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100 Things We Didn't Know This Time Last Year
An anonymous reader wrote to mention a BBC list of 100 topical pieces of information that they've reported on over the course of 2005. While some of them are very Brit-specific ("16. The London borough of Westminster has an average of 20 pieces of chewing gum for every square metre of pavement."), there are some interesting, touching, and humorous stories in there. "20. The Queen has never been on a computer, she told Bill Gates as she awarded him an honorary knighthood. 32. 'Restaurant' is the most mis-spelled word in search engines. 65. Actor James Doohan, who played Scotty, had a hand in creating the Klingon language that was used in the movies, and which Shakespeare plays were subsequently translated into."
I think if #39 was true in America we wouldn't need such a controversial/ineffective/(insert your own adjective here) president to get people to vote more often.
39. Australians host barbecues at polling stations on general election days.
I believe they're called New York, Tennessee Avenue and St. James Place.
No, they're called Vine Street, Marlborough Street and Bow Street. The BBC is, funnily enough, British. Why should they use the American version of the game for their list?
And personally my biggest WTF is #29. When faced with danger, the octopus can wrap six of its legs around its head to disguise itself as a fallen coconut shell and escape by walking backwards on the other two legs, scientists discovered.
How the hell do they know it was trying to pretned to be a coconut shell? Were these research scientists cast members of Monty Python's Flying Circus by any chance?
Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean there isn't an invisible demon about to eat your face
Wow! I can't believe all 100 things were on a single page, not even separated by giant ads! Just shows you can make a decent news site if you really want to...
Posted by yintercept - "...science...[is] the study of the 'divine creation.' "
A guy blows up the Alfred P. Murrah building, his name's Mohammed too!
Please. That's like pointing out that "John" is a really common name then rattling off "John Dillinger, John Wayne Gacy, and John Hinckley Junior! Booga-booga!" (Except those guys are white, so they're not all scary and arabiac.) Try stepping back and getting a broad view once and a while.