Monday, December 22, 2008

UK Bed sizes

Single Bed
36" x 75"

Double Bed
54" x 75"

King Bed
60" x 78"

Super King Bed
72" x 78"

Saturday, December 20, 2008

Thursday, December 18, 2008

Saturday, December 13, 2008

My favourite 1970s children's TV

Multi Coloured Swap shop
Grape ape
Bat fink
Clangers
Captain Pugwash
Dastardly and Mutley
Emu's Broadcasting Company
Hong Kong Phooey
Inch High Private Eye
The Wombles
Scooby Doo
Roobarb and Custard
Flintstones
Wacky Racers
Catch the Pigeon
Stig of the dump
Screen Test
Rent a ghost
The magic roundabout
Ask Aspel
Animal magic
Banana Splits
Mr Benn

Thursday, December 11, 2008

Pure gold

A gramme of gold can be beaten into a sheet of one square meter.
Gold leaf can be beaten thin enough to become translucent.
Gold is a good conductor of heat and electricity.
Gold is not affected by air.
Gold, caesium and copper are the only elemental metals with a natural color other than gray or white.
Heat, moisture, oxygen, and most corrosive agents have very little chemical effect on gold.
Pure gold is non-toxic when ingested.
Gold is approved as a food additive in the EU.

Pig facts

Both boars and sows have two rows of nipples.
Pigs were domesticated around 7,000 BC.
They were the first animals to ever be used domestically.
A domesticated pig has approximately 15,000 taste buds.
Pigs do not sweat.
The largest pig that has ever been recorded weighed 2,552 pounds was 5 feet high and 9 feet long.

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Top 12 most expensive paintings

$149.7
No. 5, 1948
Jackson Pollock

$147.0
Woman III
Willem de Kooning

$144.4
Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I
Gustav Klimt

$136.1
Portrait of Dr. Gachet
Vincent van Gogh

$128.8
Bal au moulin de la Galette, Montmartre
Pierre-Auguste Renoir

$118.9
Garçon à la pipe
Pablo Picasso

$102.3
Irises
Vincent van Gogh

$101.8
Dora Maar au Chat
Pablo Picasso

$94.6
Portrait de l'artiste sans barbe
Vincent van Gogh

$94.0
Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer II
Gustav Klimt

$91.9
Massacre of the Innocents
Peter Paul Rubens

$86.3
Triptych
Francis Bacon

Top daft looking animals

  1. Giraffe
  2. Zebra
  3. Camel
  4. Kangaroo
  5. Emu

The rest don't look that daft really.

Monday, December 8, 2008

Friday, December 5, 2008

Objects first popularised by animals

cat ladder
doggy bag
snake belt
bulldozer
wolf whistle
monkey bars
pig bag
monkey boots
caterpillar tracks
dog sled
rat run
pelican crossing
hamster wheel
zebra crossing
donkey jacket
fraggle rock

List of Lists

Friedrich List- German economist
Guido von List- Austrian Armanist
Maximilian List- SS officer and Commandant of Lager Sylt, a labour camp on Alderney.
Siegmund Wilhelm List- WWII German field marshal

Thursday, December 4, 2008

Animal magic

Biggest horse, Samson, 1850, 21 and 1/2 hands, 3360lb
Longest dog ears, Tigger, a bloodhound, September 29, 2004, 34.9 cm.
Highest jump by a pig, Kotetsu, a pot-bellied pig, 22 August 2004, 70 cm.
Fastest time a dog has unwound a non-electric car window, Striker, a border collie, September 2004, 11.34 seconds.

List of Orange Fruit

Orange
Satsuma
Clementine
Tangerine
Tangelo
Mandarin
Kumquat
Some grapefruits
Mangos can also be a bit orange sometimes

Wednesday, December 3, 2008

Snail facts

Snails have the most teeth of any animal.
Snails have one foot which ripples and moves the snail forwards.
Snails have two pairs of tentacles on their head.
The longest pair has the snail's eyes at the end.
The shortest pair are used for smelling and feeling.
The Giant African snail can measure up to 15 inches in length and weigh 2lb.
Snails make safe pets and will not savage your baby, even though they have thousands of teeth.
Snails taste awful.

List of Welsh whisky brands - all of them

Penderyn

Honey making insects

Obviously bees make honey, but it is also made by:

  • Some ants in South America, Texas and new Mexico.
  • Some wasps.
  • Ethiopian honey-mosquitos which make a honey called tazma.
  • American and Australian stingless bees called trigona and melipona.

Endangered tree species

Abies guatemalensis var. jaliscana Fir tree Mexico VU - Vulnerable
Acacia montis-usti Brandberg acacia Namibia LR - Lower risk
Agathis microstachya Bull kauri Australia LR - Lower risk
Alnus acuminata Aliso Peru LR - Lower Risk
Araucaria araucana Araucaraia, pehuen Chile VU - Vulnerable
Araucaria hunsteinii Klinki pine New Guinea LR - Lower risk
Arbutus xalapensis Madroño Mexico LR - Lower Risk
Athrotaxis cupressoides Pencil pine Australia LR - Lower risk
Athrotaxis selaginoides King Billy pine Australia VU - Vulnerable
Bactris coloniata Uvito palm Panama VU - Vulnerable
Bombacopsis quinata Pochote tree Costa Rica VU - Vulnerable
Bursera malacophylla Palo santo tree Ecuador VU - Vulnerable
Cavanillesia platanifolia Cuipo tree Panama LR - Lower risk
Cecropia obtusifolia Cecropia tree Costa Rica LR - Lower risk
Couroupita guianensis Cannonball tree India LR - Lower risk
Cryosophila guagara Guagara palm Costa Rica LR - Lower risk
Dipterocarpus sublamellatus Keruing Indonesia EN - Endangered
Dracaena draco Dragon tree Spain VU - Vulnerable
Fitzroya cupressoides Alerce tree Chile EN - Endangered
Hildegardia populifolia n/a India CR - Critically endangered
Juniperus cedrus Canary Island juniper Spain VU - Vulnerable
Juniperus jaliscana Juniper Mexico EN - Endangered
Koompassia excelsa n/a Indonesia LR - Lower risk
Ocotea foetens Tilo Spain LR - Lower risk
Pinus culminicola Decumbent pine Mexico EN - Endangered
Pinus jaliscana Pine tree Mexico LR - Lower Risk
Pinus nelsonii Pine tree Mexico VU - Vulnerable
Pinus pinceana Pine tree Mexico LR - Lower Risk
Pleiomeris canariensis Delfino Spain VU - Vulnerable
Polylepis incana Queuña Peru VU - Vulnerable
Polylepis lanuginosa Qunio colorado tree Ecuador VU - Vulnerable
Polylepis microphylla
Peru VU - Vulnerable
Polylepis pauta
Peru VU - Vulnerable
Polylepis pepei Quewiña Peru VU - Vulnerable
Pterocarpus angolensis Kiaat tree Namibia LR - Lower risk
Quercus hintonii Oak tree Mexico CR - Critically endangered
Rhopalostylis sapida Nikau palm N. Zealand LR - Lower risk
Scalesia microcephala Lechose tree Ecuador EN- Endangered
Sequoia sempervirens Redwood tree USA LR - Lower risk
Sequoiadendron giganteum Giant sequoia USA VU - Vulnerable
Shorea balangeran Kawi Indonesia CR - Critically endangered
Washingtonia filifera California fan palm USA LR - Lower risk

FA cup final replays

1874–75 Royal Engineers 2–0 Old Etonians
1875–76 Wanderers 3–0 Old Etonians
1885–86 Blackburn Rovers 2–0 West Bromwich Albion
1900–01 Tottenham Hotspur 3–1 Sheffield United
1901–02 Sheffield United 2–1 Southampton
1909–10 Newcastle United 2–0 Barnsley
1910–11 Bradford City 1–0 Newcastle United
1911–12 Barnsley 1–0 West Bromwich Albion
1969–70 Chelsea 2–1 Leeds United
1980–81 Tottenham Hotspur 3–2 Manchester City
1981–82 Tottenham Hotspur 1–0 Queens Park Rangers
1982–83 Manchester United 4–0 Brighton & Hove Albion
1989–90 Manchester United 1–0 Crystal Palace
1992–93 Arsenal 2–1 Sheffield Wednesday

England fooball managers

Sir Walter Winterbottom 1946 - 1962
Sir Alf Ramsey 1963 - 1974
Joe Mercer 1974
Don Revie 1974 - 1977
Ron Greenwood 1977 - 1982
Sir Bobby Robson 1982 - 1990
Graham Taylor 1990 - 1993
Terry Venables 1994 - 1996
Glenn Hoddle 1996 - 1999
Kevin Keegan 1999 - 2000
Sven-Göran Eriksson 2001 - 2006
Steve McClaren 2006 - 2007
Fabio Capello 2008 - Current

Before 1946 the team was chosen by a board of selectors.
Excludes caretaker managers Peter Taylor and Howard Wilkinson, and quite right too.
Fabio Capello has the best record of wins, 80%. However he has only been in charge for 10 games.
After Capello, the best record is held by Alf Ramsey, 61.1% followed, surprisingly by Glenn Hoddle who won 60.7%. Ericson won 59.7%. So it seems that the best England can expect is to win about 60% of their matches.
Naturally, Kevin Keegan has the worst record, he won just, 38.9%.
Venables takes the record for hardest manager to beat, he has the lowest percentage of defeats, just 4.4%.
Steve McClaren is remembered as a clown but his record shows he won 50% of matches. What lets him down is that on average he lost the most games, 28%.

Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Origins of the names for the days of the week

Saturday
Roman: Dies Saturni, Day of Saturn

Sunday
Roman: Dies Solis, Day of the Sun

Monday
Roman: Dies Lunae, Day of the Moon

Tuesday
Roman: Dies Martis, Day of Mars
Norse: Tiwesdaeg 'The day of Tiw',from the Norse Tysdagr

Wednesday
Roman: Dies Mercurii, Day of Mercury
Norse: Wodnesdaeg 'the day of Woden' (Odin), from Norse Odinsdagr.

Thursday
Roman: Dies Jovis, Day of Jupiter
Norse: Thursdaeg 'the day of Thor',from Norse Thorsdagr.

Friday
Roman: Dies Veneris, Day of Venus
Norse: Frigesdaeg 'the day of Freya',from Norse Freyjasdagr.

Monday, December 1, 2008

Horserace

1 1 was a racehorse
2 2 was 1 2
1 1 1 1 race 1 day
and 2 2 1 1 2

University boat race winners

1829 Oxford
1836 Cambridge
1839 Cambridge
1840 Cambridge
1841 Cambridge
1842 Oxford
1845 Cambridge
1846 Cambridge
1849 Cambridge
1849 Oxford
1852 Oxford
1854 Oxford
1856 Cambridge
1857 Oxford
1858 Cambridge
1859 Oxford
1860 Cambridge
1861 Oxford
1862 Oxford
1863 Oxford
1864 Oxford
1865 Oxford
1866 Oxford
1867 Oxford
1868 Oxford
1869 Oxford
1870 Cambridge
1871 Cambridge
1872 Cambridge
1873 Cambridge
1874 Cambridge
1875 Oxford
1876 Cambridge
1877 Dead Heat
1878 Oxford
1879 Cambridge
1880 Oxford
1881 Oxford
1882 Oxford
1883 Oxford
1884 Cambridge
1885 Oxford
1886 Cambridge
1887 Cambridge
1888 Cambridge
1889 Cambridge
1890 Oxford
1891 Oxford
1892 Oxford
1893 Oxford
1894 Oxford
1895 Oxford
1896 Oxford
1897 Oxford
1898 Oxford
1899 Cambridge
1900 Cambridge
1901 Oxford
1902 Cambridge
1903 Cambridge
1904 Cambridge
1905 Oxford
1906 Cambridge
1907 Cambridge
1908 Cambridge
1909 Oxford
1910 Oxford
1911 Oxford
1912 Oxford
1913 Oxford
1914 Cambridge
1920 Cambridge
1921 Cambridge
1922 Cambridge
1923 Oxford
1924 Cambridge
1925 Cambridge
1926 Cambridge
1927 Cambridge
1928 Cambridge
1929 Cambridge
1930 Cambridge
1931 Cambridge
1932 Cambridge
1933 Cambridge
1934 Cambridge
1935 Cambridge
1936 Cambridge
1937 Oxford
1938 Oxford
1939 Cambridge
1946 Oxford
1947 Cambridge
1948 Cambridge
1949 Cambridge
1950 Cambridge
1951 Cambridge
1952 Oxford
1953 Cambridge
1954 Oxford
1955 Cambridge
1956 Cambridge
1957 Cambridge
1958 Cambridge
1959 Oxford
1960 Oxford
1961 Cambridge
1962 Cambridge
1963 Oxford
1964 Cambridge
1965 Oxford
1966 Oxford
1967 Oxford
1968 Cambridge
1969 Cambridge
1970 Cambridge
1971 Cambridge
1972 Cambridge
1973 Cambridge
1974 Oxford
1975 Cambridge
1976 Oxford
1977 Oxford
1978 Oxford
1979 Oxford
1980 Oxford
1981 Oxford
1982 Oxford
1983 Oxford
1984 Oxford
1985 Oxford
1986 Cambridge
1987 Oxford
1988 Oxford
1989 Oxford
1990 Oxford
1991 Oxford
1992 Oxford
1993 Cambridge
1994 Cambridge
1995 Cambridge
1996 Cambridge
1997 Cambridge
1998 Cambridge
1999 Cambridge
2000 Oxford
2001 Cambridge
2002 Oxford
2003 Oxford
2004 Cambridge
2005 Oxford
2006 Oxford
2007 Cambridge
2008 Oxford

The counties of Wales

  1. Clwyd
  2. Dyfed
  3. Gwent
  4. Gwynedd
  5. Mid Glamorgan
  6. Powys
  7. South Glamorgan
  8. West Glamorgan

The counties of Ireland

Eire

1. Dublin
2. Wicklow
3. Wexford
4. Carlow
5. Kildare
6. Meath
7. Louth
8. Monaghan
9. Cavan
10. Longford
11. Westmeath
12. Offaly
13. Laois
14. Kilkenny
15. Waterford
16. Cork
17. Kerry
18. Limerick
19. Tipperary
20. Clare
21. Galway
22. Mayo
23. Roscommon
24. Sligo
25. Leitrim
26. Donegal

Northern Ireland

1. Fermanagh
2. Tyrone
3. Londonderry1
4. Antrim
5. Down
6. Armagh