Why do women's clothes always button from the left, while men's clothes button from the right?
...This is an example in which history really seems to matter.
When buttons first appeared in the seventeenth century, they were seen only on garments of the wealthy. At that time it was a custom for men to dress themselves and for women to be dresses by servants.
Having women's shirts button from the left thus made things easier for the mostly right handed servants who dressed them...
(source: the natural economist)
Showing posts with label Strange stuff. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Strange stuff. Show all posts
Thursday, 21 June 2007
Wednesday, 30 May 2007
It's All Lies!!!
The art of telling fibs is alive and well and Nottingham unveils the biggest liar in the world.
Plenty of tall tales have been told at Nottingham’s Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem pub over the centuries. In 2004 it's become the venue for a fresh bunch of dirty liars. And no, it wasn’t a group of lads on the pull – nine of Nottinghamshire’s finest storytellers were battling it out for the dubious title of ‘World’s Greatest Liar.’
The event was organised by 55-year-old Pete Davis, better known as Pete the Fireman (because he is a fireman – and that’s the truth.) Pete runs the Storytellers of Nottingham, a club that meets in Ye Olde Trip every month to lie to each other (or tell stories, as they like to put it).
This year, the competition had an extra unbelievable twist: Pete won, with a big fat lie about his vampiric parents. "I’ve been running this for six years," he said after thanking himself, "And this is the first time I’ve won."
So, as the organiser – did you expect to win?
"No I didn’t! I’ve been storytelling for eight years…it’s a strange thing to want to be called the world’s greatest liar. Bill Kirkham, whose won the competition for the last three years, he’s an ex-Chief Superintendent of Police. Worrying, isn’t it?"
What does your wife think of your talent for lying?
"She’s my wife. She’s used to it!"
And what do your colleagues in the Fire Brigade think of your storytelling?
"They thought it was silly at first, but now they’re quite taken with it. They really think it’s fantastic. They are incredible storytellers, firemen."
Given that you are now the World’s Greatest Liar, any advice for our politicians?
"Basically, pack it in. Unless you’re doing it for fun. You’re upsetting lot of people by lying, so behave. Tony Blair wouldn’t know the truth if it bit him in the arse! Tell the truth – save the lies for our competition next year."
Can you give us an example of how you use your talent in everyday life?
"At work we get people from the Nottingham Evening Post ringing us for stories and one morning I told a guy a meteor had hit the jewel tower. I said we’d found the meteorite while we were drilling. He asked how I knew it was a meteorite, I said, ‘I’m a trained geologist… It’s really rare.’ He asked if he could come to the station and take a picture, so I told him to come back at 9, when the station officer was in. That was when we went off duty. But he phoned at quarter to nine and the station manager tannoys over, he says, ‘Blue Watch – which whatsit told the Post about the meteorite?’ That was a true one. Well, a true cheat anyway."
With Christmas coming up, what do you make of the whole Father Christmas myth?
"I like it. I’m a grandfather – it’s nice for the kiddies. It’s not a Christian thing, is it, Father Christmas? I’m a pagan anyway, but I’ll celebrate anything that involves eating pies and boozing!"
The Storytellers of Nottingham meet on the last Thursday of every month and anyone is welcome. Just remember to take everything they say with a pinch of salt.
Plenty of tall tales have been told at Nottingham’s Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem pub over the centuries. In 2004 it's become the venue for a fresh bunch of dirty liars. And no, it wasn’t a group of lads on the pull – nine of Nottinghamshire’s finest storytellers were battling it out for the dubious title of ‘World’s Greatest Liar.’
The event was organised by 55-year-old Pete Davis, better known as Pete the Fireman (because he is a fireman – and that’s the truth.) Pete runs the Storytellers of Nottingham, a club that meets in Ye Olde Trip every month to lie to each other (or tell stories, as they like to put it).
This year, the competition had an extra unbelievable twist: Pete won, with a big fat lie about his vampiric parents. "I’ve been running this for six years," he said after thanking himself, "And this is the first time I’ve won."
So, as the organiser – did you expect to win?
"No I didn’t! I’ve been storytelling for eight years…it’s a strange thing to want to be called the world’s greatest liar. Bill Kirkham, whose won the competition for the last three years, he’s an ex-Chief Superintendent of Police. Worrying, isn’t it?"
What does your wife think of your talent for lying?
"She’s my wife. She’s used to it!"
And what do your colleagues in the Fire Brigade think of your storytelling?
"They thought it was silly at first, but now they’re quite taken with it. They really think it’s fantastic. They are incredible storytellers, firemen."
Given that you are now the World’s Greatest Liar, any advice for our politicians?
"Basically, pack it in. Unless you’re doing it for fun. You’re upsetting lot of people by lying, so behave. Tony Blair wouldn’t know the truth if it bit him in the arse! Tell the truth – save the lies for our competition next year."
Can you give us an example of how you use your talent in everyday life?
"At work we get people from the Nottingham Evening Post ringing us for stories and one morning I told a guy a meteor had hit the jewel tower. I said we’d found the meteorite while we were drilling. He asked how I knew it was a meteorite, I said, ‘I’m a trained geologist… It’s really rare.’ He asked if he could come to the station and take a picture, so I told him to come back at 9, when the station officer was in. That was when we went off duty. But he phoned at quarter to nine and the station manager tannoys over, he says, ‘Blue Watch – which whatsit told the Post about the meteorite?’ That was a true one. Well, a true cheat anyway."
With Christmas coming up, what do you make of the whole Father Christmas myth?
"I like it. I’m a grandfather – it’s nice for the kiddies. It’s not a Christian thing, is it, Father Christmas? I’m a pagan anyway, but I’ll celebrate anything that involves eating pies and boozing!"
The Storytellers of Nottingham meet on the last Thursday of every month and anyone is welcome. Just remember to take everything they say with a pinch of salt.
Confess your sins online now
Now, people are confessing their sins from the comfort of their home. "Bless me father for I have sinned." Most Christians are familiar with traditional means of confession in a booth or face-to-face in a church. But now, the internet highway may be the road to salvation. You can just type away your sins on website "www.ivescrewedup.com".Pastor Gramling and several other church members decided the Internet was a way to reach out.They had never expected the reaction. More than one thousand mea culpa's have poured in since the site went up on Easter Sunday. All are kept anonymous. And the Church leaders screen the confessions before they are posted.One person confessed to stealing $15 thousand from family members. Another wrote, "I hate myself, the way I look, the way I think, the way I feel, everything!"Jus like in the movie Bruce Almighty, actor Jim Carey plays God and is quickly fed up with the amount of e-mail he's getting. Unlike Carey who sends a blanket e-mail response, the flamingo road church doesn't respond at all. Believing that if your confession is sincere god is listening. Or in this case reading, and most importantly forgiving.
Saturday, 26 May 2007
Strange!!!!
Youngest Person to Wear Full Set of Dentures
WHO:
Alexander Stone
WHAT:
4 years 301 days
WHERE:
Indianna, United States
WHEN:
June 7, 2001
Alexander Stone (USA) was given a full set of dentures on June 7, 2001 at the age of 4 years 301 days due to an hereditary condition called dentinogenesis imperfecta which weakens and discolours the teeth, removing the pulp.
Smallest Newspaper
WHO:
Vossa Senhoria
WHAT:
2.5 x 3.5 cm(0.98 x 1.38 in)
WHERE:
Brazil
WHEN:
1985
Back in the 1930s, Brazil's Leonidas Schwindt had a burning ambition to make it big in the world of newspapers. His tiny micro journal Vossa Senhoria became big news in South America, and the paper's diminutive dimensions soon began making headlines. The original editions measured 7 x 10 cm (2.75 x 3.94 in), but when Leonidas' daughter took over the paper in 1985, she shrank it further still, to a tiny 2.5 x 3.5 cm (0.98 x 1.38 in). The weekly newspaper has a circulation of around 5,000 copies, and each edition has around 16 pages.
Most Books Typed Backwards
WHO:
Michele Santelia
WHAT:
56 books (3,004,767 words)
WHERE:
Campobasso, Italy
WHEN:
December 16, 2005
Using a computer and four blank keyboards, and without looking at the screen, Michele Santelia (Italy) typed backwards 57 books (3,194,024 words) in their original languages including The Odyssey, Macbeth, The Vulgate Bible and the Guinness World Records Book 2002. He completed typing backwards the hieroglyphics of the 78.8 kg (174 lb) heavy Egyptian Book of the Dead, in Campobasso, Italy, on 16 December 2005.
Largest Tea Party
WHO:
Nishio-city
WHAT:
14,718
WHERE:
Nishio-city, Aichi, Japan
WHEN:
October 8, 2006
The largest simultaneous tea party consisted of 14,718 people drinking powdered green tea (matcha) according to the Japanese tea ceremony and was arranged by the city of Nishio and the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Nishio, in Nishio-city, Aichi, Japan, on October 8, 2006.
WHO:
Alexander Stone
WHAT:
4 years 301 days
WHERE:
Indianna, United States
WHEN:
June 7, 2001
Alexander Stone (USA) was given a full set of dentures on June 7, 2001 at the age of 4 years 301 days due to an hereditary condition called dentinogenesis imperfecta which weakens and discolours the teeth, removing the pulp.
Smallest Newspaper
WHO:
Vossa Senhoria
WHAT:
2.5 x 3.5 cm(0.98 x 1.38 in)
WHERE:
Brazil
WHEN:
1985
Back in the 1930s, Brazil's Leonidas Schwindt had a burning ambition to make it big in the world of newspapers. His tiny micro journal Vossa Senhoria became big news in South America, and the paper's diminutive dimensions soon began making headlines. The original editions measured 7 x 10 cm (2.75 x 3.94 in), but when Leonidas' daughter took over the paper in 1985, she shrank it further still, to a tiny 2.5 x 3.5 cm (0.98 x 1.38 in). The weekly newspaper has a circulation of around 5,000 copies, and each edition has around 16 pages.
Most Books Typed Backwards
WHO:
Michele Santelia
WHAT:
56 books (3,004,767 words)
WHERE:
Campobasso, Italy
WHEN:
December 16, 2005
Using a computer and four blank keyboards, and without looking at the screen, Michele Santelia (Italy) typed backwards 57 books (3,194,024 words) in their original languages including The Odyssey, Macbeth, The Vulgate Bible and the Guinness World Records Book 2002. He completed typing backwards the hieroglyphics of the 78.8 kg (174 lb) heavy Egyptian Book of the Dead, in Campobasso, Italy, on 16 December 2005.
Largest Tea Party
WHO:
Nishio-city
WHAT:
14,718
WHERE:
Nishio-city, Aichi, Japan
WHEN:
October 8, 2006
The largest simultaneous tea party consisted of 14,718 people drinking powdered green tea (matcha) according to the Japanese tea ceremony and was arranged by the city of Nishio and the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Nishio, in Nishio-city, Aichi, Japan, on October 8, 2006.
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