Bitesize
Most random celebrity career changes
The Scotsman, 15 March Gourmet chef: Coolio recently launched his own weekly web-based cookery programme, Cooking with Coolio. Wrap star. Spa-ghetto Bolognese… Airline pilot: Iron Maiden frontman, Bruce Dickinson now pilots a Boeing 757 for charter airline Astraeus. Terrifying. Model railway salesman: Godfather of Grunge Neil Young takes his love of toy trains so seriously [...]
Fast Facts
Magnetic children: ski schools in Courchevel, France are testing new Magnesticks which are magnetic safety bars designed to stop kids falling off chairlifts. The new devices hold children in place, only releasing them on arrival at the top of the lift. It is hoped the invention will prevent dozens of accidents involving children falling out [...]
Number Crunching
£370m: the cost of removing the litter from Britain’s streets, waterways and open spaces every year. – The Guardian, 10 March £5m: the cost of moving shopping trolleys from rivers alone. – The Guardian, 10 March 122: tonnes of cigarette-related litter is dropped each day across the UK. – The Guardian, 10 March £80: the [...]
Fast and Factual
A shark bit an Australian fisherman’s leg so tightly, that a fellow fisherman had to cut its head to set him free. The shark was three metres long and weighed about 90kg. The bite-victim was flown straight to hospital, and was quickly stabilised. – The Guardian, 28th January A digital children’s book retelling the tale [...]
The new online English
New Scientist, 2nd February Henchgoon: noun, administrative assistant Non-bugnuttery: noun, sanity Anti-Fonzie: noun, not cool. Nanoblahblah: noun, nano-technoblabble. Very, very, tiny nonsense. Celebufreak: noun, a freak with fame. addthis_url = ‘http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thesupplement.co.uk%2F2008%2F03%2F27%2Fthe-new-online-english%2F’; addthis_title = ‘The+new+online+English’; addthis_pub = ”;
Lost in translation: words you’ll never hear again
The following words are all from languages which no longer have a single native speaker: Unrihtwillnung: improper love – Old English Istamaasdu: Listen, you in the plural! – Hittite, Turkey Ebauthoo: Water – Beothuk, Newfoundland Kälymentwam: path of heaven – Tocharian, Central Asia Tehonannonronkwanniontak: they greeted him with respect, (literally, they greased his scalp many [...]
Kenya: recent dates worth remembering
The Guardian, 1st February Dec 27th 2007: Kenya’s elections Dec 30th 2007: Riots of Mwai Kibaki’s disputed presidential victory. Jan 1st 2008: Thirty Kikuyus killed in church fire. Jan 4th 2008: The UN says that the rest has uprooted 250,000 people. Jan 7th 2008: John Kufour, the African Union chairman and president of Ghana, arrives [...]
Countries highlighted for particularly poor human rights records
The Guardian, 1st February North Korea: Human rights were summed up as ‘abysmal’ Burma: A ‘deplorable’ record, with a ‘denial of basic freedoms’ Zimbabwe: ‘Torture in police custody is common’. China: The government ‘continues to deny or restrict its citizens fundamental rights’. Afghanistan: More than six years after the US invasion, life of the average [...]
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