The Mysterious Death Of A UN Secretary General

July 31, 2015July 13, 2015 fasab Crime, Factoids, Politics, Rants academic, academics, African continent, American intelligence agencies, anti-colonial movements, archives, assassinated, available evidence, Ban Ki-moon, Belgium, britain, British, British colonial administrators, British-administered territory, Central Intelligence Agency, colonial masters, Commission, Congo, Congolese Prime Minister, conspiracy theorists, contributed to his own downfall, crucial evidence, death of UN General Secretary Dag Hammarskjold, deliberate sabotage, diplomat, Don’t hold your breath, Douglas DC-6 transport aircraft, emerged, Entertainment, error, European-supported chieftains, facts, fateful day, fierce supporter, former intelligence officer, foul play, Göran Björkdahl, get away with it, government entity, half a century later, Hammarskjöld, Hammarskjöld Commission, Hammarskjöld Inquiry Trust, in the pockets of the powers that be, independent investigators, independent thinker, information, international team of jurists, investigations, Kennedy assassination conspiracy, killed in an airplane crash, listened to a recording of a pilot, Lumumba, Marxist government, mineral-rich Katanga region, most likely cause, mystery, National Security Agency, Netherlands, non-investigation investigations, Northern Rhodesia, not be ruled out, obscure the details of the incident, on board, one of the enduring mysteries of the 20th century, Opinion, over drive, Patrice Lumumba, People, pilot error, politics, Rants, Rhodesian Board of Investigation, Rhodesian Commission of Inquiry, seceded, Secretary General, Secretary General Hammarskjöld, shot down, shot down the plane, significant new evidence, similar fates, South Africa, Susan Williams, Swedish, The Mysterious Death Of A UN Secretary General, Thoughts, three judges, tragedy, truth, UN Commission of Investigation, UN General Assembly, unidentified second plane, United Kingdom, United Nations Commission of Investigation, US, US National Security Agency, Western-backed coup, who ordered the assassination, who really did kill JKF, written testimony by a Belgian pilot, Zambia

“Fight Against Stupidity And Bureaucracy”

Not quite up there with the Kennedy assassination conspiracy, but still a mystery, is the death of UN General Secretary Dag Hammarskjold who was killed in an airplane crash – some say assassinated – on September 17, 1961.

On that fateful day, a Douglas DC-6 transport aircraft with Hammarskjöld on board crashed in the British-administered territory of Northern Rhodesia (now called Zambia). Not only Hammarskjold, but everyone on board was killed in the crash.

Three investigations into the crash were held, conducted by the Rhodesian Board of Investigation, the Rhodesian Commission of Inquiry, and the United Nations Commission of Investigation.

As usual in these non-investigation investigations, “pilot error” was noted as the most likely cause of the tragedy.

But the UN Commission of Investigation held in 1962 said that deliberate sabotage could not be ruled out as a likely cause of the tragedy, which of course set the conspiracy theorists on over drive.

Since then many academics and independent investigators, such as Swedish development expert Göran Björkdahl and British academic Susan Williams, have raised the possibility that the plane carrying Secretary General Hammarskjöld may have been “shot down by an unidentified second plane”.

Just after the tragedy the eagerness shown by British colonial administrators in Northern Rhodesia to obscure the details of the incident has also been highlighted and has provided further impetus for those pointing to foul play.

Like many others who have met similar fates, Hammarskjöld probably contributed to his own downfall because he was an independent thinker, not content to remain in the pockets of the powers that be. He was, for example, a fierce supporter of anti-colonial movements that were sweeping the African continent, many of which were not in the interests of their colonial masters at the time.

This is borne out by the fact that on the day of his death, Hammarskjöld was flying to the Congo’s mineral-rich Katanga region to meet European-supported chieftains who in 1960 had seceded from the Marxist government of Congolese Prime Minister Patrice Lumumba.

Lumumba had been assassinated in a Western-backed coup exactly eight months before Hammarskjöld’s own death. The person said to have arranged his assassination was Daphne Park, one of MI6’s top female intelligence agents and known by some as the “Queen of Spies”.

Moving on in time to three years ago, in 2012, the independently funded Hammarskjöld Inquiry Trust appointed an international team of jurists, called the Hammarskjöld Commission, to study all available evidence on the plane crash. The team was composed of a diplomat and three judges from the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, South Africa, and Sweden.

The Commission reported in 2013 that “significant new evidence” had emerged, which suggested that American intelligence agencies, notably the National Security Agency and the Central Intelligence Agency, had “crucial evidence” that could help clarify the causes of the crash.

This led to the current UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, appointing a UN-sponsored panel of experts to examine the new evidence and present it before the UN General Assembly. The three-member panel traveled to several countries, including Zambia, the US, Britain and Belgium, to access government, as well as private archives.

That ‘new evidence’ is said to include written testimony by a Belgian pilot who says he shot down the plane carrying Hammarskjöld by error while trying to divert it on orders by a government entity, and a statement by a former intelligence officer with the US National Security Agency, admitting he listened to a recording of a pilot who said he shot down the UN Secretary General’s plane.

Damning stuff – if true.

Is it really possible that more than half a century later the truth about “one of the enduring mysteries of the 20th century” is finally going to be heard?

Don’t hold your breath on that one. It all depends if those who ordered the assassination think they can get away with it after all these years.

So who really did kill JKF, more importantly, why, and how long are we going to have to wait to find out?

================================

People, Places And Probably More – Quiz Day!

July 27, 2015July 27, 2015 fasab Questions, Tests Afghanistan, Aintreee, American Declaration of Independence, Australia, Batmania, Beluga, bribe, British aristocracy, car, chess, CIA, city, classical music composer, Columbo, common name, country, detectives, District of Columbia, drug, Duplicatus, education, England, Entertainment, executed, fictional character, first and the final drafts, general knowledge, Geography, gourmet, history, insured his taste buds, intortus, Kal-El, King of England, Liverpool, major landmass, mountain range, nature, People, perlucidus, petition, petitioned to become a state, places, populated by humans, questions, quiz, quizzes, saltwater, six wives, steeplechase horse race, super yachts, tax dollars, television, The Backbone Of England, Volkswagen Beetle, warlords, water, winter resort, young female cow that has not given birth

“Fight Against Stupidity And Bureaucracy”

People and places feature a lot in today’s quiz so if you’re good at those then you are in with a good chance of scoring well.

You will also find out what the CIA has been up to with your tax dollars. Makes you proud!

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

Enjoy and good luck.

Q. 1. A ‘Beluga’ is a type of what?

Q. 2. In what country did the game of ‘Chess’ originate?

Q. 3. In 1983 the District of Columbia petitioned to become a state, if the petition had been successful what was the new state to be called?

Q. 4. The popular ‘Volkswagen Beetle’ car was developed under whose direction?

Q. 5. What drug did the CIA hand out in order to bribe warlords in Afghanistan?

Q. 6. What began as a winter resort for the British aristocracy in the late 1700s and now hosts 50% of the world’s super yachts every year?

Q. 7. What two men wrote the first and the final drafts of the American Declaration of Independence? (A point for each correct answer.)

Q. 8. What percentage of the water on Earth is saltwater?

a) 17% b) 37% c) 57% d) 77% e) 97%

Q. 9. What mountain range is sometimes known as “The Backbone Of England” ?

Q. 10. What was the last major landmass on earth to be populated by humans?

Q. 11. What is the name given to a young female cow that has not given birth?

Q. 12. What famous gourmet insured his taste buds for £250,000 in 1993?

Q. 13. ‘Duplicatus’, ‘intortus’ and ‘perlucidus’ are among the varieties of what?

Q. 14. What well known city in Australia used to be known as ‘Batmania’ ?

Q. 15. What King of England was famous for having six wives?

Q. 16. And how many of his six wives did this King have executed? (A bonus point for each one you can name correctly.)

Q. 17. What is the more common name for the fictional character ‘Kal-El’ and where is he supposed to be from? (A point for each correct answer.)

Q. 18. What is the famous steeplechase horse race run at Aintreee in Liverpool, England every year?

Q. 19. What well known classical music composer has the initials ‘W.A.M.’ ?

Q. 20. And finally for today another name. Columbo is one of the most famous ever detectives to appear on television but what is his first name?

ANSWERS

Q. 1. A ‘Beluga’ is a type of what?

A. 1. Whale.

Q. 2. In what country did the game of ‘Chess’ originate?

A. 2. Chess originated in India during the Gupta Empire (almost 1,400 years ago)

Q. 3. In 1983 the District of Columbia petitioned to become a state, if the petition had been successful what was the new state to be called?

A. 3. New Columbia.

Q. 4. The popular ‘Volkswagen Beetle’ car was developed under whose direction?

A. 4. Volkswagen Beetles were developed by Hitler because he wanted to manufacture a cheap, affordable car for his roadways.

Q. 5. What drug did the CIA hand out in order to bribe warlords in Afghanistan?

A. 5. Viagra.

Q. 6. What began as a winter resort for the British aristocracy in the late 1700s and now hosts 50% of the world’s super yachts every year?

A. 6. The French Riviera.

Q. 7. What two men wrote the first and the final drafts of the American Declaration of Independence? (A point for each correct answer.)

A. 7. Benjamin Franklin actually wrote the first Declaration of Independence. Eventually, however, Thomas Jefferson was chosen to write the final draft.

Q. 8. What percentage of the water on Earth is saltwater?

a) 17% b) 37% c) 57% d) 77% e) 97%

A. 8. The correct answer is e) 97%.

Q. 9. What mountain range is sometimes known as “The Backbone Of England” ?

A. 9. The Pennines.

Q. 10. What was the last major landmass on earth to be populated by humans?

A. 10. New Zealand.

Q. 11. What is the name given to a young female cow that has not given birth?

A. 11. It is known as a heifer.

Q. 12. What famous gourmet insured his taste buds for £250,000 in 1993?

A. 12. Egon Ronay.

Q. 13. ‘Duplicatus’, ‘intortus’ and ‘perlucidus’ are among the varieties of what?

A. 13. They are all the names of clouds (cirrus duplicatus, cirrus intortus and altocumulus perlucidus to be more precise.)

Q. 14. What well known city in Australia used to be known as ‘Batmania’ ?

A. 14. The city of Melbourne used to be called ‘Batmania’.

Q. 15. What King of England was famous for having six wives?

A. 15. Henry VIII.

Q. 16. And how many of his six wives did this King have executed? (A bonus point for each one you can name correctly.)

A. 16. Henry VIII had two of his wives executed, Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard.

Q. 17. What is the more common name for the fictional character ‘Kal-El’ and where is he supposed to be from? (A point for each correct answer.)

A. 17. His more common name is Superman and hs home planet is Krypton.

Q. 18. What is the famous steeplechase horse race run at Aintreee in Liverpool, England every year?

A. 18. It is called the ‘Grand National’.

Q. 19. What well known classical music composer has the initials ‘W.A.M.’

A. 19. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

Q. 20. And finally for today another name. Columbo is one of the most famous ever detectives to appear on television but what is his first name?

A. 20. His first name is “Frank”. It can be seen on his police ID, for example, in the 1971 episode “Dead Weight”, when Columbo introduces himself to General Hollister. So now you know!

=================================

A Simile Is Like A Metaphor – Literally!

July 23, 2015July 18, 2015 fasab comedy, Humour, Language, Puns 2B or not 2B, amusing, autobiography, bad jokes, brian surgery, carried away, Comedy, doctor, Entertainment, farmer, frying, funny, go way back, Hamlet, helium addiction, Hepatitis Yes, Humor, Humour, jokes, letters, light, limbo dancing team, LITE, load of codswallop, man the phones at work, meat, moustache, mustache, my story and I'm sticking to it, pencil, pun, puns, second hand transplant, short cut across a field, smack a fish, small pig, small wooden step, Spanish doctor, spelling, stile, stupid, superglued my fingers, taste fresher, UK Man has first hand transplant, word play, word plays

“Fight Against Stupidity And Bureaucracy”

I was going to introduce today’s post by saying some like “I hope you are having a pun-tastic week”, but I thought I would sound like a demented DJ from the 1970s.

So I’ll just say hello and welcome and let you get on with the puns.

Enjoy or endure!!

Lite:

the new way to spell “Light,”

now with 20% fewer letters!

I was asked to man the phones

at work the other day.

So I went round and drew a

little mustache on all of them.

Spelling…

It’s not brian surgery.

Hamlet:

A small pig.

According to my Spanish doctor

I have Hepatitis Yes

My doctor told me to quit my helium addiction

before I got carried away.

2B or not 2B?

I don’t think I’ve ever put this much thought

into which shade of pencil to use before.

‘UK Man has first hand transplant.’

Surely that’s a second hand transplant.

I was taking a short cut across a field the other day,

I was halfway across when the farmer approached me and said,

“Did you leave that small wooden step at the edge of my field?”

I replied, “No, it wasn’t me, that’s not my stile”

Someone told me if you

smack a fish before frying it,

the meat will taste fresher.

What a load of codswallop.

I’ve just accidentally superglued my fingers

to a copy of my autobiography.

That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

Me and my limbo dancing team

go way back

=======================

Gray And White Matters.

July 21, 2015July 21, 2015 fasab Factoids, Unusual $1.7 billion trillion, artists, assist in childbirth, Bank of America, breathing air in Beijing, buy ambulances, Central Intelligence Agency, China, CIA, civilization, conquered, Dalton Chiscolm, Deus Ex, diverted, education, Entertainment, explained, fact, factoid, facts, female brain, frustrated, funeral escort, Genghis Kahn, gray, gray matter, Guatemala, guys, highest air pollution in the world, influence media, information, invented, location of his grave, Lord of the Rings trilogy, male brain, matters, Maxim gun, Maya, Mayan language and culture, Mexico, mistake, modern chainsaw, Mongolia, Moscow, mountains, nano second, nerve signals, New York City, Operation Mockingbird, process thoughts more rapidly, professor of mathematics, revolutionize warfare, rich people, risk of lung cancer, river, Scottish doctors, Sean Connery turned down the role of Gandalf, secret campaign, Sir Hiram Maxim, smoking 21 cigarettes a day, speed of transmission, sued, surgical procedure, Switzerland, Symphysiotomy, terrorist attack, traffic, twin towers, unknown, unusual facts, video game, White, white matter, widens the pelvis, world wars, world’s first machine gun, Yucatan Peninsula

“Fight Against Stupidity And Bureaucracy”
.
Yes, apparently gray and white matters as you will find out in one of today’s selection of unusual facts.
Hope you enjoy the others as well.
.

.
During the production of the video game Deus Ex,

one of the artists forgot to add

the Twin Towers to New York City.

His mistake was explained by

way of a terrorist attack.

The year was 2000.

Switzerland has

208 mountains over 3,000 meters high

and 24 over 4,000 meters.

The male brain contains more gray matter

whereas the female brain contains more white matter.

White matter basically increases the speed

of transmission of all nerve signals,

which ultimately allows women to process thoughts

more rapidly than their male counterparts.

Don’t fret guys, you’ll get this

in another nano second or two.

Genghis Kahn wanted the location

of his grave to be unknown

(somewhere in present day Mongolia)

so his funeral escort killed everyone they met

along the way and he even demanded that

a river be diverted to run across his grave

so it could never be disturbed.

Although their civilization has declined and been conquered,

in many rural parts of Mexico and Guatemala

Mayan language and culture perseveres.

In fact, there are an estimated 7 million Maya

still living in and around the Yucatan Peninsula.

The modern chainsaw was invented by Scottish

doctors to help with Symphysiotomy.

This is a surgical procedure that widens the

pelvis in order to assist in childbirth.

China is among the countries with

the highest air pollution in the world.

Breathing air in Beijing, the country´s capital,

increases the risk of lung cancer in the same way

as smoking 21 cigarettes a day.

In 1883 Sir Hiram Maxim created the Maxim gun.

The world’s first machine gun would go on to

revolutionize warfare and was used in both World Wars.

Some rich people in Moscow buy

ambulances and use them to drive around

because the traffic is so bad.

Operation Mockingbird was a secret campaign

begun in the 1950s by the

Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)

to influence media.

After being frustrated by the service

he was receiving at Bank of America,

Dalton Chiscolm sued them

for $1.7 billion trillion.

During the trial a professor of mathematics

was even called in to testify about

how big the number was.

To give you an idea,

Earth’s total combined GDP was $60 trillion that year.

That is still over 28 million times smaller

than what he was asking for.

Sean Connery turned down the role of Gandalf

in the Lord of the Rings trilogy,

a decision that cost him $300 million

(he was offered 15% of the film’s profit).

=============================

I Think I’ll Call This One The Vestal Virgin Quiz.

July 20, 2015July 18, 2015 fasab Questions, Tests actors, actress, Allied military operation, artificial replacement, Asian, astronomical distance, Blue Bloods, capital, card game, city, country, currency, dartboard, Det Danny Reagan, DNA, dollar, Dominican Republic, education, Entertainment, galvanometer, General Abelargo L Rodriguez, general knowledge, General Mariano Escobedo, Geography, George Orwell, Germany, goddess Vesta, Great Bear Lake, Great Slave Lake, history, international airports, John Wayne, last name, Laughable Lyrics, light years, Mammy Walton, mashed potatoes, math, maths, meal, measure, missing tooth, movies, nationality, Netherlands, nickles, novel, number, numbers, Olivia Walton, Operation Market Garden, place, Priestesses, questions, quiz, quizzes, Rio, Roman numeral, sausages, science, seasons, ship's captain, Shooter, sounding board, squirrels, star-packed movie, strings of a musical instrument, structure, support, surname, Tashkent, teeth, The Dong with a Luminous Nose, The Little Paris, The Quangle Wangle’s Hat, TV series, UK, Vestal Virgins, wedge, word, words, world war ii, ziganka

“Fight Against Stupidity And Bureaucracy”

Hello and welcome to the latest fasab quiz.

I’ve called it the “Vestal Virgin Quiz”, you’ll find out why later, but even if you’re not a vestal virgin please feel free to take part.

As usual you can find the answers waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay down below, but please NO cheating!

Enjoy and good luck.

Q. 1. What number does the Roman numeral ‘D’ stand for?

Q. 2. What are the young of Squirrels called?

Q. 3. In which country are the Great Bear Lake and Great Slave Lake?

Q. 4. This word can mean a card game, a structure spanning a river or other chasm, the place where you usually find a ship’s captain, an artificial replacement of a missing tooth or teeth, or a thin, fixed wedge or support raising the strings of a musical instrument above the sounding board. What is it?

Q. 5. What would a galvanometer be used to measure?

Q. 6. Whose “Laughable Lyrics” included “The Quangle Wangle’s Hat” and “The Dong with a Luminous Nose” ?

Q. 7. What was the name of the star-packed movie depicting World War II’s ‘Operation Market Garden’, an unsuccessful Allied military operation, fought in the Netherlands and Germany?

Q. 8. Which astronomical distance is about 3.26 light years?

Q. 9. How many Vestal Virgins served as Priestesses of the goddess Vesta at any one time?

Q. 10. Tashkent is the capital of which one of the Asian “stans”?

Q. 11. By what name is a meal consisting of sausages and mashed potatoes better known as in the UK?

Q. 12. What is the currency used in the Dominican Republic?

Q. 13. How many movies did John Wayne star in with the word ‘Rio’ in their title? (A bonus point for each one you can name correctly.)

Q. 14. What city is also known as ‘The Little Paris’ ?

Q. 15. What sort of structure is DNA?

Q. 16. What is the name of the main actress who played ‘Olivia Walton’ (Mammy Walton) in seasons 1 thru 7 of the long running TV series?

Q. 17. If you multiplied the number in the title of George Orwell’s most famous novel, by the highest number you can score on a dartboard with one dart, and divide that total by the number of nickels in a dollar, what number would you be left with?

Q. 18. What is a ‘ziganka’ and what nationality is it? (A point for each correct answer.)

Q. 19. ‘General Mariano Escobedo’ and ‘General Abelargo L Rodriguez’ are international airports in which country?

Q. 20. What is the surname or last name of the actors who played the ‘Shooter’ and ‘Det. Danny Reagan’ in the TV series ‘Blue Bloods’ ?

ANSWERS

Q. 1. What number does the Roman numeral ‘D’ stand for?

A. 1. 500.

Q. 2. What are the young of Squirrels called?

A. 2. Kittens

Q. 3. In which country are the Great Bear Lake and Great Slave Lake?

A. 3. Canada.

A. 4. Bridge.

Q. 5. What would a galvanometer be used to measure?

A. 5. Detecting and measuring small electric currents. (electricity).

Q. 6. Whose “Laughable Lyrics” included “The Quangle Wangle’s Hat” and “The Dong with a Luminous Nose” ?

A. 6. Edward Lear.

Q. 7. What was the name of the star-packed movie depicting World War II’s ‘Operation Market Garden’, an unsuccessful Allied military operation, fought in the Netherlands and Germany?

A. 7. A Bridge Too Far. (The cast included Dirk Bogarde, Ryan O’Neal, James Caan, Michael Caine, Sean Connery, Edward Fox, Elliott Gould, Anthony Hopkins, Gene Hackman, Hardy Krüger, Laurence Olivier, Robert Redford, Maximilian Schell and Liv Ullmann.)

Q. 8. Which astronomical distance is about 3.26 light years?

A. 8. A parsec.

Q. 9. How many Vestal Virgins served as Priestesses of the goddess Vesta at any one time?

A. 9. The correct answer is ‘six’ (although they served along with 6 in training and 6 retired ones as tutors).

Q. 10. Tashkent is the capital of which one of the Asian “stans”?

A. 10. Uzbekistan.

Q. 11. By what name is a meal consisting of sausages and mashed potatoes better known as in the UK?

A. 11. Bangers & Mash.

Q. 12. What is the currency used in the Dominican Republic?

A. 12. It is the Dominican Peso (DOP), although you can have the point if you just said ‘peso’.

Q. 13. How many movies did John Wayne star in with the word ‘Rio’ in their title? (A bonus point for each one you can name correctly.)

A. 13. The correct answer is three (Rio Grande (1950), Rio Bravo (1959) and Rio Lobo (1970))

Q. 14. What city is also known as ‘The Little Paris’ ?

A. 14. Bucharest.

Q. 15. What sort of structure is DNA?

A. 15. It is known as a ‘double helix’.

Q. 16. What is the name of the main actress who played ‘Olivia Walton’ (Mammy Walton) in seasons 1 thru 7 of the long running TV series?

A. 16. Michael Learned.

Q. 17. If you multiplied the number in the title of George Orwell’s most famous novel, by the highest number you can score on a dartboard with one dart, and divided that total by the number of nickels in a dollar, what number would you be left with?

A. 17. 5952. (1984 x 60) = 119040 / 20 = 5952

Q. 18. What is a ‘ziganka’ and what nationality is it? (A point for each correct answer.)

A. 18. A ‘ziganka’ is a Russian country dance.

Q. 19. ‘General Mariano Escobedo’ and ‘General Abelargo L Rodriguez’ are international airports in which country?

A. 19. Mexico (in Monterrey and Tijuana respectively).

Q. 20. What is the surname or last name of the actors who played the ‘Shooter’ and ‘Det. Danny Reagan’ in the TV series ‘Blue Bloods’ ?

A. 20. Walberg, specifically Mark Walberg in ‘Shooter’ and his older brother Donnie Walberg in ‘Blue Bloods’.

====================================

I. O. U. A. Vowel

July 16, 2015July 6, 2015 fasab comedy, Humour, Language, Puns alphabet, amusing, bad jokes, best quality, break wind, CDs, Comedy, consonants, contacts, cool, cops, easy when you know How, ego, Entertainment, excited, fan, fanbase, French lessons, friend, funny, go kart race, Humor, Humour, Jazz, jokes, letters, music store, mysterious, Native Americans, Oui, P, People, pop, psychiatrist, pun, pun day, puns, Q, Rap, robbing, rock, see without glasses, silly jokes, stupid, thieves, tireless effort, trees, vowels, walk in fridges, wheels fell off, word play, word plays

“Fight Against Stupidity And Bureaucracy”

If you add a couple of consonants to one of those vowels you get PUN, which is rather convenient because today is pun day.

You know what’s next.

Enjoy or endure!!

I really love my fanbase…

without it my fan would fall over.

When people ask me

what my best quality is,

I always tell them my second best

quality is being mysterious.

Communicating with Native Americans

… it’s easy when you know How.

I don’t care what people say,

I’m a terrible psychiatrist.

My friend was in a go kart race and

kept going even after all his wheels fell off.

It was a tireless effort

I got so excited in French lessons that

sometimes “oui” would come out

If you want to know how to see without glasses,

I’ve got some good contacts.

To all you letters that

want to be before

p in the alphabet,

join the q.

Walk in fridges.

Pretty cool.

Everybody has an ego,

mine is just bigger and better.

Trees can break wind

(and they’re not the only ones!)

Four thieves were robbing a music

store when the cops turned up.

The first grabbed all the pop CDs and ran off.

The second grabbed the rock CDs and also ran off.

The third grabbed the Jazz and followed suit.

The fourth was forced to take the rap.

==============================

Take These Facts With A Pinch Of Salt (Water)

July 14, 2015July 6, 2015 fasab Factoids, Unusual Africa, American Dennis the Menace, Australia, beaches, Boston Tea Parties, Bostonians, Ceuta, China, climbers, corpses, deceased climbers, dog food, education, enclaves, English Dennis the Menace, Entertainment, fact, factoid, facts, gold, independent authors, information, Melilla, most expensive college tuition, Mount Everest, nearly silent type of Velcro, New Zealand, oldest recipe for beer, Pepsi, pinch of salt, ripping noise, robbing, saltwater, secret, southern most capital city on Earth, spain, stuck in the garage, successfully sued, Sumerians, Terrence Dickson of Pennsylvania, territories, toilet paper, United States, US. Military, waypoints, Wellington

“Fight Against Stupidity And Bureaucracy”

Mind you if you do take these facts with a pinch of salt water you’ll be richer than you were.

Not by much though, but every little helps these days.

But enough of this.

Enjoy the facts.

1 liter of saltwater contains

13 billionths of a gram of gold

The US military has a secret,

nearly silent type of Velcro, which

reduces the ripping noise by over 95%.

The oldest recipe for beer is 4,000 years old.

It was first made by the Sumerians

The United States has by far the

most expensive college tuition

out of any developed nation

Spain has two enclaves (territories) in Africa.

They are Melilla and Ceuta.

With over 10,000 beaches you could visit

a new beach every single day in Australia

for the next 30 years

There are 200 corpses of

deceased climbers on Mount Everest.

They serve as waypoints for climbers

There were actually two Boston Tea Parties

with the one you know about being

on December 16, 1773.

The Bostonians repeated it, however,

several months later on March 7, 1774

Wellington, New Zealand, is the

southern most capital city on Earth

The first documented use of toilet paper

dates back to 6th century China.

The English Dennis the Menace

and the American Dennis the Menace

were thought up by completely independent authors

and published on the same day – March 12, 1951.

In October of 1998 Terrence Dickson of Pennsylvania

was trying to exit the house he was robbing.

He managed to get stuck in the garage

and for 8 days he lived off of Pepsi and dog food.

He then successfully sued for over half a million dollars.

================================

Tie Me Kangaroo Down Sport, Its Quiz Day!

July 13, 2015July 13, 2015 fasab Questions, Tests actor, America, American Revolutionary War, Angkor Wat, Australia, Australian stockman, bathometer, battle, beverage, bird, Blithe Spirit, borough of Brooklyn, calypsos, cattle grid, cattle guard, China, citizens of Paris, Cobnuts, commemorated, convert alternating current to direct current, country, creature, deathbed, destination, Doctor Zhivago, education, Entertainment, filberts, flower, fruit juice, general knowledge, Geography, gives birth, Haber process, Hail to Thee blithe spirit, Harry Belafonte, history, Kzahkstan, Ladies Singles Championship, largest young, leisure, manufactured, movie, movies, National Park, nationality, nature, new york, novel, Old Man’s Beard, pealing of all the bells, peninsular, Percy Bysshe Shelley, planets in our solar system, play, questions, quiz, quizzes, rectifier, science, Shelley’s poem, silencing, soda water, songs, southwestern, species, sport, stock grid, suppressing, surrounded, Tajikistan, temple complex, test, tests, Tie Me Kangaroo Down Sport, Traveller’s Joy, tree, turning point, UK/Ireland, Uzbekistan, vegetable, Wimbledon 2015, young kangaroo

“Fight Against Stupidity And Bureaucracy”

For those of you who find the title a little obscure Tie Me Kangaroo Down Sport is one of the best-known and most successful songs from Australia, inspired by Harry Belafonte’s calypsos, it is about an Australian stockman on his deathbed.

It also provides a handy link to question one.

As for this and the rest of the questions, if you get stuck you can find the answers waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay down below, but please NO cheating.

Enjoy and good luck.

quiz 06

Q. 1. What is a young kangaroo called?

Q. 2. The temple complex of Angkor Wat is situated in which country?

Q. 3. What is commonly used in a rectifier to convert alternating current to direct current?

Q. 4. Which creature gives birth to the largest young?

Q. 5. What do you call the peninsular leisure/entertainment destination found in the southwestern part of the borough of Brooklyn, New York?

Q. 6. What is a bathometer?

Q. 7. Cobnuts and filberts come from what species of tree?

Q. 8. What country is surrounded by Kzahkstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and China?

Q. 9. About which bird did Percy Bysshe Shelley write ‘Hail to Thee, blithe spirit!’?

Q. 10. Who wrote the play ‘Blithe Spirit’ which took its title from Shelley’s poem?

Q. 11. What is a ‘cattle grid’ (UK/Ireland), a ‘stock grid’ (Australia), or a ‘cattle guard’ (America) used for?

Q. 12. What recently deceased actor was ‘Doctor Zhivago’ in the 1965 movie?

Q. 13. What nationality was ‘Doctor Zhivago’?

Q. 14. ‘Old Man’s Beard’ and ‘Traveller’s Joy’ are names for a variety of which flower?

Q. 15. What is manufactured by the Haber process?

Q. 16. Which novel opens: “It was 348 years, six months and 19 days ago today that the citizens of Paris were awakened by the pealing of all the bells in the triple precincts of the City, the University and the Town”; and who wrote it? (A point for each correct answer.)

Q. 17. What are the names of the first and the fifth planets in our solar system?

Q. 18. No battle was fought here, yet, it was the turning point of the American Revolutionary War and is now commemorated as a National Park. What is its name and in which state is it located? (A point for each correct answer.)

Q. 19. Who won the Ladies Singles Championship at Wimbledon 2015?

Q. 20. This word can mean the name of a beverage made from fruit juice and soda water, part of the name of a well-known vegetable, a sport, or the act of silencing or suppressing – what is it?

ANSWERS

Q. 1. What is a young kangaroo called?

A. 1. Joey.

Q. 2. The temple complex of Angkor Wat is situated in which country?

A. 2. Cambodia.

Q. 3. What is commonly used in a rectifier to convert alternating current to direct current?

A. 3. A ‘Diode’.

Q. 4. Which creature gives birth to the largest young?

A. 4. Blue Whale – 8 metres and 2,700 kg at birth. In the first 7 to 8 months they reach 16 metres and weigh about 21,000 kg.

Q. 5. What do you call the peninsular leisure/entertainment destination found in the southwestern part of the borough of Brooklyn, New York?

A. 5. It is called ‘Coney Island’.

Q. 6. What is a bathometer?

A. 6. It is an instrument for indicating the depth of the sea beneath a moving vessel. You can have the point if you said depth gage or something to measure depth of water.

Q. 7. Cobnuts and filberts come from what species of tree?

A. 7. From the Hazel tree.

Q. 8. What country is surrounded by Kzahkstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and China?

A. 8. Kyrgzstan.

Q. 9. About which bird did Percy Bysshe Shelley write ‘Hail to Thee, blithe spirit!’?

A. 9. A skylark (in To a Skylark).

Q. 10. Who wrote the play ‘Blithe Spirit’ which took its title from Shelley’s poem?

A. 10. Noël Coward.

Q. 11. What is a ‘cattle grid’ (UK/Ireland), a ‘stock grid’ (Australia), or a ‘cattle guard’ (America) used for?

A. 11. It is used as a barrier that allows vehicles to pass, but not cattle.

Q. 12. What recently deceased actor was ‘Doctor Zhivago’ in the 1965 movie?

A. 12. Omar Sharif.

Q. 13. What nationality was ‘Doctor Zhivago’?

A. 13. Russian.

Q. 14. ‘Old Man’s Beard’ and ‘Traveller’s Joy’ are names for a variety of which flower?

A. 14. The Clematis.

Q. 15. What is manufactured by the Haber process?

A. 15. Ammonia.

A. 16. Notre Dame de Paris (also known as The Hunchback of Notre Dame) by Victor Hugo

Q. 17. What are the names of the first and the fifth planets in our solar system?

A. 17. The first is Mercury (the smallest, now Pluto has been demoted) and the fifth is Jupiter (the largest).

A. 18. It is Valley Forge located approximately 20 miles northwest of Philadelphia, in Pennsylvania.

Q. 19. Who won the Ladies Singles Championship at Wimbledon 2015?

A. 19. Serena Williams.

Q. 20. This word can mean the name of a beverage made from fruit juice and soda water, part of the name of a well-known vegetable, a sport, or the act of silencing or suppressing – what is it?

A. 20. Squash.

==================================

All Generalizations Are False.

July 9, 2015June 26, 2015 fasab comedy, Humour, Language, Puns 600 pound man, amusing, bad jokes, Comedy, committed suicide, counting, cruise ship, didn't fit the bill, Disneyworld, Donald Duck, eat all their food, Entertainment, falling off the edge of the world, false, fire, five vowels, funny, Generalizations, girlfriend, gorged himself to death, Humor, Humour, I'm gonna flip, ice rink, insured, job, jokes, jumping into a ravine, learning to play the guitar, love animals, mirror inspecting, people enjoy puns, pick up women, piracy, prove the point, pun, puns, put on some weight, request, rev, silly jokes, somersault, son, to kiss her goodbye, ugly, vegetarians, vicar on a motorbike, wife, word play, word plays, Y

“Fight Against Stupidity And Bureaucracy”

All generalizations are false, except for the one that says people enjoy puns or word plays.

Just to prove the point here is another selection.

Enjoy or endure!!

There are only five vowels but

nobody’s ever thought to ask y.

A 600 pound man committed suicide

by jumping into a ravine.

He gorged himself to death.

What do you call a

vicar on a motorbike?

Rev.

I lost my job as Donald Duck at

Disneyworld after I put on some weight.

I just didn’t fit the bill.

Mirror inspecting is a job

I can’t really see myself doing.

My friend’s wife is really ugly.

So I asked him one day,

“Why do you take her out so much?”

“So I don’t have to kiss her goodbye,” he confessed.

An ice rink is a good place

to go to pick up women.

I wouldn’t say the cruise ship was old

but it was insured against fire, piracy,

and falling off the edge of the world.

If I get one more request to do a somersault,

I’m gonna flip.

If vegetarians love animals so much,

why do they eat all their food?

I left my last girlfriend because

she wouldn’t stop counting.

I often wonder what she’s up to now.

My son is learning to play the guitar

How clef-er.

Wonder if he’ll ever be as good as this kid?

===============================

As Syndromes Go, I Have A Good One Today. Enjoy The Facts.

July 7, 2015June 26, 2015 fasab Factoids, Unusual 16 Psyche, Andes Mountains, around the world, asteroid belt, awakened, banned, Brannock Device, bullet made of ice, buying spare parts, CIA, circumnavigate the globe, Connecticut Board of Education, country, dipped in shellfish toxin, disclosures, discovered, dry your car, ebay, education, Entertainment, Erden Eruc, estimate, fact, factoid, factoids, facts, falling asleep in class, first solo person, Greek mythological figure Psyche, headaches, hearing loss, heart attack gun, heart attack guns, human power, identified, illegal, Incan citadel, induces a heart attack, information, intellectual, iron-nickel composition, Japanese, Japanese embassy in France, Jupiter, largest metal asteroids, Machu Picchu, marine species, Mars, McDonald's, measure your foot, metal asteroids, mountains, nasa, nausea, Nicolae Ceausescu, oceans, outdated, Paris, Paris Syndrome, Peru, Psyche, psychological syndrome, Random, Romanian President, rowed, San Francisco, scientists, Scrabble, shoe store, Space Shuttle electronics, special hotline, subversive evil, sue, Symptoms, syndromes, teacher, tourists, Turkey, underwater marine species, used underwear, walked, water, websites

“Fight Against Stupidity And Bureaucracy”

There seems to be syndromes for just about anything these days/

Maybe that would make a good post on its own.

For today however you will have to be content with just one, mixed in with a lot of other facts too.

Apparently in San Francisco

it is illegal to dry your car

with used underwear.

Since the Space Shuttle electronics were

so outdated and nobody made them anymore,

NASA actually resorted to buying spare parts

on websites like eBay

Only about 226,000 underwater marine species

have been identified and scientists estimate that

there could be up to 25 million marine species

living in the oceans.

This means less than 1% of all underwater

marine life has been discovered.

Machu Picchu, the Incan citadel set high

in the Andes Mountains in Peru,

was so high in the mountains that it

wasn’t discovered until 1911.

If it were a country,

McDonald’s would be the 90th richest

country on Earth.

In the 80’s Romanian President Nicolae Ceausescu

had the game of scrabble banned and described it

as “overly intellectual” and a “subversive evil”.

Discovered in 1852 and named after

the Greek mythological figure Psyche,

16 Psyche is a one of the largest metal asteroids

in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.

Unlike most of other metal asteroids,

Psyche shows no sign of the presence of water

and is believed to have a purely iron-nickel composition.

After falling asleep in class and being awakened

by a teacher smacking her palm down on his desk,

a 16 year old’s parents decided to sue the

Connecticut Board of Education

for the hearing loss he suffered.

The thing that is always used

to measure your foot at the shoe store

is called a Brannock Device.

Heart attack guns exist.

According to disclosures by the CIA in 1975,

there is such a thing as a ‘heart attack gun’.

It fires a bullet made of ice, dipped in shellfish toxin

that immediately induces a heart attack.

The first solo person to circumnavigate the globe

using only human power

was Erden Eruc of Turkey who

walked and rowed right around the world!

Paris Syndrome is a real psychological syndrome

that affects mostly Japanese people when they realize

that Paris isn’t as great a place as they thought it would be.

The Japanese embassy in France even has a

special hotline that tourists can call.

Symptoms include nausea and headaches.

====================================