 11 years of marriage.
  • K is the 11th letter of the English alphabet .
  • Kaph is the 11th letter of the Hebrew alphabet, and means “grasping hand”, with a numeric value of 20.
  • Lambda is the 11th letter of the Greek alphabet, meaning service, with numeric value of 30
  • In Astrology, Aquarius is the 11th astrological sign of the Zodiac.
  • The dog is the 11th sign of the Chinese Animal Zodiac based on the lunar year. Dog-year people are honest, intelligent, and straightforward, with a deep sense of loyalty and justice. The previous dog year was Feb. 10, 1994 to Jan. 30, 1995. The next lunar dog year is Jan. 29, 2006 to Feb. 17, 2007. People born in the dog year include Voltaire, Winston Churchill, Mother Teresa, Chou En-lai, Sophia Loren, Elvis Presley, and Bill Clinton.
  • The Cologne coat of arms depicts the two-headed Imperial eagle holding sword and sceptre. The escutcheon (shield) shows three crowns (relics of the Three Magi kept in the Cologne Cathedral). The 11 black flames stand for the Patron Saint Ursula protecting the 11,000 virgins. Hans Memling (1440-1494) painted “Saint Ursula and the Holy Virgins” (1489) on wood at Saint Ursula Shrine in Bruges. Memling reduced the 11,000 virgins to a more manageable 11.  
  • German Rhineland carnival season begins on 11.11 at 11:11 A.M. in Cologne.

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9 / 11

  • The twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York City looked like the number 11.
  • It was 110 stories tall, rising 1353 feet and was the tallest building in the world, until surpassed by Chicago’s Sears Tower (1450 feet).
  • WTC was built in 1966-1977 by Minoru Yamasaki.

World-Trade-Center

  • American Airlines Flight 11 was a passenger flight which was hijacked by five al-Qaeda terrorists on September 11, 2001, as part of the September 11 attacks. They deliberately crashed it into the North Tower of the World Trade Center in New York City, killing all 87 people aboard plus the hijackers, and an unconfirmed number in the building’s impact zone. The aircraft involved, a Boeing 767-223ER, was flying American Airlines’ daily scheduled morning transcontinental service from Logan International Airport, in Boston, Massachusetts, to Los Angeles International Airport, in Los Angeles, California.
  • The second aircraft, a United Airlines Flight 175, a Boeing 767–222, scheduled to fly from Logan International Airport, in Boston, Massachusetts, to Los Angeles International Airport, in Los Angeles, California, hit the South Tower at 09.03.

The Day That Changed America

9-11 world trade center second airplane

  • After the World Trade Center was demolished by terrorist attack on 9/11/2001, ceremonies were held on subsequent 9/11 dates near the site showing “Tribute in Light”— twin beams of light that resemble the number 11 projected to the sky.      

 world-trade-center-lights

 

 

 

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