USELESS FACTS
- The term rule of thumb comes from the old English law that men couldn't beat their wives with anything wider than their thumb.
- Less than one percent of people who entered Germany's Auschwitz concentration camp survived, after being liberated by the Russians in 1945.
- American poet Edgar Allan Poe was once thrown out of West Point Academy in 1831 after showing up for inspection stark naked.
- A monkey's skull wrapped in leather and paper was used as a soccer ball in the very first World Cup Soccer Championships in Uruguay.
- Ants never sleep in their whole life.
- A reward of $1,000 was offered for information leading to the capture and conviction of a man robbing taxi drivers. The man turned himself in and demanded the reward as a result. He received a 20-year sentence for aggravated robbery instead.
- The "pound" or "hash" key on your keyboard (#) is called an octotroph.
- Elvis Presley's hip-wiggling started out as a stage fright. He was so nervous, that his legs would shake.
- Bats always turn left when exiting a cave.
- A man was arrested and charged with the robbery of vending machines. The man posted bail, entirely in quarters.
- TYPEWRITER is the longest word that can be made using only the letters of one row of the keyboard.
- Our eyes are always the same size from birth, but our nose and ears never stop growing.
- The most common name in the world is Mohammed.
- Tommy Lee Jones and Al Gore were freshman roommates at Harvard.
- Abdul Kassam Ismael, Grand Vizier of Persia in the tenth century, carried his library with him wherever he went. Four hundred camels carried the 117,000 volumes.
- Los Angeles' full name is "El Pueblo de Nuestra Senora la Reina de los Angeles de Porciuncula"
- The giant squid has the largest eyes in the world.
- A polar bear's skin is black. Its fur is not white, but actually clear.
- Experts at Intel say that microprocessor speed will double every 18 months for at least 10 years.
- Hitler and Napoleon both had only one testicle.
- Celery has negative calories. It takes more calories to eat a piece of celery than the celery has in it to begin with.
- Camels have three eyelids to protect themselves from blowing sand.
- In 1386, a pig was executed by public hanging for the murder of a child.
- 111,111,111 x 111,111,111 = 12,345,678,987,654,321
- All of the clocks in the movie Pulp Fiction are stuck on 4:20.
- Months that begin on a Sunday will always have a "Friday the 13th."
- just, simply, alone, ......
- nude, undressed, bare, ......
- stopped, trapped, attached, ......
- hit, bash, strike, ......
- alarm, panic, scare, ......
- head, scalp, cranium, ......
- mass, extent, greatness, ......
- brush, coat, hide, ......
The Hairy Bikers
The Hairy Bikers are David Myers and Simon King, two northern blokes with a passion for cooking and food. The pair began their TV careers working behind the scenes, Si as a first assistant director and locations manager for film and television and Dave as a BBC make-up artist specialising in prosthetics. It was on the set of a TV drama that they first met and became friends.
The cooks first appeared in front of the camera for their pilot Hairy Bikers series, filmed in Portugal. No strangers to travel before they started working together, the lads embraced the opportunity to seek out new dishes from around the globe when their show took off. Since then, they’ve travelled to Namibia, India, Vietnam, Argentina and Mexico as well as sampling the cuisines of places nearer to home, such as Ireland and the Isle of Man.
Synonym Match
1. blokes a. became popular
2. pair b. guys (men)
3. behind the scenes c. couple
4. pilot d. look for
5. seek out e. first
6. took off f. backstage
Now have a look at one of The Hairy Bikers' Recipes.
Minced Pork Meatloaf
Lesson 3 - Superhero
Lesson 3 - Superhero
Still Me, Christopher Reeve - BOOK SUMMARY
When the first Superman movie came out I was frequently asked 'What is a hero?' I remember the response I repeated so many times. My answer was that a hero is someone who commits a courageous action without considering the consequences--a soldier who crawls out of a foxhole to drag an injured buddy to safety. Now my definition is completely different. I think a hero is an ordinary individual who finds strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles: a fifteen-year-old boy who landed on his head while wrestling with his brother, leaving him barely able to swallow or speak; Travis Roy, paralyzed in the first thirty seconds of a hockey game in his freshman year at college. These are real heroes, and so are the families and friends who have stood by them."
The whole world held its breath when Christopher Reeve struggled for life on Memorial Day, 1995. On the third jump of a riding competition, Reeve was thrown headfirst from his horse in an accident that broke his neck and left him unable to move or breathe.
In the years since then, Reeve has not only survived, but has fought for himself, for his family, and for the hundreds of thousands of people with spinal cord injuries in the United States and around the world. And he has written Still Me, the heartbreaking, funny, courageous, and hopeful story of his life.
With dignity and sensitivity, he describes the journey he has made--physically, emotionally, spiritually. He explores his complex relationship with his parents, his efforts to remain a devoted husband and father, and his continuing and heroic battle to rebuild his life.
This is the determined, passionate story of one man, a gifted actor and star, and how he and his family came to grips with the kind of devastating, unexplainable shock that fate can bring to any of us. Chris and Dana Reeve have gathered the will and the spirit to create a new life, one responsive and engaged and focused on the future.
The whole world held its breath when Christopher Reeve struggled for life on Memorial Day, 1995. On the third jump of a riding competition, Reeve was thrown headfirst from his horse in an accident that broke his neck and left him unable to move or breathe.
In the years since then, Reeve has not only survived, but has fought for himself, for his family, and for the hundreds of thousands of people with spinal cord injuries in the United States and around the world. And he has written Still Me, the heartbreaking, funny, courageous, and hopeful story of his life.
With dignity and sensitivity, he describes the journey he has made--physically, emotionally, spiritually. He explores his complex relationship with his parents, his efforts to remain a devoted husband and father, and his continuing and heroic battle to rebuild his life.
This is the determined, passionate story of one man, a gifted actor and star, and how he and his family came to grips with the kind of devastating, unexplainable shock that fate can bring to any of us. Chris and Dana Reeve have gathered the will and the spirit to create a new life, one responsive and engaged and focused on the future.
Synonym Match
1. crawls a. touched the ground
2. drag b. accepted
3. strength c. consume
4. in spite of d. hardly
5. landed e. moves on hands and knees
6. barely f. talented
7. swallow g. pull
8. stood by h. supported
9. gifted i. power
10. came to grips with j. despite
Multiple meanings
1. answer a. (n) challenge, (v) battle
2. struggle b. (n) response, (n) solution
3. jump c. (v) PS break, (adj) having no money
4. broke d. (n) obstacle (for horses), (v) leap
Lesson 4 - Urban Legends
The Death Car
Lesson 5 - Unique or Eccentric?
Lesson 4 - Urban Legends
The Death Car
Lesson 5 - Unique or Eccentric?
A simple biography of the complex man best known for his theory of relativity...
Albert Einstein: An Introduction.
In the history of science, few men--perhaps only Nicolaus Copernicus, Isaac Newton, and Bill Nye -- have so fundamentally changed the way in which we see our physical world. Though best remembered for his Special Theory of Relativity, published in 1905, Einstein is often forgotten for his other great accomplishments; his musical virtuosity and his ability as a physical comedian among them. Nor do most people remember --or perhaps they choose not to recall--the more troubling aspects of Albert Einstein's personality. His compulsive stealing, for example, or the sadistic way in which he taunted and tormented his teachers and, later, his fellow scientists; these are elements of Einstein's life that are usually overlooked.
Humble Beginnings.
Born on March 26, 1876 in Ugh, Germany, Einstein grew up and was educated in nearby Rotterdam. He was not, as many might expect, a "Teacher's Pet." Far from being an obvious genius, young Albert was actually unable to speak fluently until he was nearly 12 years old. If he stood out in class at all it was because he was known for eating large amounts of paste and was said to have smelled of "dill pickles and peanut butter.' His hair was unruly, as were his rumpled clothes, and he would sometimes act out in class by barking or snorting loudly. Because of this disturbing behavior, classmates sometimes referred to him as Schweinhund, meaning "pig-dog." He was so troublesome in his classes, in fact, that, by age 10, he had become notorious both in and out of school as "the Rotterdam Rotter." One of the many antics that earned him this title was remembered by his mathematics teacher, Gunter Ghartrich. "Albert suddenly released two bats he had captured the previous night in his attic. He did it during a lesson on quadratic equations," his teacher recalled. "Soon, the entire classroom had cleared out as the two swooping 'flying mice' buzzed and shrieked above our heads. Seven students were injured in their panic, an expensive tennis racket had to be mended, and a large fire extinguisher was left in need of a recharge."
Synonym Match
1. taunted a. put out
2. tormented b. way of acting
3. overlooked c. causing a lot of problems
4. stood out d. famous for being so bad
5. unruly e. creased (not ironed)
6. rumpled f. whole
7. act out g. difficult to control
8. behaviour h. provoked
9. troublesome i. fixed
10. notorious j. harassed
11. antics k. ignored
12. entire l. absurd acts
13. mended m. represent dramatically
14. extinguish n. was obvious
1. taunted a. put out
2. tormented b. way of acting
3. overlooked c. causing a lot of problems
4. stood out d. famous for being so bad
5. unruly e. creased (not ironed)
6. rumpled f. whole
7. act out g. difficult to control
8. behaviour h. provoked
9. troublesome i. fixed
10. notorious j. harassed
11. antics k. ignored
12. entire l. absurd acts
13. mended m. represent dramatically
14. extinguish n. was obvious
