Staving off a dull day
 

I'm booooorrrrred at work today. So I thought I'd ask if anyone has learned anything interesting -- of course, travelling information is preferred, but anything is welcome! -- that they'd like to share. <BR> <BR>For example, today I learned that larger helicopters only have a gas mileage of 3/4 of a mile per gallon of fuel! Makes me rethink that whole "Waterfalls of Hawai'i" junket...

I learned from another friend that the Bog Man is located at the British Museum.. I should have assumed... since we are going to be in London in April.. I happily added the British Museum to our itinerary, though I've been there twice before.. just so I can find the BOG MAN!!!

I learned that there is actually someone in the world who doesn't like Paris. Too bad.............

Thyra: You'll love the Bog Man -- he's awesome! And don't forget to check out the barrow treasure in the adjoining rooms. <BR> <BR>I learned about a little camera people can swallow like a pill -- wouldn't it be cool to have something like that in your sunglasses (etc.) when you travel? No more clunky camera bags, no more hideous videocameras...just what you see when and how you see it! You could even have a little remote you could hold in your pocket.

I was reminded what a polser is. Thank you Roger.

We were having a discussion on another board, about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and, in doing some web research, I learned that the founder of Zionism, Theodore Herzl, advocated the creation of a Jewish state in either Palestine or, of all interesting places, Argentina.

Oh my Oh my <BR> <BR>Me and my school best mate, Nova, earned an A grade and a pink slip for our project on the Bog Man for history class when we were eleven... <BR> <BR>I didnt know he was on show... <BR> <BR>Oh my oh my oh my... <BR> <BR>Kavey <BR> <BR>PS Barbie got her first car in 1962. It was a coral colored Austin Healy manufactured by the Irwin Corporation for Mattel. <BR> <BR>PPS More than half of all New Zealanders don't live in New Zealand. <BR> <BR>PPPS The Aztec Indians in Central America used animal blood mixed with cement as a mortar for their buildings, many of which still remain standing today.

Don't keep me in suspense -- what is a polser? <BR> <BR>And why Argentina?

Why Argentina indeed? I have no idea why Herzl would've considered it.

I learned that the city of Tsingtao was a Japanese colony and many of the buildings are Japanese-styled. <BR> <BR>I learned that one of the major contributors to the Oxford English Dictionary was an American doctor who was incarcerated in Broadmoor, the asylum for the criminally insane. <BR> <BR>I learned that the British know the same trick we do (if you walk around with a clipboard and pen, you can look busy without really doing any work). <BR> <BR>

I remember reading that there were discussions about a Jewish state in South America at the time just before Israel was designated a Mandate... but I thought it was in Brazil... but my memory is not good. <BR> <BR>From what I was told (so this is mucho 2nd hand) the land was uninhabited and offered freely by the S.American govt involved (possibly hoped to boost their economy?) and as a possible way of avoiding the bloodshed that was bound to arise when the Western world decided to become involved in a struggle for land which was already inhabited.

xxx and Capo: <BR> <BR>This is what I found re Argentina: <BR> <BR>"...Herzl unsuccessfully tried to win over the renowned philanthropist and founder of the Jewish settlements in Argentina, Baron Moritz de Hirsch[,] to the plan that fired his imagination: the redemption of the Jews from their political and personal distress and their concentration in a sovereign Jewish territory." <BR> <BR>So it looks like there were already Jewish settlements in Argentina, which would make the idea of carving a homeland there make more sense. <BR> <BR>Certainly more sense than when Herzl was offered part of Uganda, in my opinion! <BR> <BR>Elvira: <BR> <BR>Have you read "The Professor and the Madman : A Tale of Murder, Insanity, and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary," by Simon Winchester? Winchester's written (very well) the whole story.

Elvira, you probably know this already but, in case anyone else is interested, that story is told in <I>The Professor and the Madman, the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary</I> by Simon Winchester. <BR> <BR>Here's a PBS website, where David Gergen interviews the author. <BR> http://www.pbs.org/newshour/gergen/o...man_10-20.html

Great minds, Capo :-) (-:

Yup, finished the book today. And did anyone see the repeat of 60 Minutes II about the new editor of the OED? Hee Hee he's 'Merican.

WSJ today the tells story of a man who ran up a hospital bill at Duke of $5 million in a month before he died.

I learned that there is an online movement to draft John Cusack to run for President of the United States. Mmmmmm. And woo-hoo!!! <BR> <BR>Here's where I learned it: <BR> <BR>http://www.junction-city.com/billboard/cusack/index.asp <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR>

Likewise, ALH! :~) Thanks for the additional info about Herzl and Argentina. It does make one wonder what would've happened had the Jewish state been located there instead of in Palestine. <BR>

No problem, Capo -- enquiring minds and all that... :-) (-: <BR> <BR>lisa2: mmmmmm indeedy! And as a former Chicagoan, an additional woo hoo! for one of my favorite Chicago sons!

Woo Hoooo Woo Hooooooooo <BR> <BR>(Just because it's one of my favourite "words") <BR> <BR>/&lt;avey <BR> <BR>And to entertain you all today, this works best in Arial so you might have to copy and paste or it might all go horrible wrong <BR> <BR>My very own zebra <BR> <BR>\_/ <BR> \/-//////\ <BR> || || <BR> <BR>

Yep, horribly wrong <BR> <BR>I forget that this stupid editor thing always removed blank spaces at the beginning of a line when the post is posted

Oh, Kavey, thanks for that cute picture. I am enjoying the very last day without my boss at the office. Hard life will be back on Monday! :-( <BR> <BR> @---&gt;-&gt;-&gt;-&gt;- <BR> <BR>.. a little flower for you!

Tongue in cheek from a Canadian - <BR>- when you arrive at the Canadian border, it doesn't start snowing <BR>- we don't live in igloos it's actually hot here in the summer <BR>- wild bears and moose don't roam our streets <BR>- we are not a "state" <BR>- we are not all hunters and fishermen <BR>- we don't speak "Canadian" - two languages are English and French (well, except for "eh"!) <BR>- we're not all Mounties <BR>- we're not all draft dodgers <BR>- We really like our neighbours to the south! <BR> <BR> <BR>- Toronto is not the capital of Canada (Ottawa is) <BR>

Yeah, right a canuck. Do we look that stupid? And remember, we have ways of making you pronounce the letter "o"!

The toilet on the space shuttle can flush up to five times per hour (learned that a long time ago, but thought I would share).

I learned that 28% of all human hair is in India. (Women don't cut their hair.) Rural woman have always washed their hair with soap because (1) they have always done it that way and (2) rural women don't want to shell out dear money for shampoo. Thus, even with all this rural hair waiting to be marketed to, the Lever soap corporation was having a devil of a time selling their shampoo. However, now Lever has come up with a bar soap product they call Lever 2 in 1, which not only cleanses the body but cleanses the hair more effectively than regular bar soap. The Lever 2 in 1 bar soap is a big seller. I wonder if it works well and I wonder about shampoo and conditioner all over the world.

anon, too: interesting that you mention that. I saw a show on TV on India about a year ago which showed how Lever goes about marketing its products, specifically that 2-in-1 bar soap, in small villages in India. <BR> <BR>On a different note, I just got the new National Geographic and learned about the Chauvet Cave, in the Ardèche region of south-central France. <BR> <BR>Whereas the images in Spain's Altamira are 17,000 years old, and those in France's Lascaux are 20,000 years old, the art in the Chauvet Cave (discovered only in 1994) is 35,000 years old. <BR> <BR>http://magma.nationalgeographic.com/...0010801.6.html

Here's my favorite dead President trivia: <BR> <BR>James Garfield, our second assassinated President, was not wounded fatally. An operation could have saved him if the doctors had known the location of the bullet. Alexander Graham Bell had invented a metal detector, and though it worked properly, it failed to locate the bullet. Why? Because it was run over Garfield's body as he lay on a mattress with metal springs! Garfield died of infections caused by the wound about three months after the shooting.

I learned that if I eat Fritos at my desk the person next to me gets irritated.

Spider, if there's enough StarLink in your Fritos, it won't just be your office mate that gets irritated, it'll be your grandkids.

Man who run in front of car get tired. Man who run behind car get exhausted. <BR> <BR>Man with one chopstick go hungry. <BR> <BR>Man who farts in church sits in own pew. <BR> <BR>Passionate kiss, like spider's web, soon lead to undoing of fly. <BR> <BR>Crowded elevator smells different to midget. <BR>

Thanks for the warning Mutant, but genetically mutated grandchildren will not be a problem for me (I'll just say that the Boy Scouts don't like my kind). <BR> <BR>

OK, I'll keep it travel related, having looked in my very entertaining diary I discovered that tomorrow is the anniversary of the very first American Express travel cheque being cashed - this momentous event occurred in 1891! Wonder if they'll have a party or give out free tours! <BR> <BR>But, who can tell me what Dom Perignon did today (Aug 4) in 1693?? <BR> <BR>or what happened in Turkey (tomorrow) in 1924??? <BR> <BR>or even what happened to The Nile on Aug 3 in 1858???? <BR> <BR>

Ursula <BR> <BR>Keeeewte!!! <BR> <BR>Have spent the whole weekend having my 12 year old niece to visit and have enjoyed spoiling her thoroughly as is the privilege of all childless Aunties! <BR> <BR>I found that quite a nice way of switching off from the stresses (and occasional boredoms) of work before the coming week!!! <BR> <BR>Kavey

Hi Kavey, <BR>so you are one of those marvelous persons, the "childless auntie"! <BR>My close friend Ellen, who joined my children and I in Italy, is one also. <BR>And I do not know what we would do without her ! <BR>(even though she lives 400 miles away) <BR>not only was she brave enough to spend 8 days in italy with my children, but next week we are driving down to Delaware for 4 days, and she has allowed the children to invite a friend each! <BR>that makes 4 children in a childless house. <BR>The children adore her, and so do their friends. <BR> <BR>I bet you are a great auntie, and your sibling is lucky to have you. <BR> <BR> The Sport of Ultimate Frisbee: <BR>What I learned today was that my old highschool , in Maplewood , N.J was where the sport <BR>Ultimate Frisbee originated, in 1967. <BR>Gee, I went to school there in 1968, and I bet if I had gone to school and ever actually spent any time AT the school, I would have learned this, instead of getting it off the web. :-O <BR> <BR> <BR>

Well, on Friday, I learned a very important lesson. <BR> <BR>If you're male friend says, "That movie you just rented is porn." <BR> <BR>Don't smugly answer, "Well, of course it isn't porn ... Helen Mirren, Malcolm McDowell, and John Gielgud wouldn't be in a porn movie. Besides, it's about a Roman Emperor." <BR> <BR>Instead, just assume that your male friend knows the genre and rent a different movie.

I just learned that Canada created a new province in 1999 -- the territory of Nunavut. Did I hear about this in 1999 and just forget? Or was it not given much coverage? Anyone know the history of the creation of Nunavut?

Dear Anonymous: <BR>No. I know Nunovit.

Lesson learned...Oh you rented Caligula huh? Actually that movie has an interesting history. <BR>It was originally supposed to be one of those really super-large technicolor costume dramas... that's how they got those big names to be in it. Half way through filming the production company ran out of money and I believe Bob Guccioni (of Penthouse) took over financing. Thats why you have these sort of art/acting/semi-nude stuff shot with high quality film and Peter O'Tool then you'll get a grainy...um..porno scene with unknown porno actresses...not exactly travel but interesting. <BR>Did anyone happen to see the National Geographic special on India's trains. <BR>Made me want to pile out to India, but it's very expensive to get there from here.

from a friend who got it from her uncle who didn't say where he got it.... <BR>A TALE OF A HORSE'S ASS <BR> The U.S. Standard railroad gauge (distance between the rails) is 4 feet, 8.5 inches. That's an exceedingly odd number. Why was that gauge used? Because that's the way they built them in England, and English expatriates built the US railroads. Why did the English people build them like that? Because the first rail lines were built by the same people who built the pre-railroad <BR>tramways, and that's the gauge they used. Why did "they" use that gauge then? Because the people who built the tramways used the same jigs and tools that they used for building wagons, which used that wheel spacing. Okay! Why did the wagons use that odd wheel spacing? Well, if they tried to use any other spacing the wagons would break on some of the old, long distance roads, because that's the spacing of the old wheel ruts. So who built these old rutted roads? Imperial Rome for the benefit of their legions built the first long distance roads in Europe. The roads have been used ever since. And the ruts? Roman war chariots first made the initial ruts, which everyone else had to match for fear of destroying their wagons. Since the chariots <BR>were made for or by Imperial Rome they were all alike in the matter of wheel spacing. Thus, we have the answer to the original question. The United States standard railroad gauge of 4 feet, 8.5 inches derives from the original specification for an Imperial Roman army war chariot. Specs and Bureaucracies live forever. So, the next time you are handed a specification and wonder what horses ass came up with it, you may be exactly right. Because the Imperial Roman chariots were made to be just wide enough to accommodate the back ends of two war-horses. <BR> <BR> Now the twist to the story... There's an interesting extension of the story about railroad gauge and horses' behinds. When we see a Space Shuttle sitting on the launch pad, there are two big booster rockets attached to the sides of the main fuel tank. These are the solid rocket boosters, or SRBs. Thiokol makes the SRBs at a factory in Utah. The engineers who designed the SRBs might have preferred to make them a bit fatter, but the SRBs had to be shipped by train from the factory to the launch site. The railroad line to the factory runs through a tunnel in the mountains.The SRBs had to fit through that tunnel. The tunnel is slightly wider than a railroad track, and the railroad track is about as wide as two horses' behinds. So a major design parameter of what is arguably the world's most advanced transportation system was determined by the ancient Romans, based on the width of a horse's ass. <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR>