Fancy That!

A place to relax and spend a few minutes with all things trivial
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Post by SRD »

Immediately after George W Bush's election victory in November 2004, Canadian immigration authorities experienced a six-fold increase in inquiries from US citizens - from 20,000 to 115,000 a day.
Children are like Slinkys - not much use for anything, but it always brings a smile to your face when you throw them down the stairs. Chinchilla
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Until 1800, cookery was so dangerous that it was the second commonest cause of death among women (after childbirth). Their skirts caught on the open fires of the hearth. Deaths were dramatically reduced by the invention of the closed range by George Bodley in 1802.
Children are like Slinkys - not much use for anything, but it always brings a smile to your face when you throw them down the stairs. Chinchilla
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Re: Fancy That!

Post by Little John »

You'd think they would have sussed that bit about the skirts and done something about it. Wouldn't you.
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March 25 was celebrated as the traditional date of the Scottish New Year until 1599. In that year, Scotland converted to the modern Gregorian Calendar. England did not adopt the new calendar until the Calendar Act of 1751 was passed, a full 152 years after Scotland.

This rather convoluted adoption of calendars explains why the tax year starts on April 6th, 11 days (Give us back our eleven days! :devil: ) after Lady Day (The Feast of the Annunciation) or New Years Day as it was.

What I want to know is "How come so many Feast days (St Patrick, St David, Lady Day etc.) occur during Lent?"
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Post by Little John »

I never thought of that.
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The first record of golf in England is more than a hundred years older than its appearance in Scotland.
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King James II of Scotland (1430-60) made golf illegal on pain of death.
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Greece invented democracy, but Greek women only got the vote in 1952.
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Post by Little John »

But what year?

Edit: Just realised this is "Fancy That" and not "On This Day".
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0.13% of the overall population are currently in gaol.
0.62% of the members of the last House of Commons are currently in gaol.
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Post by Little John »

Now that is interesting.
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The scientific study of fingerprints is called dermatoglyphics, a word which has the distinction of being the longest in English with no repeated letters. The only other such word is uncopyrightable.

SRD comments: Obviously the last bit is incorrect as there must be many words in English which don't have repeated letters but is that the beginning of a new game - who can find the longest words in English with no repeated letters (the two examples above are not to be used)?
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Post by Little John »

But that means time thinking. I'm not very good at thinking. Without tea, at least.
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Better get the kettle on then.
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New Zealand is famous for trout fishing, but before the British colonised it, there were no trout anywhere in the country.
Children are like Slinkys - not much use for anything, but it always brings a smile to your face when you throw them down the stairs. Chinchilla
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