Do you know when the Channel Tunnel opened? Or when Margaret Thatcher became Britain’s first female prime minister? Or when all women over 21 got the vote?
If you’re interested in British history (from 6000 BC until today), you’ll love the BBC’s interactive timeline.
I was surprised to find out when the world’s first test-tube baby was born …
A loud Texan engineer was visiting Australia and talking about all of the large civil works in the USA that he was involved in. To be polite, an Australian colleague took him on a tour of Sydney’s larger constructions.
At first he showed him Gladesville Bridge. The Texan exclaimed, “What’s that!” In reply the Australian said, “That’s the Gladesville Bridge”. “Hmmph”, said the Texan. “How long and how many men did it take to build?” The Australian replied, “About 5 years with 1000 men.” The Texan replied, “Well in Texas we would’ve done it in 2 years with 500 men.”
Next they went to the Sydney Opera House. “What’s that”, said the Texan. “That’s the Sydney Opera House” came the reply. “Hmmph”, said the Texan, “How long and how many men did it take to build?” The Australian replied, “About 10 years with 200 men.” The Texan replied “Well in Texas we would’ve done it in 4 years with 200 men.”
By this stage the Australian was a little frustrated so he decided to get some revenge. They walked around the Sydney Opera House and as they did the Sydney Harbour Bridge came into view. Immediately the Texan exclaimed, “Wow! What’s that?” The Australian engineer replied, “I don’t know, it wasn’t there yesterday.”
If you experience mood swings, particularly on a Monday morning, then Rebekah Fensome’s finger-clicking technique might be something for you.
I’ve no idea whether it works, but I liked the sound of turning one’s mood around at the click of a finger!
We say that films are ‘dubbed‘ and not ‘synchronized’. That means that, when we watch an American or British film, the words we hear are not those spoken by the real actors but are those spoken by German actors whose voices were recorded in a studio.
If you are worried about not being able to understand an English film, you can always watch with the subtitles switched on. You’ll be surprised how much that can help you!
George Orwell (the famous English novelist and journalist) said, “If it is possible to cut a word out, always cut it out”. So why not just use one word instead of a lot of those wordy phrases?
Take a look at these examples.
Instead of … write …
due to the fact that because, as or since
in my own opinion I believe
in the near future soon
with reference to the fact that about or concerning
Your reader will thank you! 🙂
Last year some people got quite excited after it was announced that Firebox was selling a fully-functioning Iron Man suit. You can imagine how unhappy they were when they found out that it was a big joke. It was April Fool’s Day!
‘April Fool’s Day’ is celebrated on 1 April every year. It’s a day when people play practical jokes on each other (but normally only until noon!). So watch out!
The BBC played a joke on its viewers many, many years ago. They showed Swiss farmers harvesting spaghetti from trees. You can watch the video here (link to YouTube).
