10 Things We Didn't Know This Time Last Week

[Scheherazade]

1. Stoke City were huge in Norway in the 80s.

2. A third of England's coastline is inaccessible.

3. Police officers are not required to be able to swim.

4. 10 million people drive to work every day.

5. The dye used in blue M&Ms can help mend spinal injuries.

6. Poverty, as measured by the government, can decline during a recession.

7. Broadband speed is decided before the signal even leaves the exchange.

8. Poet Robert Browning used the T-word while thinking it was an item of clothing for a nun.

9. Chimpanzees are biologically programmed to appreciate pleasant music.

10. Bees warn other bees about flowers where dangers can be expected.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/magazinem...ast_w_99.shtml

[Scheherazade]

1. Wild orangutans use leaves to make their voices deeper and to scare predators.

2. University degrees in comedy exist.

3. European bison live in just one forest, on the Belarus-Poland border.

4. Men At Work's Down Under was inspired by Dame Edna's nephew.

5. Aesop's fable about a crow using stones to drink out of a pitcher is based on fact.

6. 17 million people in Britain aged over 15 do not use the internet.

7. Millions of people in Germany and Scandinavia watch an obscure British comedy sketch every New Year's Eve.

8. Last year Britons sent 80 billion texts.

9. Bristol is the fourth most visited city in England.

10. Director John Hughes sometimes wrote under a pseudonym taken from an Alexandre Dumas novel.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/magazinem...st_w_100.shtml

[The Walker]

wow i had forgotten this thread! now i have plenty to read!

[Michael T]

7. Millions of people in Germany and Scandinavia watch an obscure British comedy sketch every New Year's Eve.

Now we all want to know which comedy sketch they watch Scher!

[Virgil]

Oh, I've missed quite a few weeks worth. I'll just pick a few from each to catch up.

1. Heavy metal in Morocco is regarded as devil-worship.

I think heavy metal is regarded as devil worship everywhere. You mean it's not.

2. Monkeys notice bad grammar.

They would have a ball reading through lit net. Hey I bet some lit netters are actually monkeys.

3. Trousers used to be called unmentionables.

That's when no one wore underwear. Get a hole in your trouser crotch and people started mentioning it.

5. The best place to put a wind turbine is in Orkney Islands.

Why? Do they pass a lot of wind there?

6. Dinosaurs were couch potatoes.

And that shoould be a lesson for all of us if we don't want to be extinct.

9. Ringo Starr's mum wanted him to work in a bank.

I thought he lived in a yellow submarine.

2. A third of England's coastline is inaccessible..

Hmm, actually other than the romans in the first century and the Normans conquest in the 11th century, I don't believe anyone has actually invaded England through their coast. Hey that's every thousand years and this century makes a thousand years since the last. Is England due for a successful invasion this century?

3. Police officers are not required to be able to swim.

Looking at their physiques, I don't think many cops can even run, let alone swim.

4. 10 million people drive to work every day.

I assume that's not world wide.

5. The dye used in blue M&Ms can help mend spinal injuries.

Oh what a wonderful reason to pop some M&Ms. But it will have to be the whole bag. They don't sell only the blue ones.

6. Poverty, as measured by the government, can decline during a recession.

You would think then that the measuring technique would be flawed. But who thinks.

8. Poet Robert Browning used the T-word while thinking it was an item of clothing for a nun.

The "T" word? You'll have to read that one yourself. Modesty prevents me from commenting. But it's pretty funny.

9. Chimpanzees are biologically programmed to appreciate pleasant music.

Which puts them on a higher level of evolution than most people in Brooklyn.

1. Wild orangutans use leaves to make their voices deeper and to scare predators.

And here I thought they were looking for toilet paper.

2. University degrees in comedy exist.

Surprise, when you get your dioploma it trurns out to be a joke.

3. European bison live in just one forest, on the Belarus-Poland border.

I didn't know Europe had bison. And they look fairly similar to the American bison. Here's the European:

5. Aesop's fable about a crow using stones to drink out of a pitcher is based on fact.

Quote the raven, never more.

7. Millions of people in Germany and Scandinavia watch an obscure British comedy sketch every New Year's Eve.

Here it is:
http://www.online-literature.com/for...highlight=year

[Scheherazade]

1. You're as likely to be hit by lightning as be killed by a mentally ill person.

2. It's illegal for British people to play the UK Lottery while on holiday in Spain and the US.

3. Tom Cruise has got a 14-year-old son.

4. Only about one or two in 200 people with autism have a savant talent, or exceptional ability.

5. There's a 40-year wait for an allotment in one part of London.

6. A freak wave is one that measures roughly three times higher than other swells on the sea at any one time.

7. They tend to occur at an incidence of about three waves in every 10,000.

8. North Korean dictator Kim Jong-il has a water slide in his garden.

9. Young men in their early 20s are the worst at keeping their NHS appointments.

10. Les Paul, whose name is synonymous with the electric guitar, also invented the eight-track tape recorder.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/magazinem...eks_news.shtml

[AmericanEagle]

3. Tom Cruise has got a 14-year-old son.

After Suri was born, people seemed to forget that he already has two children with Nicole Kidman.

[Scheherazade]

1. PowerPoint was originally called Presentation.

2. The average length of a PowerPoint presentation is 250 mins.

3. Emoticons in the East are the right way up (^_^).

4. The British Board of Film Classification has denied only three titles seeking an 18 rating during the last four years.

5. Surnames can have question marks.

6. You can write using squid ink.

7. Cricketer Andrew Flintoff played chess for Lancashire as a schoolboy.

8. The number of people reporting UFO sightings leapt up in the year when Independence Day was released in the UK.

9. London Ashford Airport and London Southend Airport are not officially recognised as London airports.

10. Four people died after being stung by a wasp, bee or hornet, in England and Wales in 2007.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/magazinem...st_w_101.shtml

[Scheherazade]

1. iPhones are not yet sold in China.

2. Margaret Thatcher suffered one parliamentary defeat as prime minister - on Sunday trading laws.

3. English holidaymakers drink an average of eight alcoholic drinks a day.

4. The UK population grew more in 2008 than at any time since 1962.

5. And Germany's population is shrinking.

6. West Ham's stadium is really called the Boleyn Ground, not Upton Park.

7. The smell of cut grass makes people happy.

8. A pint glass lasts an average of only three months.

9. An Englishman sailed to the "New World" only two years after the first European is thought to have landed in Newfoundland.

10. Men in China cannot marry until aged 22.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/magazinem...st_w_102.shtml

[Virgil]

goodness, I miss three again. Has it been three weeks already since I participated in this? Where does time go? Ok, let's see if I can get my funny bone working this morning. It might be a little early for my wit, but i am currently drinking my second cup of coffee.

1. You're as likely to be hit by lightning as be killed by a mentally ill person.

You mean Alfred Hitchcock's "Psycho" is an exaggersatin? Whew, now I can relax every time I go into the shower.

2. It's illegal for British people to play the UK Lottery while on holiday in Spain and the US.

But it's legal to play it in France. Amazing. Your laws aree really convoluted.

3. Tom Cruise has got a 14-year-old son.

With a higher intelligence than his dad I'm sure.

4. Only about one or two in 200 people with autism have a savant talent, or exceptional ability.

Of course, and everyone here knows I'm an idiot savant. Or at least an idiot.

5. There's a 40-year wait for an allotment in one part of London.

Oh Fifth just explained to me the other week what an allotment is. I would imagine it's hard to get in London. Do they even have green spaces in London?

6. A freak wave is one that measures roughly three times higher than other swells on the sea at any one time.

And a freak person is one with three time higher quantity of fluid in his head.

7. They tend to occur at an incidence of about three waves in every 10,000.

Unfortunately the same ratio does not apply for a freaky person. Just count the weirdos on lit net and divide by the total number of active members and you'll find it's one out of three. There are way more freaky people than freaky waves.

8. North Korean dictator Kim Jong-il has a water slide in his garden.

Do I need say more about freaky people? Some say that he slides down in the nude and when he's through the nurses put diapers on him and give him a baby bottle to suck on.

9. Young men in their early 20s are the worst at keeping their NHS appointments.

Young men in their 20s are only concerned about keeping the appointments with their female interests. and that's the truth.

1. PowerPoint was originally called Presentation.

As one who makes PowerPoint presentations almost weekly these days, I think Presentation would have been a better name. But what a wonderful product. I don't know how we did without it in the past.

2. The average length of a PowerPoint presentation is 250 mins.

Three hours??? No way. Who can sit through a three hour brief, and that's just the average. I don't believe that. I would guess mine average an hour.

3. Emoticons in the East are the right way up (^_^).

Ironic isn't it? We have slanty eyes on the emoticons in the west. -_- -;- -!-

5. Surnames can have question marks.

That's because they're not sure what their surname is. John Smith? or is it Jones?

6. You can write using squid ink.

Does the page smell of sea food afterwards?

8. The number of people reporting UFO sightings leapt up in the year when Independence Day was released in the UK.

Isn't that the same year aliens from space landed on the cliffs of Dover?

9. London Ashford Airport and London Southend Airport are not officially recognised as London airports.

They are just parking lots that airplanes decided to use as a landing.

1. iPhones are not yet sold in China.

They are probalbly made in China and people pocket them off the assembly line.

2. Margaret Thatcher suffered one parliamentary defeat as prime minister - on Sunday trading laws.

All I can say is that love Margret Thatcher.

3. English holidaymakers drink an average of eight alcoholic drinks a day.

I don't know what a holidaymaker is or does, but what an appropriate name.

4. The UK population grew more in 2008 than at any time since 1962.

Have you noticed many Germans entrering. Isn't SleepyWitch immigrating to England?

5. And Germany's population is shrinking.

All because of SleepyWitch.

7. The smell of cut grass makes people happy.

That's because the work is done. I groan every time I see my grass needing to be cut.

8. A pint glass lasts an average of only three months.

Boy, I've heard of nursing a drink but that's ridiculous. The bartender should throw him out at closing time.

9. An Englishman sailed to the "New World" only two years after the first European is thought to have landed in Newfoundland.

Well, to the English Ireland counted as the New World.

10. Men in China cannot marry until aged 22.

Oooh, and some fail the marriage license test and have to wait until 25.

[Scheherazade]

Virgil> Please take your time to have your coffee before posting your comments!


1. The village of Cambourne, in Cambridgeshire, has a higher birth rate than India and China.

2. Block capitals are used to signify formality.

3. Only half of seven-year-olds with an August birthday reach expected educational level.

4. WalMart is the biggest employer in the world.

5. It is not against the law to be naked in public in the UK.

6. Michael Aspel was a wartime evacuee.

7. Each of us has at least 100 new mutations in our DNA.

8. Britain's oldest original computer, the Harwell, first ran in 1951.

9. The crease under your buttocks is called the gluteal fold.

10. Nasa gave moon rocks to more than 100 countries following lunar missions in the 1970s.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/magazinem...st_w_103.shtml

[papayahed]

10. Nasa gave moon rocks to more than 100 countries following lunar missions in the 1970s.

uh, don't you mean fake moon rocks since we all know the moon landing never happened

[Scheherazade]

Of course! There are three conspiracy theories that are out there to confuse you:

1. Moon landing has never happened.

2. Elvis is still alife.

3. British cuisine is actually tasty and very rich.

[Virgil]

Virgil> Please take your time to have your coffee before posting your comments!

Hopefully that's a compliment.

1. The village of Cambourne, in Cambridgeshire, has a higher birth rate than India and China.

So the reason for the low birth rates in Europe is because they have houses that are not new? New houses spark births, which I assume sparks lots of sex. I think I need a new house.

2. Block capitals are used to signify formality.

BUT ON THE INTERNET THEY IMPLY RAISING YOUR VOICE. CAN YOU HEAR ME.

3. Only half of seven-year-olds with an August birthday reach expected educational level.

Hah! Both my sistern and brother were born in August. I will have to send them this to explain why their older brother is so much smarter.

4. WalMart is the biggest employer in the world.

Wow. Where's Granny? She's our official lit net WalMart employee.

5. It is not against the law to be naked in public in the UK.

And thank God they don't because I'm not sure there are many English one would want to see naked. *shudders* (Only kidding. )

7. Each of us has at least 100 new mutations in our DNA.

And if lit ent is a cross section of the population, by the looks of it there are quite a few mutants here.

8. Britain's oldest original computer, the Harwell, first ran in 1951.

Oh, just this morning I came across a quote from one of the original inventors of the computer back in 1943 that he estimated that there would only be a maximum need of five computers worldwide. Boy, given that almost all educated people these days have on on their desk at work and at least one at home, was he wrong. You can be a genius in one field, but short sighted in another.

9. The crease under your buttocks is called the gluteal fold.

Is that for both men and women? I've got a different name for that fold on women.

[Scheherazade]

1. Married couples used to always sleep apart.

2. Criminal trials in Japan have a 99% conviction rate.

3. The world's oldest circle of church bells is in Ipswich.

4. Both parties file for divorce in only one in 300 cases, on average.

5. Peter Andre's surname is actually Andrea.

6. The subject with the most GCSE passes this year was chemistry.

7. Everyone once used the left-hand side of the road.

8. There are so few redheads in Mexico that they often greet each other in the street.

9. Silvio Berlusconi is the same height as Nicolas Sarkozy.

10. "Posh" tea company Twinings is owned by Associated British Foods, which also own budget clothes chain Primark.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/magazinemonitor/