Interesting Facts

Interesting Fact # 1276 - Clothes

noreply@blogger.com (Your Teacher) — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 03:09:33 PDT

Britain has been voted the worst dressed country in Europe.

(Yes, 40% of the people polled by Microsoft's price comparison site Ciao thought that Britain was the worst dressed nation, and Germany came second in the league of shame at 33 per cent. Fifteen per cent said the Spanish were least fashionable and 6 per cent chose the French. With a mere 3 per cent saying the Italians were the worst dressed. Personally I dislike any obsessive occupation with looking good all the time. Life's too short to worry about it.)

Interesting Animal 115 - Monkeys

noreply@blogger.com (Your Teacher) — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 02:03:20 PDT

Scientists at the University of Neuchatel in Switzerland, say that monkeys learn more from females.

(The monkeys were better able to learn a task when it was demonstrated by a female, who in monkey society are core group members with higher social status than males. Quite right too.)

Full story here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8571318.stm

Interesting Fact # 1275 - Physics

noreply@blogger.com (Your Teacher) — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 01:59:06 PDT

Researchers at the University of California, Santa Barbara, have created a "quantum state" in the largest object yet.

(Seemingly this means an object is in two places at once. If anyone would like to read the full article on the BBC and then come back here to explain how this is possible, please do, because my brain is about to explode and then it will be in many places at once.)

Full story here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8570836.stm

Interesting Fact # 1274 - Bacteria

noreply@blogger.com (Your Teacher) — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 08:22:42 PDT

Scientists at the University of Colorado in Boulder, USA, have discovered that the bacteria on our hands is different for each individual.

(They took swabs from keyboards and were able to match the bacteria they found their to the computer owners. They say that the results could be used in forensic identification, in the same way as DNA. And don't think you can escape with a quick scrub, even scrupulously clean people have about 150 different species of bacteria on their hands. I always knew we had evolved as a complex bug carrier.)

Interesting Fact # 1273 - The UK's Least Welcoming Cities

noreply@blogger.com (Your Teacher) — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 08:23:11 PDT

According to research by Jurys Inn to mark the start of British Tourism Week, the UK's least welcoming cities are:-

1. London
2. Glasgow
3. Bradford
4. Birmingham
5. Liverpool
6. Manchester
7. Aberdeen
8. Wolverhampton
9. Belfast
10. Leeds

(No surprises at number 1, but I have to say I found Glasgow friendlier than Edinburgh.)

Interesting Fact # 1272 - The UK's Most Welcoming Cities

noreply@blogger.com (Your Teacher) — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 08:23:29 PDT

According to research by Jurys Inn to mark the start of British Tourism Week, the UK's most welcoming cities are:-

1. Southampton
2. Norwich
3. Exeter
4. Brighton
5. Plymouth
6. York
7. Oxford
8. Nottingham
9. Derby
10. Portsmouth

(See the next post for the most unwelcoming cities - guess which was top.)

Interesting Place # 132 - Berlin

noreply@blogger.com (Your Teacher) — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 11:47:44 PDT

In Berlin children may now officially make a noise Monday to Saturday, 0900 to 1900.

(I'm not joking. Berlin's local government, the senate, has passed a law giving children the right to be noisy, the first law of its kind in Germany, but they will still have to respect the official quiet time at night and all day Sunday.)

Interesting Fact # 1271 - 3D Films

noreply@blogger.com (Your Teacher) — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 12:06:48 PDT

People with a lazy eye or some other eye conditions will not be able to get the full effect of 3D films.

(In order to enjoy a 3D film, your eyes need to work equally well, and work well together. If your eyes don't work together you're stuffed. Me? I'm stuffed.)

Interesting Fact # 1270 - The Nobel Peace Prize - Podcast

noreply@blogger.com (Your Teacher) — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 07:59:54 PDT

Nominations for a Nobel Peace Prize can be put forward by former laureates, members of national governments and select university professors.

(Seemingly a few other people can nominate someone, but not many. It's a real "insiders club". I wonder who has the power to nominate someone for the ignoble awards - I would suggest - former losers of the Nobel awards, and members of the public, but only if they haven't been to university.)

Interesting Fact # 1269 - The Internet

noreply@blogger.com (Your Teacher) — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 11:51:35 PDT

The internet has been nominated for this year's Nobel Peace Prize.

(It's been nominated for helping advance "dialogue, debate and consensus". If it wins, I'm not sure who will walk to the podium to accept the prize.)

Interesting Fact # 1268 - Crime

noreply@blogger.com (Your Teacher) — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 00:17:25 PST

An MP's report by the Home Affairs Select Committee, says that one in every 1,300 crimes solved by police is due to the UK's DNA database.

(That's a mere 0.3%. People who watch TV shows like Crimewatch, Waking the Dead and Cold Case, will be very disappointed.)

Interesting Fact # 1267 - Women in the Media

noreply@blogger.com (Your Teacher) — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 00:16:56 PST

On British TV, women are outnumbered by men two to one.

(A study carried out for International Women's Day, found that more than three-quarters of contributors to news programmes were men, but soaps were more equal, women occupy 50% of the roles. I've always known that soaps are more accurate than the news. If you want to know what's really happening in the world watch Coronation Street or EastEnders.)

Source: BBC News

Interesting Fact # 1266 - Chilean Earthquake

noreply@blogger.com (Your Teacher) — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 11:57:06 PST

According to geophysicists at the US Geological Survey (USGS) in Colorado, Chile could be feeling aftershocks from the devastating 8.8-magnitude earthquake for months and possibly years to come.

(There have already been more than 200 aftershocks since the monster quake struck on Feb 28th.)

Interesting Fact # 1265 - English Schools - Podcast

noreply@blogger.com (Your Teacher) — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 08:02:33 PDT

According to the Department for Children, Schools and Families, there are 793,000 empty places in England's schools.

(There are 3.4 million secondary school places, 310,000 of which are unfilled, and out of a total of 4.2 million primary school places, there are 483,000 surplus places. That's a lot of kids!)

Interesting Place # 131 - Finland

noreply@blogger.com (Your Teacher) — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 11:29:04 PST

In Finland there are two classes of driving licence. An A class licence and a B class licence.

(To get a B class licence you need 30 hours of instructed driving, which has to include a session on a skid pan. I guess this must be because you often have to drive in icy conditions. I doubt I would have passed my test first time if I'd had to do any skid pan training.

Seemingly the B license is issued for two years. During this time, the newly qualified driver may receive a maximum of two traffic fines in total. If the number of fines is exceeded, the license is revoked and the driver is required to re-take the exam. Even with one fine, the interim period may be extended for a maximum of two years. During the interim period, the new driver must pass a short refresher course, which includes another skid pan course, and they have to take part in dark time driving training, but Finnish lighting conditions prevent the dark time training during summer. You can't fight nature.)

Interesting Fact # 1264 - Money

noreply@blogger.com (Your Teacher) — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 00:39:55 PST

According to the Financial Times £2.5bn gross (£1.5bn net)will be raised by the super-tax on bank bonuses in the UK.

(Of course bankers are furious at the 50 per cent super-tax. The first £25,000 of bonuses is exempt, so a lot of banks have reduced bonuses to this amount, with the "understanding" that employees will be "seen all right" later, when this annoying tax is out of the way. Personally I think the tax should stay in place until every penny of taxpayer's money that was used to bail out the banks has been paid back.)

Interesting Fact # 1263 - Noses

noreply@blogger.com (Your Teacher) — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 00:26:00 PST

A study at the University of Bath has identified 6 kinds of noses: Roman / Greek / Nubian / hawk / snub and turned-up.

(They scanned the noses in 3D and characterised them by tip, ridge profile and the nasion (area between the eyes). They have said that nose profiling could be useful for identification in covert surveillance. Follow that nose!)

Interesting Animal # 114 - The Swift

noreply@blogger.com (Your Teacher) — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 00:31:22 PST

The bird, the common swift (apus apus) has been recorded flying at a speed of 69.3mph (111.6km/h).

(This wasn't just swooping and stooping, seemingly it flies at this speed horizontally and upwards. The record speeds were measured during bouts of mating, which are called "screaming parties". Hmm I've been to a few of those.)

Interesting Fact # 1262 - Sport

noreply@blogger.com (Your Teacher) — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 02:36:08 PST

The Scottish football team's manager, Craig Levein, has banned the Scottish team from drinking alcohol while they are on international duty.

(It all stems from Scotland's failure to qualify for the 2010 World Cup, and of course wasn't helped by former captain Barry Ferguson and Rangers keeper Allan McGregor being banned from international duty following an all-night drinking session between two World Cup qualifiers. The team reckons they won't have a problem complying with this new rule, but only time will tell.)

Interesting Place # 130 - Nepal

noreply@blogger.com (Your Teacher) — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 03:52:46 PST

Each year in Nepal the youths in two villages in the south of the Himalayan country, Parsawa and Laxmipur, save up their choicest insults for a 10-day "cursing festival" that reaches its climax today.

(The insults range from, "Monkey face", "I hope your sons are as ugly as frogs," to more culturally relevant insults like, "I hope your buffaloes die of diarrhoea". They should be fine, as long as they don't post their insults on Facebook.)

Interesting Animal # 113 - Hippo vs Lion

noreply@blogger.com (Your Teacher) — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 04:32:14 PST

In Africa, humans are more likely to be killed by the vegetarian hippopotamus than the meat-eating lion.

(Hippos weigh up to 8000 pounds and can gallop at 18 m.p.h. A healthy adult lion weighs around 550 lbs, but they can run at 50 mph. A hippo's canines measure up to 20 inches long, a lion's 3.1 inches.)

Interesting Word # 98 - Pigtails

noreply@blogger.com (Your Teacher) — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 04:09:09 PST

Pigtails used to be known as queues.

(Pigtail meaning a "braid of hair" is from around 1753, when it was a fashion among soldiers and sailors to wear their hair tied behind their heads. Queue used to mean a braid of hair too, and only started to mean "stand in a line" from around 1927.)

Interesting Place # 129 - Indonesia

noreply@blogger.com (Your Teacher) — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 05:55:35 PST

In Indonesia, seemingly it's against the law to insult someone on Facebook.

(A student, who shall remain nameless, referred to his marching band mentor as a "scoundrel" and "very greedy". He's ended up with a suspended six-month jail sentence - that's the student, not the greedy scoundrel. Just imagine if this law became popular in the UK or the US. Personally I think the student needed to be a bit wittier, and slightly more up to date. I like to read witty insults.)

Interesting Animal # 112 - Dogs

noreply@blogger.com (Your Teacher) — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 01:50:31 PST

According to research from the University of California, small dogs may all originate from the Middle East.

(Seemingly a gene, IGF1, which is found in small dogs, is closely related to one found in Middle Eastern wolves. See, there's a bit of wolf in your chihuahua too.)

Interesting Fact # 1261 - The Internet in China

noreply@blogger.com (Your Teacher) — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 01:38:24 PST

If you want to set up a website in China, you will have to submit identity cards and a photo of yourself, as well as meet regulators, before your domain name can be registered.

(In some ways it's similar in Germany, you can't register a .de domain unless you have a German bank account. That said, I guess I won't be setting up learnenglish.cn any time soon.)