Interesting Facts #25: Vespasian

To raise public revenue, Emperor Vespasian--who built the Colosseum--was the first to introduce pay toilets in the city of Rome. When his son and successor Titus protested that the toilets were raising a stink with the poor, Vespasian held a coin up to his nose and said, "Pecunia non olet"  - "money doesn't smell" - a phrase still in use today.   He also made a profit on the side by imposing a tax on the urine that was gathered from public latrines. This custom was practised by textile manufacturers, who used the urine (for its ammoniac content) to process fibres, and by tanners.  Today, Romans still refer to public toilets as vespasiano. The French also refer to toilets as vespasiennes.

In Case You Missed It...

The following is a report from the Daily Telegraph on 02.12.2010.  The heading, "In Case You Missed It", is not a punning reference to the story or to the photograph above, it is a sometimes heading that is used to reprint a story that might have been missed but is deserving of being brought to attention.  In this case, it is a reminder that as the technology becomes smarter, as the communications become faster, as the devices become more complex, so the machines of war and of killing become more deadly.

THE US army is to begin using a futuristic rifle that fires radio-controlled "smart" bullets in Afghanistan for the first time, it has emerged.

The XM25 rifle uses bullets that are programmed to explode when they have travelled a set distance, allowing enemies to be targeted no matter where they are hiding. The rifle also has a range of 2,300 feet making it possible to hit targets which are well out of the reach of conventional rifles.

The XM25 is being developed specially for the U.S. army and will be deployed with troops from later this month, it was revealed today. The XM25 Counter Defilade Target Engagement System has a range of roughly 2,300 feet (700 metres) and is to be deployed in Afghanistan this month The rifle's gunsight uses a laser rangefinder to determine the exact distance to the obstruction, after which the soldier can add or subtract up to 3 metres from that distance to enable the bullets to clear the barrier and explode above or beside the target. Soldiers will be able to use them to target snipers hidden in trenches rather than calling in air strikes.

Interesting Facts: #24

Gold is chemically inert, which also explains why it never rusts and does not cause skin irritation. If gold jewellery irritates the skin, it is likely that the gold was mixed with some other metal.

Quote: Maurice Bowra

“I expect to pass through this world but once and therefore if there is anybody that I want to kick in the crutch I had better kick them in the crutch now, for I do not expect to pass this way again.”

-  Maurice Bowra (1898-1971)

The above is a paraphrase of Stephen Grellet's famous quotation:

'I expect to pass through this world but once. Any good, therefore, that I can do or any kindness I can show to any fellow creature, let me do it now. Let me not defer or neglect it for I shall not pass this way again."

Interesting Facts: #23

Drug-sniffing dogs are trained to bark like crazy and go "aggressive" at the first whiff of the right powder.

Bomb-sniffing dogs are trained to go "passive" lest they set off a motion sensor, noise sensor or other means of detonating the explosive device.

Quote: John Junor

“The difference between Marilyn Monroe and Madonna is the same difference as exists between champagne and cat's piss.”

-  John Junor (1919-1997), Scottish journalist

Interesting Facts: #22

  

The name marijuana comes from a Mexican slang term for cannabis and is believed to have derived from the Spanish pronunciation of the names Mary and Jane. (The two names were also common Mexican military slang for a prostitute or brothel.) Marijuana came into popularity as a name for cannabis in the U.S. during the late 1800s

Harold Holt

Harold Holt (1908-1967), pictured above with his stepdaughters-in-law in 1967, was  the local member for Malvern and Prime Minister of Australia from 1966.  A keen diver and spear fisherman, he disappeared in rough seas off Cheviot Beach, Victoria on 17 December 1967.  His body was never found.

At the time of Harold Holt's disappearance, Malvern Council had been constructing a swimming complex in the suburb of Glen Iris, the complex to be called the City of Malvern Olympic Centre. 

In 1969 with the complex close to being finished, the Council decided to change the name.  Not seeing the irony of naming the swimming complex after a Prime Minister who had been lost at sea whilst swimming, presumed drowned, the Council named the new complex the Harold Holt Memorial Swimming Centre.  It remains so named to this day.

Interesting Facts: #21

1 x 1 = 1

11 x 11 = 121

111 x 111 = 12321

1111 x 1111 = 1234321

11111 x 11111 = 123454321

111111 x 111111 = 12345654321

1111111 x 1111111 = 1234567654321

11111111 x 11111111 = 123456787654321

111111111 x 111111111 = 12345678987654321

A Glimpse of the Past: Sydney 1932, and after and before...

(Click on the photographs to enlarge).

Members Stand packed for Test, 2-7 December 1932

Some interesting things to note about the above photograph:

 

-    The fact that even going to watch the cricket, men wore suits and ties.

-    Most men wore hats.  Some of those not wearing them are holding them or have them on the ground.

 

-    Note that the males at the front are sitting on their newspapers.

Interesting Facts: #20

Life is broadly defined as the condition of an organism that exhibits growth through metabolism, reproduction, and adaptation to its environment. These characteristics separate living organisms from inanimate objects

A virus straddles the definition of life and, according to scientific definition, is not technically alive. It is composed simply of DNA and ribonucleic acid (RNA) strands surrounded by a protein shell and requires a host cell to metabolize and reproduce. When not within a host cell, a virus lies dormant and is nothing more than a static organic particle

(Pictured:  HIV/AIDS virus).

Foul Ups and Blunders: The Nimbus 2000

Sometimes what seemed like a good idea on the drawing board turns out to be something quite different in reality.

The pending release of the new Harry Potter flick brought this back to mind.

Those Byters who are into Harry Potter will be aware that a broomstick is one form of travel used by witches and wizards and that broomsticks are an integral part of the game of Quidditch. Harry was given a Nimbus 2000 broomstick by Professor McGonagall, later replaced by a gift from his godfather Sirius of a Firebolt broomstick.

Interesting Facts: #19

The liquid inside young coconuts can be used as a substitute for blood plasma.

From The Straight Dope:

Coconut water can be used for a variety of medical purposes, one of which is intravenous rehydration. A 2000 report tells of a stroke patient in the Solomon Islands who was too ill to drink or use a nasal tube but was successfully rehydrated with a coconut-water IV when no other fluids were available. Emergency coconut IVs were reportedly used by the British and Japanese during World War II, and they've been clinically tested on humans several times to see how well they'd be tolerated. Answer: overall, pretty well.

Remember, we're talking about coconut water, the liquid found inside a young coconut, not coconut milk, which is made from grated coconut meat. Coconut water can't actually replace blood plasma; chemical analysis indicates it's closer in makeup to intracellular fluid. It's usually sterile, and when mixed with plasma it behaves like saline solution. It's got fewer electrolytes in it than our bodies are used to and too much potassium, so it's not an ideal rehydration fluid. But it works in a pinch.

http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/2925/can-coconut-juice-be-used-as-blood-plasma-plus

Henry Bolte and Ronald Ryan

“One of the three S’s, I suppose.”

- Sir Henry Bolte
 

Henry Bolte (1908 – 1990) was Australia’s longest serving Victorian Premier, from 1955 to 1972. An astute politician with a shrewd sense of what would appeal to the public, he was a chain smoking, whisky swigging right wing politician who promoted an image of a rough, earthy, simple, man at odds with trade unions, teachers, liberals, strikers and protesters.

He was never reluctant to express himself to journalists and reporters knew they could always re;y on him for a good quote.  Asked by reporters what his opinion was of Prime Minister John Gorton, he said nothing, simply held his nose and mimicked pulling a toilet chain.

Interesting Facts: #18

The origin of the name of the game of chess is uncertain. It most probably came from the Arabic word for king, “Shah”, which then passed into Old French as eschec, then into Middle English as chek. This gave rise to the chess term "check" signifying that the king is under attack.  In the 18th century it also came to mean “identifying token”, giving us the word “cheque”. The Old French plural of eschec was esches, borrowed into Middle English as ches.

The word “checkmate” is used in chess to signify that the opponent’s king is under attack (“in check”), that the king cannot move anywhere without remaining under attack and that the attacking piece is unable to be taken by the opponent. This results in the loss of the game. Most etymologists are of the opinion that the word :checkmate” comes from the Arabic “Shah mat”, meaning “the king is dead”, although some maintain that the more correct translation is “the king is helpless”. Other etymologists are of the opinion that it comes not from Arabic but from the Persian “shaah maat”, meaning that the king is powerless, stymied, defeated.

Godwin's Law

A sober debate about Ireland and the euro crisis degenerated into Nazi slurs in the EU parliament today after a UKIP member was ejected for screaming at a German MEP: 'Ein Volk, ein Reich, ein Fuehrer!' The phrase - meaning one people, one empire, one leader - was a popular slogan for supporters of the Nazi party in wartime. Lawmakers were left speechless after the rant by Godfrey Bloom, the UKIP member for Yorkshire and North Lincolnshire, at German MEP Martin Schulz.

News report, The Daily Mail, 25 November 2010

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1332703/British-MEP-kicked-parliament-Ein-Volk-ein-Reich-ein-Fuehrer-jibe-German-colleague.html#ixzz16HMUXbYz

Reading the above item reminded me of Godwin’s Law, an internet adage that was formulated by Mike Godwin in 1989. It holds that "As an online discussion grows longer, the probability of a comparison involving Nazis or Hitler approaches 1." His meaning was that, given enough time, all discussions—regardless of topic or scope—inevitably end up being about Hitler and the Nazis. His intention was to make participants in a discussion more aware of whether a comparison to Nazis or Hitler is appropriate, or whether it is simply a rhetorical overreach.

Interesting Facts: #17

The above punctuation mark is called an interrobang and sometimes a quesclamation mark.

The function of the mark is to ask a question and at the same time express surprise or indicate that the question is rhetorical, such as “You paid how much?!” It was invented in 1962 by American advertising honcho Martin Speckter to convey rhetorical questions in advertising material. He called it an interrobang in that interrogatio is Latin for a rhetorical question and bang is printer’s slang for an exclamation mark

“So what?” and “Big deal” I hear you mutter. You may think that this is the only time that you may see it but as of 2009, the State Library of NSW has adopted it as its logo, the idea according to the persons responsible being that it simultaneously asks a question (?) and provides the answer (!). That seems a bit of a stretch of the meaning of the mark but there you have it…

Living Canvases

Today I met with a new client, a young chap who wore a loose fitting, sloppy-style T shirt that hung off his chest revealing tattooed writing.  From where I was I could not make out the words.  Being something of an aficionado of the old skin art myself, I asked what the writing said.  This is how the conversation went:

Client:  It's about life being a journey, a road that we have to travel.

Myself:  Fair eneough.  What am I seeing you about today?

Client:  Driving whilst disqualified.



Interesting Facts: #16

M&M’s were created by Forrest Mars, the founder of the Mars company, and his business partner, William Murrie, the president of the Hershey company. Because both their last names started with “M,” they called their new candy M&M’s.

The idea came from seeing soldiers in the Spanish Civil War during the 1930’s eating chocolate pellets with a hard shell of tempered chocolate surrounding the inside, thereby preventing leaking. Production began in 1941. Murrie had a 20% stake in the product, Hershey’s having control of the rationed chocolate during WW2. They were an immediate hit with the military and have grown from there.

Made In China

 (Click on pics to enlarge).

I am indebted to Byter Arthur for sending me an email of a building in Shanghai which collapsed. It is a true story.

The collapse of the 13 storey block of flats happened in June 2009. The building was still unoccupied but one worker was killed in the collapse.

China's official news agency, Xinhua, said officials were taking "appropriate control measures" against nine people, including the developer, construction contractor and supervisor of the project after it was reported that the company's construction licence had expired in 2004.

The collapse caused many purchasers of flats in other buildings in the same complex to demand their money back.

Much of the blame is attributed to the cutting of corners in a period of a building boom.

Interesting Facts: #15

The idea that the Australian coat of arms features a kangaroo and emu because they are the only animals that don’t walk backwards is erroneous and an urban myth.  Both animals walk backwards but do so infrequently.  They were more probably selected in that they are only found on the Australian continent and were large enough to be positioned together holding up the shield.

Ambigrams

Those who have read or seen Dan Brown's Angels and Demons will recall the prominent use of ambigrams, words that can be read in more than one direction. In the novel, the words Fire, Water, Earth, Air and Illuminati read the same way whether right way up or upside down, such as:

In Dan Brown's novel a big fuss is made over the fact that the art of amigrams had been lost.

Not so. See, for instance, the words Angels & Demons at top left, which can be read the same way even if rotated 180 degrees.

The reason that I mention this is that I came across an even more fascinating example: a doormat where the words read differently when viewed form the opposite side, that is, rotated 180 degrees:

Interesting Facts: #14

The term "sideburns" is a corruption of "Burnside", after General Ambrose Burnside (above and below), a Union General in the American Civil War, who sported unusual facial hair.

The term muttonchops, being sideburns narrow at the ear and broad on the side of the face, are named from the shape of a mutton chop:

Quote: Rita Rudner

For Catherine, who wanted a simpler quote than last Friday's Walt Whitman quote:

"Someday I want to be rich. Some people get so rich they lose all respect for humanity. That's how rich I want to be."

-  Rita Rudner (1935 - )

Interesting Facts: #13

It  is considered good luck for a chimney sweep to attend a wedding.

In Dickensian England, chimneysweeps were often young children in that they were small enough to climb up chimneys. The job was filthy and dangerous with the children often being mistreated.

Nonetheless it is considered good luck for a chimneysweep to attend a wedding and kiss the bride.

About 200 years ago in England a chimneysweep supposedly saved the life of King George 11 by stopping the runaway horses of the royal carriage. In gratitude, King George decreed that all chimney sweeps were lucky. This developed into a custom and belief that it was good luck for a marriage for a chimney sweep to attend the wedding to shake hands with the groom and be kissed by the bride. Since that date all royal marriages have had a chimneysweep in attendance and it has been common in England to hire a chimneysweep to attend weddings. The custom spread to Australia and some weddings still follow the custom. There are various firms that offer the services of a chimneysweep to attend weddings.

Hitler's Moustache

 (Click on the photos to enlarge).

My #1 son is currently taking part in Movember, a worldwide movement for the growing of moustaches during November to raise funds and awareness of men’s health, specifically prostate cancer and male depression. It is disconcerting to see my lad looking more and more like a Mexican bandit, making me want to take him to the barber and say, in my best Godfather voice, "I want you to use all your powers and all your skills. I don't want his mother to see him this way.”

The custom of our forefathers (and in this instance I can use gender specific language without being politically incorrect) was to have much more facial hair than males do today. Witness the old photos depicting gentlemen with sideburns, moustaches and beards, or various combinations of them, such as Australia’s first Federal Cabinet when Australia became a Federation in 1901. Edmund Barton is noticeable for his face being bare.

 

Hitler and Stalin effectively killed moustaches after 1945 but the resurgence of moustaches in November started me thinking about Hitler’s moustache: What would be the reaction if someone grew one today?  What is the history behind it?  How popular had it been before Hitler came to power?

Interesting Facts: #12

Ambassadors to the United Kingdom are not called that officially, but rather Ambassadors to the Court of St. James.

The Court of St. James, or St James Palace, was the palace which was the residence of the monarch before Buckingham Palace was built. It still remains the official residence, although Buckingham Palace is the official London residence.

The Court of St James was chosen as the venue for accreditation of ambassadors and High Commissioners in that the Marshall of the Diplomatic Corps, who acts as the link between the Queen and the foreign diplomatic missions, is permanently based at St James Palace.

Pictured above:

Dr Sir Lesley Colin Patterson,

Cultural Attaché to the Court of St James and Chairperson of the Australian Chapter of the International Cheese Board

Sator Square

  

Marie Antoinette once said that she did not believe in ghosts but she was afraid of them. So it is with mysteries, puzzles and phenomenon. I remain a sceptic but, at the same time, I admit that there are more things in Heaven and Earth than are dreamt of in our philosophy.

Lyall Watson once wrote a book called Supernature. His hypothesis was that between the realms of the natural and the supernatural was an area he called Supernature, that area in which science had simply not yet advanced far enough to understand and explain things that we currently regard as supernatural.

Take Penn and Teller, for instance. We all watch magic and wonder how the tricks are achieved. We know that what we see are tricks, that the woman in the box is not really cut in half and rejoined but we marvel because we don’t know how it’s done. It’s magic. Until Penn and Teller show us and then all the magic is gone. We see how easy it was to fool us and what had been amazing is now simply sleight of hand, distraction and trickery.

See, for instance,

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oXGr76CfoCs

Which brings me to a mystery which has not yet been explained, the Sator Squre:

 

Interesting Facts: #11

The term "menstruation" comes from the Latin word mensis (month), which in turn relates to the Greek word mene (moon).

The English words month and moon also come from the Latin mensis, reflecting the fact that the moon’s period of revolution around the earth, 27days, is similar to that of the human menstrual cycle.

The term “ritual” is derived from the Sanskrit word "R’tu", which means “menstrual”.

The word “taboo” comes from the ancient Plynesian word "tapua," meaning both menstruation and sacred.

It is said that when Australian Woman’s Weekly went to a monthly format in 1982, Kerry Packer vetoed a name change to Australian Women’s Monthly for obvious reasons. It remains published under its weekly name.

Quote: Walt Whitman

"When I, sitting, heard the astronomer, where he lectured with such applause in the lecture room, how soon, unaccountable, I became tired and sick; Till rising and gliding out, I wandered off by myself, in the mystical moist night-air, and from time to time, looked up in perfect silence at the stars.

-  Walt Whitman (1819 - 1892)