The Friday Post

Aaaand … here we are again.  I’m beginning to get a very regular feeling of deja vu around this time on a Friday, every single week.  Don’t know why that would be.  🤓

I trust this week has been good for you, and that no ‘disasters’ have happened to you or yours personally.  I’m still having some problems with blog posts not appearing in my ‘Reader’, so I’m having to do a combination of two things:  1. try to go down the list of blogs I follow to ensure that I’m caught up… and  2.  Trust to luck that I’m not missing something vital that any one has posted.  However .. if I have, poke me with the sharp end of a pencil and show me the way to what I should have been reading. (i.e. give me a link)t

So anyhoo … you’re here to have a little Friday Fun, so let’s get on with that shall we?   Because the Factoids were so enjoyed by folks a few weeks ago, I thought I’d re-visit that subject matter again and  share some more of the stuff I have (uselessly) stored in my one brain cell).

Do you have your Seat Belt on?  Air Mask fitted correctly?  Medication taken?  Incontinence Pants on?  (‘Depends’ for some of you)...  and finallyPlease Leave Your Mobile/cell Phone and your watch, and your Earrings at Reception You’ll be given a clear sealable bag to put it inside, and you will fill out your name in the special box on the outside of the bag, – in order to collect your phone after the ride.    **ENJOY!  (**that’s an order by the way!)

FACTOIDS   –   Did you know:-

Lightning strikes men about seven times more often than it does women.

A mole can dig a tunnel 300 feet long in just one night!

Carrots have zero fat content. (but you can get an unattractive orange tinge to your skin if you eat too many of them.)

Watermelons are 97% water, –  lettuce 97% water, –  tomatoes 95% water , –  carrots 90% water, –  and bread 30%

Ernest Vincent Wright’s 1939 novel ‘Gadsby’ has 50,110 words, none of which contains the letter “e.”

Don’t believe that a novel could be without any e’s?
Here’s an excerpt from page one of Wright’s  ‘Gadsby’:

“If youth,  throughout all history,  had a champion to stand up for it;  to show a doubting world that a child can think;  and, possibly, do it practically;  you wouldn’t constantly run across folks today who claim that “a child don’t know anything.”  A child’s brain starts functioning at birth;  and has, amongst its many infant convolutions, thousands of dormant atoms, into which God has put a mystic possibility for noticing an adults act, and figuring out its purport.”

Great Britain was the first county to issue postage stamps, on 1 May 1840. Hence, UK stamps are the only stamps in the world not to bear the name of the country of origin.

And from the movies:

In “Father of the Bride”,  Annie and Bryan marry on January 6.  But in the opening montage of “Father of the Bride 2” there is a framed invitation of their wedding which states that they were married on October 9.

Towards the end of the Forrest Gump, Forrest narrates that his wife died on a Saturday. When he is at her grave in the next scene, the tomb stone shows her passing on March 22, 1982, which is a Monday.

The movie with the most ‘extras’, (minor people who make up the background scenes) – was the 1982 British movie Gandhi,  which featured 300,000 extras.

Mel Blanc, who played the voice of Bugs Bunny, was allergic to carrots.

Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia  ….  is a REAL word and not one of my infamous made up ones.  It means:  A fear of long words.  Yes. Really.  Honestly.  Truthfully.  I think that’s irony at it’s best.

On average, you speak almost 5,000 words a day – although almost 80% of speaking is *self-talk  (i.e. *talking to yourself ).  . . . . . .*parents would know  about this feeling – LOL

Diamonds they say, are a girls best friend.. here are some factoids about diamonds:

Impurities lend diamonds a shade of blue, red, orange, yellow, green and even black. A green diamond is the rarest.

A diamond is the hardest natural substance on earth, but if it is placed in an oven and the temperature is raised to about 763 degrees Celsius (1405 degrees Fahrenheit), it will simply vanish, without even ash remaining.  Only a little carbon dioxide will have been released.

However... diamonds are brittle. If you hit one hard with a hammer, it will shatter

A diamond carat differs from a gold carat.  The gold carat indicates purity – pure gold being 24 carats.  One diamond carat is 200 milligrams (0.007055 oz).  The word carat derives from the carob bean.  Gem dealers used to balance their scales with carob beans because these beans all have same weight.

A diamond is 58 times harder than the next hardest mineral on earth, corundum, from which rubies and sapphires are formed.  It was only during the 15th century that it was discovered that the only way to cut diamonds was with other diamonds.

The tradition of a diamond engagement ring started in 1477 when Archduke Maximilian of Austria gave a diamond ring to Mary of Burgundy.  The modern tradition is the result of a clever advertising campaign designed by N.W.Ayer in the 1940s.

Los Angeles’s full name is El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Ángeles del Río Porciúncula and can be abbreviated to 3.63% of its size:-  L.A.

and finally….

After I made up that pile of pooh about Snails having a SatNav  (although I did rather like the idea…  and the ‘magical quality’) …  I thought I’d perhaps better find out the truth and share it with you so that you’d be able to quote your knowledge and show people how educatinamalised you are….

Snails have something like a flat foot located on the bottom side of their slime-like body’s.  There are muscles within the ‘foot’ that are constantly contracting and expanding to create movement.  It’s actually the ‘foot’ that creates the slippery trail commonly seen with snails.  It’s a special gland that excretes the slime which hardens when it comes into contact with the air.

(I still prefer my Sat Nav idea.  It sounds far more magical and special!)  lol   😊

coffee cup

Well … while you drink the last gulps of your coffee I’ll wind up this blog post with a few jokes.  Now be careful.   No choking on your coffee,  or spraying your computer screen/tablet  (or the woman sat in front of you on the bus – if you’re reading this on your cell phone) . . .

What kind of bagel can fly?  —->A plain Bagel<—-click, hold the click and drag it to the right to reveal the answer.

Where do animals go when their tails fall off? —>The Retail Store<—click, hold the click and drag again to reveal the answer.

How does a Train eat? —>it goes CHEW CHEW<—click, hold and drag again.

I Tried to take a photograph of some Fog.—–>MIST<—click, hold and drag.

Just before I go …  a wee update on the little Robin I told you about on July the 8th [click here to be taken to the post if you missed it].  I’m filled with happy bubbles to be able to share with you that this darling little bird finally gathered up all of his courage on Wednesday this week and visited not one but both bird feeders and spent a little time enjoying everything which was on the menu. 

And with that …. I shall quote one of my most favourite Gaelic blessings:  May the road rise up to meet you.  May the wind be always at your back.  May the sun shine warm upon your face;  the rains fall soft upon your fields, and,   until we meet again, …  may God hold you in the palm of His hand.

Be good to yourself,  and to others you meet today. 

Sending buckets of love your way ~  ❤️ 💛 💚 💙 💜 🖤  ~  in Rainbow colours!

sig-coffee-copy

Things I’ve Learned This Week

Happy Friday!  These Fridays are still coming round far too fast for my liking.  I swear that Fridays always seemed waaaay  further apart when I was younger.  What’s happened to make this change?  No .. seriously … why are Fridays so close together now?  I really don’t understand why.

I’ve learned some strange things this week and I’d like to share them with you so that your wisdom is improved in the same way mine has been!  (improved?  really??) [cough]  Ready?  Hold hands, and on the count of three we’ll all jump together. . . . .   ONE …..  TWO ….  THREE!

I learned this week:  That one in 20 couples argue so much on their wedding night they fail to consummate their marriage.  Aw this made me so sad.  I don’t mind much about the ‘consummate’ bit – but it’s the falling out with each other which saddens me.  Such a wondrous day and they end it with a row!  What a rotten way to spoil the memories. 😦

I learned . . .  That there are enough diamonds in existence to give everyone on the planet a cupful.  Kindly form an orderly queue behind me, and hold onto your cup tightly.  No mugs are allowed.  Cups only.

I also learned. . .

. . . that thirty-seven people were injured so seriously by tea cosies in 1999 that they were admitted to hospital.

Can you believe it?  Nope, me neither!  Dog only knows what on earth they were doing with a tea-cosy which they injured themselves on!

67,000 people are injured each year trying to peel the cellophane off a packet of sandwiches, open a ready meal or open a ring-pull can.
. . .

More than 150 people a day – have accidentally stabbed themselves when trying to prise the top off a jar or opening a ready meal with a knife.

The number of injuries perpetrated by trousers on their wearers in 2002 – (the last year for which such figures were collated by the Home Accident Surveillance System) – stood at 5310, while putting on socks, tights or stockings saw 11,788 people taken to hospital.  Falls caused by getting stuck during an over-hasty attempt to get dressed were mainly responsible, with trips in messy bedrooms close behind.
. . .

379,000 injuries are caused by trainers, high heels, sandals, platforms and countless other types of footwear.

An Exeter (in the UK)  College student was making Italian bread in a bread maker, but when it clogged the machine he proceeded to pull out the dough with his hands, to free the mixing arm.  However, he didn’t switch it off, and once the clog was unblocked the mixer arm swung into action – and broke his arm in four places.  Nine weeks later, the student was asked how he had managed to break his arm while making bread.  He felt obliged to demonstrate, so plunged his hand in – and  snap  went his arm, again!
 . . .
And…  do you know what’s really embarrassing?  ….  All the above examples of injuries in the home were all ….  in the UK!!!  What the heck?  Are we really all  ‘eff-wits’  here?  This must be going on world wide … and if so … shouldn’t there be more padded rooms where these daft people are put for their own safety?
 . . .
I also learned this week that, in the world, – only 2% of women describe themselves as beautiful.  When I gave this some thought, it didn’t surprise me in the way it did before I gave it some serious thinking.  We girls always ‘see’ where we believe we could be improved.  Iron out a few wrinkles.  Lose the baby tummy.  Be taller.  Nose a little more turned up and cute.  etc etc.  But if you asked other women what could be improved about their friends or a random woman they were being shown a photo of,  they’d more often than not say “Nothing!“.  We girls really do need to be very much kinder to ourselves.
 . . .
photo found on Google ~ if you know who to credit please let me know and I’ll add it.  thanks!

I learned from something I read that Reindeer are particularly partial to magic mushrooms.  I thought about this one for a minute or two and it suddenly made total sense.  This would explain how we humans had seen Santa on his sleigh, pulled by 8 dashing reindeer!  The reindeer had eaten magic mushrooms!  ha!

And finally, in my mode of edumacation this week,  ….

I learned that when a shop or store says its got an item you want to buy “in stock” on its website, it actually isn’t what it probably has in stock.  And even when the computers in the store say that there are 11 (ELEVEN) of the items you wish to buy …  the staff say they’ve seen those items …and come with you to search the shelves that you’ve already searched 14 times ….  those items are NO WHERE TO BE FOUND!

HOMEBASE in Dorset UK,  HANG YOUR HEAD IN SHAME!!!   Perhaps if you

Tidied the store now and again

Made it look less like a warehouse for empty boxes – and a dumping ground for products no member of staff knows what to do with so they leave boxes of stuff in the aisles for customers, to navigate and fall over.

Had more staff to deal with customers (there were 9 in a queue waiting to pay and only one member of staff on your tills)

And perhaps if you had a better system to your stocking of plants in your outdoor gardening centre …

Maybe the store would be a more pleasant and easier place to shop in.  Just saying.

I think Homebase might  like to  hear from me via an email to their Customer Services (although I do wonder if that’s a non entity too, like their 11 items in stock).  Hmpfffft!  ☹️

Soo ….  I have shared with you all my newly learned edumacation which was lovingly (?) delivered to me this week.  I’m unsure if I’m any wiser, but I do feel my brain complaining.  What of I don’t know … but it will soon be fine again … once it’s dumped some old information out of my right ear while I’m sleeping tonight.  (I hope it hangs onto my:  name, address, telephone number and passwords.  The rest of the stuff I’m sure I can muddle through. lol).

Now we come to the most important bit of the Friday ‘What I learned’  posts …. 

 

❤   THE JOKES   ❤

The Energizer bunny was arrested on a charge of battery
 . . .
  . . . 
Q: What’s the best thing about Switzerland?
A:I don’t know, but the flag is a big plus.
 . . .  
  . . . 
Why did the chicken cross the playground?
To get to the other slide!
  . . . 
  . . . 
Q: Have you heard about the new restaurant called Karma?
A: There’s no menu; you get what you deserve.
  . . . 
  . . . 
Son: “Dad, when will I be old enough so I don’t have to ask mom for her permission to go out?”
Dad: “Son, even I haven’t grown old enough to go out without her permission!”
  . . . 
. . .
and finally . . .
  . . . 
 . . .  
Conjunctivitis.com   . . .   It’s a site for sore eyes.
 . . .  
 . . .
Well, that’s me done and dusted.  I hope you’ve learned and little and gained a few smiles that you’ll be able to share with someone else today.
 . . .
I wish you a most excellent Friday, and a totally wonderful weekend.  May the weather be good,  may your days feel restful,  and may you feel a sense of happiness and protection settle upon your world, like a covering of a gentle blanket of love.
  . . . 

Until we meet again, be good to each other and …  may your God go with you.

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