"Nicolo Rizzuto, considered the head of the most important mafia group in Montreal, has been shot dead at his home in a move being b...

The most common computer passwords are: 1.123456 2.12345 3.123456789 4.Password 5.iloveyou 6.princess 7.rockyou 8.1234567 ...

"Mind you die like a Kelly, Ned." - Ellen Kelly (1830-1923), mother of Edward "Ned" Kelly. The last words of Ned Kel...

(Click on pic to enlarge). A Boeing 747s wingspan is longer than the Wright brother's first flight. The wingspan of a Boeing 747 is ...

“If you were going to die soon and had only one phone call you could make, who would you call and what would you say? And why are you wait...

Earth is the only planet not named after a pagan god.  All other planets are named after gods from Greek and Roman mythology.   The name E...

During a royal tour in 1983, Diana approached a crowd of young children in Southern Australia. She walked up to the nearest child and, whi...

"All little girls should be told they are pretty, even if they aren't." -  Marilyn Monroe m(1926-1962)

(Warning:  this item has risque language). Getting ready to go to work a few days ago with Sunrise on in the background, I saw Smokie, ...

“Friends, tomorrow, the work begins. You can have a strong cup of tea if you want, even an Iced Vo Vo on the way through. But the celebra...

(Click on the ad to enlarge). Vintage ads often reflect changing social values and customs.  What was acceptable in the past may not be ac...

Given the enthusiasm that Australians embraced Halloween a few days ago, I started wondering whether we will soon also be celebrating Tha...

The first shopping cart was developed in 1937 by Sylvan Goldman, the owner of the Humpty Dumpty Supermarket chain in Oklahoma City. Havi...

"The people don't want war. Why would some poor slob on a farm want to risk his life in a war when the best that he can get out ...

(A repost of a past email, from the days before Bytes was a blog). In 1942 the Melbourne Cup was won by Colonus, ridden by H McCloud, train...

"This machine kills fascists." -  The slogan Woody Guthrie (1912-1967) had on his guitar when performing.

Yesterday’s item about the Beverly Hillbillies and Green Acres included a picture of Grant Wood’s American Gothic , which depicts a farme...

(This is a repost of a past email). A still from the Green Acres/Beverly Hillbillies crossover episode. Driving to work a few weeks ago...

An interesting and significant social indicator that the times, they are a changin'... Mohammed displaces Jack as most popular boy...

There is a 1991 movie called Suburban Commando , starring Hulk Hogan and Christopher Lloyd. In it Hogan plays an interstellar warrior who...

My mate Phil land I both love Smokey and the Bandit . You know those commercials where two guys are sitting in a bar asking each other mo...

'But I don't want to go among mad people,' Alice remarked. 'Oh, you can't help that,' said the Cat: 'we're...

Old buildings have a charm and a feel that is all their own and this also holds true of Newtown Local Court. It’s in the wood panelling, th...

Between 1919 and 1929 a group of writers, critics, actors, journalists, editors, press agents and wits met daily for lunch at the Algonqui...

I like the ballet, classical ballet rather than modern, although these days I don't get to it as often as I would like. From the open...

An elderly woman in central England claims to have held the winning Euromillions lottery ticket worth 129 million in euros ($183 million), b...

The Poms have had 36,000 people vote on 1,000 jokes to find the top 50, according to an article in the Daily Mail. You can read all top 5...

“Three Rules of Work: Out of clutter find simplicity; From discord find harmony; In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.” - Alb...

James Packer has paid $245 million for a 17.88% interest in the Ten Network. - News item The above report brings to mind a famous moment...

Byter Arthur told me last night that his favourite Bytes are those that deal with the origins of well known Australian expressions. I tol...