So let's hear some facts about curry!
Oh, and great violining, Hols!
Friday 28 November 2008
Friday 21 November 2008
This week's winner...
...Is birthday boy Adam Sweeney, with this unique fact:
"Though we can't possibly imagine a life without Mr. Adam Sweeney, the famous name was almost not so. Mr and Mrs Sweeney were certain that their second-born would be female; and had decided she would be named "Emily". I was having none of it, and stubbornly emerged a chap. Faced with this conundrum, Mr and Mrs Sweeney swiftly thought-showered boys’ names, settling on “Richard” or “Alex”. Richard, my Dad pointed out, is often shortened to “Dick”. So, I was to be an Alex – until a recently-born cousin gazumped me. In haste, they picked Adam. The rest is (lush) history."
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!
I was going to be called Sean....
"Though we can't possibly imagine a life without Mr. Adam Sweeney, the famous name was almost not so. Mr and Mrs Sweeney were certain that their second-born would be female; and had decided she would be named "Emily". I was having none of it, and stubbornly emerged a chap. Faced with this conundrum, Mr and Mrs Sweeney swiftly thought-showered boys’ names, settling on “Richard” or “Alex”. Richard, my Dad pointed out, is often shortened to “Dick”. So, I was to be an Alex – until a recently-born cousin gazumped me. In haste, they picked Adam. The rest is (lush) history."
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!
I was going to be called Sean....
ADAM
Because it's Mr Sweeney's birthday, and I have failed to publicly acknowledge his recent factoid triumphs, the theme for this week's Friday Factoid is ADAM. Which also happens to be the name of my legendary dad.
Friday 7 November 2008
EVACUATION
There could only ever be one factoid theme this week. EVACUATION.
Flexible deadline for this one folks, since most of you won't get to see this for a little while.
Friday 31 October 2008
Friday 10 October 2008
Friday 3 October 2008
This week's winner...
"The famous statue in Piccadilly Circus isn't actually Eros but his younger brother Anteros, the Greek God of requited love. Designed by Sir Alfred Gilbert, it stands for 'reflective and mature love, as opposed to Eros or Cupid, the frivolous tyrant'. However, this idea never caught on and coupled with people's shaky grasp of classical mythology they assumed it was Eros or Cupid. The use of the nude figure on a public monument was controversial in 1892 but the statue itself was ground breaking as it was the first in the world to be cast in aluminium."
Sorry, no time for storytime this week (again!).
Identify yourself to fully claim your victory!!
Oh, and last week's winner was Rudi by the way...
Sorry, no time for storytime this week (again!).
Identify yourself to fully claim your victory!!
Oh, and last week's winner was Rudi by the way...
Thursday 2 October 2008
MISTAKEN IDENTITY
My favourite news story this week by far was the tale of a group of firemen who scaled a tree to rescue an iguana...only to discover it was actually a green branch.
Lots of entries this week pleeeeease!!!
Thus, this week's theme is MISTAKEN IDENTITY.
Lots of entries this week pleeeeease!!!
Friday 26 September 2008
Friday 19 September 2008
This week's winner...
...Is Adam S (first double winner of the e-factoid - woohoo!). Here is his triumphant titbit:
"A surgery that dates back to prehistoric times, Trepanation is the grisly, gung-ho practice of drilling into the skull of a sufferer of mental disorders; ostensibly to 'allow evil spirits to escape'. A more scientific (but unverified) rationale for this practice suggests that brain blood volume may be increased by freedom from the skull’s enclosure. Seemingly misguided and brutal, trepanation is astoundingly alive and well - the documentary 'A Hole in the Head' documents the three attempts of Joey Mellen to drill a dime-sized hole in his skull with a power drill in a gruesome endeavour to 'raise his consciousness'."
Ewww.
"A surgery that dates back to prehistoric times, Trepanation is the grisly, gung-ho practice of drilling into the skull of a sufferer of mental disorders; ostensibly to 'allow evil spirits to escape'. A more scientific (but unverified) rationale for this practice suggests that brain blood volume may be increased by freedom from the skull’s enclosure. Seemingly misguided and brutal, trepanation is astoundingly alive and well - the documentary 'A Hole in the Head' documents the three attempts of Joey Mellen to drill a dime-sized hole in his skull with a power drill in a gruesome endeavour to 'raise his consciousness'."
Ewww.
Friday 12 September 2008
This week's winner...
"Simulating the movement of hair is considered to be one of the most complex tasks in animation. Before 2001, Pixar's films featured characters with as little hair as possible. The characters in Toy Story and A Bug's Life all had hard bodies and if a character needed hair, it was either very short or tied back. However Pixar pushed the boundaries when they revealed Sulley in Monsters Inc. as the character has over 3.2 million hairs. As the animators could not animate each hair individually, Sulley's shaggy coat has 500 "key" hairs that influence those around them to co-ordinate movement."
Reveal yourself non-office factoider!
Controversy in the verdict today - the original winning fact (Hetty's 'whitening of hair' gem) was the original winner, but upon checking the word length it was too long, so a reluctant disqualification. Hetty - lesson learnt! The one above was a definite close second anyways, AND is precisement 100 mots...
Reveal yourself non-office factoider!
Controversy in the verdict today - the original winning fact (Hetty's 'whitening of hair' gem) was the original winner, but upon checking the word length it was too long, so a reluctant disqualification. Hetty - lesson learnt! The one above was a definite close second anyways, AND is precisement 100 mots...
Thursday 11 September 2008
Now go and find me some facts!
Friday 5 September 2008
This week's winner...
...is Adele, with this sneeze-tastic fact:
"I'm sure everyone has seen the Panda Sneeze video on YouTube by now (21,200,552 views so far). As demonstrated by our furry friend, sneezing in the animal kingdom generally happens for the same reasons that humans sneeze - because of an irritation in the nasal passage. However in the case of iguanas and many other lizards, sneezing is how they rid their bodies of certain salts that are the normal by-product of their digestive processes. Atishpoo indeed!"
Nice pun, dude!
"I'm sure everyone has seen the Panda Sneeze video on YouTube by now (21,200,552 views so far). As demonstrated by our furry friend, sneezing in the animal kingdom generally happens for the same reasons that humans sneeze - because of an irritation in the nasal passage. However in the case of iguanas and many other lizards, sneezing is how they rid their bodies of certain salts that are the normal by-product of their digestive processes. Atishpoo indeed!"
Nice pun, dude!
Thursday 4 September 2008
SNEEZING
The theme for this week's Friday Factoid is SNEEZING!
New Friday Factoid philosophy: finding out cool stuff about boring topics is way more fun than finding out the same old boring stuff about cool topics. Yeah!
Full rules on the right. Enjoy!
New Friday Factoid philosophy: finding out cool stuff about boring topics is way more fun than finding out the same old boring stuff about cool topics. Yeah!Full rules on the right. Enjoy!
Friday 29 August 2008
This week's winner...
...is Lola! This is her winning factoid about hedges:
"In the space of five months in 2003 two men died after arguments involving disputed hedges. One man suffered a heart attack after a fist-fight allegedly erupted, and 66-year-old George Wilson was shot in a quiet Lincoln street following an argument with his neighbour over a hedge. Apparently these conflicts occur as an issue of territory: "Fortress mentality can make people obsessive about territory - to protect your habitat is a basic survival instinct.” Hedgeline has now been set up as the national lobby and support group for the victims of high hedges."
If you are suffering from hedge-related stress, visit the Hedgeline website for support and advice...
"In the space of five months in 2003 two men died after arguments involving disputed hedges. One man suffered a heart attack after a fist-fight allegedly erupted, and 66-year-old George Wilson was shot in a quiet Lincoln street following an argument with his neighbour over a hedge. Apparently these conflicts occur as an issue of territory: "Fortress mentality can make people obsessive about territory - to protect your habitat is a basic survival instinct.” Hedgeline has now been set up as the national lobby and support group for the victims of high hedges."
If you are suffering from hedge-related stress, visit the Hedgeline website for support and advice...
Thursday 28 August 2008
HEDGES
In tribute to the London bus that miraculously transformed itself into a...errrr.....hedge during the Olympics closing ceremony, this week's Friday Factoid theme is HEDGES. Full rules on the right, 100 words max s'il vous plait! Be creative!
Friday 22 August 2008
This week's winner...
....is Holly! Here is her fact:
"It is a well-known fact: if you feel thirsty, you're already dehydrated. Less renowned is that (in the desert, for example), rather than conserving water supplies by just taking sips to 'top up' your fluid intake, you should keep drinking water until you feel sated. In the desert, people are frequently found dead from dehydration with water in their canteens. Mere sipping doesn't get enough to the brain and vital organs. Take a good drink when you need it: ironically, even if you run out of liquid supplies, you'll be allowing your body to continue coping for longer, more effectively!"
Dead on 100 words again! Fingers crossed for more contestants next week :)
"It is a well-known fact: if you feel thirsty, you're already dehydrated. Less renowned is that (in the desert, for example), rather than conserving water supplies by just taking sips to 'top up' your fluid intake, you should keep drinking water until you feel sated. In the desert, people are frequently found dead from dehydration with water in their canteens. Mere sipping doesn't get enough to the brain and vital organs. Take a good drink when you need it: ironically, even if you run out of liquid supplies, you'll be allowing your body to continue coping for longer, more effectively!"
Dead on 100 words again! Fingers crossed for more contestants next week :)
Thursday 21 August 2008
THIRST
Since as I have been constantly parched this week, I have selected the theme of 'thirst' for this week's Friday Factoid. Submit your thirst-related fact - no matter how random - as an anonymous comment to this post by 2pm on Friday 22 August to be in with a winning chance! 100 WORDS MAX (full rules over there -->).
Friday 15 August 2008
This week's winner...
...Is mystery factoider, with this fact about dreams:
"Despite the amount of 'Learn Spanish Overnight!!' tapes available to buy from spurious websites, passive subliminal learning during sleep does not occur. There IS however such a thing as active dream learning. A study in 2002 of training classical pianists found that those who imagined playing immediately before bed had the same areas of the brain active during sleep (and during dreaming) as those that were active when they were awake and playing. These pianists became proficient far more quickly than those who didn’t imagine playing before sleep.
So,
Q: How do you get to Carnegie hall fastest?
A: Sleep."
Excellent stuff. I will be thinking about drumming every night before I go to bed from now on. And bonus points for submitting a factoid which, according to Microsoft Word, is precisely 100 words!
Now identify yourself so we can chant your name in awe!
"Despite the amount of 'Learn Spanish Overnight!!' tapes available to buy from spurious websites, passive subliminal learning during sleep does not occur. There IS however such a thing as active dream learning. A study in 2002 of training classical pianists found that those who imagined playing immediately before bed had the same areas of the brain active during sleep (and during dreaming) as those that were active when they were awake and playing. These pianists became proficient far more quickly than those who didn’t imagine playing before sleep.
So,
Q: How do you get to Carnegie hall fastest?
A: Sleep."
Excellent stuff. I will be thinking about drumming every night before I go to bed from now on. And bonus points for submitting a factoid which, according to Microsoft Word, is precisely 100 words!
Now identify yourself so we can chant your name in awe!
Thursday 14 August 2008
DREAMS
This week's Friday Factoid theme is DREAMS. Submit your factoid (something about dreams, not a weird dream you've had!) as an anonymous comment to this blog by 2pm on Friday 15th August. Don't forget the new FF word-limit of 100 words! Good luck!
Friday 8 August 2008
This week's winner...
...is Carl, with the following fact:
Jim Thorpe is remembered for the loss rather than the winning of Olympic Gold medals. In 1913, Thorpe was stripped of both of his gold medals by the Olympic Committee. According to the then prevailing Olympic Rules, no professional was permitted to compete in the strictly amateur Olympic Games. However a newspaper journalist that Thorpe had received $25 per week to play minor league baseball in North Carolina. As well as losing his medals, Thorpe’s name was removed from the record books.
However, the silver medal winners in the 1912 decathlon and pentathlon events refused to claim the medals that Thorpe fairly won. Jim Thorpe died in 1953 of a heart attack. He was 64 years of age, and was buried in the town of Mauch Chunk, Pennsylvania which subsequently changed it’s name to Jim Thorpe. In 1982 the International Olympic Committee restored Thorpe’s Gold Medals, and on January, 1983 replicas of his medals were presented to his family. All's well that ends well.
Bad luck to the 'Nero' factoiders - this was indeed an excellent fact, but there were two very similar entries!
Next week I will be imposing a new word-limit of 100 words per fact. I think everyone will agree that the first e-factoid has been a resounding success!
Thursday 7 August 2008
OLYMPIC SCANDALS
The theme for the first ever e-factoid is OLYMPIC SCANDALS. To submit your factoid, submit a comment to this blog by 2pm on Friday 8 August. Remember to submit the comment anonymously so I don't know whose factoid is whose, and please try not to look at whatever the other factoids are! Please forward this e-mail to anyone else who would like to participate.
Fingers crossed this will work...
Friday 1 August 2008
Friday Factoid goes ELECTRONIC
From Friday 8th August 2008, the legendary Friday Factoid will fully embrace its environmentally-friendly leanings by allowing you to submit your factoids electronically. Each Friday I will upload that week's theme as a new blog post. You will then be able to 'comment' on each week's blog (make sure you comment anonymously!) to submit your factoid!
Story time will continue in the usual fashion, but we will now have a permanent record of all submissions and, more importantly, the glorious winners!
Happy factoiding!!
Story time will continue in the usual fashion, but we will now have a permanent record of all submissions and, more importantly, the glorious winners!
Happy factoiding!!
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