Final Fasab Quiz For February.

February 23, 2015February 22, 2015 fasab Questions, Tests action painter, Battle of Edgehill, best known names, bile, biology, blood factor, bloodstream, books, business world, Captain Lemuel Gulliver, city, DC, device for lifting and moving heavy weights, Earth's surface, education, element, english, Entertainment, equator, First Battle of Bull Run, first battles, first type of monkey, four official languages, gemstone, general knowledge, Geography, gigabytes, head of the Church of England, history, home of a Beaver, human-like inhabitants, humans, It was a pleasure to burn, Jack the Dripper, JAT airways, land of the Houyhnhnms, large wading bird, launched into space, literature, Malay, Mandarin Chinese, monkey, movie, movies, music, national carrier, nature, noun, novel, number, orbit, orbiting, part of a country, Peace Capital of the world, Petronas Towers, physically separate, questions, quiz, quizzes, Ray Bradbury, republic, Roman numerals, sang, satellites, science, Senegal, Serbia, Somalia, speed record, stretch out one's neck, surrounded by other countries, Switzerland, Tamil, territory, test, tests, title, to see better, Uptown Girl, verb, wars, Washington DC, world’s highest building, yellowing of the skin

“Fight Against Stupidity And Bureaucracy”

Last quiz for February already.

How are you quizzers doing this year?

Scores don’t matter though, as long as you enjoy doing the quizzes.

Usual format today, general knowledge, geography, history, science, nature and even a little music.

Varying degrees of difficulty, but if you get stuck you can find the answers waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay down below, but please NO cheating!

Enjoy and good luck.

Q. 1: What city is known as the ‘Peace Capital’ of the world?

Q. 2: What is the only gemstone to be composed of one single element?

Q. 3: What type of monkey possesses a blood factor that is shared with humans and was the first type of monkey launched into space?

Q. 4: If the ‘DC’ in Washington DC was actually Roman Numerals, what number would it represent?

Q. 5: What term is given to a territory which is part of a country but is surrounded by other countries so it is physically separate from the rest of the country?

Q. 6: The ‘First Battle of Bull Run’ and the ‘Battle of Edgehill’ were the first battles of which wars? (A point for each correct answer and a bonus point if you answer both correctly.)

Q. 7: What is the title of the head of the Church of England?

Q. 8: What is the home of a Beaver called?

Q. 9: Which famous action painter was nicknamed ‘Jack the Dripper’ ?

Q. 10: Orbiting 35,900km above the equator, what term is given to satellites that remain above the same point on the Earth’s surface in their orbit?

Q. 11: In which city are the Petronas Towers, formerly the world’s highest building?

Q. 12: What name is given to the condition created by too much bile in the bloodstream that causes a distinct yellowing of the skin?

Q. 13: What do 1,000 ‘gigabytes’ make?

Q. 14: Where was a speed record of 11.2mph set in 1972?

Q. 15: Of which republic are ‘English’, ‘Malay’, ‘Mandarin Chinese’ and ‘Tamil’ the four official languages?

Q. 16: Which Ray Bradbury novel, also made into a famous movie, opens “It was a pleasure to burn”?

Q. 17: The name of the human-like inhabitants of the land of the Houyhnhnms, discovered by Captain Lemuel Gulliver in 1711, has become one of the best known names in the modern business world, what is it?

Q. 18: Among other meanings this word as a noun can mean a large wading bird, or a device for lifting and moving heavy weights, and as a verb it can mean to stretch out one’s neck, especially to see better – what is the word?

Q. 19: ‘JAT’ airways is the national carrier of which country?

a) Switzerland b) Serbia c) Senegal d) Somalia

Q. 20: Who sang about an ‘Uptown Girl’ in 1983?

ANSWERS

Q. 1: What city is known as the ‘Peace Capital’ of the world?

A. 1: Geneva, Switzerland.

Q. 2: What is the only gemstone to be composed of one single element?

A. 2: Diamond.

Q. 3: What type of monkey possesses a blood factor that is shared with humans and was the first type of monkey launched into space?

A. 3: The Rhesus monkey.

Q. 4: If the ‘DC’ in Washington DC was actually Roman Numerals, what number would it represent?

A. 4: DC in Roman Numerals is 600.

Q. 5: What term is given to a territory which is part of a country but is surrounded by other countries so it is physically separate from the rest of the country?

A. 5: An Exclave.

Q. 6: The ‘First Battle of Bull Run’ and the ‘Battle of Edgehill’ were the first battles of which wars? (A point for each correct answer and a bonus point if you answer both correctly.)

A. 6: The American and English Civil Wars respectively.

Q. 7: What is the title of the head of the Church of England?

A. 7: He is called the ‘Archbishop of Canterbury’.

Q. 8: What is the home of a Beaver called?

A. 8: A ‘Lodge’.

Q. 9: Which famous action painter was nicknamed ‘Jack the Dripper’ ?

A. 9: Jackson Pollock.

Q. 10: Orbiting 35,900km above the equator, what term is given to satellites that remain above the same point on the Earth’s surface in their orbit?

A. 10: Geostationary.

Q. 11: In which city are the Petronas Towers, formerly the world’s highest building?

A. 11: Kuala Lumpur.

Q. 12: What name is given to the condition created by too much bile in the bloodstream that causes a distinct yellowing of the skin?

A. 12: Jaundice.

Q. 13: What do 1,000 ‘gigabytes’ make?

A. 13: A ‘Terabyte’.

Q. 14: Where was a speed record of 11.2mph set in 1972?

A. 14: On the Moon (by John Young of Apollo 16 driving the Lunar Rover!)

Q. 15: Of which republic are ‘English’, ‘Malay’, ‘Mandarin Chinese’ and ‘Tamil’ the four official languages?

A. 15: Singapore.

Q. 16: Which Ray Bradbury novel, also made into a famous movie, opens “It was a pleasure to burn” ?

A. 16: Fahrenheit 451.

Q. 17: The name of the human-like inhabitants of the land of the Houyhnhnms, discovered by Captain Lemuel Gulliver in 1711, has become one of the best known names in the business world, what is it?

A. 17: They were called Yahoos.

A. 18: The word is ‘crane’.

Q. 19: ‘JAT’ airways is the national carrier of which country?

a) Switzerland b) Serbia c) Senegal d) Somalia

A. 19: The correct answer is b) Serbia.

Q. 20: Who sang about an ‘Uptown Girl’ in 1983?

A. 20: Billy Joel.

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

It’s A May Day Holiday In Some Places, But There Are No Breaks From The Weekly Fasab Quiz.

May 5, 2014May 4, 2014 fasab Questions, Tests 2009 Asian Winter Games, A Clockwork Orange, Allied forces, American, Aston Martin DB6, atomic bomb, Benito Mussolini, Boney, books, Brazil, britain, British, capital, card, cardmaker's trademark, collective term, Dan Brown, deck, East of Eden, Entertainment, Ferrari Dino, Ford Mustang, Geography, german, go and milk it, green line, H Bomb, Hiroshima, history, In Dubious Battle, India, Italian dictator, Italy, Japanese city, K-mart, Liberty Steaks, longest chapter in the Bible, Mel Brooks, mountain, movies, music, Nagasaki, Name, Nelson Mandela, no smoking sign, Nobel Peace Price, Nobel Prize, nuclear device, occupations, Pennsylvania, People, politics, popular food, President, questions, quiz, quizzes, responsible, Silent Movie, slaves, Somalia, speaking role, target city, test, tests, The Apprentice, the Da Vinci Code, The Grapes Of Wrath, tigers, Triumph TR 6, United States of America, US, Washington DC, world war ii, writer, WWII, You’re Fired

“Fight Against Stupidity And Bureaucracy”

Holiday or not, no place to hide from the fasab weekly quiz.

Let’s see how you cope with today’s challenge.

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

Enjoy and good luck.

Q. 1: What does the ‘K’ in K-mart stand for?

Q. 2: Which way does a “no smoking” sign’s slash run?

Q. 3: During WWII, what popular food in the U.S. was dubbed “Liberty Steaks” to avoid a German-sounding name?

Q. 4: Do books have even # pages on the right or left side?

Q. 5: What is the name of Britain’s highest mountain?

Q. 6: The Triumph TR 6, Aston Martin DB6, Ferrari Dino and the early 1970s Ford Mustang all had which kind of tail or back?

Q. 7: Who was awarded the 1993 Nobel Peace Price along with Nelson Mandela?

Q. 8: What is the collective term for a group of tigers?

Q. 9: Who is responsible for saying “You’re Fired” in the American and British versions of The Apprentice? (A point for each correct answer.)

Q. 10: On which card in a deck is the cardmaker’s trademark?

Q. 11: This small, war torn, country’s name translated means white, its Capital is divided by the ‘green line’, Dan Brown’s ‘The Da Vinci Code’ was banned there and it hosted the 2009 Asian Winter Games. What is it?

Q. 12: What were the early occupations of the Italian dictator Benito Mussolini? (A point for each correct answer.)

Q. 13: The name of which country means ‘go and milk it’?

a) Italy b) India c) Somalia d) Brazil

Q. 14: What Nobel Prize winning writer was In Dubious Battle with The Grapes Of Wrath, East Of Eden?

Q. 15: Which President of the United States of America regularly bought slaves in Washington, D.C. and quietly freed them in Pennsylvania?

Q. 16: Towards the end of World War II, the Allied forces dropped the first atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima and a second, an H-bomb, on the city of Nagasaki. If it had been necessary to drop a third nuclear device what was to be the target city?

Q. 17: What is the longest chapter in the Bible?

Q. 18: In Mel Brooks’ ‘Silent Movie,’ who is the only person who has a speaking role?

Q. 19: Who wrote ‘A Clockwork Orange’?

Q. 20: Which letter of the alphabet links Boney People?

ANSWERS

Q. 1: What does the ‘K’ in K-mart stand for?

A. 1: The K stands for founder Sebastian S Kresge.

Q. 2: Which way does a “no smoking” sign’s slash run?

A. 2: Towards the bottom right.

Q. 3: During WWII, what popular food in the U.S. was dubbed “Liberty Steaks” to avoid a German-sounding name?

A. 3: Hamburgers.

Q. 4: Do books have even # pages on the right or left side?

A. 4: Left.

Q. 5: What is the name of Britain’s highest mountain?

A. 5: Ben Nevis.

Q. 6: The Triumph TR 6, Aston Martin DB6, Ferrari Dino and the early 1970s Ford Mustang all had which kind of tail or back?

A. 6: Kamm (Kamm tail, K-tail or Kammback).

Q. 7: Who was awarded the 1993 Nobel Peace Price along with Nelson Mandela?

A. 7: Former South African President Frederik Willem de Klerk.

Q. 8: What is the collective term for a group of tigers?

A. 8: An ‘Ambush’.

Q. 9: Who is responsible for saying “You’re Fired” in the American and British versions of The Apprentice? (A point for each correct answer.)

A. 9: Donald Trump in the US version and Lord Alan Sugar in the British version.

Q. 10: On which card in a deck is the cardmaker’s trademark?

A. 10: On the Ace of spades.

Q. 11: This small, war torn, country’s name translated means white, its Capital is divided by the ‘green line’, Dan Brown’s ‘The Da Vinci Code was banned there and it hosted the 2009 Asian Winter Games. What is it?

A. 11: Lebanon.

Q. 12: What were the early occupations of the Italian dictator Benito Mussolini? (A point for each correct answer.)

A. 12: He had been a teacher and journalist.

Q. 13: The name of which country means ‘go and milk it’?

a) Italy b) India c) Somalia d) Brazil

A. 13: c) Somalia.

Q. 14: What Nobel Prize winning writer was In Dubious Battle with The Grapes Of Wrath, East Of Eden?

A. 14: John Steinbeck.

Q. 15: Which President of the United States of America regularly bought slaves in Washington, D.C. and quietly freed them in Pennsylvania?

A. 15: James Buchanan.

A. 16: Third city to be targeted was Tokyo.

Q. 17: What is the longest chapter in the Bible?

A. 17: The longest chapter in the Bible is Psalm 119.

Q. 18: In Mel Brooks’ ‘Silent Movie,’ who is the only person who has a speaking role?

A. 18: Typical of Mel Brooks’ humor, the only person with a speaking role in ‘Silent Movie’ is the famous mime Marcel Marceau.

Q. 19: Who wrote ‘A Clockwork Orange’?

A. 19: Anthony Burgess.

Q. 20: Which letter of the alphabet links Boney People?

A. 20: The letter is ‘M’ as in ‘Boney M’ and ‘M People’.

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

Black Hawk Seems To Be Up Again!

January 19, 2014January 18, 2014 fasab Current Events, Politics, Rants, War African troops, al-Qaeda, al-Shabaab, American embassy, American foreign policy, American military, American soldiers, American troops, anti-Assad forces, Assad, Battle of Mogadishu, Black Hawk Down, consistent pattern, Current Events, drones, foreign affairs, Foreign Policy, fund and supply terrorist groups, funding, horrific images, incompetent politicians, inhospitable place, intelligence, iran, killed, long term dangers, military coordination cell, military power, mistake, movie, Obama, Obama administration, official sources, operational, police the world, politicians, politics, President Clinton, principle, protect, radical Islamist groups, Rants, regular troops, Russia, secret meetings, secretly stationed, Somalia, Somalia military, Somalia militiamen, stabilization, strategy, syria, Syrian conflict, Syrian government, television, the Sunday Sermon, United Nations, US Army, US forces, US Foreign Policy, War, war against terror, war on terror, Western intelligence officials, world

“Fight Against Stupidity And Bureaucracy”

The Sunday Sermon

You may remember, more because of the movie than anything else probably, an incident in 1993 called ‘Black Hawk Down’ which caused American troops to leave Somalia.

At that time they had been stationed there as part of a United Nations ‘stabilization’ operation – whatever that is.

President Clinton abandoned that effort after the ‘Battle of Mogadishu’ in which nearly 20 American soldiers were killed and horrific images of their bodies being dragged through the streets by Somalia militiamen had been seen all over the world on television.

Since then American military and intelligence efforts have been in the form of funding the Somalia military and using remotely controlled drones to keep an eye on what is happening on the ground and perhaps more.

Or so we thought. After all, the last thing we want to do is get bogged down again on the ground in such an inhospitable place.

Cue the Obama administration and guess what? Yep, the US Army has once again secretly stationed a group of regular troops in Somalia. Since October last year a “military coordination cell” has been established in Somalia that, to quote the officer in charge, “is now fully operational”.

I’m not sure even Obama knows what they are there to do. There isn’t an American embassy to protect and they would hardly be there to draw unwanted attention to the people from charlie india alpha, would they?

Official sources say the army unit has been tasked with “advising and coordinating” operations by African troops against al-Shabaab, the al-Qaeda-linked group that controls large parts of Somalia.

Okay, so let’s say US forces have been deployed in Africa as part of the war against terror.

So perhaps that establishes what US Foreign Policy strategy is, i.e. to fight the war against terror.

Doesn’t it?

Well, no.

Let’s move a bit further north-east. To Syria in fact.

For the past while the US has been covertly backing the anti-Assad forces in the Syrian conflict. Seemed to make sense since Assad is friends with the likes of Iran and Russia. Except for the fact that the anti-Assad forces were in fact made up of the same type of al-Qaeda-linked groups that the US is against in Somalia.

Confused? You should be.

If there was any principle involved they would have been better not backing either side. But of course principle and politics rarely mix.

And just to add to the confusion it was confirmed last week that secret meetings have been held between ‘Western intelligence officials’ and senior members of the Syrian government, aimed at “combating radical Islamist groups” in Syria.

But wait!

Maybe it IS all beginning to make sense. At least we can detect a consistent pattern emerging, and it seems to be this:

ignore the long term dangers, and fund and supply terrorist groups just because they happen to be at odds with people you don’t like; and then when you realize what a mess you’ve made, send in American troops to correct the mistake, never mind that they are going to get killed and maimed by weapons paid for by America.

American foreign policy has been a shambles for decades. It doesn’t get better by repeating the same mistakes over and over again.

America has the strength and the military power to police the world, of that there is no doubt. But does that mean it really has to? Especially when the policy to direct such a strategy is made by incompetent politicians who clearly do not understand the world they are trying to police.

Confusion and failure has been and will be the result. That and the needless sacrifice of the brave souls whose job it is to clear up the mess.

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

The Uninformed Elect The Uninformed

July 14, 2013July 13, 2013 fasab Current Events, Humour, Politics, Rants 'F' minus, 9/11 attack, administration, Afghanistan, Al Quaeda, ally, alternative, America, America's leaders, arch demon of the Middle East, best rulers, bigger potential threat for the future, brave souls, britain, bureaucrats, candidate, casting their votes, censor, charitable gifts, chronic stupidity, clueless, Col Gadaffi, couldn't do much worse, country, create enemies, cruise missile, culprit, Current Events, cut from the same cloth, deliberate covert policy, democracy, drip feeding, economy, Egypt, election times, exclamation marks, foreign 'crusades', foreign affairs. could do much better, foreign debacles, friend, gather secret dossiers, government, government that is in power, governments, grade marks, greatest ability, harm's way, honest, horrendous mess, horrific injuries, information, insult, interfere, interfering in foreign lands, invade Iraq, iran, iraq, Ireland, Israel, Keys to the City of Detroit, killed, land of the free, Lebanon, Libya, lying to their own people, Misc, Miscellaneous, needless deaths, nicest shirt, north korea, noses have been stuck, Opinion, People, philosophy, political idiots, political policy, politicians worldwide, politics, power and influence, power to elect, problem, publicity, radical groups, rant, Rants, Saddam, Saddam Hussein, sensationalize, Serbia, simplify, Somalia, spy on us, Stalinist Russia, Sunday Sermon, syria, terror, terrorism, terrorist attacks, Terrorists, the politicians, Thoughts, tools, trouble for the future, uninformed decisions, uninformed population, US Administration, Vietnam, vote party lines, voted, War, war against terror, wars, weapons of mass destruction, Western media, Western nations, what THEY think WE need to know, winning friends and influencing people

“Fight Against Stupidity And Bureaucracy”

Another rant cunningly disguised as a Sunday Sermon.

Some people say we should be grateful we get told anything at all nowadays. We certainly can’t rely on our governments being honest with their people. In fact, as we have discovered recently, they would rather spy on us and gather secret dossiers on our activities. Much more reminiscent of Stalinist Russia than the Land Of The Free.

A big part of the problem is that in what passes for ‘democracy’ in Western nations, the people are told they have the power to elect whoever they think will be the best rulers, but they are not allowed the tools to do so effectively.

People are encouraged to vote party lines, rather than think about which candidate has the greatest ability.

The Western media compounds the problem by drip feeding information to us on a “what THEY think WE need to know basis”. In doing so they censor and simplify, and more often than not sensationalize that information to the point of it being almost useless.

Naturally the politicians love it that way. An uninformed population makes uninformed decisions at election times, casting their votes for the candidate who has the nicest shirt or some other reason unrelated to political policy and philosophy.

That’s one of the reasons you got the government that is in power – so if you voted them in you did so without knowing all the facts – or maybe any of them!

Not that there was much of an alternative. And it doesn’t matter what country you happen to live in either. Politicians worldwide, like bureaucrats, seem to be cut from the same cloth.

But that’s only part of the problem.

Bad enough that uninformed people make uninformed decisions and elect the wrong people. But worse is the fact that the people they elect are equally badly informed, their lack of knowledge becoming very clear quite quickly after they are elected.

Take America for example. Not the only culprit by any means, but the biggest one because of its size and the power and influence it wields throughout the world.

We all know that the economy is in a horrendous mess, with the administration seemingly clueless as to how to get us out of it. We’ve talked about that before and no doubt will do so again.

But if we were giving out grade marks for America, the ‘F’ minus with at least two exclamation marks would have to go to its understanding of foreign affairs. It’s not a case of ‘could do much better’ but more of a case of ‘couldn’t do much worse’.

Recent history is littered with foreign debacles. Vietnam, Somalia, Lebanon, Serbia, Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, and now North Korea, Syria, and Iran are just some of the places where America, and sometimes its allies such as Britain, have tried to interfere only to make things far worse.

To the insult of causing the needless deaths and horrific injuries to the brave souls who put themselves in harm’s way because of these political idiots, they add the bigger insult of trying to excuse their foreign ‘crusades’ by lying to their own people.

Saddam Hussein used to be a ‘friend’, even being granted the Keys to the City of Detroit because of his charitable gifts. Then a few months later they made up blatant lies about his having developed weapons of mass destruction and he became the arch demon of the Middle East. Saddam was no saint that’s for sure, he was an evil man, but he had no weapons of mass destruction and he had nothing to do with Al Quaeda or the 9/11 attack, yet the US Administration went gung-ho to invade Iraq and take him out. Result – a bigger potential threat for the future.

All the years Col. Gadaffi was supporting terrorist attacks in Israel and Britain and Ireland he wasn’t touched, apart from the odd cruise missile sent his way more for publicity than any lasting affect it had on him or his country. Then when he became an ‘ally’ in the war against terror he was killed, leaving behind a country in a complete mess and opening the way for radical groups to take over. Result – a bigger potential threat for the future.

You could say exactly the same thing for Egypt or Syria or almost anywhere else where noses have been stuck in where they aren’t wanted.

Far from winning friends and influencing people, it’s almost as if America’s leaders want to create enemies and store up trouble for the future. Either this is a deliberate covert policy or it is the result of chronic stupidity.

Whatever the reason, it is costing the country far too much, both in terms of lives and money. Our politicians need to be told to get a grip on things in their own country before interfering in foreign lands where they clearly do not understand the damaging consequences of their ill-advised actions.

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

Significant Number Factoid Friday – Today Number Forty-Four 44

November 9, 2012 fasab Factoids, Numbers, Politics, Sport, Uncategorized, Unusual, War "Broomhandle" Mauser C96 pistol, .44 Remington Magnum, .44 Special, 1944, 44, 44 Cent Cure, 44th Shuttle mission, 44th state, 44th US President, A-44, A-44 mystery tank, Adam Mickiewicz, Adolf Hitler, Amsterdam, Anne Frank, Arbil, Argentina, Armenia, assassination attempt, assault rifle, atomic number, Augusta, Auschwitz, B-29A, Baghdad, Barack Obama, baseball players, Beech Aircraft Corporation, Beehive Cluster, Belgrade, Bergen-Belsen, BlasTech Industries, Blink-182, Bordeaux, Brazil, Bucharest, canada, carbines, Claus von Stauffenberg, Cleveland, Clint Eastwood, constellation Cancer, D-Day invasion of Normandy, D-Day landings, Dan Issel, Denver Broncos, Denver Nuggets, Devon, Dirty Harry, DL-44, dutch, earthquake, education, Emanuel Weiss, Entertainment, Ernie Davis, events, Exercise Tiger, factoid, Floyd Little, forgotten disaster of WWII, forty-four, Fosse Ardeatine massacre, fourth term, France, Franklin D Roosevelt, franklin delano roosevelt, Friday, Galactic Civil War, General Dwight D. Eisenhower, George Gervin, Gestapo, Get Smart, Great Atlantic Hurricane, Great Escape, Halifax, Hank Aaron, Hanukkah candles, happy number, Hargeisa, Harry, Harvard Mark I, hitter's number, HMS Hawkins, Hollywood movies, IBM, iraq, Iraqi Kurdistan, Italian Resistance, Japanese army, Jerry West, Jim Brown, Kansas, LA Lakers, Lawrence of Arabia, LNG explosion, Lockheed Martin, Louis Buchalter, Louis Capone, lunar eclipse, lunar eclipses, Maine, Margot Frank, Mark Hoppus, Maschinenpistole, mathematics, Maxwell Smart, Messier object M44, Militaria, Minneapolis, Misc, Miscellaneous, Montpelier, MP 43, MP 44, Multi-Axis No-Tail Aircraft, Murder Inc., nasa, Nazi troops, NBA, new york, New York City, NFL, Nizhny Novgorod, Normandy, northern France, Nova Scotia, octahedral number, Ohio, Operation Overlord, Operation Tiger, Ossining, Ottoman Empire, palindromic number, Panzerfaust 44, Paul Westphal, People, Pete Retzlaff, Philadelphia Eagles, Phoenix Suns, Pierre, politics, Pratt & Whitney, President Obama, Pzf 44, Random, Reggie Jackson, revolvers, rifles, Rob Konrad, Romania, Rome, Royal Air Force, Russia, ruthenium, Sacramento Kings, Sam Lacey, San Antonio Spurs, San Juan, Sana'a, Saros number, São Luís, science, Serbia, Significant Number, Simferopol, Sing Sing, Slapton Beach, Slapton Sands, Smith & Wesson, Smith & Wesson Model 29, solar eclipse, Somalia, South Dakota, Soviet Union, space, sport, Stalag Luft III, StG 44, STS-44, Sturmgewehr 44, Supreme Allied Commander, Syracuse University, T-44, T-44A "Pegasus", T. E. Lawrence, tank, Tbilisi. Georgia, the most powerful handgun in the world, Thomas E. Dewey, TKX, Travis Barker, tribonacci number, tunnel, U.S. Air Force, U.S. presidential election, Ukraine, United Kingdom, Vermont, Vicks Formula 44, Warsaw Uprising, Westerbork, Wichita, Willie McCovey, Winston Churchill, Wolfram Alpha, world war ii, WWII, Wyoming, X-44 MANTA, XB-44, Yemen, Yerevan, Šabac

“Fight Against Stupidity And Bureaucracy”

Okay, this week’s significant number was either going to be 44 or 45, but, rightly or wrongly, the American people voted for Barack Obama and so the number is 44 – hard luck Mitt.

So here we go, and just like President Obama we’re not sure exactly where.

Enjoy.

44 Forty-four

In politics

In the U.S. presidential election of 1944, Franklin D. Roosevelt won reelection over Republican challenger Thomas E. Dewey, becoming the only U.S. president elected to a fourth term.

A few days ago Barack Obama was elected to his second term as the 44th US President.

Barack Obama 44th President of the United States of America

In mathematics

44 is a tribonacci number, a happy number, an octahedral number and a palindromic number.

In science

44 is the atomic number of ruthenium

In space

STS-44 was the 44th Shuttle mission. It was cut short after one of its three navigational units failed.

Messier object M44, also known as the Beehive Cluster, is a magnitude 4.0 open cluster in the constellation Cancer,

44 is the Saros number of the solar eclipse series which began on April 30, 1448 BC and ended on June 7, 168 BC . The duration of Saros series 44 was 1280.1 years, and it contained 72 solar eclipses.
The Saros number of the lunar eclipse series which began on October 1, 1363 BC and ended on March 27, 153 . The duration of Saros series 44 was 1514.5 years, and it contained 85 lunar eclipses.

In sport

44 is the retired number for former baseball players Hank Aaron, Willie McCovey and Reggie Jackson; the number is sometimes considered to be a “hitter’s number”.

In the NFL 44 was the number of Floyd Little (Denver Broncos) and Pete Retzlaff (Philadelphia Eagles)

In the NBA 44 was the number of Dan Issel, (Denver Nuggets); Jerry West (L.A. Lakers); Paul Westphal (Phoenix Suns); Sam Lacey (Sacramento Kings); and George Gervin (San Antonio Spurs).

A number of football legends at Syracuse University also wore 44, most notably by Jim Brown, Ernie Davis, Floyd Little, and Rob Konrad. Although the number was officially retired in 2005, the legend of 44 remains an important part of the identity of Syracuse University.

In WWII

1944 was arguably the most interesting year of World War II. Incidents of note included:

The Fosse Ardeatine massacre in Rome when 335 Italians are killed, including 75 Jews and over 200 members of the Italian Resistance from various groups.

The real “Great Escape” (as opposed to the famous movie version) when 76 Royal Air Force prisoners escape by tunnel “Harry” from Stalag Luft III. Only three made it back to the UK, and of those recaptured, fifty were executed.

Exercise Tiger, or Operation Tiger, was the code name for one in a series of large-scale rehearsals for the D-Day invasion of Normandy, which took place on Slapton Sands or Slapton Beach in Devon.
The first practice assault took place on the morning of 27 April. H-hour was set for 7:30 am, and was to be preceded by a live firing exercise to acclimatize the troops to the sights, sounds and even smells of a naval bombardment. During the landing itself, live rounds were to be fired over the heads of the incoming troops by forces on land, for the same reason. This followed an order made by General Dwight D. Eisenhower, the Supreme Allied Commander, who felt that the men must be hardened by exposure to real battle conditions.
The British heavy cruiser HMS Hawkins was to shell the beach with live ammunition, from 6:30 to 7:00 am, giving the beachmasters half an hour to inspect the beach and declare it safe.
However, several of the landing ships for that morning were delayed, and the officer in charge decided to delay the bombardment until 8:30am. This message was received by HMS Hawkins, but not by a number of the landing craft, with the result that troops were landing on the beach at the same time as the bombardment was taking place. This unfortunate mix-up resulted in a “friendly fire” incident with 946 American servicemen losing their lives.
The incident was under the strictest secrecy at the time due to the impending invasion, and was only nominally reported afterward. As a result it has been a largely “forgotten” disaster of WWII.

On June 6 Operation Overlord, or the D-Day landings, took place, when 155,000 Allied troops shipped from England land on the beaches of Normandy in northern France.
It was the largest amphibious military operation in history and was the beginning of the liberation of France and the other countries in Europe invaded by Nazi Germany.

Also in 1944, on July 20 there was an unsuccessful assassination attempt on the life of Adolf Hitler led by Claus von Stauffenberg.

Führerhauptquartier, Stauffenberg, Hitler

At the beginning of August 1944 the Warsaw Uprising began and lasted until October 2, when it was finally ended by Nazi troops.

Also in August of that year, the Gestapo, acting on a tip off from a Dutch informer, sealed-off an area in an Amsterdam warehouse and captured Jewish diarist Anne Frank and her family.
They were placed on the last transport train from Westerbork to Auschwitz, and on October 30, Anne Frank and sister Margot Frank are deported from Auschwitz to the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp.

In militaria

The .44 Remington Magnum or .44 Special are popular large-bore cartridge calibres. Originally designed for revolvers, a their introduction, they were quickly adopted for carbines and rifles as well.

However many people mistakenly believe that the Smith & Wesson (S&W) .44 calibre revolver heavily featured in numerous Hollywood movies, particularly Clint Eastwood’s Dirty Harry is called the .44 Magnum (the most powerful handgun in the world), neither of which are true. The revolver used in those movies is actually the Smith & Wesson Model 29, a six-shot, double-action revolver chambered for the .44 Magnum cartridge. It comes in a variety of models with 3″, 4″, 5″, 6″, 6½”, 8″ and, later, 10″ barrel lengths.

StG 44
The StG 44 (Sturmgewehr 44) is an assault rifle developed in Nazi Germany during World War II that was the first of its kind to see major deployment and is considered by many historians to be the first modern assault rifle.
It is also known under the designations MP 43 and MP 44 (Maschinenpistole 43, Maschinenpistole 44 respectively).

Pzf 44
Panzerfaust 44 “Lanze” (or Pzf 44 in short) is an antitank weapon. Development of this weapon commenced circa 1960, with grenade and launcher developed by German company Dynamit-Nobel AG.
The Pzf 44 entered German service during mid-sixties and in several modifications served until mid-eighties, when it was replaced by moremodern Panzerfaust 3 (Pzf 3) weapon.
It is a .44 Magnum carbine with a synthetic stock and stainless steel fittings. In common with many Ruger carbines it uses a rotary magazine which holds 4 rounds and fits inside the stock under the breech.

Panzerfaust 44 "Lanze" Pzf 44 — Panzerfaust 44 “Lanze” Pzf 44

DL-44
The BlasTech Industries DL-44 heavy blaster pistol was a powerful sidearm from the time of the Galactic Civil War (yes, a little bit of sci-fi talk here). The DL-44 is described as a powerful, highly modifiable and accurate blaster pistol.

BlasTech Industries DL-44 heavy blaster pistol - tech drawing — BlasTech Industries DL-44 heavy blaster pistol – tech drawing

However, in outward design it is uncannily like the (real) German “Broomhandle” Mauser C96 pistol, used by both its German creators and the Ottoman Empire during World War I, and wound up in the hands of such notable figures as T. E. Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia) and Winston Churchill, and also saw service among various revolutionary movements throughout the world following the First World War.

"Broomhandle" Mauser C96 — “Broomhandle” Mauser C96

T-44
The T-44 was a medium tank first produced towards the end of the Second World War by the Soviet Union. It was the successor to the famous T-34. Fewer than two thousand T-44s were built, but the design became the basis for the T-54/55 series of main battle tanks, the most-produced tank of all time.

TKX
The TKX is a relatively new Japanese tank with a 120mm gun, costing approximately $7 million and weighing in at 44 tons weight.

. .

A-44
Sometimes known as the ‘mystery tank’, the A-44 was developed as T-34 modernization program in 1941. 29-30 tonns, Hull front armour – up to 75 at 60 degrees, sides – 60mm, 76.2mm and 57mm cannons, 600hp enqine. Only paper project.

A-44 'mystery' tank — A-44 ‘mystery’ tank

XB-44
One B-29A was handed over to Pratt & Whitney to be used as a testbed for the installation of the new Wasp Major 28-cylinder engines in the B-29. They came up with the XB-44 variant.

X-44 MANTA
The Lockheed Martin X-44 MANTA (Multi-Axis No-Tail Aircraft) was a conceptual aircraft design that has been studied by NASA and the U.S. Air Force. It was intended to test the feasibility of full yaw, pitch and roll control without tailplanes (horizontal or vertical), attitude manipulation relying purely on 3D thrust vectoring. The aircraft design was derived from the F-22 Raptor and featured a stretched delta wing and no tail surfaces.

The Lockheed Martin X-44 MANTA (Multi-Axis No-Tail Aircraft)

T-44A
The T-44A “Pegasus” aircraft is a twin-engine, pressurized, fixed-wing monoplane, manufactured by Beech Aircraft Corporation, Wichita, Kansas, whose mission is to train Navy and Marine Corps pilots.

The T-44A "Pegasus" — The T-44A “Pegasus”

Other stuff

Cities on the 44th parallel include, Minneapolis, Simferopol (Ukraine), Bordeaux (France), Belgrade and Šabac (Serbia), Halifax (Nova Scotia, Canada), Bucharest (Romania), Pierre (South Dakota), Augusta (Maine), and Montpelier (Vermont).
Cities on the 44th line of longitude include, São Luís (Brazil), Sana’a (Yemen), Baghdad (Iraq), Nizhny Novgorod (Russia), Hargeisa (Somalia), Arbil (Iraqi Kurdistan), Yerevan (Armenia), and Tbilisi (Georgia).
44 is the international direct dial code for phone calls to the United Kingdom;
Interstate 44 is the freeway that runs from Texas to Missouri;
U.S. Route 44, is the highway that runs from New York to Massachusetts;
In Pennsylvania Route 44(PA 44), is the long state highway in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania
The name of a mysterious savior of Poland was prophesied by the Polish national poet Adam Mickiewicz in his masterpiece dramatic poem Dziady (Forefathers). In scene 5 of act 3, the priest Piotr announces a “reviver of the nation” who is to bring back the lost freedom of Poland, and describes him as: “Born from a foreign mother, his blood of ancient heroes, And his name will be forty and four.”
44 is the name of a variant of the card game poker.
+44 is the name of a band that includes Blink-182 vocalist/bassist Mark Hoppus and Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker.
A blues song, Forty-Four, also known as “44 Blues”
Vicks Formula 44 is a cough suppressant
The 44 Cent Cure is the cost of treatment of intestinal worms that affect 400 million children in various arts of the world and leads to stunted physical and mental development in both boys and girls. They also cause nausea and diarrhea and in severe cases, they kill.
44 is the largest number for which Wolfram Alpha offers a visual representation.
Wyoming was the 44th state to join The United States of America.
There are 44 candles in a box of Hanukkah candles.
An agent in the American Television series Get Smart goes under the title of 44, usually assigned to small, enclosed, unexpected spots, to meet Maxwell Smart, agent 86.
On January 15 1944 An earthquake hits San Juan, Argentina, killing an estimated 10,000 people in the worst natural disaster in Argentina’s history.
In 1944 meat rationing ends in Australia.
On March 4, 1944 in Ossining, New York, Louis Buchalter, the leader of 1930s crime syndicate Murder, Inc., was executed at Sing Sing, along with Emanuel Weiss, and Louis Capone.
In 1944 IBM dedicates the first program-controlled calculator, the Automatic Sequence Controlled Calculator (known best as the Harvard Mark I).
On September 14, 1944 the ‘Great Atlantic Hurricane’ makes landfall in the New York City area.
And on October 20 an LNG explosion destroyed a square mile of Cleveland, Ohio.

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