50 THINGS EVERYONE SHOULD KNOW

The word "queue" is the only word in the English language that is still pronounced the same way when the last four letters are removed.

Beetles taste like apples, wasps like pine nuts, and worms like fried bacon.

Of all the words in the English language, the word 'set' has the most definitions!

What is called a "French kiss" in the English speaking world is known as an "English kiss" in France.

"Almost" is the longest word in the English language with all the letters in alphabetical order.

"Rhythm" is the longest English word without a vowel.

In 1386, a pig in France was executed by public hanging for the murder of a child

A cockroach can live several weeks with its head cut off!

Human thigh bones are stronger than concrete.

You can't kill yourself by holding your breath

There is a city called Rome on every continent.

It's against the law to have a pet dog in Iceland!

Your heart beats over 100,000 times a day!

Horatio Nelson, one of England's most illustrious admirals was throughout his life, never able to find a cure for his sea-sickness.

The skeleton of Jeremy Bentham is present at all important meetings of the University of London

Right handed people live, on average, nine years longer than left-handed people

Your ribs move about 5 million times a year, everytime you breathe!

The elephant is the only mammal that can't jump!

One quarter of the bones in your body, are in your feet!

Like fingerprints, everyone's tongue print is different!

The first known transfusion of blood was performed as early as 1667, when Jean-Baptiste, transfused two pints of blood from a sheep to a young man

Fingernails grow nearly 4 times faster than toenails!

Most dust particles in your house are made from dead skin!

The present population of 5 billion plus people of the world is predicted to become 15 billion by 2080.
Women blink nearly twice as much as men.

Adolf Hitler was a vegetarian, and had only ONE testicle.

Honey is the only food that does not spoil. Honey found in the tombs of Egyptian pharaohs has been tasted by archaeologists and found edible.

Months that begin on a Sunday will always have a "Friday the 13th."

Coca-Cola would be green if colouring weren’t added to it.

On average a hedgehog's heart beats 300 times a minute.

More people are killed each year from bees than from snakes.

The average lead pencil will draw a line 35 miles long or write approximately 50,000 English words.

More people are allergic to cow's milk than any other food.

Camels have three eyelids to protect themselves from blowing sand.

The placement of a donkey's eyes in its' heads enables it to see all four feet at all times!

The six official languages of the United Nations are: English, French, Arabic, Chinese, Russian and Spanish.

Earth is the only planet not named after a god.

It's against the law to burp, or sneeze in a church in Nebraska, USA.

You're born with 300 bones, but by the time you become an adult, you only have 206.

Some worms will eat themselves if they can't find any food!

Dolphins sleep with one eye open!

It is impossible to sneeze with your eyes open

The worlds oldest piece of chewing gum is 9000 years old!

The longest recorded flight of a chicken is 13 seconds

Queen Elizabeth I regarded herself as a paragon of cleanliness. She declared that she bathed once every three months, whether she needed it or not

Slugs have 4 noses.

Owls are the only birds who can see the colour blue.

A man named Charles Osborne had the hiccups for 69 years!

A giraffe can clean its ears with its 21-inch tongue!

The average person laughs 10 times a day!

An ostrich's eye is bigger than its brain

One of these facts is false, can you guess which one? Answer is below.
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The 'fact' about pet dogs in Iceland is incorrect. However, it is true that an epidemic once killed most of the Icelandic dog population.

Ghost in this House

I don't pick up the mail
I don't pick up the phone
I don't answer the door
I'd just as soon be alone
I don't keep this place up
I just keep the lights down
I don't live in these rooms
I just rattle around

I'm just a ghost in this house
I'm just a shadow upon these walls
As quietly as a mouse I haunt these halls
I'm just a whisper of smoke
I'm all that's left of two hearts on fire
That once burned out of control
You took my body and soul
I'm just a ghost in this house

I don't care if it rains
I don't care if it's clear
I don't mind staying in
There's another ghost here
He sits down in your chair
And he shines with your light
And he lays down his head
On your pillow at night

I'm just a ghost in this house
I'm just a shadow upon these walls
I'm living proof of the damage
Heartbreak does
I'm just a whisper of smoke
I'm all that's left of two hearts on fire
That once burned out of control
And took my body and soul
I'm just a ghost in this house
Oh, I'm just a ghost in this house

Alison Krauss and Union Station - Ghost In This House live

Justice Best Served Cold: Notes on a Scandal Part 2

The following is another published letter to a local 'newspaper' which relates to my previous post "Notes on a Scandal" which again relates to a young man wrongly accused of knowingly downloading explicit images of minors. He was free to walk from Crown Court earlier this week:

I too know this young man. I know the entire story and background of the case. I have also known this beautifully innocent young man for many many years. He has been given the lightest sentance the courts could possibly give, based on the fact that he was not found guilty of sex offenses but of making and possessing images of minors on his laptop. I commented on this term in an earlier article related to this case. Making or possessing such obscene images is a police term which misleadingly means having digital images or videos on a PC downloaded from the Internet, not physically taking photographs or filming videos. Such unfortunate images and videos can be easily downloaded by anyone unwittingly, often disguised within other files and file-names and common on peer-to-peer filesharing networks such as limewire. It would serve those who do not know this individual well to reserve judgement. The very fact that the accused was not given a cusodial sentance should indicate to you that judge and jury found him no risk to public safety, but had to pass sentance based on the guilty plee entered by the accused, for unintentionally "making" or downloading offensive images. I am sure we all would wish for compassion...

Missing the Sun

Sometimes I would like to quit, nothing seems to fit,
Feeling down with a frown, in the gutter but looking upwards.

Feel like I don't belong feel like a lonely cloud,
It always seems I'm always here, stuck in my box with outside being the crowd.

What I feel has come and gone before, no need to talk about it because I won't always be on the floor.

Seems the only thing to do is run and find the one who loves me, then pausing I realise there is no need to run.

This rainy day will blow over, but for the moment I miss the sun.

Oliver J. Seymour 2009

To all friends and family, near and far...

Celtic Blessing

May the roads rise to meet you.
May the wind be at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face;
The rain fall soft upon your fields
And, until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of His hand.

Serenity

God grant me the serenity
To accept the things I cannot change;
Courage to change the things I can;
And wisdom to know the difference.