Monday 31 January 2011

Monday Fact // The Ethiopian Calendar

My initial reaction of surprise has been replaced by the realisation that the Gregorian calendar is equally arbitrary.

Based on the Coptic Calendar, the calendar of Ethiopia is divided into 13 months. Leap days are added every year, without exception. The seven-year divergence arises from the use of different dates as 'the birth of Christ'. While the Ethiopian calendar accepts the calculations of Annianus of Alexandria, Europeans eventually adopted the calculations made by Dionysius Exiguus in 525 AD.

Thursday 27 January 2011

Wednesday 26 January 2011

Monday 24 January 2011

If I ever name a country...

If I ever name a country, I'd call it Feory.

That would work in Feory.

That way, people could say 'In Feory that's legal.'

Thursday 20 January 2011

Friday 7 January 2011

Fly another day

Mark Twain once wrote that ‘truth is stranger than fiction’. It’s also considerably cheaper (seeing as it – usually – doesn’t entail fees for printing, marketing, warehousing or consulting editors) and contains a surprisingly large supporting cast.

In a great example of unlikely truths, a vulture is currently being held in custody in Saudi Arabia, under suspicion of spying on behalf of the Israeli secret service. The decision to capture the bird was made following the discovery of a GPS transmitter around its ankle with an accompanying tag from Tel Aviv University. Avian specialists have claimed that the bird is not, in fact, a covert operative but merely involved in a study of the species’ migration patterns.

I’m inclined to believe them. I mean, can you imagine a spy-vulture?

but you can call me 'flower' if you want to.

If actual espionage bears any resemblance to the books, films and games of the Bond franchise, then dinner jackets are to be worn at all times, by all parties.

I'm surprised that the bow tie wasn't the object of the complaint.

It’s not just a matter of sartorial convention.

An extra dimension of difficulty is added to the task of defusing an improvised explosive device when operating sans prehesile digits

Red wire?
Blue wire?
It’s entirely academic.

(As ever, roll over images for alternative punchlines).