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	<title>Futility Closet</title>
	
	<link>http://www.futilitycloset.com</link>
	<description>Your refuge from productivity</description>
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			<geo:lat>35.899208</geo:lat><geo:long>-78.711619</geo:long><image><link>http://www.futilitycloset.com/</link><url>http://www.feedburner.com/fb/images/pub/fb_pwrd.gif</url><title>Futility Closet</title></image><atom10:link xmlns:atom10="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" rel="self" href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/FutilityCloset" type="application/rss+xml" /><feedburner:browserFriendly>This is an XML content feed. It is intended to be viewed in a newsreader or syndicated to another site.</feedburner:browserFriendly><atom10:link xmlns:atom10="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" rel="hub" href="http://pubsubhubbub.appspot.com" /><item>
		<title>In a Word</title>
		<link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/FutilityCloset/~3/AVHhKvNhL8Q/</link>
		<comments>http://www.futilitycloset.com/2009/07/09/in-a-word-214/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 09 Jul 2009 18:01:12 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Greg Ross</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Language]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.futilitycloset.com/?p=8310</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[xenium
n. a gift given to a guest
]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>xenium<br />
n. a gift given to a guest</p>
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/FutilityCloset/~4/AVHhKvNhL8Q" height="1" width="1"/>]]></content:encoded>
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		<item>
		<title>“An Ingenious Match Puzzle”</title>
		<link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/FutilityCloset/~3/wxWfsIvEPHg/</link>
		<comments>http://www.futilitycloset.com/2009/07/09/an-ingenious-match-puzzle/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 09 Jul 2009 11:01:52 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Greg Ross</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Puzzles]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.futilitycloset.com/?p=8300</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[From Henry Dudeney:

"Place six matches as shown, and then shift one match without touching the others so that the new arrangement shall represent an arithmetical fraction equal to 1. The match forming the horizontal fraction bar must not be the one moved."
I'll give the solution tomorrow.
]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>From Henry Dudeney:</p>
<p class="center"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2158/2359746308_cfb5b3716a_m.jpg" alt="dudeney match puzzle" /></p>
<p>"Place six matches as shown, and then shift one match without touching the others so that the new arrangement shall represent an arithmetical fraction equal to 1. The match forming the horizontal fraction bar must not be the one moved."</p>
<p>I'll give the solution tomorrow.</p>
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/FutilityCloset/~4/wxWfsIvEPHg" height="1" width="1"/>]]></content:encoded>
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		<item>
		<title>Footwork</title>
		<link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/FutilityCloset/~3/LeRHC_cKKxs/</link>
		<comments>http://www.futilitycloset.com/2009/07/08/footwork/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 08 Jul 2009 18:01:02 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Greg Ross</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Oddities]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.futilitycloset.com/?p=8296</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[
This walking hero [Daniel Crisp] on Sept. 21, 1802, walked one mile in seven minutes and fifty seconds, on the City-road, London.—July 16, 1817, commenced walking backwards forty miles daily for seven days, and completed 280 miles by that retrograde motion, on Wormwood Scrubs, near London, one hour and a quarter within the given time, [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<blockquote><p>
This walking hero [Daniel Crisp] on Sept. 21, 1802, walked one mile in seven minutes and fifty seconds, on the City-road, London.—July 16, 1817, commenced walking backwards forty miles daily for seven days, and completed 280 miles by that retrograde motion, on Wormwood Scrubs, near London, one hour and a quarter within the given time, to the surprise of thousands who witnessed the performance. &#8230; April 23, 1818, commenced walking from London to Oxford, to and fro by way of Datchet, Windsor, and Henley, the distance of sixty-one miles daily for seventeen successive days, and completed the 1037 miles on the 9th of May at eight minutes after eleven at night, being fifty-two minutes within the given time; during the performance of this arduous undertaking it rained heavily for ten days, which caused the Thames to overflow on the road to the depth of two feet and a half, and a quarter of a mile in length, which he was obliged to walk through for five days.
</p></blockquote>
<p>&#8211; Pierce Egan, <em>Sporting Anecdotes, Original and Selected</em>, 1822</p>
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/FutilityCloset/~4/LeRHC_cKKxs" height="1" width="1"/>]]></content:encoded>
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		<item>
		<title>Finnish Line</title>
		<link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/FutilityCloset/~3/H0HYhV6BnhA/</link>
		<comments>http://www.futilitycloset.com/2009/07/08/finnish-line/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 08 Jul 2009 11:06:38 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Greg Ross</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Language]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.futilitycloset.com/?p=8293</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[On your next trip to Finland, you may encounter someone named Kokko who is trying to contain a bonfire. In that case you may want to tell him, "Kokko, gather up the whole bonfire. The whole bonfire? The whole bonfire, Kokko, gather up!"
In Finnish that's easier than you think:
"Kokko, kokoa koko kokko kokoon. Koko kokkoko? [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>On your next trip to Finland, you may encounter someone named Kokko who is trying to contain a bonfire. In that case you may want to tell him, "Kokko, gather up the whole bonfire. The whole bonfire? The whole bonfire, Kokko, gather up!"</p>
<p>In Finnish that's easier than you think:</p>
<p>"Kokko, kokoa koko kokko kokoon. Koko kokkoko? Koko kokko, Kokko, kokoa kokoon!"</p>
<p>(Thanks, Jani.)</p>
<p>See also <a href="http://www.futilitycloset.com/2006/09/26/could-you-repeat-that/">Could You Repeat That?</a> and <a href="http://www.futilitycloset.com/2008/11/19/what-3/">What?</a></p>
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/FutilityCloset/~4/H0HYhV6BnhA" height="1" width="1"/>]]></content:encoded>
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		<item>
		<title>Mean Winds</title>
		<link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/FutilityCloset/~3/n4Iomb9-U-Y/</link>
		<comments>http://www.futilitycloset.com/2009/07/07/mean-winds/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 07 Jul 2009 18:01:01 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Greg Ross</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Oddities]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.futilitycloset.com/?p=8285</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[
The Tri-State Tornado of 1925 traveled 200 miles through the American Midwest, killing nearly 700 people.
Along the way, it drove a 1&#215;5-inch board through a 2&#215;6-inch plank.
]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2492/3694585052_5065064433.jpg" alt="http://www.photolib.noaa.gov/htmls/wea00239.htm" /></p>
<p>The Tri-State Tornado of 1925 traveled 200 miles through the American Midwest, killing nearly 700 people.</p>
<p>Along the way, it drove a 1&#215;5-inch board <em>through</em> a 2&#215;6-inch plank.</p>
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/FutilityCloset/~4/n4Iomb9-U-Y" height="1" width="1"/>]]></content:encoded>
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		<item>
		<title>The Chair Trick</title>
		<link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/FutilityCloset/~3/wIL1Edoibcg/</link>
		<comments>http://www.futilitycloset.com/2009/07/07/the-chair-trick/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 07 Jul 2009 11:01:01 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Greg Ross</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Oddities]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.futilitycloset.com/?p=8270</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[If you're a woman and want to humiliate a man, invite him to watch you do this:

Stand with your toes touching a wall.
Placing one foot behind the other, take two steps back.
Have him place a chair between you and the wall.
Bend at the waist and place the top of your head against the wall.
Lift the [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>If you're a woman and want to humiliate a man, invite him to watch you do this:</p>
<ol>
<li>Stand with your toes touching a wall.</li>
<li>Placing one foot behind the other, take two steps back.</li>
<li>Have him place a chair between you and the wall.</li>
<li>Bend at the waist and place the top of your head against the wall.</li>
<li>Lift the chair.</li>
<li>Stand erect.</li>
</ol>
<p>Now challenge him to do the same. If he's like most men he'll get stuck on step 6. The common explanation is that men's hips are built differently; they also have proportionally bigger feet. Either way, you can easily pick his pocket while he's struggling there.</p>
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/FutilityCloset/~4/wIL1Edoibcg" height="1" width="1"/>]]></content:encoded>
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		<item>
		<title>Unquote</title>
		<link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/FutilityCloset/~3/T1swZtTa1Z8/</link>
		<comments>http://www.futilitycloset.com/2009/07/06/unquote-133/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 06 Jul 2009 18:01:32 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Greg Ross</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[History]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Quotations]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.futilitycloset.com/?p=8267</guid>
		<description><![CDATA["It is astonishing that there should still be found today people who do not believe that there are witches." &#8212; Henry Bouget, 1602
]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>"It is astonishing that there should still be found today people who do not believe that there are witches." &#8212; Henry Bouget, 1602</p>
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/FutilityCloset/~4/T1swZtTa1Z8" height="1" width="1"/>]]></content:encoded>
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		<item>
		<title>Rule of Paw</title>
		<link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/FutilityCloset/~3/lif39EjjuDs/</link>
		<comments>http://www.futilitycloset.com/2009/07/06/rule-of-paw/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 06 Jul 2009 11:58:50 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Greg Ross</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Oddities]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Society]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.futilitycloset.com/?p=8264</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[
Canadian cats have their own parliament. In the same precinct of Ottawa where the human legislature meets, Irène Desormeaux erected a feline equivalent in the 1970s. The cats are all spayed or neutered, they get free inoculations and medical care, and the whole thing is run by volunteers using personal donations.
(Image: Wikimedia Commons)
]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2635/3682127374_237e25e280.jpg" alt="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Canadian_Parliamentary_Cats_-_Rene_Chartrand.jpg" /></p>
<p>Canadian cats have their own parliament. In the same precinct of Ottawa where the human legislature meets, Irène Desormeaux erected a feline equivalent in the 1970s. The cats are all spayed or neutered, they get free inoculations and medical care, and the whole thing is run by volunteers using personal donations.</p>
<p class="credit">(Image: <a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Canadian_Parliamentary_Cats_-_Rene_Chartrand.jpg">Wikimedia Commons</a>)</p>
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/FutilityCloset/~4/lif39EjjuDs" height="1" width="1"/>]]></content:encoded>
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		<item>
		<title>The Happiest Place on Earth</title>
		<link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/FutilityCloset/~3/9BdocTpYR7I/</link>
		<comments>http://www.futilitycloset.com/2009/07/05/the-happiest-place-on-earth/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 05 Jul 2009 18:01:10 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Greg Ross</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Entertainment]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Society]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.futilitycloset.com/?p=8257</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[
Yes, it's The Rescuers, and yes, that's a topless woman in the window.
Disney discovered her in two frames of the film's 1999 home video release, but apparently she'd been there since the film's premiere in 1977.
The studio recalled 3.4 million videotapes and released a cleaned-up version two months later. If they know who did it, [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3563/3682231802_aca623fb8d_o.jpg" alt="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Rescuers_Topless_Woman.jpg" /></p>
<p>Yes, it's <em>The Rescuers</em>, and yes, that's a topless woman in the window.</p>
<p>Disney discovered her in two frames of the film's 1999 home video release, but apparently she'd been there since the film's premiere in 1977.</p>
<p>The studio recalled 3.4 million videotapes and released a cleaned-up version two months later. If they know who did it, they're not saying.</p>
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/FutilityCloset/~4/9BdocTpYR7I" height="1" width="1"/>]]></content:encoded>
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		<item>
		<title>Double-Booked</title>
		<link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/FutilityCloset/~3/o9O1l2nGbR0/</link>
		<comments>http://www.futilitycloset.com/2009/07/05/double-booked/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 05 Jul 2009 11:04:51 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Greg Ross</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Literature]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.futilitycloset.com/?p=8253</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[In 1975, Émile Ajar won the Prix Goncourt for his novel The Life Before Us. The French literary prize is awarded only once to each author, so Ajar could not be recognized again.
Or so you'd think. It turned out that Ajar was a pen name of Romain Gary, who had already won the prize in [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>In 1975, Émile Ajar won the Prix Goncourt for his novel <em>The Life Before Us</em>. The French literary prize is awarded only once to each author, so Ajar could not be recognized again.</p>
<p>Or so you'd think. It turned out that Ajar was a pen name of Romain Gary, who had already won the prize in 1956.</p>
<p>Gary/Ajar remains the only author to win the medal twice.</p>
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/FutilityCloset/~4/o9O1l2nGbR0" height="1" width="1"/>]]></content:encoded>
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