Back in the late ‘80s or early ‘90s, whoever it was that was running the over-ground rail network in England came out with a series of much-mocked (but valid) reasons for late and cancelled services. Autumn leaves made the wheels slip on the rails, reducing traction; and “the wrong type of snow” caused the trains’ electric motors to short-circuit. These… Read more »
The text above the drop-down read, “Select your purpose of travel.” There were five options; Leisure, Business, Work, Studies, and Immigration. Really? There’s that much immigration going on that it merits its own option? More so than “Repatriating loved one’s remains” or “Arranged marriage” or “Using up soon-to-expire AirMiles™”? Okay—so AirMiles™ backed off on the “soon-to-expire” thing (In Canada, anyway),… Read more »
Dear Mr. Disney, My name is Kelvin and I’m 10 years old (in my head). I’m writing to you about the choices you have made regarding what I believe are called “re-makes”. In the past 70 years, you have made two movies of Cinderella. In the past 50 years, you have made two movies of The Jungle Book. In the… Read more »
A man in Nova Scotia has been banned from having his last name on his licence plate. It’s been determined that it’s now too rude. This, despite him having had the plate in the family for decades. Unfortunately, he’s just another victim of Trump’s style (or lack of it). The man in question is of German heritage; his name is… Read more »
The headline looked like clickbait. “i.Con Smart Condom to monitor performance in bedrooms”. But the article really was about a Bluetooth-enabled condom—or to be more accurate, a “condom ring”. Before continuing, let me dispel any thoughts in your mind that I enjoy reading articles like that. I do so merely as part of my ongoing search for interesting topics. I… Read more »
Why do we do a headcount for the living and a body count for the dead? People’s heads and bodies don’t necessarily need to be connected for them to be dead. The same cannot be said for the living; for the most part, they tend to be intact. And ironically, until finger prints and DNA became viable ways to identify… Read more »
The banning of an annual pillow fight at the famous West Point military academy in the USA a couple of years ago, and the banning of a baked beans advert in the UK for health and safety reasons last November, caught my attention again when I was browsing the digital equivalent of my newspaper cuttings file today. The obvious comment… Read more »
There’s too much brightly coloured spandex in the world. There’s a gym in town that Mrs. H occasionally goes to to burn off a few hundred calories. I won’t name the gym because its owners aren’t paying me for the advertising, and in any case, in today’s super-sensitive world, someone might take what’s supposed to be an entertaining, semi-fictional article… Read more »
“Overdue library book returned to school 120 years late” ran the headline on the BBC’s Hereford and Worcester news website in December 2016. The granddaughter of a pupil of the Hereford Cathedral School found the book in her collection and realized that it should have been returned sometime between 1886 and 1894. Late return fines (currently £0.17 per day) would… Read more »
It’s one of a kind folks! A genuine, live, Australian fur seal gracing the hood of your car! That’s what the owner of a Toyota sedan discovered on Boxing Day, according to this article. The Toyota in question was parked in Newstead, a suburb of Launceston, Tasmania, and according to the local police, the seal had made its way along… Read more »