Automatic Gearbox Dragrace

“Doing a dragrace with an auto is like doing the hundred metre sprint in wellies full of tadpoles.”

– Jeremy Clarkson

Dutch Monkey

The proboscis monkey or long-nosed monkey, known as the Bekantan in Malay, is a reddish-brown arboreal Old World monkey that is endemic to the south-east Asian island of Borneo.

Proboscis Monkey or Nasalis Larvatus

It belongs in the monotypic ironically named genus Nasalis.

The monkey also goes by the Malay name monyet belanda meaning Dutch monkey, or even orang belanda literally meaning Dutchman, as Indonesians remarked that the Dutch colonisers often had a similarly large overfed looking pot-belly and big red drinking nose.

See other: Admin’s Choice Posts

On Working With Cars

“If a mechanic can do this, how come he’s not a brain surgeon?”

– Jeremy Clarkson

28/x mmxii

Tea, coffee, wine, beer and rubber can all be made from dandelions.

Taraxacum or Dandelion

In the Midlands of Britain around the area where Shakespeare came from, a goldenlad is dialect for a dandelion in full yellow flower and a chimney-sweeper is the name for a dandelion ‘clock’.

Flamenco dancer Jose Greco (1918-2000) took out an insurance policy through Lloyd’s of London against his trousers splitting during a performance.

A dancer with the Royal Ballet gets through about 120 pairs of shoes a season.

Dandelions are also known as Pissy beds, Jack-piss-the-bed, Wet-the-bed, Wet-a-bed, Tiddlebeds and Pissenlit.

See other: Quite Interesting Facts

Khilioiphobia [Noun.]

Fear of the number thousand. From the Ancient Greek: khilioi, meaning the cardinal number 1000.

On Truth

Excerpted from the essay Truth by Peter Unger of New York University:

‘If what I say is not in complete agreement with what you say, at least some of what I say will not be in agreement with what you say. And, so, what I say will not be in agreement with what you say. Also, of course, if what I say is not completely consistent with what you say, then at least some of what I say will not be consistent with what you say. And, so, what I say will not be consistent with what you say.’

– Munitz. M.K., Unger. P.K. 1974. Semantics & Philosophy New York, United States: New York University Press (1974) p. 269-270

See other: Admin’s Choice Posts

Monarchy Versus Presidency

“The powers the president has in the United States of America are exactly the powers a king had in Britain two-hundred years ago. We have evolved since then.”

– Jeremy Paxman

On Blushing

“Man is the only animal that blushes. Or needs to.”

– Mark Twain