Chindie Posted February 1, 2023 VT Supporter Share Posted February 1, 2023 The bull terrier, the odd looking dog breed with the sloping head and tiny triangle eyes, originated in Birmingham. The breed was created by James Hinks, who lived in Birmingham throughout his life, in an attempt to create a companion animal for a 'modern' gentleman. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Albrighton Posted February 13, 2023 VT Supporter Share Posted February 13, 2023 (edited) I suspect this is one of those things that is reasonably well known, but I was completely unaware of before today - The Ethiopian calendar treat this year as 2015, they’re about 7/8 years behind us. This seems to be in mainly because they date Christ’s birth differently. Their new year starts on 11th September and their calendar has 13 months, 12 being 30 days long and the 13th being 5-6 days long depending on whether it’s a leap year. Edited February 13, 2023 by Mark Albrighton 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjmooney Posted February 20, 2023 VT Supporter Share Posted February 20, 2023 The Beatles '1967-1970' (the 'blue' hits album) includes 'The Ballad of John and Yoko' - except in Spain, where it was replaced by 'One After 909'. Why? Because TBOJAY included a reference to Gibraltar. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seat68 Posted February 20, 2023 Share Posted February 20, 2023 1 hour ago, mjmooney said: The Beatles '1967-1970' (the 'blue' hits album) includes 'The Ballad of John and Yoko' - except in Spain, where it was replaced by 'One After 909'. Why? Because TBOJAY included a reference to Gibraltar. That's some top notch trivia. But also, One after 909 is a fairly left field swap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjmooney Posted February 20, 2023 VT Supporter Share Posted February 20, 2023 2 hours ago, Seat68 said: That's some top notch trivia. But also, One after 909 is a fairly left field swap. Indeed, exactly what I thought. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bickster Posted February 20, 2023 Moderator Share Posted February 20, 2023 3 hours ago, Seat68 said: That's some top notch trivia. But also, One after 909 is a fairly left field swap. No doubt all you Schmeatles fans will be claiming they wrote the song about a drum machine 20 years before it was released to the world by the Japanese 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seat68 Posted February 20, 2023 Share Posted February 20, 2023 11 minutes ago, bickster said: No doubt all you Schmeatles fans will be claiming they wrote the song about a drum machine 20 years before it was released to the world by the Japanese Ahead of their time. You should hear their song My girl plays a mean DX7. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bickster Posted February 20, 2023 Moderator Share Posted February 20, 2023 16 minutes ago, Seat68 said: Ahead of their time. You should hear their song My girl plays a mean DX7. Yeah yeah and that awful dirge Hey Juno 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjmooney Posted February 23, 2023 VT Supporter Share Posted February 23, 2023 The monkey wrench (that's an 'adjustable spanner' to us Brits) is so-called because it was invented by one Charles Moncky of Baltimore. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BOF Posted February 23, 2023 Moderator Share Posted February 23, 2023 35 minutes ago, mjmooney said: The monkey wrench (that's an 'adjustable spanner' to us Brits) is so-called because it was invented by one Charles Moncky of Baltimore. Interesting, moreso because it's usually Americans who have to change words to make them more descriptive, not the other way around (to quote the awful Michael McIntyre - sidewalk, eye glasses, trash can). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bickster Posted February 23, 2023 Moderator Share Posted February 23, 2023 47 minutes ago, mjmooney said: The monkey wrench (that's an 'adjustable spanner' to us Brits) is so-called because it was invented by one Charles Moncky of Baltimore. Not true apparently Quote Charles Moncky myth The following story can be found in sundry publications from the late 19th and early 20th centuries: Quote "That handy tool, the "monkey-wrench", is not so named because it is a handy thing to monkey with, or for any kindred reason. "Monkey" is not its name at all, Charles Moncky, the inventor of it, sold his patent for $5000, and invested the money in a house in Williamsburg, Kings County, where he now lives." Although this story was refuted by historical and patent research in the late 19th century, it appears to have been inspired by a real person. A Charles Monk (not Moncky) lived in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn in the 1880s where he made and sold moulder's tools, not mechanics' tools like a monkey wrench. He could not have invented or named the monkey wrench because he was born after the term first appeared in print. Wiki Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjmooney Posted February 23, 2023 VT Supporter Share Posted February 23, 2023 Bugger. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Rds1983 Posted February 25, 2023 VT Supporter Popular Post Share Posted February 25, 2023 (edited) Shamelessly stolen from Reddit... The Pacific Ocean is so large that it contains it's own antipode. You can sail in a straight line from Chile to Spain without ever crossing land. Peru is home to 84 of the World's 103 ecosystems and 28 of the 32 climates on the planet. The World's only 5th order recursive island (an island on a lake on an island on a lake on an island on a lake) is in Nunavut Canada. The Appalachian mountains in North America are the same mountain range as the Scottish Highlands. Lake Balkhash in Kazakhstan is saltwater at one end and fresh water at the other. Vancouver Island is twice the size of Puerto Rico. Japan is North, South, East and West of South Korea. Greenland is further North, South, East and West than Iceland. It is possible to travel from North Korea to Norway by only going through one country (Russia). For several minutes every day, if you were to stand on Point Nemo in the South Pacific, then the nearest humans to you are likely to be the astronauts on the International Space Station. France shares it's longest border with Brazil. Canada and Denmark share a land border. Until 2022, Canada only had one land border. Edinburgh is further west than Bristol. The top of Mount Chimbarazo in Ecuador is closer to space than the top of Mount Everest. Alaska is the most North, West and East state in the USA. St Andrew's is a dump. Africa is visible from the UK. The Norwegian island of Svalbard (North of the Artic Circle) is the most northerly inhabited place in the world. It has been inhabited since the 17th Century but has no native population as women are prohibited from giving birth there. Devon is the only English county with two coastlines. At it's height, the British Empire had the same land area as the moon. Europe has two Brests. Edited February 25, 2023 by Rds1983 5 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tegis Posted February 25, 2023 VT Supporter Share Posted February 25, 2023 5 hours ago, Rds1983 said: St Andrew's is a dump. Yes, I read the entire post \o/ 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rds1983 Posted March 3, 2023 VT Supporter Share Posted March 3, 2023 During it's adult life the only times a Swift will not be in the air is whilst nesting. They eat, sleep and mate whilst flying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PussEKatt Posted March 3, 2023 Share Posted March 3, 2023 So,they do everything on the Go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjmooney Posted March 5, 2023 VT Supporter Share Posted March 5, 2023 Was watching a film ("Ventoux") last night, and one of the characters asked his mate this question: If you ran a piece of string around the equator, and then another piece of string, on props, one metre higher than the ground-level one, how much longer would the higher string have to be, compared to the lower one? The answer is (approximately) only six metres. Which seems crazily counterintuitive to people with non-mathematical brains (like me). So much so, that I got out the calculator and worked it out. It's right. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevo985 Posted March 6, 2023 VT Supporter Share Posted March 6, 2023 On 05/03/2023 at 11:46, mjmooney said: Was watching a film ("Ventoux") last night, and one of the characters asked his mate this question: If you ran a piece of string around the equator, and then another piece of string, on props, one metre higher than the ground-level one, how much longer would the higher string have to be, compared to the lower one? Hide contents The answer is (approximately) only six metres. Which seems crazily counterintuitive to people with non-mathematical brains (like me). So much so, that I got out the calculator and worked it out. It's right. I've heard this before, and whilst I totally understand the workings and agree with the answer, my brain is unable to accept it. It just doesn't feel right. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjmooney Posted March 6, 2023 VT Supporter Share Posted March 6, 2023 33 minutes ago, Stevo985 said: I've heard this before, and whilst I totally understand the workings and agree with the answer, my brain is unable to accept it. It just doesn't feel right. Exactly my reaction. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BOF Posted March 7, 2023 Moderator Share Posted March 7, 2023 Yeah we've had that in VT before. It's very counter-intuitive first time around. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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