Winner of one of the curliest questions: Year 8 student Robert X-B

Question: Who was on the front cover of Modern Fishing Vol 13, no 8 and what fish is he holding?

Answer:

The cover of this issue (August 1982) shows Malcolm Bentinck who fished from High Rock in Western Australia. The fish seems to be a Golden Trevally

Answer Courtesy of Daniel Tillack Editor Modern Fishing Magazine

Update: He was holding a spanish mackel and his name was Malcom Rupert Bentinck Information from the questioner, who knew all the time!

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Winner of one of the curliest questions Year 12 Jarrad P

Question: In the 1979 WAFL Grand Final who scored the last goal of the Game?

Answer:

Tony Buhagiar kicked East Fremantle's last goal, but the final goal of the game was kicked by South Fremantle's Tony Morley with about a minute to spare.

Courtesy of listserv colleagues Marie Clark and Annette Shellam and Maureen from East Fremantle Footbal Club

About the match

1979 East Fremantle 21.19 145 bt South Fremantle 16.16 112 by 33 pts Coach: Brad Smith Capt: Brian Peake Simpson Medal: Kevin Taylor (EF) Crowd: 52781 (record) WAFL Grand Final Results WAFL League Headquarters

1979 East Fremantle 21.19 defeated South Fremantle 16.6

Backs; A.Purser R.Crouch M.Dobson; Half-backs: M.Carrott D.Green P.LeCras Centres: R.Lester-Smith S.Green J.Sims; Half-forwards: M.Turco J.Sewell W.Cormack Forwards: K.Judge I.Thomson K.Taylor; Ruck: G.Carter B.Peake T.Buhagiar Interchange: R.Johnson G.Kickett; Coach: B.Smith East Fremantle Football Club History

East Fremantle's 1979 premiership victory was by no means the consummation of a season's dominance. As a matter of fact, the side looked distinctly mediocre at times during the home and away rounds, losing on one occasion to Claremont by 86 points, and on another even less auspicious occasion to East Perth by 103 points. This latter defeat was the first ever time that East Fremantle had lost a game by more than 100 points. Once the finals arrived, however, it was a different story. Old East achieved revenge against both their minor round conquistadors in quick succession, overcoming Claremont in the 1st semi final by 2 points in a high scoring thriller, and then, responding vibrantly to the incentive of a potential 'derby' grand final, emphatically despatching East Perth by 27 points in the preliminary final.

The blue half of Fremantle had enjoyed marginal supremacy over the red half during 1979 (2 wins to 1) and grand final day saw their dominance extended. In a high standard, see-sawing tussle Old Easts ultimately displayed superior fitness and desperation to see off their opponents with an 8 goal to 2 final term after trailing by 4 points at 'lemon time'. Forward pocket/rover Kevin Taylor booted 7 goals to earn the Simpson Medal and take his season's tally to 102, while not far behind him were Tony Buhagiar, the irrepressible Brian Peake, and Doug and Stephen Green. If not exactly the club's finest hour, it was certainly one of the most highly satisfying. East Fremantle - Part Two: 1948 to 1979 Full Points Footy

Winner of one of the curliest questions Staff Member Karen T

Question: I am trying to find out about a murder which was committed at Day Dawn (a gold mining area near Geraldton) in 1908. Three people were eventually found guilty, two as accessories and one for murder. The murderer was Harry (or Henry) Goninon Smith. He was executed in March 1908 at Fremantle Prison.

Answers:

(these extra comments with generous help from the Ask Now service and Reference service at LISWA)

The execution was reported in Melbourne papers. It was noted in The Argus as follows:

The Day Dawn Tragedy Perth, Monday

Harry Goninon Smith was executed at Fremantle prison this morning for the murder of William J. Clinton at Day Dawn on January 5 last. Contrary to expectations, Smith bore up well. Asked if he had anything to say, the condemned man recited in a steady voice the first verse of the hymn, "Jesus Lover of my soul." His last words were: - "God bless my wife, my child and my mother. I stand here now repentant for all my sins ready to meet my Saviour in heaven and all the loved ones gone before. God bless them. Amen."

The Rev. T. Allan, who ministered spiritual consolation to the condemned man, forwarded a letter to the sheriff this afternoon stating that Smith made a full confession that he shot Clinton while he (Smith) was standing in the doorway. Clinton had been outside for a few minutes before the final act, and directly he came in and laid down he shot him.

"I am sure that the murder, trial and execution would have been covered by the local papers much more than in Melbourne.

The West Australian was in print at the time. We hold only to 1900 on microfilm and our hard copy is not currently available so I cannot check. However as you now have a date for the murder you have a better place to start."

"The West Australian is available on microfilm at the Library and Information Service of WA. The Alexander Library Building, the home of the State Library of Western Australia and is located in the Perth Cultural Centre in Northbridge, between Francis Street and the James Street Mall. The West Australian on microfilm is located on Level 3, J. S. Battye Library of West Australian History.

Also as the time between murder and execution is so short, scanning the paper for news should be relatively quick. It is possible there is an index for the paper for this period but I suggest consulting with the staff at LISWA on this matter as they may have indexes or files that may assist."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "There is mention of this murder in a book by Brian Purdue - Legal executions in WA (364.66 PUR) available in the Battye Library. It states that the trial was held in Geraldton on 5th and 6th March 1908 . There were two newspapers papers published in Geraldton during that period, the Geraldton Express and the Geraldton Guardian, both of which are available in the Battye Library on microfilm. They both should carry details of the murder and trial. The West Australian for March 1908 may also carry details of the trial and murder.

Go to the Battye Library, consult the items mentioned and 'read all about it' as the newsboys used to cry! "

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Question: If the lesser spotted haggis are real, then what is the best way to catch one without the use of weapons.

Answers:

"Haggis farmers prepare their Haggises for a hunt by laying out oatmeal and scraps of meat (some farmers specialise in vegetarian Haggises which are fed on vegetables and grain). Replete with food, the Haggises can't get into their burrows and are easy prey for hunters. " Rare British Fauna

The poor thing has only three legs, and each leg is a different length - the result of this is that when hunting haggis, you must get them on to a flat plain - then they are very easy to catch - they can only run round in circles.

In the water, haggis have been known to reach speeds of up to 35 knots, and therfore, coupled with their amazing agility in this environment, are extremely difficult to catch, however, if the hunter can predict where the haggis will land, a good tip is to wait in hiding on the shore, because when they come out of the water, they will inevitably run round in circles to dry themselves off. What is a Haggis ? by John Wilson Electric Scotland

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Question: If you have 43 coins with 11 coins having the head facing up, how can you divide the coins into 2 groups so that the same number of heads is showing in both groups? Unfortunately you are blindfolded and cannot tell the difference by feel between a head and a tail. You are permitted to turn coins over.

Answer:

Nice brain teaser. Put 11 coins in one group and leave 32 in the other. Now turn all the 11 over.

If you randomly chose all 11 heads initially, now there are 0 in group 1 and 0 in group 2.

If you chose 10 heads and one tail, you left 1 head in the other group. Once you turn the 11 over you have 1 head in each group.

If you chose 9h+2t leaving 2h+30t you end up with 2 heads in each group.

And so forth.

Algebraically:

Let x represent the number of heads selected at random for group 1. Because we select a total of 11 coins for this group, it must have 11-x tails. Group 2 has all the remaining heads, and since we know that there are a total of 11 heads, we know group 2 has 11-x heads. Not coincidentally, this is the same as the number of tails in group 1. Turning the coins of group 1 over makes these tails become heads (and vice versa), thus satisfying the requirement of showing the same number of heads in both groups. Thanks to colleague Glen Prideaux

Another solution:

The 43 Coins Problem Peter Horan School of Information Technology Deakin University

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Question: Why do we break a bottle of wine on a boat or ship to launch it?

Answer:

CHRISTENING A SHIP Launching ceremonies have had a religious significance from the earliest days. The christening ceremony originated as an appeasement to the gods of the elements. In some countries as recently as a hundred years ago, a launching frequently resembled a baptismal ceremony and was performed by priests

Early in the 19th century, women and those other than the clergy and high officials began to take part in the ceremony of launching ships. Today the ceremony usually consists in the naming of the vessel by a sponsor and the breaking of a bottle of wine against the ship's bow as it slides into the water. People have been known to miss the ship entirely; so today the bottle is secured by a lanyard to the bow of the ship-as a safety measure for spectators. Integrated Publishing

CHRISTENING SHIPS. When the wife of some Admiralty official touches a button to release a new cruiser from the stays, and breaks a bottle of wine over her bows, the spectators accept these actions as the right thing, because they have been performed for centuries. But the spectators do not usually enquire into the origin of the custom, to discover which we have to go back to the ancient libations practised on the launching of a new vessel. A priest with a lighted torch, and possessed also of an egg and some brimstone, was in attendance; and amid shouts of acclamation it was devoted to the god whose image it carried. Greek and Roman vessels generally carried in the prow a carved image of some deity, to whose name the launching service was dedicated. The image remained as a feature of ship-building until quite recent years, and we retain a semblance of the old ceremony. Sacred Texts

What is the origin of launching ceremonies? (Anon)

In the past, ceremonies included human sacrifice and the garlanding of ships with flowers. The Vikings used to sacrifice a slave to propitiate their sea god but with the introduction of Christianity this barbarous custom was dropped - a goat was offered in the place of a slave. In the fifteenth century the King's representative would name the ship, drink a goblet of wine, sprinkle wine on the deck at the four cardinal points and then throw the goblet overboard. In Charles II's time the goblet was presented to the master shipwright and not thrown away. The museum has in its collection a tankard inscribed 'At the launching of his Majests Ship the Captain a 3rd rate of 70 Guns 1230 Tuns ye 14 of April 1743. Built by Mr John Holland at Woowich'.

The custom of breaking a bottle of wine apparently began in the days of the early Georges - the first recorded case is one of the Princesses of Hanover who threw the bottle with more energy than accuracy and missed the ship entirely, injuring one of the spectators at the launch who put in a claim for damages against the Admiralty. From about 1810, a lady was usually asked to perform the ceremony. National Maritime Museum

Question What is greater than God, more evil than the devil, the rich don't need it , the poor have it and if you eat it you die? WHAT IS IT?

Answer:

Nothing

Question: What word rhymes with orange?

Answer:

There is no perfect rhyme for orange.

Q. What word rhymes with orange? A. No word rhymes with orange. In an episode of the old children's TV show H. R. Pufnstuf, the character Witchiepoo sang a song that went:

Oranges poranges, who says, oranges poranges, who says, oranges poranges, who says-- there ain't no rhyme for oranges!

But unless you want to resort to using a nonsense word, you had better rewrite your verse so another word comes at the end of the line! What word rhymes with orange? Dictionary Reference

 

"Door hinge," rhymes with orange satisfactorily enough. I am informed that no word in the English language rhymes with month, orange, silver, or purple. What rhymes with Orange? David Lance Goines

Near rhymes challenge expunge lozenge lunge plunge scavenge sponge phalange

WriteExpress Online Rhyming Dictionary

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Question:

In Guiness the bubbles don't rise, they go down unlike most beers where the bubbles rise to form the head. Guiness still has a head but the bubbles go down. Why?

Answer:

The answer is twofold: the bubbles are N2 and are sneaky:they rise and then fall.

Using computational fluid-dynamics software from Fluent Inc. that modeled the activity of the bubbles in the glass, Fletcher found that what occurs is similar to convection-- the bubbles rise in the center of the glass, where you can't see them because of the stout's opacity, then heel over and skitter down the sides, their buoyancy overcome by the viscous drag of the roiling brew. Why do the bubbles in Guinness Stout float down? Straight Dope

See those fluid diagrams and scientific explanations!

Technology Settles Longstanding Debate:Do Bubbles in a Glass of Guinness Go Down? Simulation Software Proves Once and For All, Bubbles Go Up...And Down! Fluid

In fact it seems all beer bubbles go down as well as up!

Scientists confirm phenomenon of falling beer bubbles Stanford

video of the beer bubbles Zare explains the mystery of descending beer bubbles

Question: When did the battle that caused the demise of the Teutonic Order take place and where did it take place in Poland?

Answer:

The Teutonic Order still exists, so it can not be said to have had a demise at all

There is a list of the head right up to today Teutonic Order Wikipedia

They even have a website The Teutonic Order

They did fight a famous battle in Poland at Grunwald (Polish) Other names for the place Zalgiris (Lithuanian) and Tannenberg (German)

"The biggest battle of the Teutonic Knights was the Battle of Tannenberg (1410) (in Polish, Grunwald, in ), which they lost." Teutonic Order Wikipedia

Read a full account of the battle at this website:

"1410 (July 15)....The battle lasted ten hours total before the Knights went into full retreat and the Polish cavalry overran their camp."The Battle of Grunwald

Even Napoleon had his say:

"The (temporary) end of the order came in 1809 when Napoleon, nearing the zenith of his power, declared the order dissolved and redistributed its remaining territorial holdings." St Thomas Essays

Another sidelight:

The nazis, motivated by Himmler's fantasies of reviving a German military elite then attempted to establish their own "Teutonic Order" as the highest award of the Third Reich. The ten recipients of this included Reinhard Heydrich and several of the most notorious nazi criminals. Needless to say, although its badge was modeled on that of the genuine Order, it had absolutely nothing in common with it. At the same time as they were persecuting the priests of the Order, they were also persecuting descendants of those Prussian noble families descended in many cases from Teutonic knights who had embraced the Reform religion (many of whom were involved in the various plots against Hitler). The Teutonic Order Of Holy Mary In Jerusalem Guy Stair Sainty

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Question: Who is permitted to fly the Red Ensign and on what occasions?

Answer:

Flag Adopted:15 April 1954 Flag Proportion: 1:2 Use: Civil Ensign

The Australian Civil Ensign, or Australian Red Ensign, is simply a red version of the Australian National flag. It is for use only at sea and officially never on land, but can be used by private citizens. At sea, it is the only flag allowable for merchant ships registered in Australia under the Navigation and Shipping Act 1912 and The Shipping Registration Act 1981. Pleasure craft, however, may fly either the Red Ensign or the National Flag...

In 1941, Australia's Prime Minister Robert Menzies added to this confusion by directing that there should be no restriction on private citizens flying the Blue Ensign, though most people continued to use the red ensign. This Government consent was reaffirmed by Prime Minister Ben Chifley in February 1947. However, the confusion really wasn't ended until the Flags Act 1953 (enacted in 1954) gave legal effect to this directive, with the Red Ensign becoming reserved as the Civil Ensign.

Australian Red Ensign Ausflag

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My question is:

What gets wet as it dries?

Answer:

A Towel

Question: Who wrote The Hatchet Man?

Answer:

There are a few books by that name

"The hatchet man" by Mel Arrighi "Hatchet Man" by Peter Moir Fot " The Hatchet Man" (A Yellowthread Street Mystery) by William Marshall Heringham "Hatchet-Man" by Marvin L. Easter

"The Hatchet" , a great adventure story set in the wilds of Canada was written by Gary Paulsen

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Question: How, where or why did the word 'Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious' from "Mary Poppins" come from?

Answer:

But that is evidently not so

The common theory is that the word was created by Richard and Robert Sherman for use in the song of the same name in Mary Poppins. This is far from the case. Our research first took us to a lawsuit that was filed after the movie came out by Life Music, Inc., against Wonderland Music, the publisher of the Mary Poppins song. It was a copyright infringement suit brought by Barney Young and Gloria Parker, who had written a song in 1949 entitled "Supercalafajaistickespeealadojus" and shown it to Disney in 1951. They asked for twelve million dollars in damages. The suit was decided in the Shermans' favor because, among other reasons, affidavits were produced from two New Yorkers, Stanley Eichenbaum and Clara Colclaster, who claimed that "variants of the word were known to and used by them many years prior to 1949."

"In American Speech Hamp explains that the word should be broken up into two sections : supercalifragilistic and expialidocious. ... in Volume 47 of that journal. ... folk etymologist Peter Tamony claims that "an example in print was found in a Syracuse University humor magazine of the 1930s." "

Sherman brothers ...their book Walt's Time: From Before to Beyond, ...state :

When we were little boys in the mid-1930's, we went to a summer camp in the Adirondack Mountains, where we were introduced to a very long word that had been passed down in many variations through many generations of kids. The word was first coined in 1918, and was supposed to be even bigger and harder to say than antidisestablishmentarianism. . . . The word as we first heard it was super-cadja-flawjalistic-espealedojus.

Straightdope

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Question: Who was the last King of Ireland

Answer:

Brian Boru The last Great High King of Ireland Ireland Information

Question:

The man who made it sold it, The man who bought it didn't use it. The man who used it didn't know it.

Answer:

There are a few possible answers to this riddle

A coffin A grave plot

Question:

Why do we cry when we feel pain or get hurt?

Answer:

The answer is very unclear...from smoke getting our eyes to expelling chemicals

What isn't so clear, even today, is why pain results in tears. Even less clear is why we humans cry at all.

Definitive answers are still being sought, although it is fairly clear that crying often takes place on those occasions when we are least able to verbalise complex overwhelming emotions. Crying Nine Bulletin "scientist buddy told me the other day, "It's just TOO BIG A QUESTION." "Professor Verrell says that communication signals that have evolved through ritualization are usually stereotyped, exaggerated and repetitive. So MAYBE crying came to be because the people (babies and others) who cried hardest, longest and loudest were most likely to get food or help." "Maybe crying is a means of cleaning yourself out emotionally. maybe it's your communication of last resort, the only way to express yourself when words fail, the same as when you were a baby and had no words" Dear Dr. Universe Why do we cry?

It's believed that humans are the only animals that shed emotional tears and as ubiquitous as they are you might be surprised to hear that much of what science knows about tears and crying is still very much speculative. Some suggest that crying could be an inborn healing mechanism, or a way of removing toxins that build up with stress. Others see crying as a so-called epiphenomenon, a secondary event that serves no real function Crying: Is it Cathartic? ABC All in the Mind -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Question: Why is it when advertising chronogram clocks (watches with hands) that the clock reads 8 minutes or 10 minutes past 10?

Answer:

Why are Clock Hands Pictured at 10:10?

One opinion at first

if it is shown in advertisements that way then my guess is because 10 past 10 makes an aesthetically pleasing picture. Five past one would be too tight; 10.15 looks like a traffic cop; 20 past eight has a hang dog look about it. 10 past 10, on the other hand, is smiley and looks like "hooray" or "hallelujah!" Perhaps that's why. Dispatch Online April 5, 2001

was corrected

The simple answer comes from Andre Schoombee: "The reason is that the manufacturer's name appears on the top half of the face of the watch and by placing the hands at 10 past 10 attention is drawn to this," he says. "This was some useless information I picked up while working in a jewellery shop in my student days." Dispatch Online April 10, 2001

I think the "fact" of setting it at that time might be a myth. They all don't.

Do a search in Google's image search for "clocks". You'll see all kinds of times registered.

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Question: What animal can smell with its feet?

Answer:

Many members of the animal kingdom don't need a nose in order to smell things. Flies have smell receptors in their feet Smelly repellents

SEA STAR The familiar Sea Star is a marvel of locomotion and design. It breathes and smells with its toes.

SPIDER Another animal that not only "smells" but also tastes with its feet is the Spider. Some Feet Have Noses

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Question: What docking bay was the Millennium Falcon docked in on Tatooine in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope? Answer:

94

STAR WARS: Novel References: A New Hope

And The Classic Trilogy Era, Year 1

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Question: In the religion of Jediism what should a Jedi say when they encounter conflict.

Answer:

There are many things a Jedi keeps in mind in such a situation. Read the rules and codes below. The bottom line is that a Jedi will say anything in order to avoid conflict but in the end if it is unavoidable ....

In the rather Oedipal contest with Darth Vader, Luke implores his father to resolve the conflict by letting go of his hatred.

In the Clone Wars Vatil told Malchik that peacekeeping does not require force but that peace can be achieved by simply avoiding conflict if it can be avoided.

 

There is no emotion, there is peace there is no ignorance, there is knowledge there is no passion, there is serenity there is no death, there is the Force Jeditemple

1. Conquer the self and you will conquer the opponent. 2. The mind unmoved by external distraction produces physical mobility. 3. Mental bearing (calmness), not skill, is the sign of a matured Jedi, who is neither pompous nor arrogant 4. Conquering evil, not the opponent, is the essence of a Jedi victory. 5. An unpolished crystal does not shine; an undisciplined Jedi does not have brilliance. A Jedi should cultivate his mind. Jediism Maxims: When Engaging in Conflict

XVIII. Morality

Jedi Knights practice noninterference ...Jedi can be mediators. It is a role they are suited for, and one that works in accordance with the Force since mediation leads to balance.

XIX. Engaging in Conflict

Conflict is a fact of life in the galaxy for far too many beings, and no Jedi can hope to remain apart from it. But a Jedi need not embrace conflict. "If a weapon you show, 'A warrior am I!' you say. And who is best must all other warriors know of you." So, to avoid unnecessary fighting, a Jedi should not advertise his skill. But when is it necessary to actively engage in conflict? The Force will show a Jedi when he has no other options, and a wise Jedi trusts the Force in this regard.

XX. Intervention

A Jedi Knight must not allow evil to take place once they become aware of its working. ...Therefore, when the situation warrants it, the Jedi acts as an extension of the Will of the Force, and is therefore sponsored and backed by that Will.

XXI. Harmonizing

... A Jedi seeks to live in harmony with the universe, focusing on the most serious and intent discipline and gained spherical awareness to reach his goal. ... A Jedi should focus his efforts on creating harmony between all beings. They detest violence of any sort; and reluctantly engage in resolving in combat as a last resort when other attempts at conflict resolution have failed. Jediism.org Jedi Maxims

Perhaps one of the key ingredients in dealing with life is the acceptance of the fact that life is embedded with conflict, and the path of Jedi focused upon conflict resolution Conflict, and Conflict Resolution Jedibudo

As to what he/she will say: "May the force be with me"??

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Question: What is the price per kilogram of weapons-grade plutonium?

Answer:

Because of the conversion of plutonium from weapons in Russia to fuel grade the price of plutonium of all kinds has come down in recent years, but what that actually means in real terms seems to vary.

"According to the 75th edition of the CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics, in 1995, plutonium was available from the AEC in 1995 at a cost of $US 700 per gram. This is Pu-238, specified as 80-89% enriched.

Sadly, that is reactor plutonium, and for weapons, you need Pu-239, enriched to about 93% -- I have checked with three chemical suppliers and two contenders for world domination, and the only answer I had was from the one who calls herself The Right Hand of Goth, who said it was for her to know, and me to find out.

I suspect the law of evil underling supply and demand from megalomaniacs would set the price somewhat higher than $700 a gram. Your students, if they are planning a prank, will need to budget for 10 kilograms, leaving little change out of $10 million, for which they will need a box with a capacity of around half a litre (and they would be well advised to look up "critical mass" and determine why surviving weapons makers did not put all their eggs in one basket).

The good news is that making such weapons is challenging, takes a long time, and has every chance of killing the makers before they finish (good riddance, too!), unless they have a nation-sized infrastructure behind them."

Peter Macinnis

Chief infoferret, fact fossicker, data tamer and word herder, Webster's Encyclopedia CD-ROMs, Web resources and e-learning, (02) 9939-5505, fax (02) 9939-8355, Websterworld Email

CLEARANCE SALE: WEAPONS GRADE PLUTONIUM In preparation for its impending annihilation by U.S. Forces, the Government of (Iraq) Syria is liquidating its entire stock of Weapons Grade Plutonium- 239. VillainSupply is acting as broker for this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity! Act NOW!! Price: US$25,000,000 per metric ton CHEAP!! Villainsupply

"In September 2000, the United States and Russia signed an agreement to dispose of 68 metric tons of weapons-grade plutonium (34 tons each). The agreement called for 25.5 tons of U.S. plutonium and all of the Russian quantity to be converted into a more diluted form suitable for use in mixed oxide (MOX) fuel in commercial nuclear power reactors" Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists Between MOX and a hard place By Adolfo Repáraz

"The plutonium fuel market is dominated by Cogema and Belgonucleaire - who operate under COMMOX - and British Nuclear Fuels Limited. Greenpeace have estimated the cost of European-produced MOX fuel to be $1,500-$3,000 per kilo. Assuming highly-enriched uranium fuel costs $1,000 per kilo, Russian produced MOX fuel is equal in price to uranium fuel and cheaper than European MOX fuel." The Western Option: What is it and Who Will it Benefit? Zackary Moss, 2003-01-14

"In 1993, Minister of Atomic Energy Milhailov put a fissile-content value of $2.4 billion on 100 metric tonnes of weapons-grade plutonium, and said in 1996 that the cost of producing the plutonium was probably five times greater than the production cost of HEU. This suggests a price tag of $12 billion---the same amount the U.S. is paying Russia to blend down 500 tonnes of HEU into LEU" Mox Disposal Of Surplus Weapons Plutonium: Politically Expedient, But Does It Make Sense? Paul Leventhal President Nuclear Control Institute

Uranium Markets Nuclear Issues Briefing Paper 36 November 2003

Some thieves in 2001 "were hoping to be paid $80,000 (£56,300) a kilogram". Weapons-Grade Uranium Seized by Amelia Gentleman in Moscow and Ewen MacAskill

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Question:

Why, in Australia do we call bed sheets, curtains and other cloth Manchester? If your answer is that it originates from the town in the north of England, then why don't we call; Cutlery - Sheffield Hats - Luton Shoes - Northampton, or Leicester Or any other product after an English town?

Answer:

Yes, Manchester is named after the town.

manchester ['mænt?ist?] noun (Austral. and N.Z)

1 household linen or cotton goods, such as sheets and towels

2 Also called: manchester department a section of a store where such goods are sold

[ETYMOLOGY: from Manchester, England] Word Reference

as to why we don't call other products after towns..?

We do, especially with regard to cloth!

"Some of the most common textile terms such as denim, and jean have their origin in place names (in Nîmes and Genoa respectively)."

"cambric, .....a clear origin in Flanders, being a development from the name of the town Cambray"

"damask is probably derived from the Anglo-French Damasc, the Syrian city;"

"Muslin derives from the French mousseline, the French name for the Iraqi town of Mosul where the fabric was originally made."

"Nankeen, shantung and canton all derive from the Chinese names for these cities. Holland is the general term for the linen coming from this country, whereas gulix derives from the town now known as Juliers." "Who Says Manchester Says Cotton." Textile Terminology in the Oxford English Dictionary (1000-1960) Patrick Leech

Other words from towns

Coffee According to legend, coffee beans were first discovered in the town of Kaffa, Ethiopia. Etymologically Speaking

dum-dum bullet - a bullet with a soft or cut nose, so as to split on impact and cause maximum harm - from the town Dum Dum in India, where the bullets were first produced. Businessballs

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Question:

The teams for 2004 Formula One have been decided. Who are they. When was each team founded and who were the original members at that time?

Answer:

Bar Honda, Michelin : Jenson Button, UK *Takuma Sato, Japan BAR 1999 Jacques Villeneuve, Mika Salo, Ricardo Zonta

Ferrari, Bridgestone : Rubens Barrichello, Brazil Michael Schumacher, Germany, 2003 Champion Luca Badoer, Italy - Test Driver Luciano Burti - Test Driver

1950 Alberto Ascari, Clemente Biondetti, Dorino Serafini, Luigi Villoresi, Peter Whitehead, Raymond Sommer

Jaguar, Ford, Michelin :Mark Webber, Australia *Christian Klein, Austria Bjorn Wirdheim, Test Driver

2000 Eddie Irvine, Johnny Herbert, Luciano Burti

Jordan Ford, Bridgestone Nick Heidfeld,Germany Giorgio Pantano, ITA Timo Glock - Test Driver / 3rd Driver

1991 Alessandro Zanardi, Andrea De Cesaris, Bertrand Gachot, Michael Schumacher, Roberto Moreno

McLaren Mercedes, Michelin David Coulthard, UK Kimi Raikkonen, Finland Alexander Wurz, Austria - Test Driver Pedro De La Rosa

1966 Bruce Mclaren

Minardi Ford, Bridgestone : Gianmaria Bruni, ITA Zsolt Baumgartner, HUN

1985 Pierluigi Martini

Renault, Michelin : Jarno Trulli, Italy Fernando Alonso, Spain, Franck Montagny - Test Driver

1977 Jean-Pierre Jabouille

Sauber Ferrari, Bridgestone Felipe Massa, Brazil *G Fisichella, Italy Neel Jani - Test

1993 Jyrki Jarvilehto Lehto, Karl Wendlinger

Toyota, Michelin : Olivier Panis, FRA Cristiano Da Matta, BRA Ryan Briscoe - Test Driver Ricardo Zonta - Test Driver

2002 Allan Mcnish, Mika Salo

Williams BMW, Michelin : Ralf Schumacher, Germany Juan Montoya, Colombia Marc Gene - Test Driver & Reserve Driver Antonio Pizzonia - Test Driver

1973 Gijs Van Lennep, Graham Mcrae, Henri Pescarolo, Howden Ganley, Jackie Pretorius, Jacky Ickx, Nanni Galli, Tim Schenken, Tom Belso

Formula One History

2004 Formula 1 Teams

Question: Did AIDS in Africa start from Chimpnazee kidneys?

Answer:

It has been known for a long time that certain viruses can pass from animals to humans, and this process is referred to as zoonosis.

The researchers concluded that HIV could have crossed over from chimpanzees as a result of a human killing a chimp and eating it for food.

Some other rather controversial theories have contended that HIV was transferred iatrogenically i.e. via medical experiments. One particularly well publicised theory is that polio vaccines played a role in the transfer.

In April 2001 it was announced that no trace had been found of either HIV or chimpanzee. A second analysis confirmed that only macaque monkey kidney cells, which cannot be infected with SIV or HIV, were used to make Chat.

In January 2000, the results of a new study presented at the 7th Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections, suggested that the first case of HIV infection occurred around 1930 in West Africa. The study was carried out by Dr Bette Korber of the Los Alamos National Laboratory. The estimate of 1930 (which does have a 20 year margin of error), is based on a complicated computer model of HIV's evolution.

Is it known where the emergence of HIV in humans took place?

Many people now assume that because HIV has apparently developed from a form of SIV found in a type of chimpanzee in West Africa, that is was actually in West Africa that HIV first emerged in humans. It is then presumed that HIV spread from there around the world.

However, as discussed above, chimpanzees are not necessarily the original source of HIV and it is likely that the virus crossed over to humans on more than one occasion. So it is quite possible that HIV emerged at the same time in say both South America and Africa, or that it even emerged in the Americas before it emerged in Africa.

We will probably never know exactly when and where the virus first emerged, but what is clear is that sometime in the middle of the 20th century, HIV infection in humans developed into the epidemic of disease around the world that we now refer to as AIDS. The Origin of AIDS and HIV and the first cases of AIDs Avert

Another view

Polio vaccines and the origin of AIDS: some key writings Brian Martin

Question: Why are rabbits called bunnies?

Answer:

bunny - 1690, dim. of Scottish dialectal bun, pet name for "rabbit," previously (1587) for "squirrel," Ultimately could be from Scottish bun "tail of a hare" (1538), or from Fr. bon, or from a Scand. source. Online Etymology Dictionary

NOUN: Inflected forms: pl. bun·nies A rabbit, especially a young one. ETYMOLOGY: From dialectal bun, tail of a rabbit. bun NOUN: Slang One of the buttocks. Often used in the plural. Dialectal, hind part of a rabbit or squirrel, from Scottish Gaelic, stump, bottom, from Old Irish. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language Bartleby

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Question:

The word is "candies" in the USA; "sweets" in the UK; "lollies" in Australia. Where does the word "lollies" come from?

Answer:

"Lollipop...The term lolly is an 18th century-century one for mouth, so a lollipop was something that one popped into one's mouth. It did not necessarily mean a sweet with a stick, as became usual later. A few old-fashioned boiled sweets sold by British confectioners are still called lollies though they are stickless....In the USA the other end of the word (pop) has been used as the bais for the...term popsicle." ---Oxford Companion to Food, Alan Davidson [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 1999 (p. 459) Food Timeline history notes Lynne Olver, The Food Timeline.

lollipop - 1784, lolly-pops "sweetmeats, soft candy," perhaps related to loll "to dangle" (the tongue) + pop "strike, slap." Or the first element may be northern dial. lolly "the tongue." Meaning "hard candy on a stick" is from 1920s. Online Eymology Dictionary

lolly ['l?li] noun (plural: -lies) 1 an informal word for: lollipop

2 (British) short for: ice lolly

3 (Brit., Austral., and N.Z.) a slang word for: money

4 (Austral. and N.Z.) (informal) a sweet, esp. a boiled one

5 do the (or one's) lolly (Australian) (informal) to lose one's temper [ETYMOLOGY: shortened from lollipop] Word Reference

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Question: In California is it legal for a husband to marry his widow's sister

Answer:

In California, nor anywhere else for that matter, can any man marry his widow's sister, because if he has a widow he is dead!

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Question Is DNA the only self-replicating molecule? If it is, why does it do it?

Answer:

Yes, and no and perhaps. Scientists think they've found or made other self-replicating molecules. DNA seems to self-replicate to continue life.

The theory that early life was once dominated by a self-replicating molecule just got a big boost. New experiments show that enzymes made of RNA - DNA's chemical cousin - can replicate other RNA molecules. The RNA enzymes - or ribozymes - have properties resembling those of modern protein enzymes.

Molecular replication is crucial to the existence of life, but its origins are unknown. Early replica New Scientist

Central Dogma DNA Replication

Sites with Information on DNA Replication Self-Reproducing Molecules Reported by MIT Researchers

Self-Replicating Molecules and the Meaning of Life Cliff Walker interviews Dr. M. Reza Ghadiri

SELF-REPLICATION: Even peptides do it By Stuart A. Kauffman

Chemical self-replication of palindromic duplex DNA T. Li & K. C. Nicolaou Nature

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Question: Are you able to find information on the transitional stages of the journey of an adolescent soul ages 13 to 17? Answer:

Run down on a lot of models Christian Perspectives on Adolescent and Adult Development Child Development:

Erikson's Adolescent Stage 11 years andthrough end of adolescence Struggle to develop ego identity (sense of inner sameness and continuity) Preoccupation with appearance, hero worship, ideology Group identity (peers) develops Danger of role confusion, doubts about sexual and vocational identity Psychosocial moratorium, a stage between morality learned by the child and the ethics to be developed by the adult Stages of Faith Peck's stages are these:

1. Chaotic, antisocial 2. Formal, institutional 3. Skeptic, individual 4. Mystic, communal James Fowler Prestage: Primal or Undifferentiated Faith.

1. Intuitive-Projective Faith 2. Mythic-Literal Faith 3. Synthetic-Conventional Faith 4. Individuative-Reflective Faith 5. Conjunctive Faith 6. Universalizing Faith Also Graves Waves of Existence and Ken Wilber colours

More: Interview with James W. Fowler on the Stages of Faith more Ken Wilber

The Evolving Self Human Development from the Perspective of Robert Kegan The Development of Faith An exploration of James W. Fowler's Theory Also of interest Mapping American adolescent subjective religiosity and attitudes of alienation toward religion: A research report.

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Question: In 1959 a three year old chestnut gelding won all of the Three Year Old Derbies in Western Australia for a pacer. Do you know his name, who owned him, drove him and trained him?

Answers:

Paul's Gift won three WA Derbies in 1959 (WA Derby, WA Country Derby, Summer Gift) His driver was L. Smith.

Specific information (distances,times etc) from WA Harness Racing

WA DERBY (G1) 3YO CLASSIC PACE - Raced at Gloucester Park, Perth, WA

1959 $ 2,500 PAUL'S GIFT (Driver L Smith) 12f 2:12.0

WA COUNTRY DERBY 3YO CLASSIC PACE - Raced at Gloucester Park, Perth, WA

1959 $ 1,000 PAUL'S GIFT (Driver D Harper) 12f 2:13 ¾

SUMMER GIFT - WA 3YO CLASSIC PACE - Raced at Gloucester Park, Perth, WA

1959 $ 2,000 PAUL'S GIFT (L Smith) 12f 2:12.0

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Question: Can you list all the numbers and categories of the Dewey Decimal System

Answer:

000 Basic Information Generalities (Information you need to learn) 100 Who am I? Philosophy & Psychology (People think about themselves) 200 Who made me? Religion (People think about God) 300 Who lives next door? Social Sciences (People think about others) 400 How can I talk to others? Languages (Philology) (People want to communicate) 500 What's around me? Natural Science (People think about Nature) 600 How can I use Nature? Applied Science (People think about their world) 700 What can I do for fun? Arts & Recreation (People think about leisure time) 800 How can I record deeds? Literature (People become a storytellers) 900 How can I leave a record? History,Geography & Biography (People think about history)

Most of these questions are really unanswerable, so I've found some things to get people thinking instead.

Question: What is Meaning of life?

the-meaning-of--life.com

The Meaning of Life (or, What's it all about?)

The Meaning of Life - Part II

The Answer to Life, the Universe, and Everything Wikipedia (About Douglas Adams The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

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Question: What was the first ever planet to have life?

Answer:

In our solar system, as far as we definitely know, the only planet to have life is Earth.

There has not been any concrete evidence as of yet of life anywhere in the solar system besides Earth. Windows to the Universe: Life on Other Planets

We are still searching for life on other planets

Anybody Out There? Astronomers Kicking Up Efforts to Find Life-Friendly Planets Amanda Onion

Life On Other Planets in the Solar System

Is there life on planets outside the solar system? NASA Origins

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Question: What are the number of stars in the universe?

Answers:

Star survey reaches 70 sextillion CNN

Astronomers announced today that there are 70 sextillion stars in the visible universe, or some 70 thousand million million million. That's a 7 followed by 22 zeros. The figure paints an inadequate picture of the scope of the cosmos, however. Imperfect Estimate Claims Universe Has 70 Sextillion Stars By Robert Roy Britt space.com

How many stars are there in the Universe?

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Question: What colour does a smurf turn when you strangle it?

Answer:

"I believe that humans who are being strangled actually go a sort of light grey, but that appears blue in comparison to the usual pink tones of the skin (as red/pink and blue are far apart in the spectrum).

Therefore, If smurfs were to be strangled, and if their anatomy was similar to that of humans (albeit blue not pink) they WOULD appear to go pink, as they would go a grey-ish colour (or rather, a lack of colour) which would appear pink in comparison to the blue. "

"You obviously can't strangle a smurf because they have no blood: as a piece of cel animation, they are sustained instead by ink. If you tried to strangle one you would just get inky hands, and who wants inky hands?"

"it's all irrelevant really. you could never strangle a smurf because you can only get into their kingdom if you are invited. they'd probably to quick for you to catch anyway. "

Grey College Bulletins

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Question: What is the cause of creation of the universe?

The Origin And Creation Of The Universe Bill Craig

And other essays on this subject by Bill Craig

Does the Universe Have a First Cause?

How do we explain the universe? By Fred Heeren Logic Demands a Cause for Every Effect

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Question: Is the rate of expansion of the universe speeding up or isn't it?

Answer:

I'm sure you know that there are lots of theories on this, but no sure and certain answers!

Beyond the Big Bang Smithsonian Institution

The Universe: Still Boggling the Minds of 'Finite Creatures' By Robert Roy Britt Space.com

Theories Section - Big Bang Astronomy Today

It was Edwin Hubble an American astronomer in 1929 who discovered that galaxies all around us were moving away from us.

New model of expanding Universe Nature Bigger Faster: Universe Expansion May Be Accelerating By Paul Raeburn Nature

It was last year's "breakthrough of the year," according to the journal Science. Two teams of astronomers reported that the universe was not only expanding, but that the expansion was accelerating.

Probe Could Solve Question of Expanding Universe Space.com

When astronomers found two years ago that the universe seems to be expanding faster and faster, it prompted two questions: What is driving the runaway expansion? And when, if ever, will it end? Now, some of the same scientists say they can help answer those questions -- if the government agrees to fund the most powerful space camera ever devised.

New Theory Provides Alternative to Big Bang Princeton

The theory proposes that, in each cycle, the universe refills with hot, dense matter and radiation, which begins a period of expansion and cooling like the one of the standard big bang picture. After 14 billion years, the expansion of the universe accelerates, as astronomers have recently observed. After trillions of years, the matter and radiation are almost completely dissipated and the expansion stalls. An energy field that pervades the universe then creates new matter and radiation, which restarts the cycle.

Question: If there are planets in a solar system and solar systems in a galaxy and galaxies in the universe. What are the known universe and the anti-matter universe inside?

Answer

No-one really knows.

The Universe: Still Boggling the Minds of 'Finite Creatures' By Robert Roy Britt

"Sweitzer goes on to say that the observable universe is probably part of a much larger universe, "which could be finite or infinite. Any global statements about the universe, such as overall extent, are speculative because they require extrapolating local mathematical theories and measurements beyond the observable universe." So if the observable universe is finite, like the space occupied by a car or a house is finite, then there must be a brick wall or something up there, holding it all together. Right? Does the observable universe have an edge? No, said Livio. "

Part of a discussion Hypography Forums

This really depends on what you define as the "universe". If you are talking about the Observable Universe, then it simply expands into more of the same (more stars, more galaxies) - because it is defined by the distance of the most remote light we can see (imagine a sphere with a radious of some 13,7 billion years).

If you define the "universe" as everything that can possibly be, then there is nothing into which the Universe can expand. This would make the Universe infinite (but not necessarily occupying an infinite space - simply all the space that is available!).

Another way to view our Universe is to consider that it might be a part of a larger universe in which ours is only a small part (like an island in the ocean). This is actually just a modification of the first point above. However, depending on how each of the universes came into being, their physical laws and properties may be different.

According to the Anthropic principle, we live in the most likely of all universes. This principle in fact requires there to be an endless amount of possible universes, some of which must exist "out there".

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