Everyday objects

Back in the Anglo-Saxon era, the hare was worshipped as a symbol of Spring fertility. This evolved into the Christian Easter festival and the similar looking rabbit was adopted. The eggs are from an old German tradition, in that children were encouraged to leave out bonnets for rabbits to use as nests, and the following morning they would find that the rabbit has laid brightly coloured eggs.

Nowadays, all you need is a either a pair of bunny ears or a coloured egg, and you can promote your wares as "Easter themed"

The thought for today is about garden equipment. I initially was going to find the difference between the two types of hoe. We have a Dutch hoe which appears to be the common one. There is another sort, with the blade at right angles to the handle, but I am struggling to find what this is called, apart from just "hoe".

Whilst searching, I happened across this page, Description on how to use a hoe, which made me realise - I have never been taught to use tools. Continue reading "Instruction manual for a hoe?"

I just bought a replacement AC Adapter and the warning printed upon it caught my eye. Continue reading "Strange warning on a power supply"

I probably will get a few visitors to this page because they are looking for the Arun Hostel in Swanage, telephone number 01632 960874.

The actual dialling code for Swanage is 01929 so why am I quoting 01632? The answer is that the Arun Hostel in Swanage only exists in fiction. Specifically it appeared in Episode 1, Series 2 of the Inbetweeners, a comedy series on Channel 4. Changing the subject slightly, the actual filming was done in Littlehampton, on the river Arun.

Ofcom, the regulatory body for telecommunications in the UK have set aside blocks of telephone numbers, such as the dialling code of 01632, that will never be allocated which may be used in works of fiction. The danger is that if Delboy gives his telephone number out as 020 7946 9573 someone somewhere in viewerland will want to give him a call. Thats another fictitious number by the way, the major cities with their well known codes have their own ranges. In this way, Ofcom pander to the realism. Most people know Delboy lives in the 020 area, and some will complain when they know the 01632 is not a valid code.

Mobile numbers and freephone numbers are all handled within the scheme. Continue reading "Fictitious Telephone Numbers"

What is the difference between a lake and a pond?

The first thing to look at is the etymology. Lake = Latin:Lacus = Lake! Not very helpful, but pond comes from Old English:pund meaning enclosure - an object that encloses water.

The answer is that there is no official definition other than lakes are generally accepted as being larger than ponds. The definitions that exist range from vague to specific, but equally there are bodies of water generally accepted as a pond or lake, that breaks those rules.
Continue reading "Lake or Pond"

Do not call it a PIN number! PIN means Personal Identification Number, calling it a PIN number is saying Personal Identification Number number.

This is an example of RAS syndrome. (Redundant Acronym Syndrome syndrome). HIV virus is another example, human immunodeficiency virus virus.

Continue reading "PIN numbers"

What is the difference between a cake and a biscuit? A question raised in a court case by McVities, makers of Jaffa cakes.

McVities were fighting the case to prevent VAT being incurred on their product. Chocolate covered biscuits attract the tax, cakes do not. Incidentally, the very fact that VAT is charged does not directly affect the companies profit as the VAT is paid directly to Customs and Excise. (more about this another day). There is an indirect effect in that the cakes are more expensive for the consumer, which would cause a drop in sales. Continue reading "Cake or Biscuit"

Today I thought I would research vinegar. I immediately stumbled upon131 uses for vinegar. One of them Deodorize a wool sweater made me think "wouldn't that make your jumper smell like a fish and chip shop?

The next site I found 1001 uses for white distilled vinegar.

Vinegar is amazing, astounding, and in some cases just plain fun.

Ummm, right okay! Continue reading "Vinegar - such a useful product"