I have made up my own fabric softener using white vinegar – it works really well and is so cheap to make:

Annie’s Fabric Softener Recipe

• 2 litre bottle white vinegar (Aldi sells this for $0.99)
• 1 empty 2 litre bottle
• 1 capful Eucalyptus Oil (water soluble – you can buy this at the supermarket) – you can use any pure essential oil – Lavender, Tea Tree etc – just use less – you will need to experiment.

Tip 1/2 the vinegar into the empty bottle – fill both bottles to top with water and add a capful of Eucalyptus  oil to each.  Shake and it’s ready to go!    The Eucalyptus Oil will last for months – so for around $1.40 you have made 4 litres of fabric softener and it took about 2 minutes!   The big bonus is it keeps your washing machine clean, smells wonderful and doubles as a Wool Mix Rinse for those winter woollies.

If you are cleaning your kitchen the “eco friendly” way with white vinegar and bi carb soda, I bet you miss that “fresh” smell that some of those spray on cleaners give.   The solution to this is to have a couple of bottles of essential oils on hand – I like Lemon or Orange.  After you have cleaned your sink and benches, rinse the cloth and tip a couple of drops of oil onto the sponge/dishcloth.   Wipe this over the benches and your kitchen is filled with a wonderful scent – which is not only good for the environment, but also good for you.  Orange oil is “uplifting” whilst Lemon Oil boosts “awareness”.  The scent also lasts much longer than using one of those other bench sprays.

Everyone loves their bathroom to smell fresh.  In fact I think smell is the key to sensing whether or not your home  is clean.

Here are some handy ways to keep your bathroom smelling nice, because lets face it, some of the worst smells in your home can come from the bathroom!   Especially if you have teenage boys!

Toilet Brush & Holder - hands up if this is your least favourite item in the bathroom?   It really is the item that has the worst job in the home and  is probably the most neglected.   I am the first to admit that I don’t renew the brush as often as I should and, I’m ashamed to admit, I rarely ever clean it!

Some tips for keeping this yucky item fresh and clean:

• Keep some essential oils in your cleaning cupboard – I like Orange or Lavender (or both) and when you have finished cleaning your toilet put a couple of drops in the bottom of the holder.   Next time you get the brush out you will have a lovely scent.
• At least once per month, fill the holder with hot water and some Domestos or bleach and soak the brush in this for an hour or so.
• Every year buy yourself a new brush and holder.   Do this in the January or July sales – that way you can get an upmarket one for the price of a supermarket one!

Vanity Surface - when you have finished cleaning your vanity, put a couple of drops of the essential oil you have chosen onto a cloth and rub over the vanity surface.  This will leave a lovely scent in your bathroom.   You can do this every day just to freshen up the room.

If you have any tips on keeping your bathroom smelling nice please comment below – it’s very easy to do.   Everyone loves a new cleaning tip!

Help needed – Edison Lane Gates?  

The week before last Jim asked about some iron gates on the Lane way running alongside the Brisbane GPO.  He seemed to recall that once each year the gates were closed and people could not use this lane way.    He wanted to know why the gates were closed for only one day.      I haven’t been able to find any reference whatsoever to the gates at the end of this lane.  If anyone has any stories, photos or knowledge of these gates, please write to me.   The name of the lane is the GPO Lane and was previously known as Edison Lane.   Thank you

Ginny wanted to know the origin of the word “NEWS“?  She had heard that it had something to do with North, East, West and South.

News is one of those words that has a very simple origin.  People have always wanted to “sexy” it up, which is where the reference to all directions on the Compass has come into it.   Essentially the word news comes from the French word “Nouvelle” which means new, recent events etc.   Whilst the word “New” in English is an adjective and adjectives aren’t usually plural, in other languages such as French this is not the rule.  Therefore the word Nouvelles, meaning News is perfectly acceptable and has come over to the English language.

Shelly asked why watches (the older style wind up ones) have Jewels in them?  She had heard that they had nothing to do with the workings of the watch.

Watch Jewels are essential to these types of watches.  They are usually Rubies or Sapphires and sometimes Garnets and Diamonds are used.  They are usually small or flawed stones that won’t be used in conventional jewellery. They are cut into different shapes for different uses.  They can be doughnut shaped, cap shaped or circles or rectangles.  They are used to fit over gear axles to keep the oil where it should be, rather than have it spread over the watch.  The Jewels act as friction reducers.   A good watch will have up to 19 working jewels.  An average watch will have about 7.  There are some watches on the market which claim to have 100 Jewels.  This is definitely the case, however 81 of the Jewels actually serve no purpose whatsoever, other than to allude that the watch might be better because it has so many Jewels.

Russell asked why the section of road along the Bruce Highway changes its name to the Gympie Arterial Road after the Gateway turnoff?  It is nowhere near Gympie?

The section of road from Beams Road Carseldine to the Pine River is known as the Gympie Arterial Road.  Once this road hits the Pine River it becomes the Bruce Highway.  An arterial road is one that is directly before a major highway.   Gympie Road extends from Kedron right through to Carseldine.   It then becomes the Arterial Road before the highway.   You will still find sections of Old Gympie Road all the way to Gympie.  This was the road that linked Brisbane to Gympie, hence the name Gympie Road.

Greg asked what is the Internet?  Who owns the internet?  Who runs it?  Where did it come from?

The simple answer is the internet is millions of computer connected to one another via fibre optic line, satellites, copper lines and other forms of data moving equipment.  No one person, company or service provider owns the internet.   The internet actually started off in the 1960′s with the US Military wanting to share information within the US Government.   As much of the internet we have access to, there is just as much, if not more that we can’t see.

An interesting aside – I found this explanation from Dave about how an email might get from your computer to mine.

The Internet works a lot like a postal or parcel delivery system, except it is much, much faster. Say, for example, you are in California and want to send an e-mail to a friend in London. After you press the send button, your e-mail goes to your mail server. (Your mail server isn’t usually part of your computer, but rather part of your internet service provider’s computer network, so you can disconnect as soon as you press the send button and it won’t interrupt delivery.) The mail server will attempt to contact your friend’s mail server in London. But chances are your mail server doesn’t have a direct line connecting it to your friend’s mail server in London. Your mail server may have to “talk” to a computer in Chicago, which then takes to a computer in Washington, D.C., which contacts the London server via satellite. Or the Washington, D.C. computer might contact London via an undersea cable.

If the satellite or undersea cable appeared to be busy with other Internet data, your mail server may try sending west through Australia or Japan. In theory, the e-mail, although probably just a few paragraphs may possibly be broken into two or more parts and half of it would be sent east and half west. All the pieces would be reconstructed in London in one piece for your friend to read next time they log on.

Thelma has a problem with some new towels she has purchased.  her towels aren’t absorbent and don’t soak up the water when drying.  Is there anything she can do to fix this?  It seems like there is a coating on the towels.

Yes this is quite common.  Fabric Softener can also do this to towels as it leaves a non absorbent coating on the fabric.  To remove this you need to put the towels through a hot wash and use a cup of white vinegar in the rinse water.  You can put this in the Fabric Conditioner dispenser.    I actually do this for all washes.  It is better for the washing machine and ultimately better for your clothing.   It might take a couple of washes for the towels to come good.    Here is my recipe for simple and environmentally friendly fabric softener.

More great questions today – our listeners never cease to surprise us with their quirky questions.

Ray wanted to know a the origin of the word “GIG” when used to describe a performance by a band etc?

Gig is one of those words that has a unknown origin.  There are theories and it seems the closest possible origin could be from the French word “Giggue” which means a dance or a ball.  The word GIG has had various meanings over time ranging from “to whirl”, “a long ship”, “a horse drawn carriage” and, over 200 years ago it also was used to describe ladies private bits.  True.

Greg asked if the Cleanaway Industrial bin at his work was sorted to remove recyclables?  He currently puts his in there as he doesn’t have a recycling service at home.

Cleanaway confirmed that their common blue industrial bins are not sorted for recyclables.  You need to place your recyclables in a designated Cleanaway recyclable bin.

Manjit the Singing Cabbie wanted to know why everyone was putting stickers on their car of stick people families.  Did it have some type of meaning?

No Manjit, they are just a fad.  A new car decoration, akin to Frangipani Stickers.  They can be purchased from www.thestickerfamily.com.au should you want some for your Cab.

John, originally from Parkes, wanted to know what the lowest minimum overnight temperature has been in Brisbane in August?

The lowest minimum temperature recorded in Brisbane ever was -1.8C on 8th August 1941.   During the current month of August the lowest temperature was 3.8C also recorded on 8th August.

Harry wanted to know if Venice was planned or did it occur naturally, is it accessible by land and what is the depth of the canals?

Great questions Harry – Venice is such an amazing city.

The city actually stretches across 117 small islands in the marshy Venetian Lagoon along the Adriatic Sea in northeast Italy. The saltwater lagoon stretches along the shoreline between the mouths of the Po (south) and the Piave (north) Rivers.

Venice started with some fishermen who lived on rafts anchored with posts to the muddy islands of the lagoons.  When cities cush as Padua, Aquileai and Altino were being invaded by Germanics and Huns, refugees fled to these marshy lagoons and this is how Venice started.

The early Venetians built in water-proof stone from Istria upon rafts made of larch and timber piles driven deep into the island. These slender piles were made from Oak and Pine harvested in the forests of the northern Veneto, the mainland opposite Venice, and floated down rivers to the lagoon. These piles provided a flexible but sturdy foundation once driven into the islands subsoil to rest upon the solid compressed clay that underlied the islands of the Lagoon. The buildings themselves were normally built on a framework of wood with brick ontop of this framework and then a facing of some heavier stone.

You can drive to the Mainland and park your car in one of the carparks there.  You cannot actually drive in Venice as there are no roads.

The depth of the canals range from 8 to 16 feet.  Some canals have naturally occurred around the small mud island and some have been dug out.

Irene asked why do people say if you USE CAPITALS WHEN TYPING IT IS SEEN AS YELLING OR RUDE?

This is one of those things that has evolved with the increased use of the written word for communication.  Believe it or not there have been studies done on the effects of upper case use with readers.  It has been discovered that people read 12% faster with a mixture of upper and lower case than with all uppercase.  The most amazing find was 5% of the participants one of the studies actually had increased blood pressure while reading all upper case.  Amazing!

Jeff asked how did people discover that Professor Stephen Hawking was the smartest person in the world?

I am assuming that Jeff is asking this because perhaps he thinks Professor Hawking has always had his disability.  Growing up he wasn’t incapacitated as he is now with Motor Neurone Disease and attended school and university like other children.  He was a “different” learner with made him stand out from other students.  He did not take notes and did not need to be shown how to do things.  He could know how to do things simply by being told it could be done.  He did not need to watch or take notes.   When being tested in a Oral Exam at Oxford University the Lecturers knew they were in a the presence of someone with an ability to learn like no other.

Steve wanted to know a comparison of costs for the New Gateway compared to the Old Gateway.

The old Gateway cost approx $140 million to complete.  The new Gateway Project including 16km upgraded roads & 7 km new roads will cost $1.88 billion to complete.  An interesting fact is the old Gateway took 2 years longer to build than the current one.   Amazing!   There are 6,000 workers on the new project.  If anyone knows how many people worked on the old Gateway project please let me know?

Helen told us that when she was travelling on Qantas and Thai Airways all planes started their seating at Row 11.  She was curious as to why this was?

The rows 1-10, or thereabouts, are usually reserved for first class and/or business class.  Most planes are similar but there are differences with all airlines.  For a look at most airlines you can find the seat layout here at Seatguru.  Thai Airlines and Qantas on some planes do start at row 11, but not many other planes do.  They usually have 1st class and/or business class taking up the rows to 11.   They probably do this so the seats on all types of planes line up – whether they have 1st class/business class or not.

Betty wanted to know what day of the week two of her grandchildren were born on?  One was 22/9/1983 and the other 7/5/1987.

Betty both of your grandchildren were born on a Thursday.   I thought I’d include that lovely little poem from years ago about the days your child was born.

Monday’s child is fair of face,
Tuesday’s child is full of grace,
Wednesday’s child is full of woe,
Thursday’s child has far to go,
Friday’s child is loving and giving,
Saturday’s child works hard for a living,
But the child who is born on the Sabbath Day
Is bonny and blithe and good and gay

This rhyme was first recorded in A. E. Bray’s Traditions of Devonshire in 1838 and was collected by James Orchard Halliwell in the mid-nineteenth century.

Mary wanted to know how ants find their way back to their nest?

This question has such an interesting answer and can vary depending on the type of ant.    Many ants leave a chemical trail which they follow to and from the nest.  It is a slow way to travel because the ant needs to walk with it’s antennae to the ground.  The ant also has the ability to look around and store images (landmarks) along the way to use for the trip back.  Ants can store many memories.

The trails are just made by chemical glands in the back of the ant. As it drags its bottom along the floor, the compounds are released. Some ants have a sting which almost acts like a nib.  Once on surface, the compounds start to evaporate into the air.  The antennae can then pick up these signals.  Antennae are like ant noses.

In the case of desert ants, the University of Ulm in Germany wanted to see if they used their eyes or their legs to measure distance.    To test whether their eyes were used they put them on a conveyor belt and moved a visual pattern underneath them and it didn’t alter the distance measurement of the ants.

They decided to test whether they count their steps.  Scientists attached stilts to some ants’ legs as part of an experiment to determine how the insects know how far to run when returning to their nests. Other ants had their legs shortened.   With their modified, longer strides, the stilt-walking ants overshot their nest, while the stunted ants stopped too soon. The results suggest ants have a kind of inborn pedometer, or step counter.   I’m sure you don’t believe me, but it’s true.   Here is a link to the story and a picture of an ant with stilts in the National Geographic

Janelle wanted to know why people with red hair are called Red Heads!  Her son has “red” hair but he says red hair isn’t red it is really orange and why aren’t we called “orange heads”?

You are right, the hair colour is definitely closer to orange than red.  The actual pigment that causes this colour is a reddish pigment called pheomelanin, which is why hair is called red.  I guess that redhead is also a lot easier to say than orange head.   Thanks Bundynelle from Twitter!

Margaret wanted to know the origin of April Fool’s day and why tricks are played?

There were a number of theories, however this one seems to be the most plausible.

Before the introduction of the Gregorian calendar by Pope Gregory I in 1582 AD, New Years Day was on March 25th with celebrations which lasted for about eight days! These ended on April 1st, possibly at 12 noon (this is not verified). This may be why trick playing is supposed to cease at 12 noon on April 1st.

The custom appears to have originated in France, where people traditionally exchanged New Year gifts on April 1st. After the adoption of the new calendar, many people held on to the old traditions in spite of ridicule by the more progressive members of society. They became the butts of jokes, which gradually extended to the whole community playing tricks on each other such as sending apprentices on useless errands and the like.

Here is a list of the Top 100 April Fool’s gags of all time from the Hoax Museum.

Allan asked if authors were paid for using product placement in their books the way it is paid for in movies?

At this stage payment for product placement in books is not commonplace.  However on occasion payments have been made, such as a fee that novelist Fay Weldon received from Bulgari for including references to the brand’s jewellery in her book The Bulgari Connection, published by Nelson in 2004 (International Journal of Advertising, 2008, 27 (4), pp. 495-509).  (thank you to Schmoozyfox for that snippet)

Lynette wanted to know how many times does a mosquito have to bite a human before it has enough blood and does it then die afterwards?

The female mosquito is the only sex that drinks human blood.  She needs our blood to nourish her so she can lay eggs.  She needs .01 of a millilitre to fill her up.  Obtaining that can sometimes be taken at once or in many attempts – it depends how often she is shooed away.

Sheila wanted to know if the saying was “he was a Cad of the highest order” or “he was a cad of the highest water”.  Reason being she was reading an Agatha Christie novel and she had written “Cad of the highest water” but had not heard that saying before. 

The actual saying is “Cad of the highest ORDER” and basically it means he’s the biggest cad of all.  “Of the highest order” relates to orders of the Knighthood – and obviously the Knight of the Highest Order is the top Knight!   And we all know what a Cad is … there are plenty I can think of, can you?

Brian asked where did the term “Hat Trick”, as in a bowler taking 3 wickets for 3 balls, originate? 

At Sheffield’s Hyde Park ground in 1858, an all-England cricket team was engaged in a cricket match against the Hallam XI. During the match, HH Stephenson of the All-England XI took three wickets in three balls.  As was customary at the time for rewarding outstanding sporting feats, a collection was made. The proceeds were used to buy a (reportedly white) hat, which was duly presented to Stephenson.     Thanks to the BBC for that information.

Australia’s first hat trick occurred in January 1879, in Melbourne in a Test match between Australia & England.   ‘The Demon’, Australian FR Spofforth clean-bowled Englishmen Vernon Royle and Francis Mackinnon before having Tom Emmett caught.

In interesting snippet in regards to unusal hat tricks.   On 2 December 1988, Merv Hughes, playing for Australia, dismissing Curtly Ambrose with the last ball of his penultimate over and Patrick Patterson with the first ball of his next over, wrapping up the West Indies first innings. When Hughes returned to bowl in the West Indies second innings, he trapped Gordon Greenidge lbw with his first ball, completing a hat-trick over two different innings and becoming the only player in Test cricket history to achieve the three wickets of a hat-trick in three different overs.

Chris asked a very interesting question regarding Bamboo.  He wanted to know if all bamboo dies every 60 years and if so what happens to animals/people who need bamboo?

I hope you find this answer as interesting as I did.  

Bamboo is a member of the grass family and like grasses  some bamboos grow and flourish until they are ready to flower; then they produce seeds and die.   These particular bamboos are monocarpic – which means they flower and produce seed once in their lives and then die.   Because bamboos flower so infrequently, every 60 to 130 years, they are usually propagated vegetatively – eg via cuttings because they only seed when they flower.   Therefore, most varieties of bamboos in cultivation are clones derived from a single plant that may be traced back to one seed. This may explain why some cultivated bamboos have the same flowering cycle and all die at the same time on different continents.    The majority of Bamboo is NOT monocarpic.  Other species of bamboo will be greatly weakened when they flower and seed and die back, but they recover in a few years and can often bloom again.

When this massive die-off was observed in a panda reserve in 1983 the panda inhabitants faced starvation, while pandas on different mountains (with different bamboo species) had sufficient food.  The Chinese launched a campaign to relocate about ten percent of the pandas in zoos; however, their failure to reproduce well in captivity further exacerbated the decline in panda populations. The birth of Hua Mei at the San Diego Zoo in the 1999 using artificial insemination was indeed a triumph for the panda breeding program.

Norman asked where the original signed surrender document by Japan from the end of World War II is currently located?

The Allied copy is located in the National Archives in Washington DC and the Japanese Version is in the Edo Tokyo Museum in Tokyo, Japan.   The Battleship Missouri located at Pearl Harbour in Hawaii is where this document was signed and you can view plenty of memorabilia there.  If you ever go to Hawaii I can thoroughly recommend a visit to Pearl Harbour.  It is an amazing experience.  Take a look here:  http://www.ussmissouri.com/

Allan wanted to know what the deadliest animal or reptile in the world is?

The deadliest animal or reptile in the world is the Box Jellyfish and aren’t we lucky that it resides here in Australia, along with all the other deadly reptiles and spiders … eek!

A lovely listener asked via sms as to the origin of Thousand Island Dressing?

There are a couple of theories going around.  They are:

• George Boldt – Owner of the Waldorf was cruising in his yacht around the 1000 Islands in the St Lawrences River in NY.   His chef didn’t have the ingredients to prepare his usual dressing so he made up a new one.  George liked it so much he put it on his menu at the Waldorf and called it 1000 Island Dressing.
• The other theory is that Sophia LaLonde who lived in the 1000 Island area served the dressing up to actress May Irwin.  She loved it and christened it 1000 Island Dressing.  She gave it to George Boldt who was building a castle in the area.  He loved it and put it on his Waldorf Menu.

No one has been able to prove or disprove one or the other.  Both seem quite reasonable and are quite similar.

Another lovely listener sms’d us a question – where do flies go at night?

Flies go up elderly men’s nostrils at night … you can see their legs hanging out the bottom!  Seriously … they hang on the underside of leaves, or in dark crevices etc and become dormant as their body temp cools down. When the sun reappears they move to a warm surface and bask until their body temp reaches a level at which the flying muscles will function.    

I also had a question from Scotty last week who wanted to know where does the State Government buy fluoride from and how much does it cost?

The Government supplied ‘fluoride’ includes ‘hexafluorosilicic acid’ – a toxic industrial waste by-product derived from the super-phosphate fertiliser, and aluminium, industries.   Apparently it is safe for consumption once it has been treated etc.  It appears to be quite the secret as to where it is purchased from.   The approximate annual cost per person in Queensland is $2.50 - this is for the ongoing purchase of fluoride and ongoing maintenance of the infrastructure.  It is approximately $10.5 million per year in total.

I hope you enjoyed the questions and answers and I hope I don’t spark a Fluoride debate here.    Personally I wish it wasn’t in our water as I have a Thyroid condition and Fluoride consumption is not recommended.

To explain Inertia is relatively simple. Inertia is the principle that an object will tend to keep moving at a constant speed and in one constant direction unless something else acts to change it.

Dorothy asked us why front loading and top loading washing machines have different detergent powder? 

Front loader washing machines use less water than the top loaders, therefore the soap powder needs to be less sudsy – otherwise the soap suds won’t rinse out of your clothes.   Front loader detergent powder is low sudsing which makes it suitable for this type of machine.

Jenny told us that she used to walk on hot coals.  She wanted to know why the hot coals didn’t burn the bottom of her feet when they were glowing red and obviously hot?

The embers/coals for firewalking are from burnt down timber.  This has a very lightweight carbon structure and is a poor conductor of heat.  In addition ash is also sprinkled on top which helps to insulate the heat (ash is an excellent insulation material).  When a person walks quickly across hot coals, there is not enough surface contact for any length of time to cause burning.   Obviously if a person was to stand for a length of time on the coals a burn would ensue.

Margaret was curious as to why dogs don’t seem to be able to find their way home?

Dogs usually can find their way home if they wander off and are in their usual territory.  This is because they leave a lot of scent markers along the way and dogs have an ability to visually keep track of where they are going.   However, if a dog runs away out of fear – lightning and fire crackers are a common cause – they don’t spend time leaving these markers and can run quite a distance without paying attention to where they are going.  This does make it hard for them to find their way home, particularly if they end up in an area they have not walked before.  

It is a scientifically established fact that dogs and cats do have an awe-inspiring ability to store mental maps. Their wild relatives had to run all over the place in search of food and had to find their way back. Back in those days a lost dog was a dead dog. So, finding the way home had survival value for dogs, and those with the greatest talent in this respect would have the best chance of survival.  These genes would have been passed on. 

Deidre was puzzled as to why the word Route was now pronounced “rowt” rather than “root” as it was previously?  She wanted to know if this was because of the “other” meaning for the word “root” and it was not politically correct?

Interesting question!   The pronunciation of “rowt” is the American way.  The English way is “root”, which is how we have been saying it in Australia for years.   It is possible that the other connotations for the word are why “rowt” is now preferrable.   Many Aussies find it difficult to keep a straight face when working in the IT industry in the UK and they need to talk about “Routers”.  Here in Australia we pronounce this word as “Rowter” however in the UK they call them “Rooters” – this does cause some problems for Aussies in meetings in the UK where said Routers need to be discussed!

Paul called in to ask if Rolf Harris was every a swimmer?  He had heard that he was a swimmer before he became famous.

Rolf Harris was a champion Backstroke swimmer as a young man.  In 1946 he was the Australian 110 yards Backstroke Champion.  He was also the Western Australian Champion from 1948-1952.   Rolf Harris was born in Perth in 1930 and grew up there.   He also had a dog called Buster Fleabags (not at all relevant but cute I thought).

Beverley wanted to know what the name of the generation before the Baby Boomers is called?

They are know as the Silent Generation (1925 to 1945) born during the years of the Great Depression and the War.  This generation is comparatively small when compared to the surrounding generations because people had fewer children in the 1930s and early 1940s, in response to financial and global insecurity (depression & war).   They were called the Silent Generation due to the fact that they were a very quiet and hardworking generation who were focussed on getting things done.   Whilst this was true for many of this generation they weren’t all silently going about their activities.  Martin Luther King Jr was born in this generation as were members of the Rolling Stones and the Beatles.

Terry believed that Rick Stein had passed away and was concerned about what had happened to his dog?   We ascertained that Rick was still alive and well.   Read on for information about his beloved dog.

Rick’s dog was a Jack Russell terrier called “Chalky”.   Chalky appeared on many of Rick’s shows and was a great companion.  Unfortunately Chalky passed away on 13th January 2007 at the age of 17.

Harry was curious about some of the jobs people have in the movie credits.  In particular he wanted to know what a “Best Boy Grip” was?

The Grips are responsible for the adjustment and maintenance of production equipment on set.   The Key Grip is the Head of the Grip department and the Best Boy Grip is the most experienced apprentice Grip.   The origin of using “Best Boy” goes back to the old English Apprenticeships System when the Master’s oldest and most experienced apprentice was called “The Best Boy”.

Manny asked -  Why don’t car headlights look as bright when you are driving at night, in the rain? 

The rain makes the light reflect more.  It is bouncing and bending off the wet shiny road and off the raindrops. This makes vision less clearer  than when the light beam has a straight unbroken line to follow which you have in fine weather.  Also during fog the same thing happens – the light can’t travel in a straight unbroken line – it is bending and bouncing off the fog particles.

Brian wanted confirmation regarding the Victorian Lotto numbers.  He had heard that the numbers were selected electronically and superimposed over the balls when they dropped in the live draw.  Is this true? 

The answer is No.   All of the Lotto draws in Victoria are drawn using the lotto ball machines.  The numbers are not generated by a computer.

John asked -  How much does the Federal Government recive in tobacco taxes/levies each day? 

In 2006 the Government earned $6.5 BILLION in tobacco taxes and levies.  This equals approximately $17.8 MILLION per day!!  My goodness there is definitely something wrong with that!

Diane wanted to know whether it is one “fell” swoop or one “foul” swoop?  She has always believed it is “fell” but often hears people say “foul”. 

It is actually “fell”.  It was first said by Shakespeare in Macbeth.   When Macduff hears that his family has been murdered, he says in disbelief:

All my pretty ones?
Did you say all?  O  hell kite!  All?
What, all my pretty chickens and their dam
At one fell swoop?

The word “fell” actually means something terrible, evil or deadly ferocious.  Once it was a common word in its own right.  One of its relatives is still used today – “felon” which comes from the same Old French source – “fel” meaning evil.

Diane also wanted to know whether it is Polka Dot or Poker Dot and what the origin of this is? 

It is Polka Dot and dates back to the mid 1800′s when The Polka dance took Europe and America by storm.  When the Polka was at its peak 1840 to 1890 (it was popular for a very long time) everyone went crazy for it.  If something had the work “Polka” attached to it, suddenly it became extremely popular.  Polka hats, Polka dotted fabric which was used for curtains, shirts, skirts and many more items! 

In terms of the name “Polka” – the word Polka is Polish for Polish Woman.  The dance is of Bohemian origin and it is believed the word Polka in reference to this dance is from the Czech work “pulka” meaning half – referring to the small half steps in the dance.   

Jenny asked if Carla Bonner (Stephanie)  from Neighbours was the daughter of Tony Bonner (of Skippy fame)? 

No, Carla Bonner is not a daughter of Tony.   Tony has three daughters – Chelsea, Skye and Hannah.

Peter wanted to know where the saying “John Hancock” meaning your signature came from?

It is John Hancock’s flamboyant signature on the Declaration of Independence and made him an American Legend and led to the expression “John Hancock” meaning a signature.

Jeff asked why doesn’t he see baby pelicans at the beach – they are only ever adult ones? 

I love the answer to this question.  Pelicans travel inland and breed after the rains from up north.  These rains fill the inland lakes and fish breed in large quantities.  These fish feed the Pelicans and their babies.  Once the babies have grown the fly to the coast where they live until they are ready to breed.   Lake Eyre is one of the main pelican breeding grounds in Australia.  A baby pelican is called a Chick – nothing fancy for the pelican.    I had to put in a photo of a baby one – I’ve never seen one before.    Thanks to gokids.com.au for the pic

Thanks again – so many great listeners, so many great questions!